Spain not convinced by ETA cease fire announcement

Spain not convinced by ETA cease fire announcement
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By h.b. - Sep 5, 2010 - 10:00 PM
A statement from the Basque Terrorists was made via video sent to the BBC

A still from the video released today

The Spanish Government has given a lukewarm welcome to the news that Basque terrorist group ETA has released a video declaring a cease fire and an end to ‘armed actions’.

The video was seen initially by the BBC and then later appeared on the Basque Newspaper, Gara, website.

There has been speculation in the Spanish press for some months that such a declaration was pending, and the BBC video shows ETA saying the decision was taken several months ago ‘to put a democratic process in motion’.

The tape shows three hooded people, and the statement is read by a hooded woman in the centre. She is thought to be either Iratxe Sorzabel, considered the ‘politcal chief’ of the gang, or Izaskun Lesaka, thought to be the ‘military chief’.

Following the collapse of previous ‘permanent’ ETA cease fire, and the deaths of two Ecuadorians in the bomb explosion at Barajas Airport in Madrid in December 2006, the Spanish Government has said it will only negotiate with ETA if it first fully renounces the use of violence. It should be noted that his latest cease fire, the 11th in the history of ETA, makes no mention of the word ‘permanent’.

Some commentators feel that ETA is moving to try and get candidates placed in the forthcoming regional and municipal elections. It should be noted too that the support of the Basque Nationalist Party is being seen as key for José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero to get next year’s State Budget through Congress, and hence keep his government in power.

Zapatero is reported as being ‘deeply sceptical’ about the latest ETA statement, commenting that only the definitive abandonment of arms will be enough. He described the news as ‘very little’.

The Basque Government is not impressed either describing the video as ‘insufficient and fraudulent’. They said it would not result in the banned left wing abertzale being able to take part in the elections, and Basque Interior Councillor, Rodolfo Ares, said ‘Cease fires are of the past, and the police forces remain on alert’.

Interior Minister, Alfredo Pérez Rubalcaba, is to study the new statement with experts in his Ministry, well aware of statements on Sunday from terrorist victims urging the Government not to be tricked.

The opposition Partido Popular has warned too that all the cease fires in the past have ended ‘very badly’, while the PSOE Socialist party has described the ETA statement as ‘clearly insufficient’.

The Association of Basque Bodyguards also considers the ETA statement as a trick, considering that they want to see their supporters elected to local Town Halls. They think the gang will continue their terrorist campaign of persecution.

The only optimistic note came from Gerry Adams, who thought the statement could result in a permanent end to ETA violence. He has claimed to have been fully informed of the conversations between ETA activists preceding the statement, and has called on the Spanish Government to ‘make the most of the opportunity’.

ETA’s campaign for Basque independence as lasted for some 40 years, over what time it has led to 858 deaths. Of late ETA is considered to be very weak, and indeed 13 months have passed since its last fatal attack which saw the death of two Guardia Civil in Mallorca.

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