Spain's withdrawal from Iraq is all but inevitable, incoming Socialist leader Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero said in an interview on Sunday bound to disappoint Washington and stoke debate over the occupation.
With the March 11 Madrid train bombings still uppermost in Spaniards' minds, thousands attended memorial services across the nation for the 202 victims, including a Catholic mass inside one of the railway stations targeted in the blasts.
Separately, hundreds of mainly North African immigrants chanted "Islam Is Not Terrorism" at a rally to protest against the attacks and warn against any anti-Muslim backlash amid suspicions that al Qaeda-linked radicals planted the bombs.
Zapatero, whose Socialists ousted the centre-right government in a shock election victory a week ago, has vowed to stand by his pre-election pledge to withdraw 1,300 troops from Iraq, unless the United Nations takes control by mid-year.
His election came three days after the synchronised bombings of four trains, which revived anti-war sentiment.
"A lot would have to change (in Iraq). The return of Spanish troops is a decision that will be difficult to avoid," Zapatero told El Pais newspaper, rebuffing US government calls for Spain to stay the course in Iraq. Zapatero said he believed the UN could take charge of Iraq by the June 30 deadline for a planned US hand-over of sovereignty to Iraqis.
"The only viable form of occupation would be for the UN to take political control, for more multinational forces including many Arab countries led by the Arab League to be involved," he said.
Support for his anti-war stance snowballed in the wake of the Madrid bombings, seen by many as revenge by radical Islamists for Spain's support of the US-led war.
At El Pozo station, thousands prayed together on Sunday. "We are here to pray for all the victims, for those who we will never see smile again," priest Jose Manuel Pecon said.
In Rome, the Pope returned to the theme of the Madrid bombings during a beatification ceremony. "Love is stronger that hatred and death," he told pilgrims in St Peter's Square, urging people to maintain hope and courage in the face of grief.
In Madrid's historic Puerta del Sol square, several hundred immigrants, mainly from Morocco, gathered at midday to express sorrow for the deaths and urge racial tolerance. Six Moroccans are among 10 suspects in custody.
The demonstrators chanted "We Were All In Those Trains", "They Are Terrorists, Not Moroccans" and "We Are Muslims, Not Terrorists." Banners read "Islam Does Not Kill".
The Madrid bombings were the worst terror attack on a Western city since the September 11, 2001 attacks on New York and Washington. The suspects have been linked to last year's suicide bombings in Casablanca, which killed 45 people.
The outgoing government of Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar had initially blamed Basque separatist group ETA for the bombings, until evidence emerged of Islamist involvement.
ETA said in a new communiqué, published on Sunday in a Basque newspaper's Web site, that it wanted dialogue with Zapatero's incoming government but would maintain its armed struggle.
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