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EUROPE 21 February 2014 Last updated at 10:52 GMT
Basque Eta militants 'may put arms beyond use' A group of international experts is expected to announce a disarmament "gesture" by the armed Basque separatist group Eta. The International Verification Commission is in the Basque city of Bilbao and the announcement is expected at about 14:00 GMT. So far there are no details of the "gesture". The Spanish government has refused to negotiate with Eta, which declared an end to its armed campaign in 2011. Eta has killed more than 800 people. According to the Spanish daily El Pais, Eta will pledge to put the arms that it has "beyond use". El Pais quoted unnamed sources close to the talks between the Commission and Eta. It is not clear whether the gesture will go far enough for Madrid to open talks with Eta. The six-strong Commission consists of former diplomats, politicians and political advisers, led by Ram Manikkalingam. The BBC's Tom Burridge in Madrid says Eta might reveal the location of secret arms dumps, possibly hidden in France. Eta wants around 500 of its members, who are in prison, to be relocated to jails in the Basque Country. Most people in Spain consider Eta to be a terrorist group. Eta has waged a four-decade-long violent campaign to establish an independent Basque state.
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BBC News - Basque Eta militants 'put some arms beyond...
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EUROPE 21 February 2014 Last updated at 14:05 GMT
Basque Eta militants 'put some arms beyond use' International inspectors say the armed Basque separatist group Eta has put some of its weapons "beyond use". The International Verification Commission, in the Basque city of Bilbao, says a small part of the Eta arsenal is now under seal. The Spanish government has refused to negotiate with Eta, which declared an end to its armed campaign in 2011. Eta has killed more than 800 people in a four-decade independence campaign against the Spanish state. It is not clear whether the disarmament gesture will go far enough for Madrid to open talks with Eta. The six-strong commission consists of former diplomats, politicians and political advisers, led by Ram Manikkalingam. Secret arms dumps
The BBC's Tom Burridge in Madrid says Eta might reveal the location of secret arms dumps, possibly hidden in France. Eta wants around 500 of its members, who are in prison, to be relocated to jails in the Basque Country. Most people in Spain consider Eta to be a terrorist group. The BBC has received exclusive video footage, recorded by Eta at a secret location. It shows two masked Eta members, dressed in black, displaying what is believed to be a small part of the group's weapons arsenal. Two of the international verifiers check an inventory before signing it. They say these guns and explosives have now been put under seal and beyond use and call it a hugely important first step, the BBC's diplomatic correspondent James Robbins reports. The video was handed to the BBC by an intermediary acting with the approval of the Amsterdam-based International Verification Commission, which is trying to build on Eta's 2011 pledge to cease all armed activity. But the commission is not recognised by the Spanish government.
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Basque separatists Eta set to take historic step by handing over weapons Spanish government of Mariano Rajoy holds out for full 'defeat' declaration as independence group ends 40 years of militancy Giles Tremlett in Madrid theguardian.com, Thursday 20 February 2014 22.57 GMT
Eta members give a salute following a news conference at an unknown location in October 2011. Photograph: AP
The Basque separatist group Eta is expected on Friday to take a historic step towards handing over weapons and bomb-making equipment used in its terror campaign for independence that has claimed more than 800 victims over decades. Sources in the northern Basque region of Spain and elsewhere said mediators would declare that Eta had already made significant moves in readying itself for giving up or disabling weapons and was ready to go further. Details remained scarce, however, and analysts were fearful that Eta could try to drag the process out while seeking concessions from Mariano Rajoy, the Spanish prime minister. Rajoy's conservative government has refused to negotiate, demanding that Eta admits
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defeat and surrenders unconditionally. Former Eta members told the Guardian that most of the group's arms were hidden in France, where historically it has had its command and logistics base. Eta stole 400 pistols from an arms depot in Vauvert, France, eight years ago and media reports in Spain suggest members could make public the geographical co-ordinates of several secret arms dumps where these explosives are stored. The group is also known to have had SA-7 ground-to-air missiles in the past. The move comes more than two years after Eta first indicated it was abandoning a 40-year campaign of violence against targets in Spain, by announcing a unilateral, permanent ceasefire.
Supporters at a 2009 rally in Bilbao for imprisoned members of Basque group Eta. Photograph: Alvaro Barrientos/AP While the contents of Friday's announcement remained secret, sources close to the organisation said the move represented significant change with Eta and its backers committing to politics rather than violence in their pursuit of an independent Basque state composed of four Spanish provinces and part of south-west France. The disarmament moves have the support of the Basque regional prime minister, I単igo Urkullu, and his moderate Basque Nationalist party (PNV, or Partido Nacionalista Vasco). "The sooner they do this, the better," said Josu Erkoreka, a spokesman for the Basque government, which also called for more than a symbolic gesture by Eta. The government of Rajoy, whose party is the centre-right People's party (PP, or Partido Popular), has arrested dozens of suspected Eta members since the ceasefire. It refuses to discuss reciprocal measures to improve the conditions of 530 Eta prisoners.
