Spanish PM: Basque Group Killed Pol

Eta separatists trying to disrupt elections, Zapatero says

By Harry Kimball, Newser Staff

Posted Mar 8, 2008 6:51 AM CST

(Newser) – Spain’s Prime Minister is blaming Basque separatist group Eta for the shooting death of a party functionary a day before national elections, the BBC reports. Jose Zapatero, whose Socialist Party is expected to win the contest, painted Isaias Carrasco’s murder as an attempt to disrupt elections, but vowed that Spain would not “allow challenges from those who oppose its basic principles.”

Eta, which advocates an independent Basque state in present-day northern Spain and southern France, is to blame for more than 800 deaths in its thirty-year history. The group has not, however, claimed responsibility for Carrasco’s death; the 2004 Madrid bombings, also close to elections which brought the Socialist Party to power, were originally blamed on Eta but later attributed to Muslim extremists.

Police inspect the site where a former city councilman, Isaias Carrasco, was killed in the Basque town of Arrasate, Spain on Friday, March 7, 2008. Following the shooting, both major political parties... (Associated Press)

Unidentified men carry the coffin of former city councilman Isaias Carrasco into the city hall of Arrasate, Spain, Friday March 7, 2008, where he will lie in state after he was shot and killed by suspected... (Associated Press)

Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, left, arrives in Arrasate with Spanish Interior Minister Alfredo Perez Rubalcaba, right, after former politician Isasias Carrasco was killed in the... (Associated Press)

Isaias Carrasco who was killed in the Basque town of Arrasate, Spain on Friday, March 7, 2008 is seen in this 2003 file picture. Following the shooting, both major political parties called off campaigning... (Associated Press)

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Spanish PM: Basque Group Killed Pol

Eta separatists trying to disrupt elections, Zapatero says

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Eta separatists trying to disrupt elections, Zapatero says

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OTHER STORIES ON OUR RADAR

Spain • Eta • Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero • assassination • Spanish elections • Basque separatists • Spain terror attacks • Isaias Carrasco

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Hundreds query candidates, but site's influence still uncertain

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Zapatero meets with Vatican rep over campaign to oust him

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The group intends to use 'a democratic process'

Spain's ETA Unleashes 3 Attacks in 24 Hours

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Bombs in tourist towns mark Basque group's summer awakening

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