［ニュース］ Eta declares permanent ceasefire

忘れないうちに時の第一報を残しておこう。
やっぱ今週俺が最も注目したニュースはこれでした。
ＥＴＡは９８年に完全停戦宣言を出したわずか１年後に爆破事件を起こした経緯があるだけに、今回のメッセージが出された背景をつぶさに分析する必要があると思う。さらに、こうした動きがスペイン国内の他地域の自立化に向けた動きをどう刺激するんだろうか。

俺がスペインの内部分裂が政治現象として興味深いと思った理由は、明らかな戦争という形をとらずに、少しずつ国家の枠にきしみが生じていく過程をたどっているように見えるからである。しかも、それが統合と協調を基本精神とするＥＵ加盟国の内部で起こっているという矛盾ちゅーか皮肉ちゅーか。他にこういう例ってあんまりないんじゃない？

The Basque separatist group Eta has declared a permanent ceasefire.

Eta is blamed for killing more than 800 people in its four-decade fight for independence for the Basque region of northern Spain and south-west France.

In a statement released to Basque media, the group said its objective now was "to promote a democratic process in the Basque country".

Spanish PM Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero said the government was cautious but hopeful about the announcement.

Ending the conflict, here and now, is possible - this is the desire and the will of Eta
Eta statement

The BBC's Danny Wood, in Madrid, says the ceasefire could be the first step towards a formal peace process.

Eta, which is classed as a terrorist group by the US and the European Union, declared an indefinite ceasefire in 1998 but peace talks broke down and the bombing campaign resumed a year later. The group has never previously called a permanent stop to the violence.

'Joined in hope'

Mr Zapatero has said previously that a permanent end to hostilities by Eta is a condition for any talks.

Responding to the statement, he said any peace process after so many years of horror would be "long and difficult".

"Now I trust we will be joined in hope," he said.

But opposition leader Mariano Rajoy said the ceasefire was a pause and it did not amount to a renunciation of criminal activity.

"It does not repent of anything and it does not ask the victims of terrorism for forgiveness," he told Spanish TV.

The statement was also rejected by Spain's Association of Victims of Terrorism as "a new trick by the murderers to achieve their political objectives".

The Eta statement was read out by a woman in a mask wearing a black Basque beret, flanked by two colleagues similarly dressed.

"At the end of this process, Basque citizens will be able to have a voice and the power to decide their future," she said.

"Ending the conflict, here and now, is possible. This is the desire and the will of Eta."

The ceasefire will come into effect on Friday, the statement said.

Bombing campaign

The group's activities have been waning, with the number of bombings falling in recent years. The last deadly Eta attack was in May 2003.

ETA TIMELINE
1959: Eta founded
1968: Eta kills San Sebastian secret police chief Meliton Manzanas, its first victim
1973: PM Luis Carrero Blanco assassinated
1978: Political wing Herri Batasuna formed
1980: 118 people killed in bloodiest year
Sept 1998: Indefinite ceasefire
Nov 1999: End of ceasefire, followed by more bomb attacks in January and February 2000
Dec 2001: EU declares Eta a terrorist organisation
March 2003: Batasuna banned by Supreme Court
May 2003: Two police killed in Eta's last deadly attack
Nov 2005: 56 alleged Eta activists on trial in the largest prosecution of its kind

Some analysts said Eta's campaign became virtually untenable after the Madrid train bombings in March 2004, blamed on Islamists, caused widespread popular revulsion.

Nearly 200 people died in the series of attacks.

In the 1970s Eta killed 100 people or more every year, many of them Spanish police, judges and politicians.

There have been several small bombs in recent weeks, but none of them caused injuries.

The 1998 ceasefire led to a dialogue with the conservative government of Jose Maria Aznar. But talks broke down in November 1999 and the following year Eta embarked on a renewed bombing campaign.

However, Spanish and French police responded with a wave of arrests which were said to have hit the organisation hard.

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/europe/4832672.stm