[Marxism] ETA Declares Permanent Ceasefire

["Michael Hoover" <hooverm@xxxxxxxxxx>]

A farewell to arms
Mar 23rd 2006
>From The Economist Global Agenda

The Basque separatist group, ETA, has declared a permanent ceasefire, marking 
an end to nearly four decades of terrorist attacks in Spain in which some 800 
people have been killed. It is a significant boost to the government of Jos* 
Luis Rodr*guez Zapatero, which has long sought a truce with the separatists. 
But even if the violence is at an end, the tension between Spain’s centre and 
its periphery has not disappeared

IT WAS only on Monday that the Basque separatist organisation, Euskadi Ta 
Askatasuna, better known as ETA, boasted of being behind nine recent (if low 
level) terror attacks in Spain. But by the end of the week, according to the 
group, a permanent ceasefire will come into force, marking the end of 38 years 
of violence. Just as the Good Friday agreement largely ended violence by the 
Irish Republican Army in Northern Ireland, Spaniards will hope this marks a 
definitive period of peace for their country too.

The news was greeted with happiness but caution by Jos* Luis Rodr*guez 
Zapatero, the head of Spain's left-leaning government. He called upon the main 
parliamentary opposition, the conservative Popular Party (PP), to join him in 
the peace process. For his part, Mariano Rajoy, the PP's leader, was even more 
circumspect, saying he hoped to help the government “defeat terrorism without 
paying a price”, though he suspected that the ETA move was “a pause, not the 
renunciation of criminal activity”.

The two parties—and most Spaniards—seem to agree that the ceasefire is not the 
end of the troubles, but the beginning of a difficult political process. ETA, 
in a second statement on Wednesday, reiterated the permanent ceasefire, 
explicitly calling for “dialogue, negotiation and accord”, and called on the 
governments of Spain (and France, a bit of which ETA claims) to respond 
positively.

The news is not totally unexpected: ETA had moderated its attacks in recent 
years; it had avoided taking lives, though it continued placing bombs; and Mr 
Zapatero had long been seeking a truce. Last month he declared “the beginning 
of the end” of ETA. Several Spanish newspapers recently predicted a truce was 
imminent. Many observers had long expected the separatists to give up the use 
of violent attacks entirely, especially after the bombings of Madrid’s 
transport system by al-Qaeda on March 11th, 2004, when 191 people were killed. 
When Mr Zapatero took office, the same month, the separatists indeed called for 
dialogue, while refusing to declare an end to the armed campaign that had cost 
over 800 lives. In turn the government pursued a twin policy of cracking down 
on ETA suspects on the ground while talking about talks.

That, broadly, seems to have worked. On one hand, ETA suffered serious setbacks 
at the hands of Spanish and French police (reflecting improved cross-border 
co-operation). Late in 2004 its suspected leader, Mikel Albizu Iriarte, and 
another 20 suspects, were arrested. Then in May last year Spain’s High Court 
jailed two ETA members for a remarkable 2,775 years each, for plotting an 
attack in 2003. But at the same time, the government made progress in efforts 
to open peace talks with ETA. Spain’s parliament agreed to them, though only if 
the separatists would lay down their arms. Given the declaration of peace, such 
talks may now follow.

The human consequences of a peace deal could be great. ETA’s campaign of murder 
and intimidation had a much bigger effect on the Basque country than was 
commonly realised. To watch the promenaders strolling by the beach in San 
Sebasti*n on a spring evening made it seem the most delightful of towns. The 
locals said that, whether in terms of health care or the quality of the roads, 
life in the Basque region was unmatched elsewhere in Spain. Yet there was no 
other place in Europe where—until recently at least—an estimated 40,000 
officials, magistrates, businessmen, politicians and journalists lived in fear 
of assassination. Perhaps 2,000 or 3,000 were judged to need bodyguards.

The political effects might be substantial too. First, the peace deal gives a 
boost to Mr Zapatero and seems to land a heavy blow on the opposition PP, which 
had refused to sanction any negotiations with ETA or with anybody who 
represents it. The PP’s hardline policy, calling for the separatist group to 
surrender unconditionally or be “asphyxiated”, sharply contradicted the 
government efforts. That left a traditionally bipartisan approach to dealing 
with ETA in tatters. The ruling Socialist party recently called the opposition 
“vile” and “cowardly”, while the PP accused the Socialists of “spitting” in the 
faces of terrorist victims.

Second, it puts more pressure on Madrid to tackle the problem of regionalism in 
Spain. Some conservative Basques may hitherto have been deterred from pushing 
for more autonomy for fear of being associated with ETA—such hesitancy may now 
vanish. The Basques, along with Catalans and people of other regions of Spain, 
could yet grow more determined to win greater self-rule from Madrid. Only in 
January a farcical situation arose with the country’s defence minister, Jos* 
Bono, ordering eight days’ house arrest for the head of the land forces, 
General Jos* Mena Aguado, who called on fellow officers to oppose a law giving 
more autonomy to Catalonia. The general was then sacked. As that incident 
showed, peaceful but forceful demands for self-determination can be disruptive 
too. If the threat of violence is gone, space may open up for a fierce 
political row instead.


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