Facing cries from the crowd of "murderer" and "coward", the leader of a party banned as the political wing of ETA has appeared in court in Madrid. Arnaldo Otegi stands accused of belonging to the armed Basque separatist group.

Today he faced a judge to formally hear the charge against him.

Otegi, who heads Batasuna, last year called for dialogue to end decades of violence. Dialogue is what Spain's Socialist prime minister wants, but only if ETA first lays down its arms. Not all politicians agree with talking to the terror group and today, in the Senate, opposition Conservatives slammed Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero's conditional offer of talks which won endorsement from parliament last month.

Senator Pio Garcia Escudero of the centre-right Popular Party accused the premier of causing a degree of anxiety as far as anti-terrorist policy is concerned that is unprecedented since the start of democracy in Spain.

But Zapatero was in no mood for making apologies to the upper house.

"The government is working for the end of ETA, for the end of terrorism, for the end of violence and for peace in the Basque country which will, without doubt, be the best tribute to the victims of terrorism," he said.

But the families of those caught up in ETA's carnage still need convincing.

A small group of relatives held talks with the prime minister ahead of a bigger meeting later this month. At the weekend, hundreds of thousands of people marched through Madrid to protest at the government's policy.

For them, the offer of talks is an unworthy concession to a group that has killed some 850 people since 1968.

PHOTO CAPTION

Arnoldo Otegi, center, leader of the outlawed Batasuna party, considered the political wing of the armed Basque separatist group ETA, waits for traffic to pass as he arrives with aides at the National Court in Madrid, Wednesday, June 8, 2005. (AP)