Govt hails Eta ceasefire

The Government today welcomed the permanent ceasefire announced by Basque separatist group Eta.

The group has claimed responsibility for more than 800 deaths since the late 1960s in a campaign for an independent homeland in northern Spain and south west France.

Foreign Affairs Minister Dermot Ahern, who has regularly raised the issue of Eta violence with the Spanish government at European Union level, said the ceasefire was very good news.

He said today: “While we have yet to study objective information, any decision to permanently abandon violence and pursue an exclusively democratic path is very much to be welcomed.

“Anybody in Ireland who visits Spain or has friends there will be delighted when the ceasefire is confirmed.”

It is understood that the successful peace process in Northern Ireland has strongly influenced negotiations between Eta and Spanish authorities.

“There was a lot of public pressure on Eta since the IRA ended its armed campaign and decommissioned its weapons last year,” one Foreign Affairs Department official said.

In a statement sent to TV stations and newspapers, Eta said it “has decided to declare a permanent ceasefire” from Friday.

“The aim (of the ceasefire) is to promote a democratic process in the Basque country and to build a new framework in which our rights as a people will be recognised.

“Eta also calls on the Spanish and French authorities to respond positively to this new situation, leaving their repressive ways behind,” the statement continued.