Spain
The Basque terrorist organisation has declared a ‘permanent, general and verifiable” ceasefire
13.01.11 - 10:20 -
Nothing new. This week’s video was almost identical to the last, with white hoods and black berets. AFP
On Monday the Basque terrorist organisation ETA declared a “permanent and general ceasefire which will be verifiable by the international community”. Far from prompting celebrations this has satisfied no one: the Government described the statement as insufficient, and neither did it entirely please the left-wing nationalist groups, known as the ‘izquierda abertzale’, who also expected more from the organisation. In fact this latest statement seems more like ETA’s attempt to appease its political satellites rather than a serious step towards putting a end to four decades of violence.
The statement, which had been expected by the Government, was released in Castilian Spanish, Euskera (the Basque language) and English and was accompanied by a video in the first two languages. Nevertheless the content was disappointing for the Spanish authorities. ETA failed to deliver the only two messages the Government is prepared to listen to: that it would give up violence definitively and that the organisation would be dissolved.
While the statement does describe the ceasefire as ‘permanent’, this was also the term used in 2006 before the terrorists planted the bomb that killed two civilians in Barajas Airport. ETA refers to the statements made in Brussels last March and in Guernika in September when representatives of banned political groups such as Batasuna, and international intermediaries, called for a permanent, verifiable and unilateral ceasefire. The first two requirements have been met by this latest statement, however the unilateral part has been ignored. The document instead places demands on the Spanish and French governments to “end all repressive measures”.
On a positive note the use of the term ‘general ceasefire’ appears to imply that ETA is giving up its extortion campaigns and revolutionary tax imposed on business owners in the Basque Country and Navarra, as well as its activities to gain supplies in France and the street violence instigated by the Nationalist youth known as ‘kale borroka’.
Political price
The statement was met with scepticism by the Government. The Interior Minister Alfredo Pérez Rubalcaba hadn’t expected any surprises and didn’t get any. He said that the declaration had “the same pretensions as always” and fixed “a political price” on the end of violence. He agreed that the ceasefire declaration was by no means bad news but it is not the news that democratic groups hope for.
Rubalcaba pointed out on Tuesday that more was required if the banned political group Batasuna was to be allowed back in the political arena. “I don’t deny that Batasuna is making an effort, but it must make the maximum effort, which is to break all its ties with ETA or convince the organisation to give it all up”, said the minister.
The Government has made it clear that it plans to maintain its hard line with what it describes as a weakening ETA. It will not open new talks with the terrorist organisation, it will not accept any mediation or admit any more verification of the ceasefire than that made by the State security forces. The Interior Minister however has acknowledged the possibility of this stance creating the dangerous idea that if peace is not possible it is only because of the Government’s stubbornness. This idea has already been suggested by the South African lawyer and would-be mediator in a hypothetical process, Brian Currin, who said last November that “if one of the parties refuses to take a step forward, we must continue on”.
In a television interview on Monday the Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero warned that “We will allow no tricks”. He insisted on the message the Government has bee reiterating over the last few months: “There will be no dialogue of any kind”, no “political conditions” will be accepted in exchange for an end to the violence and that at this stage of events “a definitive end to the organisation is the only thing that counts”.
