Telemadrid creates static by stamping ETA seal on Zapatero and deputy PM

Eyebrow-raising images broadcast by Telemadrid of Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero and his deputy Alfredo Pérez Rubalcaba with the ETA insignia super-imposed over their head and body shots have been causing an uproar in Spain's political and labor circles over the past few days.

The UGT labor union on Wednesday accused the regional station, which broadcast the controversial video during its newscasts on March 30, of violating all journalistic codes of ethics.

"Public radio and television stations serve the citizens, not partisan interests," said the UGT in a statement.

Socialist leaders are calling for the resignation of Telemadrid executives, including president Isabel Linares, news director Agustín de Grado, and station manager Manuel Soriano, appointed by the Popular Party (PP) regional government in 2003.

"There is a certain sector, especially among the media, that has been fomenting hate," said Rubalcaba on Tuesday. "What Telemadrid has done is indecent, and they did it with my taxpayer money."

The images in question were broadcast throughout the day during the station's newscasts, including Diario de la noche, the highly rated midnight show featuring news, analysis and commentary that normally has a PP-slant.

The videos were used to accompany items about recent revelations of behind-the-scenes negotiations between Zapatero's government and ETA during the failed effort to find a peace accord following the 2006 ceasefire.

Telemadrid sees the controversy differently. "We vehemently deny that there was any manipulation to discredit the prime minister and the deputy prime minister," the station said in a statement. It explained that the images were used to distinguish between what the Basque terrorist group had said in its minutes of meetings and what the government later said about the ceasefire. According to Telemadrid, it was "perfectly legitimate to use this type of image to distinguish the statements apart."

But the UGT insists the images were used for impact and political gain. "It was done on purpose. They cannot say that it was an accident because these are pieces that are not broadcast live, they are pre-produced," explained Maite Treviño, the UGT's representative at the station.

Neither PP leader Mariano Rajoy nor Madrid regional premier Esperanza Aguirre, whose government runs the channel, had made any statements about the matter by press time Wednesday.

It wasn't the first time Telemadrid has gone to such lengths to associate Zapatero with ETA. In 2006, it transmitted a video on Diario de la noche with the famous image of three hooded ETA members announcing the ceasefire but with the added caption: "Moncloa Palace, February 10, 2006." The station said it was an error caused by mismatched synchronization.

In 2007, journalists at Telemadrid filed a complaint with the European Parliament. One of the examples they presented to European lawmakers was the video of the massive demonstration held in March 2005 to mark the first anniversary of the Madrid train bombings by members of an Al Qaeda terrorist cell. Again, the ETA insignia was superimposed over the video. The PP, including the right-leaning El Mundo newspaper, have long tried to prove a theory that ETA was behind the bombings, supporting the initial version given by then-Prime Minister José María Aznar.

Elena Valenciano, the spokeswoman for the Socialist Party's Electoral Committee, challenged PP leader Rajoy to react to this latest scandal at Telemadrid during a visit to EL PAÍS' offices, where she took readers' emails. She said that station executives had crossed the line of what is considered "tolerable."