ETA: Yes to lasting ceasefire

THE armed Basque separatist group ETA is ready to observe a permanent and verifiable ceasefire, two members of the outfit said in an interview published yesterday.

“ETA is willing to take that step and also to go further if the conditions for it are created,” the unnamed ETA members told the pro-independence Basque newspaper Gara, which has often published statements from the group.

The ETA members said a halt in offensive actions announced earlier by the group was long term, and that the group would like to see a dialogue on ending the conflict with discussions involving Basque parties and civic groups.

All sides in the conflict needed to make concessions in order for any peace process to advance and reiterated that international mediation would be welcome, they added.

“The key is not in which steps ETA must give, on its own. The goal is to resolve the (Basque) political conflict democratically, to close the wound forever, and in order to do that we are all obliged to act responsibly.

“We feel that an international contribution is necessary during the entire process, to give it an uninterrupted impulse, protect it, and to an extent to reinforce the process and guarantee its results,” they added.

But the Spanish government rejected ETA’s latest move, the third since the start of September, just as it did the first two by the group that is considered a terrorist by the EU and the US.

A government source quoted by the website of daily El Mundo said: “Statements and interviews are a waste of time, the only thing we’re waiting for is a final end to violence.”