Spanish Prime Minister Linked To Death Squads Gonzalez Accused Of Complicity; Opponents Demand Resignation

Prime Minister Felipe Gonzalez was plunged into a political crisis Friday after accusations he knew about government-backed death squads used to hunt down Basque terrorists.

The accusations Thursday by Ricardo Garcia Damborenea, the former head of the Socialist Party in Spain’s Basque region, set off an avalanche of opposition demands that Gonzalez resign.

Gonzalez has denied the allegations and says they are part of a campaign to discredit his government. He said Friday he would call a special session of Parliament next week to respond to the claims. Parliament currently is in recess for the summer.

Garcia Damborenea and several former police officials have been indicted in connection with the Anti-Terrorist Liberation Groups, known by their Spanish initials GAL.

GAL, which began operating shortly after Gonzalez took office in December 1982, killed at least 26 people from 1983 to 1987.

The squads targeted separatists who have claimed responsibility for 750 deaths since launching an independence drive for Spain’s three northern Basque provinces in 1968.

Gonzalez has consistently denied having inside knowledge about GAL.

But Garcia Damborenea, after appearing before a judge Thursday, told reporters he discussed the death squads with Gonzalez several times in the 1980s and Gonzalez voiced approval.

Gonzalez said Friday the only time he recalled meeting with Garcia Damborenea was in 1984, when the Basque politician came to his office and laid a pistol on his desk to show him that security was ineffective.

“I never had a close relationship. Probably I didn’t trust him from the beginning,” Gonzalez said.

Garcia Damborenea was later expelled from the Socialist party and last year campaigned for the conservative opposition Popular Party.