Demonstrations Spain

Hundreds of people gathered outside a town hall in Roses to protest the latest apparent Basque separatist violence, as Spain's main political parties condemned two car bomb attacks blamed on the group ETA. Police officer Santos Santamaria Avedano, 32, was killed Saturday night when a car bomb went off as he was evacuating guests from a hotel in Roses, 60 miles northeast of Barcelona, authorities said.

For all the fanfare surrounding President Bush's inaugural official visit to Europe, he was largely out of sight here Tuesday on the first stop on his five-nation tour. It was probably just as well. Public reaction generally ranged from tepid to scathing. El Pais, the largest Spanish daily newspaper, welcomed the president by labeling his visit "tedious" and describing him as "not a very pleasant man--and there are demonstrations to let him know."

Dozens of people occupied the Peruvian Consulate in Seville to protest the killing last month of the guerrillas who took over the Japanese ambassador's residence in Peru in December. Police gathered outside the consulate but took no action. The protesters left peacefully after about three hours, consulate secretary Carmen Mellado said. The state news agency EFE put the number of protesters at 100 and said most were members of the Rural Workers Union. Mellado said the number was closer to 50.

Thousands of Spaniards marched through central Madrid on Sunday to protest a visit by President Bush, who kicks off his first European tour with a daylong visit to the capital Tuesday. Security was tight as protesters, carrying banners reading "Bush Go Home" and some wearing stickers equating the president with Afghanistan's ruling Taliban militia, blocked the streets. Police estimated that more than 3,000 people turned out for the demonstration.

A young Basque politician whose kidnapping by Basque separatists provoked widespread outrage among Spaniards died early today, hours after he was found on a roadside shot twice in the head. Miguel Angel Blanco had been dumped on a rural road Saturday afternoon. Earlier in the day, Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar led a demonstration of half a million people demanding his release.

The Basque regional government barred rallies by the political wing of the separatist guerrilla group ETA, fearing sectarian violence after the slaying of one politician and threats to kill another. Officials said they would not allow pro-ETA rallies planned this weekend for San Sebastian, a movement stronghold. Miguel Angel Blanco, 29, was kidnapped last Thursday by the ETA, or Basque Homeland and Freedom, and slain two days later. His death sparked massive protests.

Thousands of supporters of the Basque separatist group ETA marched in San Sebastian in their first large gathering since the nation spurned the group for killing a politician. The leaders of Herri Batasuna, the political wing of the ETA, led marchers through the streets of this Atlantic resort city as they shouted slogans in Basque supporting the ETA and independence from Spain.

A huge hand-drawn poster stretches across a wall inside the Autonomous University of Barcelona in Bellaterra these days. It displays a caricature of Saddam Hussein and a cartoon of Uncle Sam and proclaims, "Neither Saddam nor Uncle Sam. Students for Peace." The university is a hotbed of peace protest now and thus hardly representative of public opinion in Spain.

About 300,000 Spaniards marched silently through downtown Barcelona in a demonstration against terrorism, three days after Basque separatists exploded a bomb at a department store, killing 17 people and injuring 35. Families with their children, young people and community leaders took part in the march. Jordi Pujol, president of the autonomous Catalonian government, and Culture Minister Javier Solana, representing Prime Minister Felipe Gonzalez, led the march.

Hundreds of people gathered outside a town hall in Roses to protest the latest apparent Basque separatist violence, as Spain's main political parties condemned two car bomb attacks blamed on the group ETA. Police officer Santos Santamaria Avedano, 32, was killed Saturday night when a car bomb went off as he was evacuating guests from a hotel in Roses, 60 miles northeast of Barcelona, authorities said.

Thousands of people, many of them immigrants from Asia, Africa and Eastern Europe, marched Sunday to protest a tough new law that threatens illegal immigrants with immediate expulsion. Organizers said about 40,000 protesters marched to the offices of the Interior Ministry to push for work and residency papers. Police put the crowd count at 10,000. The protest comes after a two-week hunger strike staged by about 700 immigrants.

Nearly a million people took to the streets here Thursday to protest the slaying of a loved and respected former government minister--the 21st killing blamed on the Basque separatist group ETA this year. Behind a banner proclaiming, "Catalonia for peace. ETA no," Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar, opposition Socialist leader Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero and dozens of other politicians from across the country marched to protest the shooting of 63-year-old Ernest Lluch on Tuesday.

Thousands of people rallied in the Basque capital of Vitoria to protest the killing there of a Spanish prison officer, the 16th slaying blamed on the armed separatist group ETA this year. The bomb, attached to the victim's car, exploded at 7:45 a.m., killing Maximo Casado Carrera, 44, an Interior Ministry spokeswoman said.

Tens of thousands of Spaniards marched Saturday through the streets of three major cities, some protesting recent killings blamed on Basque separatists and others demonstrating support for the independence the separatists advocate. A car bomb Tuesday killed Fernando Buesa, a Socialist politician and outspoken critic of the separatist group ETA, and his police bodyguard. Thousands of Spaniards protested Wednesday, including an estimated 60,000 in Vitoria, capital of the northern Basque region.

In an emotional call for peace, hundreds of thousands of people marched through downtown Madrid on Sunday to protest a car-bomb attack seen as a resurgence of Basque separatists' three-decade-long campaign of violence. Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar and former premiers Felipe Gonzalez, Adolfo Suarez and Leopoldo Calvo Sotelo led the demonstration, carrying a giant banner that read: "For Peace and Liberty. Terrorism No!" Police estimated the crowd at 1.

Two riot policemen and a worker were injured Friday in a brief clash that marred a generally peaceful demonstration in Madrid by striking transport workers against the Spanish government's austerity measures.

Basque activists enraged by the arrest of separatist leaders hurled Molotov cocktails and set off a homemade bomb in widespread street violence, news reports said. State radio reported 17 incidents across the Basque region of northern Spain. A spokesman for the regional police said four people were treated for smoke inhalation in San Sebastian and five were arrested for public disorder. The violence followed Tuesday's arrest in Paris of five members of the separatist ETA.

Government ministers joined about 20,000 residents of this fabled Spanish city to protest the slaying of a local politician, whose death was blamed on the Basque separatist group ETA. "It's a sad paradox that Pamplona, known for its happy spirit, should be news today because of this action," Mayor Javier Txorau told the crowd before the demonstration began.