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Spain's prime minister Mariano Rajoy, whose government has arrested dozens of suspected Eta members since the ceasefire. Photograph: Gabriel Pecot/AP Antonio Troitiño, a suspected member of Eta, was detained in London a week ago, and two former Eta members, accused of a dozen killings in the 1990s, were this week extradited from Mexico. "The time for theatre is over," said Jorge Fernández Díaz, Spain's interior minister, who added that the government welcomed disarmament but warned Eta would make as much political capital as it could out of it in order to remain a player in the Basque region. Rajoy and Urkullu met secretly in Madrid this month; there has been no official confirmation of the content of their conversation, which was assumed to be about Eta and the disarmament. The move comes as Rajoy faces a new rightwing party, Vox, which accuses him of going soft on Eta by obeying a European court of human rights order which has led to 50 of the group's most veteran prisoners being released from jail in recent months. Vox members will stand at European elections in May, when the party will be the only serious contender to the right of the PP. One of its leaders is José Antonio Ortega Lara, a former prison officer who was kidnapped and held captive by Eta for 532 days. On 8 February the Eta leadership published a communique confirming that it would soon make "significant contributions" towards peace. The Eta leaders David Pla and Iratxe Sorzabal were given refuge in Norway during the early period of the ceasefire, but were expelled after no headway was made in the peace process. Their whereabouts is currently unknown.
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Disarmament will increase calls from the Basque country for Eta prisoners to be moved to jails close to their families.
Julen Madariaga. Photograph: David Aguilar/EPA Julen Madariaga, 81, one of Eta's founder members, said the group and its supporters were now firmly committed to peace, but called on members to avoid the humiliation of handing over arms directly to Spanish authorities. "Psychologically that would be important to our people," said Madariaga, who broke away from the group almost 20 years ago. "I am glad that Eta has changed," he added. "Already in the 1990s it was obvious that it was driving people away from the separatist cause." For Rosa Rodero, whose police officer husband, Joseba Goikoetxea, was killed by an Eta gunman in front of his teenage son after stopping his car at a traffic light, disarmament is a key step towards ensuring her grandchildren can live in a Basque country at peace. "I, my parents and my children, have all had to suffer because of this," she said. "Now I have grandchildren and I am hopeful. We can't do anything for those who have gone, but we can for those who remain in order to give them peace and tranquillity." Some analysts were sceptical about Eta's intentions, however, claiming the organisation was trying to turn defeat into a propaganda victory. "They are making a virtue out of necessity," said Rogelio Alonso, a lecturer at King Juan Carlos University in Madrid, who worries that too many Basque separatists still feel that Eta's violance was legitimate. "It seems unlikely Eta will ever kill again, but there has to be more than that. Killing, kidnapping and bombings are just part of the problem. The legitimacy of violence is another part." or., 2014.eko otsren 21a 09:50
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Concerns that a breakaway group of hardline radicals might keep up the terror campaign have so far proved baseless. "The amazing thing is that those people in Basque villages and neighbourhoods who once backed the group have changed their attitudes so quickly. No one has called for Eta to pick up arms again – quite the opposite," said Gorka Espiau of the University of the Basque Country's Agirre Centre in Bilbao. Espiau worries, however, that politicians remain stuck in the old habits of confrontation and that people have not learned the lessons of Northern Ireland or South Africa. "New leaders and new ideas are required," he said. "Gerry Adams said that leaders themselves have to change internally." Separatist tension in Spain has shifted from the Basque country to Catalonia in recent years, with the previously moderate regional president, Artur Mas, now demanding a Scottish-style referendum. Rajoy has refused to give permission. Urkullu is believed to want to finesse the end of Eta before turning to the question of Basque sovereignty. His semi-autonomous government already runs everything from education and health to policing and the courts, and has a far better financing deal with Madrid than does Catalonia. But he is under pressure from Sortu, an independence party led by former members of Eta's front party, Batasuna. Sortu would win 26% of Basque votes, according to recent polling, while the PNV – which is split between a more separatist wing and those happy with the current self-government arrangement – would obtain 35%. "What we have seen in Catalonia is the moderates pushed towards more radical positions by the outright separatists," said Alonso. "The same thing could happen in the Basque country." Eta was formed at the end of the 1950s by young Basque nationalists who wanted to fight General Franco's dictatorship, though members did not attack the police or armed forces until 1968. Franco responded by imposing a state of emergency in parts of the Basque country, helping boost support for Eta as it assassinated, among others, his heir apparent, Admiral Luis Carrero Blanco. An amnesty after Franco's death in 1975 did not put an end to the group, which had its bloodiest year in 1980, killing almost 100 people at a time when Spain was still finding its way as a young democracy. or., 2014.eko otsren 21a 09:50
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But Spain's security services, who backed a dirty war carried out by mercenaries, slowly strangled Eta's ability to carry out bomb and pistol attacks. Popular support dwindled and in its last decade of violence no more than five people were killed each year. As disarmament looms, some former Eta members are no longer sure that their terror campaign achieved anything. "I have met former Eta prisoners and people on the separatist left who are very sure that this is something definitive," said Rodero, who campaigns for reconciliation. "For them all these years of violence have been useless."
