Spain: Spanish radio and television stations interrupted their programmes at midday on Wednesday when the news broke that the Basque terrorist group Eta (Basque Homeland and Liberty) had declared a "permanent ceasefire". Many ran non-stop coverage throughout the day and into the late evening.
Yesterday the Basque newspaper Gara issued a second communique elaborating on their original televised statement. They confirmed that the ceasefire would come into effect at midnight and that it would be "permanent". The organisation repeated its call to the Spanish and French governments to cease their repression and to put no obstacles in the path of a democratic process. They said they wanted political change through "dialogue, negotiation and agreement" - words they had not used in the original communique.
Like the majority of his fellow citizens, the prime minister, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, welcomed the news from the Basque country, but he warned that the path ahead would be "long, difficult and arduous". Yesterday he held a meeting with King Juan Carlos to inform him of the situation and discuss his future steps.
When he took office two years ago Mr Zapatero pledged to work for a peace process to end almost 40 years of bloodshed and violence, which has cost more than 800 lives. Last May he held out a public olive branch to Eta when he offered to meet members if they agreed to lay down their arms.
The news of a ceasefire has been almost universally welcomed across the country, although with varying degrees of enthusiam, according to the different sides of the political spectrum.
Barbara Duhrkop, an MEP and widow of the socialist senator Enrique Casas, murdered by Eta in 1984, welcomed the announcement as it offered a ray of hope to all Spaniards, and to to all Europeans.
Gorka Landáburu, the Basque journalist who lost an eye and part of one hand in an Eta parcel bomb attack, pointed out that the word "permanent" was significant. He said: "There can be no turning back now. The people will not accept a return to violence. Too many lives have been lost and too many people blackmailed."
Not all of Eta's victims or their relatives were as positive. Maria del Mar Blanco, sister of the young Popular Party (PP) local official kidnapped and murdered by Eta was dismissive of the offer. "We are still paying the price for their acts. They have offered us nothing, new," she said.
Others complained that the ceasefire would end in disappointment like previous ones. "They have not disbanded or handed over their arms, nor have they expressed any regret for their killings. The terrorists must be tried and sentenced for their crimes," said a spokesman for the Association of Victims of Terrorism, an organisation close to the PP leader, Mariano Rajoy, who was at first sceptical when he heard the news of a ceasefire. "It is nothing more than a pause, not a renunciation of their criminal activities," he said.
But he back-peddled later and offered his conditional support to the government "so long as there is no political price to pay for peace". Mr Rajoy will meet the prime minister on Tuesday to discuss the latest developments - the first time the two have met face-to-face for many months. Mr Zapatero plans to hold meetings with other political leaders next week, beginning with the Lehendakari (Basque president) Juan José Ibarretxe.
The PP parliamentary spokesman Eduardo Zaplana said that the ceasefire had changed very little. "The state of law has not called a truce. The judiciary, the courts, the police, will continue to carry out their duties," he said.