In Spain, bitter rift over fighting terror

But both ETA and Batasuna seemed to agree that the peace process was still in effect. At a press conference on the day of the bombing, Batasuna spokesperson Arnaldo Otegi blamed the government for "not making a single gesture in nine months of truce," and insisted that the peace process remained intact. On Jan. 9, ETA claimed responsibility for the bombing and criticized the government for not upholding its end of the bargain, but insisted that "the permanent cease-fire ... is still in effect."

Within the Socialist Party, there was no such agreement. Zapatero's initial statement that the peace process was "suspended" contrasted sharply with Interior Minister Alfred Pérez Rubalcaba's declarations that it was definitively over, and that "ETA had lost all credibility."

No rift has been as bitter as that between the Socialist government and the Popular Party (PP). Although the PP lent grudging support to Zapatero's investigation into the seriousness of ETA's declared intentions to abandon violence, the party has since renewed its relentless attack on the government for negotiating with ETA.

The PP declined to participate in Saturday's march, says PP senator Ignacio Cosido, because, "It was clear to us that the intent of the demonstration was to support the government in its strategy to negotiate. "There is profound division in Spain over how to end ETA's terrorism," he adds. "Zapatero's plan is to negotiate. The PP's plan is to destroy terrorism." Minister of Labor Jesús Caldera blamed the PP for politicizing the event. "The PP has made a strategic decision to use its absence as a political weapon," he told press at the march. With local elections in May, and national ones in 2008, the stakes are high for Zapatero, who has planted his political fortunes squarely on achieving peace.

Eoin O'Broin, spokesman for Sinn Fein, says he saw something similar in the early stages of Northern Ireland's peace process. "Much of the present political difficulties arise from the fact that Zapatero's calculations in relation to the Basque question have been made on the basis of electorial concerns rather than on a strategy for peace.  John Major made exactly the same mistake, with the consequence that the Irish process collapsed in 1996 and he subsaquently lost the elections in 1997." [Editor's note: The original version misquoted Mr. O'Broin.]

In a speech before parliament on Monday, Zapatero called for a unified antiterrorism policy and admitted that he had made a "clear mistake" in being too optimistic last month when he said that the peace process would be farther along in a year. Popular Party leader Mariano Rajoy, however, was not satisfied with that position. He said Zapatero had lost all credibility, and demanded that the prime minister admit his mistake in negotiating with ETA.

At the march, Celeste Echegaray summed up the feeling of many participants. "This is a time to come together, not a time for political bickering," said the law student. "The parties have politicized the demonstration, but in the fight against terrorism, here in the street, people are united."

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