06/06/07, Graham Keeley, Eta ends ceasefire and pledges terrorist campaign 'on all fronts'
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The Basque separatist group Eta said its terrorist campaign would resume "on all fronts", raising the spectre of a new wave of bombings just as the tourist season begins.
In a statement to two Basque newspapers yesterday, the group said its 15-month "permanent ceasefire" was over. The announcement brought immediate condemnation from all political parties. The Spanish Prime Minister, Jose Luis RodrÃguez Zapatero, called it a "mistake".
In its statement, Eta said it would be "active on all fronts to defend the Basque homeland". It raised the possibility of attacks on tourist resorts popular with British holidaymakers, and the prospect that Eta may try to attack the Americas Cup yacht race, which is nearing its climax in Valencia.
But to most Spaniards, Eta's bombing of Madrid airport last December, which killed two Ecuadorian immigrants, in effect put an end to the original truce, which was declared in March of last year. Eta blamed the Spanish government and singled out Mr Zapatero for the failure of a peace process which had raised hopes of an end to nearly 40 years of violence which has cost more than 800 lives.
"Zapatero's character has turned into a fascism that left parties and citizens without rights,'' said the statement to the pro-independence newspapers Berria and Gara. The government feared that Eta would resume its armed struggle after months of deteriorating negotiations between Madrid and the separatists, followed by the airport bombing. And when Batasuna, Eta's political wing, and other parties linked to the movement were banned from taking part in local elections in May, the separatists said "minimum democratic conditions for a negotiating process do not exist".
Eta also said the security services continued to crack down on its members despite the ceasefire. In March, police arrested about a dozen suspects believed to be part of a newly formed Eta cell. Hundreds of firearms were stolen by activists from a factory in France recently, and there were reports that Eta had started an extortion campaign demanding a "revolutionary tax" from Basque businesses.
In response to Eta's declaration, Mr Zapatero said: "Today, Eta has made the same decision as other times in the past. And now, like then, Eta is once again mistaken. Eta's decision is radically opposed to the path sought by the Basques and by Spanish society as a whole: the path towards peace. A path which has only one end, that of Eta giving up its weapons. A path which can only be taken and travelled with a complete renunciation of violence."
In a statement to two Basque newspapers yesterday, the group said its 15-month "permanent ceasefire" was over. The announcement brought immediate condemnation from all political parties. The Spanish Prime Minister, Jose Luis RodrÃguez Zapatero, called it a "mistake".
In its statement, Eta said it would be "active on all fronts to defend the Basque homeland". It raised the possibility of attacks on tourist resorts popular with British holidaymakers, and the prospect that Eta may try to attack the Americas Cup yacht race, which is nearing its climax in Valencia.
But to most Spaniards, Eta's bombing of Madrid airport last December, which killed two Ecuadorian immigrants, in effect put an end to the original truce, which was declared in March of last year. Eta blamed the Spanish government and singled out Mr Zapatero for the failure of a peace process which had raised hopes of an end to nearly 40 years of violence which has cost more than 800 lives.
"Zapatero's character has turned into a fascism that left parties and citizens without rights,'' said the statement to the pro-independence newspapers Berria and Gara. The government feared that Eta would resume its armed struggle after months of deteriorating negotiations between Madrid and the separatists, followed by the airport bombing. And when Batasuna, Eta's political wing, and other parties linked to the movement were banned from taking part in local elections in May, the separatists said "minimum democratic conditions for a negotiating process do not exist".
Eta also said the security services continued to crack down on its members despite the ceasefire. In March, police arrested about a dozen suspects believed to be part of a newly formed Eta cell. Hundreds of firearms were stolen by activists from a factory in France recently, and there were reports that Eta had started an extortion campaign demanding a "revolutionary tax" from Basque businesses.
In response to Eta's declaration, Mr Zapatero said: "Today, Eta has made the same decision as other times in the past. And now, like then, Eta is once again mistaken. Eta's decision is radically opposed to the path sought by the Basques and by Spanish society as a whole: the path towards peace. A path which has only one end, that of Eta giving up its weapons. A path which can only be taken and travelled with a complete renunciation of violence."
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