THE BASQUE separatist group Eta, which campaigns for independence from Spain, issued a new appeal for talks to the international community over the weekend, two weeks after its ceasefire announcement was dismissed as “insufficient” by the Spanish government.
That first Eta statement had also fallen short of calls by its own political allies to explicitly accept conditions set by the Brussels Declaration last March for a “permanent, fully verified” ceasefire.
Now Eta has expressed its “respect and thanks” to the signatories of the declaration, who include Desmond Tutu, Mary Robinson, FW de Klerk, Albert Reynolds, the Nelson Mandela Foundation and John Hume.
And it calls on them to assist in talks aimed at “a just, permanent and democratic resolution of the Basque conflict”.
The Brussels Declaration is significant for Eta and its supporters in that, as well as the requirement for a ceasefire, it calls on the Spanish government to make an “appropriate response” to peace moves from the Basque radicals.
The position of the current Spanish government, badly burned by a failed peace process in 2006, is that there is no political conflict to be resolved in the Basque Country, and that Eta has been defeated by the security forces.
Government sources were quoted yesterday saying that: “This is not a time for statements, but a time for Eta to give up and disband itself.”
Behind the Brussels declaration, however, is the view that substantial issues over the status of the Basque Country underlie Eta’s violence, and that any stable peace settlement must address political as well as security questions.
It remained unclear yesterday, however, whether Eta’s new statement actually represents a solid commitment right now to the terms of the declaration, or is simply playing for time in the hope that international pressure may elicit a more positive response to its first statement from the Spanish government.
The new statement, as published by the radical Basque newspaper Gara yesterday, contains only vague references to Eta’s willingness to accept “whatever further steps it needs to take”, but its translation from the Basque language appears incomplete.
The Brussels Declaration is regarded by the mainstream Spanish media as imposing a misplaced “peace process” template from other regions on Spain’s internal affairs. But the signatories do carry considerable weight internationally, and include figures who cannot be easily discounted as idealistic do-gooders, such as Jonathan Powell, Tony Blair’s former chief of staff.
If Eta does sign up explicitly to the declaration’s terms, then the signatories could convincingly present Madrid with a peace initiative of substance.
But if Eta is asking to come to their international table without a verified and permanent ceasefire, the Brussels group would find itself in a very uncomfortable position.
Rejecting Eta’s approach would risk making a shaky ceasefire, in which the signatories have made a big investment, even shakier.
But talking to the group directly, while it continues to hold its weapons in reserve, would imply an association with terrorism that the signatories could hardly embrace.