MADRID MARCH AGAINST VIOLENCE ENDS IN VIOLENCE

The silent march organised by the Association of Terrorism Victims started out peacefully enough on Saturday afternoon but quickly got out of hand when a pocket of apparently right-wing demonstrators turned violent after spotting Defence Minister José Bono and Socialist Eurodeputy Rosa Diez among the marchers. They had to be rescued by police after demonstrators hurled insults such as "assassin, demagogue, apostate and liar" at Sr Bono and tried to hit him with a Spanish flag. Witnesses said people around him were pushing him and trying to punch him before the police managed to get close enough to help his bodyguards remove him from the scene. Sra Diez cried as she was escorted away. Afterwards, Sr Bono told the El Pais newspaper that the incident lasted for about 20 minutes during which at least one punch was delivered to his rubs. He said he was more worried about his young son who was with him. "In no other country in the world could a demonstration against violence end violently", he said. The violent elements cheered Madrid Community president Esperanza Aguirre, former Interior minister Angel Acebes and Madrid mayor Alberto Ruiz-Gallardon, all of whom belong to the Partido Popular, even though they were marching arm-in-arm with several prominent Socialists. Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero did not go on the march, which prompted shouts of "Where is ZP (Zapatero)?" Another frequently heard slogan was "España unida, jamas sera vencida" (Spain united will never be defeated". Not content with insulting politicians, hundreds of people protested outside he headquarters of the SER television company - notoriously pro-Socialist - and to the office of El Pais newspaper, which is owned by the Prisa Group. There they shouted a play on words: "Grupo Prisa, España no se pisa" (Don't step on Spain). They also insulted actor Javier Bardem, who nearly always attends such marches. However, he is currently in Los Angeles helping to promote "Mar Adentro", which is among the films up for the Best Foreign Film Oscar. Spokesmen for both the Socialist Party and the Partido Popular roundly condemned the incidents. The Tribute to politician slain by ETA Meanwhile, in San Sebastian, hundreds of people attended a ceremony held at a local theatre to mark the 10th anniversary of the assassination of Gregorio Ordoñez, a Partido Popular councillor, by the Basque terrorist group ETA. Sr Ordonez had been investigating ETA's penetration of the Municipal Police in San Sebastian in the months leading up to his death, and he was one of the most vocal critics of Basque nationalism. The Partido Popular was in opposition in the national government at the time of his murder and PP councillors in the Basque Country were not protected by bodyguards because ETA was targeting Socialist politicians, Guardia Civil and soldiers at the time. Ordonez' death shocked Basques in general, and non-nationalist Basques in particular, and led to the formation of the Basta Ya! (Enough!) movement against ETA terrorism. On the day of his funeral, hundreds of thousands of people protested against ETA on the streets of cities and towns across Spain. At the ceremony on Saturday, Ordoñez' family, friends and fellow politicians paid tribute to him, among them former Prime Minister José María Aznar, who survived an ETA attempt on his life in 1995 when he was leader of the Opposition. Sr Aznar told the packed theatre: "It is not possible to negotiate anything with the assassins, or to cede as much as a millimetre to them. The terrorists, their accomplices, helpers, and collaborators cannot receive any payment or reward in any situation and never for killing, or giving up killing." Sr Aznar was referring to several known ETA collaborators who draw salaries as deputies in the Basque Parliament, and some ETA prisoners who were set to be released from jail before completing their sentences on grounds of good behaviour or self-improvement courses.