ETA announces historical cease-fire

The Basque terrorist group ETA announced on Wednesday a permanent cease-fire to its wave of bombing attacks throughout Spain. In a communique broadcast on Radio Euskadi and repeated in other Basque media outlets, ETA said it would incorporate itself into the democratic process to seek peaceful means for an independent homeland.

The cease-fire, which will take effect on Friday, puts an end to the violent struggle embarked four decades ago by one of Europe´s long standing terrorist organizations.

The Spanish government welcomed the announcement but urged caution, saying that it had to verify whether the offer was genuine. Speculation that ETA was ready to lay down its arms had been circulating for weeks. Even Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero said that he was confident that the separatist group would renounce violence in the coming months.

Since the late 1960s, the group has terrorized Spanish society by waging a series of bombings that has taken the lives of more than 800 people in an effort to carve out an independent country in Spain´s Basque region and parts of southern France. The last fatal attack came in 2003 when a bomb killed two policemen. Since then, ETA had been staging small bomb attacks aimed at certain Basque businesses.

"The aim of (the cease-fire) is to promote a democratic process in the Basque country and to build a new framework in which our rights as a people will be recognized," the statement said. "ETA also calls on the Spanish and French authorities to respond positively to this new situation, leaving their repressive ways behind."

M-11: A warm day, a quiet remembrance

Two years ago this past Saturday a chain of bombings at a Madrid train station ripped through the commotion of a bustling commuter morning killing 191 people, injuring more than 1,500 and shattering forever Spain´s social and political fabric. The bombs placed in knapsacks at four sites inside the Atocha station were reportedly planted by Moroccan extremists sympathatic to Al Qaeda´s cause and angry about Spain´s involvement in the Iraqi War.

The incident days later cost the ruling center-right Popular Party a reelection victory. The PP´s blunder: Placing the blame on Basque separatists and accusing ETA terrorists of reneging on their promise to renounce violence. The Socialist Party, which had campaigned on a platform of far-reaching social and political reforms and, more importantly, promised to bring Spanish troops home, was swept into office. Disgruntled by its loss, the PP embarked on an dirty war offensive even at one point accusing Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero of taking advantage of the Atocha tragedy to win the 2001 election. Taken aback by their victory, the Socialists have now been obligated to introduce their series of controversial reforms that have divided some sectors of society and made the EU politicos in Brussels a bit nervous. These include introducing gay civil marriages, limiting the Catholic Church´s role in public education, giving carte blanche residency to some 600,000 illegal migrants, and proposing more powers to the country´s autonomous regions. These reforms have propelled a once conservative Spain to become one of the most progressive countries in Europe. As for M-11, the row over the incident is still being aired in the press. The PP-favored El Mundo has reported that judicial authorities allegedly manipulated their findings concerning the Al Qaeda connection while the biggest daily El País has published internal memorandums that purportedly demonstrate that officials in the previous government of José María Aznar were warned of a possible attack and did nothing about it.

It was an unusal warm pre-Spring morning during Saturday´s wreath laying ceremonies for the victims of M-11. The day was marked by a large group of Moroccan citizens who arrived in Madrid by bus caravan to pay homage to the victims and offer solidarity. Most of the 29 still jailed alleged co-conspirators are Moroccan nationals. As low keyed ceremonies continued throughout the day with a lone cellist playing a solemn piece at Retiro Park, the surrounding pink blossom trees served as testament that life is a perpetual cycle.

Blogger problems

Because of the recent technical problems with the Blogger server, I haven´t been posting any new columns. I shall be posting shortly. Thanks for your interest.