Spain continues to play hardball with Basques

Spain’s government rejected an offer of talks from armed Basque separatist group ETA and demanded the group dissolve itself without conditions, after ETA called for negotiations on prisoners and a weapons handover.

ETA said in a statement published in Basque media at the weekend it wanted to enter talks with Spain and France to negotiate a definitive end to military operations and a handover of its arms.

“The only statement we
expect and demand is for its unconditional dissolution,” interior minister Jorge Fernandez Diaz told reporters yesterday. “They know we have not negotiated and won’t negotiate at all with a terrorist organisation.”

A year ago ETA, announced an end to a four-decade armed struggle for independence in which more than 800 people were killed, but did not fully halt operations or turn over its weapons. The group has broken ceasefires in the past.