Jan 11th 2011, 17:08 by The Economist online | MADRID
THE rumours turned out to be right. Earlier today ETA, the armed Basque separatist group, finally put an end to the speculation that has been swarming around Spain in recent weeks and declared its latest ceasefire, declared in September, to be "permanent", "general" and "verifiable by the international community". But what did the three masked militants sporting black berets who appeared on an ETA video to make the declaration mean by these words?
Words that seem clear to others can take on a different meaning when uttered by a terrorist group responsible for the deaths of over 800 people in its 50-year-plus campaign for an independent Basque homeland. After all, ETA also declared its last ceasefire, in March 2006, to be "permanent". Nine months later, an ETA bomb killed two people at Madrid's Barajas airport.
In this case, "permament" appears to mean something more like "indefinite". "ETA is the one that interprets the meaning of its own words," warns Kepa Aulestia, a Basque expert at the Vocento media group. "There is no time limit or ultimatum [to the ceasefire]".
What about "general"? The hope is that ETA's use of this term will mean that in addition to giving up the "offensive armed actions" that it stopped four months ago, the group will stop some, if not all, the other criminal activities it uses to support itself. Car hijackings and robberies in France may now be put on hold, but ETA will find it extremely difficult to operate without the extortion money it exacts from businesses and wealthy individuals in the Basque country.
The trickiest word is "verifiable", a term not used in previous ceasefire declarations. Do not expect ETA to start showing its arms caches to international observers. The word is more likely to have been used as a signal that the group expects international recognition, and an invitation to participation by various international mediators who have encouraged the group to down arms in recent months.
Spain's Socialist government is nonplussed. Alfredo Pérez Rubalcaba, the deputy prime minister, said today: "It is evident that once again today ETA has not done what we democratic parties expected." The government was badly burnt by the collapse of the 2006 ceasefire and does not want to be humiliated again. "All we want from ETA is a definitive end to violence. A total and absolute end, forever," José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, the prime minister, said recently.
The word "verifiable" does at least provide succour to those, mostly fellow Basque separatists and their friends abroad, who have been pressing ETA to show that it has a genuine will for peace. Now they can demand that the group both states what it means by "verifiable", and that it delivers on that definition.
UPDATE Over at the Daily Chart blog, our timeline charts ETA's 52-year campaign for an independent Basque homeland as well as its political and military impact.
In this blog, our correspondents respond to breaking news stories and provide comment and analysis. The blog takes its name from newsbooks, the 16th-century precursors to newspapers, which covered a single big story, such as a battle, a disaster or a sensational trial
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ETA's big problem has been not so much the Spanish state as its own incompetence in recent years, both logistically and politically. It keeps making public relations mistakes. For more: http://qorreo.com/2011/01/spain-news-eta-stumbles-to-ceasefire-but-can-i...
Eta is not a separatist group, it is a terrorist group defined by EU and US. This is not the first time that they had proclaimed a permanent ceasefire and they always make sure that they failed their promises killing innocent people. There are local elections in the Basque region and the ETA supporters want to participate on them, they don't say that they support ETA and its actions. In the Basque region, it must be the only place in Europe where members of parliament, city councils, etc elected democratically that they have to have body guards in order to not be killed by ETA. In the small villages, it is difficult to find volunteers to represent non-nacionalist parties, because there is a fear.
ETA is running by kids of 30 something that they didn't experience anything about Franco, they have lived under a democratic state. They are the equivalent of Al-Qaeda as fundamentalist and they have lost the plot what ETA was created for. There are many basque people fed up how ETA has hijacked the name of the Basque country. In the last regional elections for the first time, the socialist party is ruling with the support of the tory party.
Let's face it, ETA is not separatist group or rebels (named by the BBC)....it is utterly a terrorist group like Al-Qaeda, and it should be treated as a such.
I would like to add that I am not a far right person. I vote for the United Left in Spain.
ETA has taken quite a few hits of late and seem to be quite weak-at least in their ability to strike. However, as an Irish man, I must say, dialogue is the only way to stop these tired old disputes. The Spanish Goverment will have a lot of opposition from the P.P. but they must use this opportunity to push an agenda of peace.
However vile its methods, ETA was once a political organisation with legitimate grievances (during the Franco years at least). Now, much like the final holdouts of the Irish Troubles (Real IRA, etc.), they are largely a criminal cartel without any political legitimacy, and deserve to be treated as such.
