SAN SEBASTIAN, Spain — The armed Basque separatist group ETA on Sunday threw its weight behind an initiative by its political wing to open dialogue with the Spanish government on solving the Basque problem.
In a statement published in the Basque newspaper Gara, ETA declared itself "wholly determined" to be involved in the process outlined by Batasuna spokesman Arnaldo Otegi on Nov 14 calling for "political dialogue" and "an end to weapons in Basque politics."
ETA, which toned down its three-decade armed campaign for a Basque homeland last year, made no explicit reference to a ceasefire but suggested the time had come to talk.
Minister of Public Administration Jordi Sevilla said the government was "waiting for the letter" by which ETA "will say when and where it will give up its arms and abandon terrorism."
ETA hailed Batasuna's proposals, which the government has also agreed to consider, as "the most effective political contribution presented so far to try to settle the conflict between the Basque country and the state".
"The only way to resolve the conflict is to organize an open and concrete dialogue aimed at reaching a comprehensive agreement," the statement said.
"It is time to enter into dialogue, decide that the future belongs to all citizens, without any kind of pressure or limits," it added.
ETA affirmed in particular that any solution must involve "the recognition of the right to self-determination. The solution will be found if all Basque citizens are consulted on their future."
The Izquierda Unida (United Left) party said the ETA statement was an indication the underground army wanted to hand over responsibility for resolving the conflict to Batasuna. "We are at the beginning of a new political situation," it said.
While there was no immediate explanation for its new willingness to negotiate, ETA has been greatly weakened by a string of arrests last year, including that of political leader Mikel "Antza" Albizu Iriarte.
The ETA has been blamed for the deaths of more than 800 people in its more than three-decade campaign for an independent Basque homeland straddling the Pyrenees between France and Spain.
In the same vein, Batasuna spokesman Otegi issued an open letter to Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero on Friday urging him to "pass into posterity as a Spanish Tony Blair" in reference to the British prime minister's involvement in dialogue with extremists in Northern Ireland which resulted in the 1998 peace accord for the British province.
Zapatero on Saturday said he was ready to listen to Batasuna's proposals if ETA eschewed violence.
"I would be the first to listen to you, just as would all citizens, but you must first definitively end the sound of bombs and guns, and have the courage to condemn and reject violence," Zapatero said during an address to socialist mayors in San Sebastian.
