Bilbao (Spain), Apr 20: The armed separatist organisation ETA has rejected proposals for the future of Spain's northern Basque Country, which would give it a greater measure of autonomy. ETA, held responsible for hundreds of deaths in a campaign of violence over more than three decades, said the plan was just an "obstacle and a brake on independence."
The plan had been put forward by Juan Jose Ibarretxe, moderate nationalist regional head of government in the troubled Basque Country. Ibarretxe wants sovereignty to be shared in a "free association" between the Basque region and the Spanish state, allowing Basques to set their own rules for internal government.
But in a statement yesterday quoted by a Basque news agency, ETA said, "There will be no peace until the rights of the Basque country are acknowledged." ETA wants full independence for the entire Basque region, which straddles parts of northern Spain and also neighbouring southwestern France.
In the statement ETA reaffirmed its commitment to armed struggle.
Ibarretxe has insisted there can be no public consultation on the project until ETA has renounced violence. The plan drew criticism from Spain's central government in Madrid when it was first presented, with the ruling Popular Party (PP) describing it as "a plan for a complete break with democratic and constitutional Spain."
Bureau Report