Governor, police chiefs sacked after riots

Press, 17 July 1978, Page 9

Governor, police chiefs sacked after riots

NZPA Madrid The Spanish Government has fired the civil Governor of Navarra province, several police chiefs, and increased the home-rule powers of the Basque General Council after a week of rioting in Basque; •; country. The moves were designed to return calm to the region where two people have died during a week of clashes between Basque separatists and the police. The Spanish Interior Minister (Mr Rodolfo Martin Villa) who flew to the area, on Thursday, reported to Premier Adolfo Suarez and his Ministers that the situ-, ation was returning to nor-] mal. The Cabinet later an- • nounced that Eduardo Ameijide y Montenegro, the civil Governor of Cuidad province in New Castile, south of Madrid, would replace Ignacio Llano as Governor of Navarra. It also moved on Saturday ito give the Basque General i Council wider powers in the areas of agriculture, industry, commerce, and city planning in the area, which includes some of Spain’s most important industrial Icomnlexes. The report on the Cabinet meeting gave no details about the transfer of power, which was made by Royal decree.

1 Mr Llano had been critit cised for sending in police r during a demonstration in I the Pamplona bull ring a 1 week ago that set off wide- : spread rioting. Policemen stormed the 1] bull ring, firing rubber and live bullets and smoke, I bombs. About 200,000 tour-| i ists in Pamplona for the famous fiesta of San Fermin, fled the city and what should have been a weeklong festival of dancing,; drinking, and running of the! bulls was called off after [three days. “The police entry into the bull ring took place because , of a wrong interpretation of, [orders and I consider it was! unfortunate and unneces-l isary,” Llano said. A young Leftist was shot to death in Pamplona and; another died at a barricade; on Tuesday in the resort ;city of San Sebastian near the French border. The Government on Fri- ' day dismissed the commanders of police units alleged to have killed the two in the Basque region. Also dismissed was the captain in charge of policemen who rampaged through the Basque town of Renteria on Thursday. The Government sacked the national police chiefs in Pamplona and San Sebastian, where the killings took place.

Mr Martin Villa promised ! there would be no cover-up L of the Renteria incident, in which 200 riot police stormed through the town, loot- , ing, breaking windows, and I firing rubber bullets. , Mr Martin Villa termed Jt h e rampage in- ' comprehensible and very serious, and ordered an immediate investigation. A lieutenant-colonel of the i national police was sent from Madrid to the Basque region to carry out the inquiry. Pedro Morales, a member of the ruling Central Demo- . cratic Union Party from the Basque province of Avala, i called on Mr Martin Villa and his immediate subordinates to resign. He said the Interior MinisI try needed at its head a man capable of understanding the problems of the Basque country, scene of widespread nationalist agitation.