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| Europe |
| Jailed leader calls for ETA ceasefire |
| 2010-10-18 |
| [Iran Press TV] The jailed top leader of the political wing of ETA has called on the Basque separatist group to declare a permanent ceasefire with the Spanish government. Arnaldo Otegi told Spain's El Pais daily in an interview published on Sunday that if he had the chance to address the ETA leadership, he would ask them to renounce violence and declare a "unilateral and permanent truce which can be verified by the international community," AFP reported. "There is no other path to independence other than those that follow the peaceful and democratic paths," he told El Pais. Otegi was sentenced to two years in prison in March for "glorifying" terrorism in remarks he made at a 2005 rally in memory of jailed ETA member Jose Maria Sagarduy. The political wing of ETA, known as Batasuna, was banned by the Spanish government in 2003. ETA is held responsible for nearly 830 deaths in a 41-year campaign to create an independent Basque Country in northern Spain and southwestern France. On September 5, the group said in a video message that it had decided to halt "armed offensive actions," but it did not mention whether the truce was temporary or permanent. The group has recently called on international mediators to help resolve the conflict and expressed readiness to disarm under the right conditions. |
| Posted by:Fred |