Years of terror 1958 Euskadi ta Askatasuna (Basque Homeland and Freedom) is formed with the aim to fight for Basque self-determination. 1968 Eta's first victim is police officer JosĂŠ PardiĂąas. 1973 Eta kills the prime minister Luis Carrero Blanco by bombing his car. 1980 Nearly 100 people are killed in the terror group's bloodiest year. June 1987 Eta issues an apology after a bomb planted by them in a Barcelona supermarket kills 21 shoppers. September 1998 A truce is announced which lasts until December 1999. March 2006 A permanent ceasefire is officially declared, but killings and bombings continue. February 2010 Eta's top leader, Ibon Gogeascoechea, is arrested in Normandy, France. January 2011 Eta declares a ceasefire. It is rejected by the Spanish government which demands a definitive commitment to end all violence. Luc Torres Sign up for the Guardian Today Our editors' picks for the day's top news and commentary delivered to your inbox each morning. Sign up for the daily email
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News From Bloomberg http://www.businessweek.com/news/2014-02-21/eta-s-weapons-hand-over-is-theater-spanish-minister-says
ETA’s Weapons Hand Over Is Theater, Spanish Minister Says By Esteban Duarte February 21, 2014 Basque terror group ETA’s surrender of part of its arsenal in front of international observers is an unnecessary “act of theater,” Spanish Interior Minister Jorge Fernandez Diaz said. A so-called International Verification Commission confirmed today that some arms belonging to the terror group were handed over, Europa Press reported, citing Ram Manikkalingam, who is leading the delegation. “ETA didn’t need any observers to verify when they guns,” Fernandez Diaz said at a press conference in Madrid today. “The Civil Guard and the Police would be the best” choice to oversee the handover, he added. Basque Regional President Inigo Urkullu said at a separate press conference that ETA’s decision “is a small step,” the region’s government-owned television EiTB reported on its Web. ETA, which has killed more than 800 people during its four-decade campaign to win independence from Spain, announced an end to violence in 2011, a month before the general election. To contact the reporter on this story: Esteban Duarte in Madrid at eduarterubia@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: James Hertling at jhertling@bloomberg.net
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Basque separatists ETA to pledge to put arms beyond use - paper 1:46pm GMT
By Arantza Goyoaga BILBAO, Spain (Reuters) - Armed Basque separatist group ETA will pledge to put its weapons "beyond use", the El Pais newspaper said on Friday, citing unnamed sources close to talks between ETA and an international monitoring group. The international commission, set up in 2011 to monitor ETA's ceasefire, is due to give its first news conference at 2 p.m. (1300 GMT) in the northern Spanish city of Bilbao. ETA, which has killed more than 800 people over more than four decades, proclaimed a ceasefire two years ago and has been severely weakened by hundreds of arrests and flagging support in Spain's northwestern Basque region. ETA said in 2012 it wanted to start talks with the Spanish and French governments to negotiate a definitive end to military operations and a handover of its arms. But Spain's then newly-elected conservative government, led by the People's Party's (PP) Mariano Rajoy, rejected offers of talks from ETA and demanded the group dissolve itself without conditions. ETA, formed in 1959 during the dictatorship of Francisco Franco to fight for Basque self-determination, said in 2011 it would collaborate with the international group of monitors led by Ram Manikkalingam, a former advisor to the Sri Lankan government on negotiations with the Tamil Tiger separatist militants. The monitoring group has been in the Basque region in recent days meeting local government officials and other representatives in the community. Other commission members have worked on peace processes in South Africa, the former Yugoslavia and northern Ireland. (Writing By Sonya Dowsett; Editing by Jon Boyle/Ruth Pitchford) Š Thomson Reuters 2014. All rights reserved. Users may download and print extracts of content from this website for their own personal and non-commercial use only. Republication or redistribution of Thomson Reuters content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters. Thomson Reuters and its logo are registered trademarks or trademarks of the Thomson Reuters group of companies around the world. Thomson Reuters journalists are subject to an Editorial Handbook which requires fair presentation and disclosure of relevant interests. This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only.
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Northern Irish man witnesses Basque terrorists Eta give up weapons - ...
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Northern Irish man witnesses Basque terrorists Eta give up weapons
/> Masked members of the Basque militant group Eta at a news conference By Michelle Smyth – 22 February 2014 A Northern Ireland man has spoken of his key role in overseeing the decommissioning of weapons and bomb-making materials by Basque separatist group Eta. Chris MacCabe is a member of the six-strong International Verification Commission, based in Amsterdam, appointed to monitor the ceasefire declared in 2011 by the militant group. The commission is made up of politicians, political advisers and former diplomats but it is not recognised by the Spanish government, which has described the decommissioning as "theatrical". Eta has killed more than 800 people in four decades in its campaign for an independent Basque state comprised of four Spanish provinces and part of south-west France. The group was formed at the end of the 1950s by young Basque nationalists who opposed General Franco's dictatorship. Yesterday they decommissioned some of their arsenal in front of the verifiers and are now looking to negotiate to have 500 of its members, who are in prison, moved to Basque jails. But the Spanish government refuses to negotiate, with Spain's Interior Minister Jorge Fernandez Diaz saying that Eta's victims should not be forgotten. He added that it was "not verifiers that defeated Eta, but the Spanish police and Civil Guard". Chris MacCabe is a former political director of the Northern Ireland Office and former British Joint Secretary of the British Irish Intergovernmental Conference. He has been involved in worldwide political conflict resolution for over 12 years including in Sri Lanka and Kosovo. He said the commission was "satisfied with the effectiveness of this act of decommissioning".
