ETA CALLS 'PERMANENT CEASEFIRE'

[Kamal35]

From BBC

http//news.bbc.co.uk



Eta 'calls permanent ceasefire'

"The Basque separatist group Eta has declared a permanent ceasefire, according to reports on Basque radio.
The group has been fighting for independence for the Basque region of northern Spain and south-west France for nearly four decades.

It is blamed for killing more than 800 people in that time, many of them Spanish police, judges and politicians.

Eta said its objective now was "to start a new democratic process in the Basque country".

The authenticity of the announcement - which said the ceasefire would begin on Friday 24 March - could not immediately be verified.

It was made first on Basque radio and TV outlets in Spain, and then carried by the Basque newspaper Gara, the usual vehicle for Eta statements.

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. In the 1970s Eta attacks killed 100 people or more every year."

A GREAT DAY FOR SPAIN.

[Mowhawk]

Kamal

If it is genuine, indeed it is good news for the Spanish people because if ETA laid down its arms, they finally decided to end the Spanish Civil war that started with General Franco. How many years? Though ours ( Somalia's civil war is more destructive), I hope and pray that our warlords follow ETA's footsteps and lay down their arms, Maybe we need a foreign enemy to unite us, just like the Spanish people experienced in the Madrid bombings and condemned ETA to seek alternatives short of war.

May Peace reign throughout the world.

[Kamal35]

Mow: It's the first step of a long, long, long, hard and difficult road. But, until today, we didn't have even a road. It's gonna be a long process, as it happened with IRA in North Ireland. It's not actually a state of civil war, as you said, but much more terrorist attacks which have been a pain in the ass for Spain since 1968, when ETA killed its first victim. The people, and mainly the Basque people, are sick and tired of violence, ETA, attacks and extremism. ETA, which is weaker and weaker with the year, has realized of that and they want now to start a negotiation without violence and using democratic means. There a lot of things to discuss about and that can go wrong. But the people in Spain is really happy (except the party of Aznar, which got votes thanks to the terrorist attacks of ETA) and hopeful about the future. It's a good day. We are talking about this new period as The Spring of Peace in Spain, because yesterday spring started.





PS: Are you going to Melbourne to the next F1 championship? You should go. It's something you shouldn't miss... especially for the girls!!

[Kamal35]

Mowhawk: The difference between ETA and the Somali warlords is that ETA is a hierarchy in which you have a 'head' who is giving orders. Warlords sound more anarchist. But let's hope someday they all understand that they're only harming the country...

[COSTA]

Soon or letter Basque will be free then i ll be in Bilbao to visit my X girlfriend
Now ETA stopped their terror will Batasuna be back into the politics or they will be banned still?Any way this man Zabatero is someone who can build bridges between east and west so i think he is behind this political change
in the basque and the Catalan regions

[Kamal35]

Batasuna will be legal again in the moment the condemn violence so, now that the violence is going to stop, is really easy that Batasuna will come back to the political arena again. Arnaldo Otegi is an intelligent man, and they know that their duty now is trying to be as smart as possible.

And yes, Zapatero is behind the whole thing. That's the reason the Popular Party (Aznar's party) is so angry and upset. Zapatero received a letter from ETA in september 2004 in which the terrorists told him that they could stop the violence if they see a change in the new Government towards the situation in the Basque Country. Since then, Zapatero has been giving signals that he does everything he promises. Finally, some weeks ago, ETA sent to him the declaration published yesterday and he was agree in the terms. But, as he said, this is only the first step of a long long, difficult and conflictive road. But it's a step. It will take years for peace to be definitive. But the whole country is really really hopeful now. You can smell it in the air. And Aznar is having really really bad times now...

[COSTA]

It was something which was expectible becouse they were the last terror group of Europe as u know the Baader mainhoff.of Germany The Red Brigades (Brigate Rosse) of Italy and IRA of Britain has all put down the weopans and started democracy salutions.

The only Terror group thats left in europe is Al Qaida so the EU should reach to this group and make political negotiation with them.

[Kamal35]

It's complicated, because Al Qaida is not a usual terrorist group. There's no hierarchy, commanders, people on the top who can take decissions. Everyone there is acting by himself and the 'entity' claims that it was Al Qaida. I can burn a church tomorrow and say that it was Al Qaida, so nobody is accountable for its actions.

And first, Al Qaida should stop killing. Al Qaida, neither, has a political program or some aims to reach except killing people, so Al Qaida terrorism is completly different, anarchic, without head and without goals. Anyone who's angry with the world can do some barbaric act in the name of Al Qaida. This lack of control, someday, will go against Al Qaida itself.

[Mowhawk]

Kamal

I'm in Melbourne now, and I will stay till the weekend watching the Stolenwealth (Commonwealth) games. I watched great cycling and track n' filed competitions. As for the grand prix (formula one), it is not my cup of tea, and the girls look like plastic robots.

I talked to a Spanish friend and he is worried about other individuals in ETA not liking the deal. He reckons they may start a splinter group and inflame the whole deal. Anyway, I hope the deal sticks and works for you guys.

[Kamal35]

[quote="Mowhawk"]Kamal

I'm in Melbourne now, and I will stay till the weekend watching the Stolenwealth (Commonwealth) games. I watched great cycling and track n' filed competitions. As for the grand prix (formula one), it is not my cup of tea, and the girls look like plastic robots.

I talked to a Spanish friend and he is worried about other individuals in ETA not liking the deal. He reckons they may start a splinter group and inflame the whole deal. Anyway, I hope the deal sticks and works for you guys.[/quote]



At the moment, nobody here seems to be in the mood of more attacks and violence. Terrorists themselves are sick and tired of it, because they know what will happen: one way or another they'll be catched and sentenced to long-term prison without any way out (Spanish laws establishes that terrorists have to be in jail and complete the whole punishment--- if you're condemned to 30 years, you'll be in jail 30 years). If someone now tries to break the cease-fire, he will be completly isolated and won't have the support of the basque population, even not the minority that support ETA, so it seems a long way to go, but with a clear end. Let's wait and be patient.

How I envy you! I'd love to be in Melbourne april 1&2... You'll miss a great circus... Seeing the cars at 320 km/h speed. The sound of the engines, the smell of oil, the tits of the 'plastic robots' I really love the Fórmula 1. Actually, I writing now a song with the sound of the cars in a race. It sounds good...