@kristina brooker
Eh??
All ETA must do is to abandon arms... and extorsion, kidnapping, threats, drug and arms trafficking, etc. and humbly ask the many victims for forgiveness (if that is possible at all).
This is the only acceptable thing and it is all we have to listen to.
Todays communiqué is just ETA seeking a bit of propaganda in the media.
Unfortunately they are not mad enough to commit collective suicide.
So ETA wants to kiss and make up. Sorry guys, we made a mistake so let's forget the whole thing.
ETA is responsible for the death of 800 people. That's a criminal offence in my book. And the reason why ETA is throwing in the towel is because it has lost public support. All the more reason to continue to hunt down the criminals responsible and bring them to trial.
There can be no ceasefire for terrorism. ETA made its own bed, and now it must sleep in it.
Firstly: The Spanish authorities have killed multiple times more Basques than ETA has killed Spaniards doing this "civil war". So from that point of view, the words of the masquarated black berets are no less accountable than those of the Spanish government. Secondly: The Basques being probably the most ancient nation in Europe should be aided by the international community to get a deal, which preserves their national identity. Thirdly: With Southern-Sudan hopefully claiming its independence from the brutal regime in Khartoum, the more reason to make some amendments to the status of the Basque nation within the Spanish federation. Europeans should not tolerate a brutal negation of the rights of any ethnic minority within Europe to have their national identity firmly and securely maintained, be they Basques, Britones, Corsicans, the Welch, Scotts, the Irish, Sami or Roma - to name but a few.
Dear Valli2:
I agree with you in the fact that any ethnic group in the world should be acquainted a collective identity and rights, but (if you are aware of the actual basque status)Basque country has its own Parliament, their own regional government and president and their own regional constitution according to their historical identity which, by the way, allows them to enjoy privileges other regions in Spain can´t (for instance, all taxes collected in the Basque country remain in the region and are not shared with other territories to enhance development. Madrid´s region citizens give nearly 25% of their taxes to poorer regions in the country). Anyway, my point is that being a terrorist is being a criminal and for those people there´s only one valid formula in a civlized nation:police+judges+jail equals getting rid of the assassins. You can negotiate with politicians, businessmen and similar but not with killers. Would you put your hand in a poisonous snake cage? I wouldn´t
Valli2: you are absolutely right to chastise the common media appellation that always adds "800 dead in the past 50 years" to any discourse on ETA and Basque separatism. Furthermore, any discussion on the "freedoms" afforded Catalonia and the Basque Nation seems to forget the hypocritical episode of Batasuna's undemocratic exile.
The basic underlying question and problem is "what defines a nation". The vested interests in any central government, whether in Madrid, London, Ottawa, Washington,etc. are to conserve power at the expense of any separatist movement. But in a world where more and more power is in the hands of less and less people, geographical, territorial defense makes less sense (if it ever did; if so, Portugal, Gibraltar would be part of Spain). So the definition of nationhood must be a balance of language, culture, size, and history. Under these conditions, there is no basis to deny nationhood to the Basque, Catalans, French Canadians, etc. if, under a democratic election, this is what they vote for. Why won't Madrid do the commonsensical move of allowing both groups to vote for their independence?
Yeah, when the US and EU define someone as terrorist than this is a holy cow. I think US are a terrorist group - they are responsible for all the problems in the world, including environment issues.
Will be interesting to see how this plays out.
Once again it´s disgusting how history and reality is manipulated to justify the killing of hundreds of innocents all around Spain by a group of "figthers of liberty". As it´s commented on one of the posts, Basque Country has a level of independence that no other region or lander has in Western Europe, and a fiscal system that gives Basques a privileged situation that goes again any solidarity scheme, in Spain or within the EU (they almost pay no taxes at all to keep the Spanish institutions, but want the Spanish Navy ships to protect their fishing boats on the Indian Ocean, paid by the rest of Spanish taxpayers...).
I live in a neighbourhood in the city of Zaragoza called Torrero. A local group founded ten years ago the Independent Republic of Torrero (República Independiente de Torrero), and since then they make an annual celebration to remember that new Republic. I guess for some people any group that can show history (one week, one century, etc.) and some differences with the rest of us has the right to ask for independence. In many cases, I would love to be independent from those people.
First of all, yes, ETA is a terrorist group, like Al-Qaeda, Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades or Lashkar-e-Toiba, because through the use of violence seek to achieve its objectives in a democratic state, which has more freedom than I could say most countries.