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"The sealing of the weapons was witnessed and filmed so there is no doubt that Eta has put a considerable quantity or ordnance beyond use. We regard this as a clear step on the way to complete disarmament," he said. "Since our commission was set up we have been able to verify that Eta has been effectively inactive for the past two years and we have had excellent cooperation in our work from the Basque Parliament." Eta has been linked to and has been compared to the IRA, with both organisations widely viewed as terrorist groups seeking independence. There have been many parallels drawn between Northern Ireland and the Basque region, with many believing there are lessons in our peace process for its situation. In the 1970s contacts between Eta and the IRA developed with the Basque group reportedly supplying them with explosives and weaponry. It has continued links with Sinn Fein, whose president Gerry Adams said last night: "We have been working with them in the Basque region for some time. We are convinced they are serious. This is an indication of their seriousness and commitment." Former hunger striker Brendan Hughes took part in an amnesty campaign for Eta prisoners in Bilbao in 1990. QUOTES "The sealing of the weapons was witnessed and filmed so there is no doubt that Eta has put a considerable quantity or ordnance beyond use. We regard this as a clear step on the way to complete disarmament. Since our commission was set up we have been able to verify that Eta has been effectively inactive for the past two years." – Former NIO political director Chris MacCabe
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Basque terrorist group ETA 'surrenders some weapons' Published: February 22, 2014 - 3:47PM
Madrid: ETA, the Basque separatist group, has disabled some of the weapons that allowed it to wage a lengthy terrorist campaign for independence that has killed more than 800 people, an international verification commission says.
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The weapons surrender was corroborated by the commission, set up to help broker a Basque peace agreement. The commission called the gesture significant at a news conference in Bilbao, Spain, on Friday and it presented an inventory of the weapons given up by ETA, which included a handful of guns and 16 kilograms of explosives. The commission, however, has never received any mandate from the Spanish government to negotiate with ETA, and since the separatist group announced a unilateral cease-fire in October 2011, the government has repeatedly insisted that the group needs to disarm as part of an unconditional surrender, without any outside intervention. The commission said that it had verified that the weapons had been "sealed and put beyond operational use" by ETA. The Spanish government had no immediate response to the weapons announcement. But speaking on Thursday in Paris before the announcement, Interior Minister Jorge Fernandez Diaz played down the importance of any partial concession by the group, saying, "The government will not contribute to any theater staging by ETA." He said, "To disarm is very easy; it is enough to give the locations where the caches are found." Much of ETA's weaponry is believed to be on French soil. One of the government's main concerns has been to prevent ETA gaining any political capital from a weapons surrender, a result that would then help its members make a smooth transition to the Basque political scene. At the same time, Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy has been concerned about angering hard-liners who have called on Madrid to stick to its demands for an unconditional surrender by ETA. In May, in the European parliamentary elections, Rajoy's Popular Party will face a challenge from a new rightist party, Vox, which is not expected to become a significant political force but has criticized Rajoy's handling of ETA. A founder of Vox, Jose Antonio Ortega Lara, was a hostage of ETA. The ETA matter has been complicated by the fact that Rajoy's government lost an international court case in October that forced Madrid eventually to release about 50 of ETA's longest-serving prisoners. The court, the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, France, ruled against a Spanish law that had allowed the Madrid government to extend the imprisonment of convicted terrorists and members of ETA. Since ETA declared its ceasefire, Madrid has continued to pursue its members, in close co-operation with other police forces. Last week, British police in London detained Antonio Troitino, who was released in October after the Strasbourg ruling but whom Madrid accuses of having rejoined ETA since then. The international verification commission that visited Bilbao is led by Ram Manikkalingam, who was involved in brokering peace in his native Sri Lanka. The commission was set up in September 2011, shortly before ETA announced its unilateral ceasefire. A spokesman for the commission said it received its funding "from different private and public philanthropic sources" but that he did not know their names.
22/02/2014 12:45
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ETA was formed in the late 1950s and is considered a terrorist organisation by the United States and the European Union. Its goal has been the establishment of an independent Basque homeland in northern Spain and south-western France. Independent of the ceasefire, ETA has been weakened in recent years to the point that security experts believe that it now has fewer than 50 active militants capable of organising an attack. New York Times This story was found at: http://www.smh.com.au/world/basque-terrorist-group-eta-surrenders-some-weapons-20140222-hvdft.html
22/02/2014 12:45
Leadership of Basque terrorist ETA expected to agree to ...
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Leadership of Basque terrorist ETA expected to agree to disarmament Leadership of the Basque terrorist group ETA, whose independence campaign has left more than 800 people dead since 1968, is expected to agree to unprecedented disarmament steps on Friday. The group has announced ceasefires in the past, most recently in 2011, but this is the first time that ETA has shown itself willing to hand over or dismantle weapons. The move has been characterized by Spanish media as representing the seriousness of the group in upholding the ceasefire, saying that a weapons handover would make it impossible to commit further acts of violence. Representatives from the International Verification Commission, a group of peace experts, who have been meeting with the ETA leadership since Tuesday, will make an announcement with the details of the disarmament on Friday afternoon. After a failed attempt at peace talks with the government in 2006, ETA declared a formal cessation of violence in 2011. Despite the success of the 2011 ceasefire, the Spanish government has refused to negotiate with the group, calling on it to disband completely. Nonetheless, a splinter political group branched off from Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy's ruling People's Party in January after accusing the government of being insufficiently hardline with the Basque group. The party, called Vox, is made up of ETA victims who have protested against the release of imprisoned ETA members convicted of carrying out terrorist attacks. On Friday morning, the legislature held five minutes of silence in commemoration of two members of parliament who were killed by ETA. Basque Nationalist Party chairman Inigo Urkullu welcomed the latest announcement, and said he would "take advantage of every opportunity possible to reach a conclusion with ETA." Voice of Russia, dpa
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Spanish gov't demands ETA dissolution after "disarmament" gesture English.news.cn 2014-02-22 03:19:39
MADRID, Feb. 21 (Xinhua) -- Spanish Interior Minister Jorge Fernandez Diez said on Friday that all
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the Spanish government want is the final dissolution of the Basque separatist organization ETA. Diez's remarks came after the ETA group was said to, under verification of International Verification Commission (IVC), have put part of its arsenal "out of operative use." IVC is a group of experienced international negotiators that has still to be recognized by the Spanish
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government. The minister said the Spanish government would not "contribute to the theatre of disarmament" of ETA, stressing that the only thing the government is waiting for is the Basque separatist group's "definitive dissolution without conditions." The announcement of the partial disarmament by ETA was made in the Basque city of Bilbao by Ram Mankkaligam, who leads IVC. If ETA hand over their weapons, they do not need international verification, Diez said. "The Civil Guard and the National Police are enough for us to verify if they have done away with their arms." "Everything that is an advance towards the definite dissolution (of ETA) and the total handing over of weapons is positive," he said while closing his speech after Friday's cabinet meeting.
