Basque separatists ETA in a video communiqué stating that they would lay down their arms. Photo Credit: youtube
ETA has said in a statement released on Thursday that it has decided on the “definitive cessation of its armed activity.” The statement expressed the group’s hopes that they will be able negotiate directly with the governments of France and Spain, despite the fact that a “permanent and general ceasefire” announced in January was rejected by the Spanish government. ETA, whose name stands for the words “Basque Homeland and Freedom” in Basque, is responsible for 829 deaths in France and Spain since they commenced armed activities in 1961; their last act of violence was on April the 9th this year, when two members shot at a French gendarme at a police checkpoint. Over 700 members of ETA are currently incarcerated across Spain.
“In Euskal Herria [the Basque region], a new political age is opening. We face a historic opportunity to obtain a just and democratic solution to the age-old political conflict”, the separatists said in the communiqué released on the website of the Basque newspaper Gara. “With this historic declaration, ETA demonstrates its clear, firm and definitive purpose.”
Here’s the reaction from politicians and the pundits to ETA’s latest announcement:
ETA learned from the Irish peace process. Sinn Fein President Gerry Adams told the BBC that he had held talks with the ETA leadership from “around the time of the Good Friday Agreement” in 1998 and that he is “hopeful” dialogue can occur. Explained Adams of Sinn Fein’s relationship with ETA: “those serious people who take up armed action or who defend armed actions do so because they believe there is no alternative, so we started to work at whether an alternative could be put together in the Basque country.” Ex-Prime Minister Tony Blair has today also offered his help, according to The Press Association.
The social climate forced ETA’s hand. Alasdair Fotheringham of The Independent conjectured that ETA had just been waiting for a “leader with sufficient charisma” to persuade the group to lay down arms. Opined Fotheringham: “political and social pressure, as well as the police campaign, have probably proved enough.”
A victory for Spanish Democracy. Centre-left Spanish newspaper El País rejoiced that the “nightmare” of ETA violence was over in an editorial in its English section. It particularly sang the praises of Deputy Prime Minister Alfredo Pérez Rubalcaba for his work in getting ETA to agree to this “triumph” for Spanish democracy “that all those who believe in democracy can share”.
This does not mean that ETA violence has ended. Despite being optimistic about ETA’s disarmament and their “radically new” message, The Economist‘s Newsbook blog said “there is no guarantee that violence will not reappear under a different guise.”The blog asserted that “key figures” in ETA must drive the peace process and control splinter groups if they are willing to see a lasting peace.
Don’t believe what you read in an ETA communiqué. Countess Esperanza Aguirre, the president of Madrid’s regional government told The Independent that this statement had “zero credibility.” Ignacio Cosido, parliamentary leader of the opposition Partido Popular, added his voice to Aguirre’s, stating: “If they’re serious, they [ETA] should hand over their weapons.”
