WashUJon
03-22-2006, 11:20 AM
The Basque separatist group Eta has declared a permanent ceasefire.
Eta is blamed for killing more than 800 people in its four-decade fight for independence for the Basque region of northern Spain and south-west France.
In a statement released to Basque media, the group said its objective now was \"to start a new democratic process in the Basque country\".
Spanish PM Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero said the government was cautious but hopeful about the announcement.
The BBC's Danny Wood, in Madrid, says the ceasefire could be the first step towards a formal peace process.
Eta, which is classed as a terrorist group by the US and the European Union, declared an indefinite ceasefire in 1998 but peace talks broke down and the bombing campaign resumed a year later. The group has never previously called a permanent stop to the violence.
'Joined in hope'
Mr Zapatero has said previously that a permanent end to hostilities by Eta is a condition for any talks.
Responding to the statement, he said any peace process after so many years of horror would be \"long and difficult\".
\"Now I trust we will be joined in hope,\" he said.
But opposition leader Mariano Rajoy said the ceasefire was a pause and it did not amount to a renunciation of criminal activity.
\"It does not repent of anything and it does not ask the victims of terrorism for forgiveness,\" he told Spanish TV.
The statement was also rejected by Spain's Association of Victims of Terrorism as \"a new trick by the murderers to achieve their political objectives\".
The Eta statement was read out by a woman in a mask wearing a black Basque beret, flanked by two colleagues similarly dressed.
\"At the end of this process, Basque citizens will be able to have a voice and the power to decide their future,\" she said.
\"Ending the conflict, here and now, is possible. This is the desire and the will of Eta.\"
The ceasefire will come into effect on Friday, the statement said.
Bombing campaign
The group's activities have been waning, with the number of bombings falling in recent years. The last deadly Eta attack was in May 2003.
Some analysts said Eta's campaign became virtually untenable after the Madrid train bombings in March 2004, blamed on Islamists, caused widespread popular revulsion.
Nearly 200 people died in the series of attacks.
In the 1970s Eta killed 100 people or more every year, many of them Spanish police, judges and politicians.
There have been several small bombs in recent weeks, but none of them caused injuries.
The 1998 ceasefire led to a dialogue with the conservative government of Jose Maria Aznar. But talks broke down in November 1999 and the following year Eta embarked on a renewed bombing campaign.
However, Spanish and French police responded with a wave of arrests which were said to have hit the organisation hard.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4832672.stm
Eta is blamed for killing more than 800 people in its four-decade fight for independence for the Basque region of northern Spain and south-west France.
In a statement released to Basque media, the group said its objective now was \"to start a new democratic process in the Basque country\".
Spanish PM Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero said the government was cautious but hopeful about the announcement.
The BBC's Danny Wood, in Madrid, says the ceasefire could be the first step towards a formal peace process.
Eta, which is classed as a terrorist group by the US and the European Union, declared an indefinite ceasefire in 1998 but peace talks broke down and the bombing campaign resumed a year later. The group has never previously called a permanent stop to the violence.
'Joined in hope'
Mr Zapatero has said previously that a permanent end to hostilities by Eta is a condition for any talks.
Responding to the statement, he said any peace process after so many years of horror would be \"long and difficult\".
\"Now I trust we will be joined in hope,\" he said.
But opposition leader Mariano Rajoy said the ceasefire was a pause and it did not amount to a renunciation of criminal activity.
\"It does not repent of anything and it does not ask the victims of terrorism for forgiveness,\" he told Spanish TV.
The statement was also rejected by Spain's Association of Victims of Terrorism as \"a new trick by the murderers to achieve their political objectives\".
The Eta statement was read out by a woman in a mask wearing a black Basque beret, flanked by two colleagues similarly dressed.
\"At the end of this process, Basque citizens will be able to have a voice and the power to decide their future,\" she said.
\"Ending the conflict, here and now, is possible. This is the desire and the will of Eta.\"
The ceasefire will come into effect on Friday, the statement said.
Bombing campaign
The group's activities have been waning, with the number of bombings falling in recent years. The last deadly Eta attack was in May 2003.
Some analysts said Eta's campaign became virtually untenable after the Madrid train bombings in March 2004, blamed on Islamists, caused widespread popular revulsion.
Nearly 200 people died in the series of attacks.
In the 1970s Eta killed 100 people or more every year, many of them Spanish police, judges and politicians.
There have been several small bombs in recent weeks, but none of them caused injuries.
The 1998 ceasefire led to a dialogue with the conservative government of Jose Maria Aznar. But talks broke down in November 1999 and the following year Eta embarked on a renewed bombing campaign.
However, Spanish and French police responded with a wave of arrests which were said to have hit the organisation hard.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4832672.stm