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Spanish security forces believe that ETA has a large number of hidden bunkers with a mixture of weapons and that the group is emptying older bunkers and relocating its weapons to those of new constructions. They also highlight the fact that ETA never hands over small arms which have been linked to their attacks and that these would be sold on the black market, while materials handed over are either out
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of date or obsolete. ETA has put four firearms out of use, along with 16.5 kg of material used to make explosives, 300 bullets, two hollow charge grenades, as well as nine fuses and 190 meters of detonating cable. The BBC posted a video on its Spanish news service showing two supposed ETA members, both
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wearing masks, and two IVC members with part of the arsenal.
• Second reunion of separated families underway ETA's armed struggle for Basque independence has caused more than 800 deaths over 46 years, although the group did announce a permanent ceasefire in November 2011 and has not carried out
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any attack since then.
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Monitors: Basque group ETA starts decommissioning arms February 21, 2014
Some 70 Basque separatist group ETA former jailed members gather for a press conference called by EPPK, a collective representing hundreds of jailed members of ETA, on January 4, 2014, in the northern Spanish Basque town of Durango. ― AFP pic BILBAO, Feb 21 ― Basque group ETA has begun giving up its weapons, international monitors said today, a step towards a historic disarmament by western Europe’s last major violent separatist movement. An expert commission monitoring a ceasefire in ETA’s decades-long armed campaign released a video of black-masked members of the group presenting guns, bullets and explosives to monitors. “The commission has verified that ETA has sealed and put beyond operational use a specified quantity of arms, munitions and explosives,” the body’s spokesman, Ram Manikkalingam, told reporters in the Spanish Basque city of Bilbao. “The commission is confident that this step is significant and credible. We believe that it will lead to the putting beyond operational use of all ETA’s arms, munitions and explosives,” the Sri Lankan spokesman said. Spain’s conservative government shrugged off the move by ETA, which is classed as a terrorist group by the United States and European Union. Interior Minister Jorge Fernandez Diaz reiterated the government’s demand for ETA's “unconditional disbandment” and its “total and definitive defeat” by Spain's security forces. “With all respect, we do not need these international verifiers,” he told a news conference minutes
or., 2014.eko otsren 21a 17:08
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before Friday's announcement. “The civil guard and police are enough for us.” But ETA’s move sparked rare optimism in the Spanish Basque country. “It is a small step, it is not sufficient, but it is a first and necessary step towards complete disarmament,” the regional president Inigo Urkullu, a conservative nationalist, told a news conference after the announcement. “This is a step on a journey with no return that should have on its horizon the complete and total disarmament of ETA,” he added. ETA is blamed for the deaths of 829 people in a four-decade campaign of shootings and bombings for an independent Basque homeland in northern Spain and south-western France. Arms cache sealed up The commission’s video, broadcast by BBC television and posted online by Spanish media, showed two ETA members presenting a table laden with weapons and explosives to Manikkalingam and Ronnie Kasrils, a South African former minister. It said the arms in the video, which was dated to January 2014, were sealed, inventoried and put out of use. The Spanish and French governments refuse to negotiate with ETA and Spain does not recognise Manikkalingam and his International Verification Commission. ETA has been weakened over recent years by the arrests of its senior leaders in Spain and France. Only about 30 of its active members are thought to be still at large. In October 2011 it announced a “definitive end to armed activity” but refused to formally disarm and disband. Meanwhile, non-violent leftist Basque nationalist parties have gained political influence and increasing power through regional elections. Over recent months ETA members have tried to gain concessions from the Spanish government over prison conditions, outraging victims’ families. Spain and France have ignored ETA’s request to negotiate its disbandment on conditions such as transferring prisoners to jails closer to home. Hopes of progress were raised however on January 11 when rival Basque political parties joined together in a demonstration supporting that demand. ETA was formed in 1959 during the dictatorship of General Francisco Franco by a group of Basque nationalist students. It carried out its last known deadly attack in 2009, when it killed two police officers by a bomb under their car. In October, the European Court of Human Rights prompted the release of dozens of jailed ETA members by overturning a Spanish law that extended their prison terms. ― AFP Copyright © 2014 | The Malay Mail Online
or., 2014.eko otsren 21a 17:08
Meetings on ETA raise disarmament hopes in Spain
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Meetings on ETA raise disarmament hopes in Spain AFP February 21, 2014 Be First To Comment
or., 2014.eko otsren 21a 13:54
Meetings on ETA raise disarmament hopes in Spain
