Multitudes in Spain gather to turn a defiant face to terror

By Tracy Wilkinson
Los Angeles Times

	DENIS DOYLE / AP Spaniards raise their white-painted hands as a gesture of peace during a demonstration to protest the bombings on trains in Madrid that killed nearly 200 people.
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While Basque separatists denied involvement in Thursday's synchronized train bombings, which killed at least 199 people and wounded 1,500 others, one Spanish official said the bombs matched explosives tied to the Basque's militant ETA faction.

Meanwhile, a stunned Spain was proclaiming its determination to overcome the carnage.

In every major city and town, residents paused for a 10-minute observance of silence at noon; in Madrid, spontaneous shrines of candles, flowers and hand-written messages sprouted at train stations where men, women and children lost their lives.

In the evening in Madrid, an estimated 2.3 million Spaniards marched under a driving rain to demand an end to political violence. They were led by members of the royal family and senior officials from all over Europe. A sea of umbrella-topped masses filled Madrid streets for miles.

"We must show the world we are not afraid," said Maria del Carmen Lopez Lopez, 46, an elderly-care worker.

"Murderers! Murderers!" chanted a crowd both angry and somber. "We were all on that train."

State TV said nationwide, more than 11 million marched — more than one-quarter of Spain's 42 million people.

Debate raged over who was responsible for the 10 bomb blasts that gutted four commuter trains during Thursday morning's rush hour. The government said it continued to favor the theory that Basque separatists staged the attacks, while others suggested Islamic extremists were responsible.

President Bush said yesterday in an interview on Spanish television that "people shouldn't speculate right now" about who was behind the Thursday commuter-train attack.

	JAVIER BELVER / AP Hundreds of thousands of people march down a main street of Zaragoza, Spain, yesterday. State television reported a nationwide turnout of 11 million people, more than a quarter of the country's population.

The militant Basque organization ETA formally denied responsibility last night in a communication with a Basque newspaper, while the debate was becoming entangled in election politics.

Many Spaniards, particularly those who support the Socialist Party in tomorrow's elections, suggested that Prime Minister José María Aznar's government, which sent troops to Iraq, might not be willing to disclose an al-Qaida link until after the vote, for fear of hurting the chances of Aznar's Populist Party holding on to power.

Interior Minister Angel Acebes said last night that he was more convinced than ever that ETA was to blame.

Acebes said the bombs consisted of satchels filled with 20 to 30 pounds of dynamite, set off by a cellphone. He said the dynamite chemically matched 1,100 pounds of explosives seized in February from an ETA van heading toward Madrid, and that the satchel and cellphone setup matched that found on two ETA members when they were arrested at a northern Madrid commuter rail station on Christmas Eve.

U.S. officials said the evidence cut both ways. Asa Hutchinson, the Homeland Security Department's undersecretary of borders and transportation, said U.S. intelligence agencies had detected no spike in "chatter" among al-Qaida-related groups before the attacks.

However, he said: "One of the things that gives you cause for concern is the level of complexity in the attack and the coordination and the simultaneous nature of it, which all is a characteristic of the capability and style of al-Qaida. That's not to say that means it's them, but that certainly gives you concern."

Authorities said the dead identified thus far included people of 12 nationalities. At least three Americans were among the injured.

Aznar announced that illegal immigrants who have been injured in the bombings or whose relatives were killed will be granted Spanish citizenship; heretofore, Aznar's government had been fairly tough on immigrants, many of whom were too afraid to come forward to seek information on missing relatives after the bombings.

A few hardy commuters were back on the trains early yesterday, barely 24 hours after the bombings.

"Am I afraid? I'm terrified," said Maria Callisares, 42, a nurse. "But I have no choice, I have to get to work."

Material from Knight Ridder Newspapers and The Associated Press is included in this report.

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