'It Has To Be Al Qaeda'

What started off as a typical weekday commute to work ended in a hell of twisted metal, shattered glass and broken bodies Thursday morning. Exactly 911 days after September 11, 2001, Spain was rocked by the biggest terrorist attack on European soil since World War II: 10 synchronized bombs ripped through commuter trains outside Madrid, killing at least 199 people and wounding 1,400 others. No one claimed responsibility for the blasts, but suspicions turned instantly toward the Basque separatist group known as ETA. There were also some suggestions that Islamic terrorists may have been carried out the attacks because Spain supported Washington in the Iraq war.

The ETA, which stands for Euskadi Ta Askatasuna and means "Basque Homeland and Freedom," today took the unusual step of denying any involvement. But it is little surprise that many Spaniards still blame them: the underground group has been committing acts of terror violence in its campaign for a separate Basque state in north-western Spain since 1968. Not counting Thursday's attack, it has been estimated that ETA violence has claimed the lives of about 800 people in the struggle for autonomy. Today many Basques support the idea of independence, but ETA remains a fringe group that wins headlines--but little sympathy--with every strike, says Joseba Zulaika, director of the Center for Basque Studies at the University of Nevada in Reno. Despite enjoying a good deal of autonomy within Spain, Basque separatists have attempted to assassinate Spain's King Juan Carlos as well as Jose Maria Aznar, then leader of the conservative Popular Party, now Spain's outgoing prime minister. On September 16, 1998, ETA declared a "unilateral and indefinite" cease-fire, and engaged in the first direct talks with the Spanish government in 10 years. The talks quickly failed, however, and the ceasefire was called off a year later. Violence once again became their means of negotiation.

Zulaika spoke with NEWSWEEK's Brian Braiker about Thursday's tragic bombing. Himself a native of Spain's Basque country, Zulaika says he harbors no sympathy for the ETA. But, he adds, this week's attack was on a scale so unprecedented even in the ETA's own blood-soaked history that he is not convinced the group is responsible. But if they are in any way connected to this week's terrorist attack, he predicts the "death" of the fringe nationalist group. Excerpts:

NEWSWEEK: Based on what you've seen do you think that this is the work of the ETA?

Joseba Zulaika: Well, I am split. On the one hand this is like nothing ETA has done in the past for several reasons. When they have [placed] a bomb, they use that essentially to make news and to let everyone know, "We are a threat." But then they would call the police and the media so people would know and people would empty the place. Except in Barcelona [where a Basque bomb killed 21 in a supermarket in 1987], where they alleged they called the police who did not transmit that message to the media. They apologized profusely for that. That was a black eye for ETA, something that their own public did not approve.

What is the response of the general Basque community to this?