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MADRID: Hopes have risen for the disarmament of western Europe’s last major violent separatist group, the Basque movement ETA, ahead of a visit on Friday by international experts seeking a settlement. ETA is blamed for the deaths of 829 people in a four-decade campaign of shootings and bombings for an independent Basque homeland in northern Spain and southwestern France. In October 2011 it announced “the definitive end to its armed activity” but it has refused to formally disarm or disband as the Spanish and French governments demand. This month however it said it plans to make “significant contributions” towards a lasting settlement to its armed independence campaign. The International Verification Commission, a group of five statesmen working to settle the fate of the group, announced a visit shortly afterwards. The commission said it would give a “very significant and positive” message on Friday after meeting with Basque political parties. “It will have to do with the next step in the issue of peace,” a commission spokesman said. This has been widely interpreted in the Basque country as meaning a step towards disarmament. The Basque conservative regional government “hopes that the new announcements this weekend will be serious and trustworthy and will not be restricted to token or symbolic gestures and declarations,” said the Basque government’s secretary general for peace, Jonan Fernandez. Any announcements must “represent firm deeds with a view to the disarmament and disbandment of ETA”, he said on Wednesday. Classed as a terrorist group by the United States and European Union, ETA has been weakened over recent years by the arrests of its senior leaders in Spain and France. Only about 30 of its active members are thought to be still at large. Meanwhile, non-violent leftist Basque nationalist parties have gained political influence and increasing power through regional elections. Over recent months ETA members have raised sensitivities in Spain by trying to gain concessions from the Spanish government over prison conditions. But the government refuses to negotiate with ETA and Spain does not recognise the International Verification Commission, a group of statesmen who is working to settle the fate of the group. In a statement in December a collective representing hundreds of jailed ETA members gave ground on one of the most sensitive aspects of the stand-off — the terms of their jailing and potential release. It said the prisoners dropped their long-standing demand for a general amnesty and said it would consider letting them negotiate individually for release. The pro-independence party Sortu, formed by former members of the outlawed party Batasuna, hailed that as “a turning point”. The Spanish and French governments have ignored ETA’s request to negotiate its disbandment on conditions such as transferring prisoners to jails closer to home. But hopes of progress were raised on January 11 when rival Basque political parties joined together in a demonstration supporting that demand. or., 2014.eko otsren 21a 13:54
Meetings on ETA raise disarmament hopes in Spain
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Then on February 7 ETA promised “significant contributions” towards a lasting settlement “without delay”. “These are all little steps and I think that soon they will take an important step, perhaps more important,” said Gorka Landaburu, a specialist in Basque affairs. The five-member commission is led by a Sri Lankan, Ram Manikkallingam, and includes a South African, two British experts and an Indian. Formed in 2011, it has resumed work on the ETA question after a pause following the breakdown of efforts to solve it in Norway last year. Specialists say the new announcement could give details of the locations of ETA arms caches — most of which are thought to be in France — or that ETA could at least promise to do so.
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or., 2014.eko otsren 21a 13:54
BBC News - Eta monitors 'working for peace' in Spain's ...
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EUROPE 24 February 2014 Last updated at 00:30 GMT
Eta monitors 'working for peace' in Spain's Basque region Monitors working to secure the disarmament of Eta militants in Spain have insisted that their only goal is to achieve peace in the Basque region. Members of the International Verification Commission (IVC) spoke after facing questions by judges over a recent meeting with masked Eta members. The IVC announced on Friday that the Basque separatist group had put a small number of its arms "beyond use". Eta declared an end to its armed campaign in 2011. It has killed more than 800 people over four decades. 'Transparent'
The Spanish government refuses to negotiate with the militants, regarding them as terrorists. It also does not recognise the work of the IVC, a group of former international politicians and diplomats, which aims to provide verification of Eta's January 2011 ceasefire and subsequent declaration of a "definitive end of violence". In a video released on Friday, two IVC members were seen inspecting weapons that they said had been put out of use. But an organisation representing victims of the violence in the Basque Country asked a judge to question the IVC about the identity and whereabouts of the Eta militants. The team members told the court they did not know who the militants they met were nor where Eta weapons were kept. Commission head Ram Manikkalingam pledged to be "transparent" and cooperate with the tribunal. "We are working for the consolidation of peace and coexistence in the Basque country," he said after leaving the court.
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al., 2014.eko otsren 24a 11:38
irishtimes.com - Madrid rash to respond so half-heartedly...
