Negotiators urge ETA to renounce violence

INTERNATIONAL negotiators, including former taoiseach Bertie Ahern, called last night on armed Basque group ETA to declare a definitive end to violence.

“We call upon ETA to make a public declaration of the definitive cessation of all armed action,” Ahern said after a one-day conference, which did not include the Spanish government or the outlawed ETA.

“If such a declaration is made, we urge the governments of Spain and France to welcome it,” Ahern said after the talks in the northern Basque city of San Sebastian.