Basque group ends fight

MADRID, Spain – The Basque separatist group ETA on Wednesday declared a “permanent” cease-fire and pledged to step away from decades of violence, a major breakthrough that could end Europe’s last armed conflict.

The announcement came at a time of military and political weakness for the militant organization that has fought for independence from Spain for nearly 40 years and claimed hundreds of victims in bombings and sabotage.

It follows a fierce crackdown under the previous Spanish government and a period of rumored negotiation, officially denied, with the current one. ETA has also seen its popular support fade amid public outrage over deadly bombings in Madrid two years ago by Islamic radicals.

“This is very good news for all Spaniards,” Vice President Maria Teresa Fernandez de la Vega said as first reports of the truce swept the country. Urging “prudence,” she added, “We very much hope this is the beginning of the end.”

Reactions cleaved along political lines in this bitterly polarized country. While the Socialist government of Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero responded with cautious elation, the conservative opposition noted that ETA’s move fell short of surrender and was therefore nothing more than a ruse. Ordinary Spaniards were full of tentative hope.

ETA declared the cease-fire, effective Friday, through a videotaped statement released Wednesday and broadcast on Basque and Spanish television. Unlike two previous cease-fires that collapsed after several months of negotiations, this declaration uses the term “permanent,” and makes no conditions.

In the announcement, three members of the guerrilla group, wearing white masks and the black berets typical of Basque country, sit at a table bearing the words Euskal Herria, a reference in Basque to a greater Basque homeland. Behind them hung a banner with the ETA insignia of a snake twisted around a hatchet. The statement was read, unusually, by a woman, who sat in the middle.

The group said its purpose was to “drive the democratic process” in the Basque country that ensures “the development of all political options.”

Basques, who today number about 2.2 million in Spain, are descendants of what may be one of the oldest ethnic groups in Europe. Polls indicate about half favor a free state more loosely associated with Spain. Many who advocate statehood, however, do not support ETA’s violent ways.

Associated Press

Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero reacts cautiously to news of a cease-fire Wednesday in Madrid.

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