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Madrid rash to respond so half-heartedly to Eta arms handovers Paddy Woodworth Last Updated: Sunday, February 23, 2014, 22:00
You could be forgiven for thinking that the bloody conflict between the Basque terrorist group Eta and the Spanish state was well and truly over. Eta’s “permanent, general and verifiable ceasefire” has indeed held remarkably firm since it was declared in January 2011. However, the release of a video last Friday showing two masked Eta members handing over weapons – a risibly small quantity, it must be said – to an “international verification commission” is a reminder of serious unfinished business in this often shameful chapter in Basque and Spanish history. Eta (“the Basque Country and Liberty”) was born in 1959 to campaign for Basque independence and to combat the dictatorship of Gen Franco. Popular appeal Its daring, David-and-Goliath actions against a brutally authoritarian system won it a passionate and enduring mass following in the Basque Country, and a great deal of sympathy, often now forgotten, among democrats across Spain and internationally. The decision of a hardline nationalist Eta faction to escalate its attacks after Spain became a constitutional democracy in 1978 surprised and outraged many former supporters. Yet the group retained the backing of about 15 per cent of Basques for many years. Their loyalty was often fuelled by violent state repression – including routine torture and, for a period, death squads – by Madrid. However, Eta lost the confidence of even its own banned political movement, Batasuna, when it failed to engage in meaningful negotiations with the Spanish authorities in the late 1990s, and especially in 2006/2007. Despite real opportunities to emulate the Irish peace process, the armed activists refused to take direction from their supposed political leadership. Meanwhile, increasingly effective police work crippled the group’s capacity to carry out attacks. Ceasefire without concessions From 2008 onwards, Batasuna embarked on a remarkable variant of Sinn Féin’s “Irish model”. It’s often said that it takes two to tango but, aware that all bridges had now been burned with Madrid, the radical independence movement launched a peace process without a partner. With great difficulty, it convinced Eta to declare a ceasefire without any concessions whatsoever from Madrid. For years, the Batasuna leadership suffered successive public humiliations. It reinvented itself under a series of new party names, with statutes that categorically rejected political violence, in an attempt to regain legality and participate in elections. Ironically, its best ally in this difficult period was the relentless hostility of the Spanish right, which pressurized the courts to ban parties with increasingly impeccable democratic programmes. Many Basques who had long rejected Eta were nevertheless outraged: Spain now appeared to veto a peaceful pro-independence political option.
al., 2014.eko otsren 24a 11:39
irishtimes.com - Madrid rash to respond so half-heartedly...
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So, when one of the new parties, Bildu, finally jumped through all the legal hoops, and with Eta already on “permanent” ceasefire, the political movement was rewarded with a huge surge in support. Bildu took an unprecedented quarter of the Basque vote in 2011, and again in 2012. The growth of this pro-independence constituency poses a big challenge to the deeply conservative Partido Popular (PP) government in Madrid. But it may be mistaken in insisting that a “defeated” Eta should simply disarm and dissolve itself, without offering any exit to the 500-plus Eta prisoners still serving long sentences. Human rights activists point out that the policy of “dispersal”, whereby prisoners are held far from their homes, is a questionable measure that harshly punishes families as well as inmates. Bringing the prisoners to Basque jails now would be a minimal and cost-free confidence-building measure. That is what makes last Friday’s video more significant than might appear, judged just on the tiny quantity of weapons decommissioned. In these circumstances, even this gesture was a difficult decision for the Eta leadership, and the promise of more to come should not be dismissed. It is unfortunate that the Spanish government still refuses to recognise the international verification commission, with its international figures, like South African Ronnie Kasrils and Sri Lankan Ram Manikkalingam. And it is very hard to see how Eta can decommission major arsenals without some kind of “safeconduct” guarantee from Madrid. To do so, its members – and any commissioners who accompany them – risk 30-year sentences if they are caught. Kafkaesque situation It is a Kafkaesque situation when former terrorists are likely to be punished for trying to destroy their own weaponry. The Spanish government should find the courage to challenge its own hardliners, and seize the current opportunity to bring this conflict to a complete close. No excuse should be offered to remaining militants to restart the cycle of violence. Paddy Woodworth is the author of two books on the Basque Country © 2014 irishtimes.com
al., 2014.eko otsren 24a 11:39
Spain: ETA verification panel probed in court | UTSanDi...
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Spain: ETA verification panel probed in court By Associated Press
5:27 a.m.
Feb. 23, 2014
Ram Manikkalingam, a member of the commission overseeing the Basque group ETA's ceasefire, announced in 2011, second right, shows a document from ETA after the armed group announced the first step in disarmament, putting some weapons and explosives out of use, in Bilbao northern Spain, Friday, Feb. 21, 2014. ETA is blamed for killing some 830 people between the late 1960s in bombings and its 2011 cease-fire in a campaign for a Basque homeland in northern Spain and southwest France. (AP Photo/Alvaro Barrientos) The Associated Press MADRID (AP) — Three members of an international committee that oversaw a partial disarmament by Basque separatist group ETA have appeared in court to answer questions before an investigating judge. Judge Ismael Moreno summoned them to Spain's National Court after committee spokesman Ram Manikkalingam said Friday that ETA had placed a small quantity of weapons out of use in what is viewed as a first step toward an unconditional total disarmament. After appearing before Moreno some two hours on Sunday, Manikkalingam said they had answered question in a bid to be "transparent" and because they believed there was "a real chance for peace." ETA is blamed for killing some 830 people between the late 1960s and its cease-fire in 2011 in a campaign for a Basque homeland in northern Spain and southwestern France. © Copyright 2014 The San Diego Union-Tribune, LLC. An MLIM LLC Company. All rights reserved.
