Editon: 323
Date: 19-05-03
Violence broke out after an illegal rally in San Sebastian on Saturday, and two people were arrested. The event was organised by the AuB platform, successors to the banned Batasuna political group, and the local Council had prohibited it from being held “in or outside” the Frontón Atano III stadium. Police officers took up positions outside the area an hour before the rally was due to be held, and blocked off access to the surrounding streets. About 1,500 people turned up for the meeting and, when they found they could not enter, shouted insults and threats at the police. Half an hour before the rally was scheduled to start, a police officer gave a spokesman for Batasuna and the Councillor for the banned group a letter from the Department of the Interior confirming that the event could not take place. Although discussions between the two men and the police officer were conducted in a civilised manner, some of the people present continued to shout insults at the police and the Basque National Party, PNV. The organisers then said they had authorisation to hold a brief political meeting as long as it did not contain electoral propaganda, and asked if they could hold it elsewhere. As the police were keen to find a mutually agreeable solution to the problem and to avoid sparking crowd violence, they agreed that it could be held in a nearby area. However, once the political speeches had finished, some of those present turned on the police, throwing stones at the officers, and rampaged through the streets setting fire to rubbish containers and causing other damage.
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