Second, in my opinion and I think in the opinion of the majority of Spanish people the only way is abandoning arms and asking for the forgiveness of their families´s victims.
Not forget that these murderers (yes, murderers) are hiding in the victimization of Franco, when most of its members did not live when Franco died and have been living since they were born in a democratic state.
And finally, not forget that giving in to blackmail of this group support the use of violence to achieve goals, we forget about the victims (children (yes, many children), elderly, women, men, ...). Who defines what is a nation? because if they have it tomorrow, I, who am now living in London, why I couldn´t also claim to me is what I want, what I vote, and we all are equal before the law.
If you want freedom, voting democratically and without pressure, without threatening to kill all those people in the Basque Country who can not freely express their opinions because of fear of being hit on, his wife and his entire family shot in the back.
As a Basque American I abhore the violence of ETA and also agree with Valli2's comments that there have been many atrocious overt and covert acts by Spanish state against the Basques. (I wish I could change the past starting with Franco!)
The long term solution is obvious if the will is there. Take ETA up on this "permanent, general ceasefire verifiable by the international community". It worked in Northern Ireland. (You would think that the Economist would be trumpeting this success as a template for peace. I am sure it would had this comunication had been in reference to Afganistan, Palestine, etc). If it doesn't work ETA is even more isolated.
Then when ETA is non-existent, allow the Basques their inalienable right of self determination. A win-win for all!
How many "latest ceasefire" ETA declared since 1958? As Spanish, I don’t believe anything from ETA group. I am absolutely agreed with Perez Rubalcaba.
Words are cheap, especially hollow, empty ones..
A complicated situation only becomes more complex when one of the parties involved is completely untrustworthy. ETA have demonstrated that they are completely untrustworthy time and time again. When one party's words and actions are dissonant, any reasonable negotiation and movement towards a solution becomes impossible. And as we all know, the last time ETA declared a permanent cease fire, they followed it up by bombing the Barajas airport and killing two innocent civilians.
Perhaps ETA had a valid reason for it's actions when the organization was first conceived of and created, however, no matter what your beliefs, you cannot deny that the validity of both the organization and it's actions in modern time has long disappeared. As a human being, I have a difficult time justifying violence as means to any end whatsoever. However, I am also not one to judge a situation that I truly cannot understand. Perhaps one day, I will discover a cause I believe worthy of taking up arms for, but that has yet to happen and I pray that it never will.
As a Basque person, I understand the importance of retaining one's national identity, with the cultural, social and economic paradigms that carries. I am proud to be Basque. However, ETA and the actions they have taken make me feel nothing but shame. In many ways, you could consider me a Basque ex-pat. My blood is Basque and yet, I was never given the opportunity to live in the Basqueland and to truly understand my roots. My grandfather was forced to leave the Basqueland with his family under the threat of death by ETA simply for doing his job. The impact of the death threats and the forced relocation still haunt my family to this day. As a Basque ex-pat, I consider myself Spanish first and Basque second and there is no one to blame for that but ETA.
I personally believe that complete independence from Spain would be a disaster for the Basqueland, both in an economic sense and in terms of security. I do agree with the necessity of preserving the historic and cultural integrity of the Basque. However, I believe that achieving this goal through violence would only cause more damage to the Basque self-identity then anything else. Furthermore, ETAs goals and motives have become more and more seperate from what the majority of Basque people actually want. A tiny majority support ETA and the rest of the Basque just live in fear of extortion and violence.
All in all, I think the Basqueland and the Basque people have it pretty good from the Spanish government. The Basque enjoy a high level of legislative and economic independence from the rest of Spain and even have their own "national" soccer team.
As a Basque, I ask that ETA give up the violence and the fear-driven goals. Seek what you wish through legislative means, but turn this cease fire into a reality by giving up your arms and complying with what both the Spanish and the Basque governments demand for peace. Continuing the violence with the excuse that the Spanish government killed far more Basques than ETA's victims will only perpetuate the cycle of violence instead of breaking it in hopes of a solution that all parties can be content with.
Gora Euzkadi y Gora España.
@Jakap80
U.S. is "responsible for all the problems in the world, including environmental issues"
Ah I see someone uncovered our nefarious plot to flood Australia. Oh well, at least we've still got our earthquake machine so we can be an at least semi-legit evil empire.