Basque arsenal seized in raid

Press, 22 January 1982, Page 6

Basque arsenal seized in raid

NZPA-Reuter Madrid The Spanish police yesterday announced their biggest haul of weapons from Basque guerrillas, saying more than five tonnes of arms, ammuniand explosives were found in a cemented-over swimming pool near Bilbao.

They said the weapons, including Soviet-made rocket launchers and machine-guns, were virtually the entire arsenal of the political-mili-tary wing of the separatist organisation, E.T.A. (Basque Homeland and Liberty). After freeing the father of the pop singer, Julio Iglesias, from his Basque guerrilla captors on Sunday, the police said they moved'on to seize the weapons on Wednesday. They were apparently led to the cache, in a country house near , Bilbao, by the man who owned the house at a remote northern village where Dr Julio Iglesias Puga, aged 66. was held for 19 days.

- The police said the owner had filled in the swimming pool with cement. The weapons were taken in two trucks under Civil Guard escort to the State security headquarters in Madrid where experts will determine whether they have been used in attacks.

The arms included 300 pis-

tols. half a tonne of explosives. assault rifles and sub-machine-guns. The rocket launchers were of a type used two years ago in an abortive night attack on the Prime Minister’s official residence in Madrid. A man and a woman living in the country house were arrested. Seventeen alleged guerrillas belonging to the 'military and political-mili-tary branches of E.T.A. have been detained over the last few days.

E.T.A. political-military, regarded as the less violent of the movement's two wings, declared a truce after rebel Civil Guards staged an abortive military coup in February last year. Il nevertheless claimed responsibility for the kidnapping of Dr Iglesias, saying its action did not break the truce but was part of its continuing need for funds. The Basque newspaper. “Deia," quoting sources close to E.T.A.-P.M.. said yesterday that a minority in the organisation. wanted to resume the armed struggle. The “poli-milis". as they are known, were responsible for bombing campaigns on Spain's Mediterranean beaches during the 1979 and 1980 holiday seasons in a bid to secure the release of suspected Basque guerrillas.