[Mb-civic] ETA declares Ceasefire

[Michael Butler]

 BBC NEWS
Eta declares permanent ceasefire
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.

    Ending the conflict, here and now, is possible - this is the desire and
the will of Eta
Eta statement

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.

    
ETA TIMELINE
1959: Eta founded
1968: Eta kills San Sebastian secret police chief Meliton Manzanas, its
first victim
1973: PM Luis Carrero Blanco assassinated
1978: Political wing Herri Batasuna formed
1980: 118 people killed in bloodiest year
Sept 1998: Indefinite ceasefire
Nov 1999: End of ceasefire, followed by more bomb attacks in January and
February 2000
Dec 2001: EU declares Eta a terrorist organisation
March 2003: Batasuna banned by Supreme Court
May 2003: Two police killed in Eta's last deadly attack
Nov 2005: 56 alleged Eta activists on trial in the largest prosecution of
its kind

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.

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/europe/4832672.stm

Published: 2006/03/22 17:02:08 GMT

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