al., 2014.eko otsren 24a 11:43
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ETA: face au juge, les experts en désarmement disent vouloir «coopérer» AFP 23 FÉVRIER 2014 À 14:39 (MIS À JOUR : 23 FÉVRIER 2014 À 18:19)
Les trois membres de la Commission internationale en désarmement quittent le tribunal de Madrid le 23 février 2014 (Photo Tom Gandolfini. AFP)
Les experts qui ont annoncé vendredi un premier geste de désarmement de l’ETA ont affirmé vouloir «coopérer» avec la justice espagnole et assuré qu’il existait une «véritable occasion» pour la paix, après avoir été interrogés dimanche sur leur rencontre avec des militants du groupe basque. Vendredi à Bilbao, la Commission internationale de vérification, l’un des groupes travaillant sur le cessez-le-feu au Pays Basque, avait annoncé avoir constaté, en janvier, que l’ETA «a mis sous scellés et hors d’usage opérationnel une certaine quantité d’armes». A l’appui de ce geste, une vidéo tournée dans un lieu inconnu montrait deux militants cagoulés, présentant un petit stock d’armes à deux des experts, le président sri-lankais de la Commission, Ram Manikkalingam, et le Sud-Africain Ronnie Kasrils. Madrid, qui ne reconnaît pas la légitimité de la Commission, avait dénoncé une «mise en scène», tandis que le gouvernement basque estimait cette annonce insuffisante: l’un des scénarios évoqués à l’avance était en effet que l’ETA
ar., 2014.eko otsren 25a 15:52
ETA: face au juge, les experts en désarmement disent vo...
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dévoile l’emplacement de certaines de ses caches d’armes. Entendus à la demande d’une association de victimes, Covite, par le juge Ismael Moreno à Madrid, les experts ont affirmé, selon une source judiciaire, qu’ils «ne connaissaient ni l’identité des hommes qu’ils ont rencontrés, ni l’emplacement des caches d’armes de l’ETA». Créée en septembre 2011, cette commission travaille en coulisses, nouant des contacts au sein de la société basque ainsi que des contacts, directs et indirects, avec le groupe séparatiste. Selon cette source, les experts ont raconté avoir reçu «à la fin janvier 2014 une lettre anonyme leur disant de se rendre à Toulouse», dans le sud de la France. Ram Manikkalingam et Ronnie Kasrils, selon leur témoignage, ont été reçus dans cette ville par un intermédiaire anonyme qui les a conduits jusqu’à un bâtiment où ils sont entrés «par un garage avant de gagner un étage où a été filmée la scène». Toujours selon cette source, les militants ont signé l’inventaire des armes présentées avant «de les mettre, devant eux, dans un carton qu’ils ont scellé». «Nous voulons être transparents avec le juge et nous avons coopéré avec lui», a déclaré Ram Manikkalingam, en sortant du tribunal. «Il est maintenant temps de mettre les armes de l’ETA sous scellés et hors d’usage», a-t-il ajouté, estimant qu’il existait «une véritable occasion» pour enclencher ce processus. Trois des six membres de la commission ont répondu à la convocation du juge: Ram Manikkalingam, un ancien conseiller du président sri-lankais dans les négociations avec les Tigres tamouls, Ronnie Kasrils, ancien ministre sud-africain du renseignement, ainsi que le Britannique Chris Maccabe, qui a participé au processus de paix en Irlande du Nord. - Une «convulsion permanente» Tous trois étaient accompagnés à Madrid par le président basque Iñigo Urkullu, un nationaliste conservateur qui leur a apporté son soutien. Le secrétaire général pour la paix du gouvernement régional, Jonan Fernandez, a appelé le gouvernement espagnol à «réfléchir» aux moyens d’éviter de soumettre «la société basque à un état de convulsion permanente» par son refus de négocier. Et le groupe armé à «engager une réflexion sur les conséquences qu’ont le fait de retarder le processus» de sa dissolution. Malgré la petite quantité d’armes présentées, Ram Manikkalingam avait jugé «très significatif» le geste de l’ETA, compte tenu du fait, avait-il souligné, que les militants agissent dans la clandestinité. L’expert en avait appelé aux gouvernements espagnol et français pour qu’ils facilitent le processus de désarmement. «Si par exemple l’ETA a la possibilité de se déplacer pour poser des scellés sur ses caches d’armes, si ses militants ne se font pas arrêter quand ils font cela, alors cela peut aller très vite», avait-il estimé vendredi. «Mais si l’on n’a pas, pour le moins, une absence d’objection du gouvernement, alors cela peut prendre beaucoup de temps», avait-il averti. Depuis que l’ETA, le 20 octobre 2011, a annoncé qu’il mettait fin définitivement à la violence, Madrid ne cesse de réclamer la dissolution sans conditions du groupe, rendu responsable de la mort de 829 personnes en plus de 40 ans d’attentats pour l’indépendance du Pays Basque et de la Navarre. AFP
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ar., 2014.eko otsren 25a 15:52
Au Pays basque, une chance à saisir
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Au Pays basque, une chance à saisir LE MONDE | 22.02.2014 à 11h08 • Mis à jour le 22.02.2014 à 11h09 Ce n'est qu'une étape sur la voie de la résolution du douloureux conflit basque, mais c'est une étape importante et il faut la saluer . Vendredi 21 février, à Bilbao, ville marquée par tant d'attentats meurtriers, des experts de la Commission internationale de vérification du cessez-le-feu (CIV) ont présenté à la presse les images des premières armes que l'organisation séparatiste basque ETA a accepté de détruire . Ce processus de démantèlement de l'arsenal du groupe terroriste a été engagé à la suite de l'annonce, le 20 octobre 2011, par les dirigeants d'ETA, de l'abandon de la lutte armée . Lire notre compte-rendu (édition Abonnés) : Pour Madrid, le désarmement de l’ETA n’est qu’une «théâtralisation» (/europe/article/2014/02 /22/pour-madrid-le-desarmement-de-l-eta-n-est-qu-une-theatralisation_4371606_3214.html)
On ne met pas fin par un trait de crayon à une guérilla vieille de quarante ans, qui a ses racines dans la dictature franquiste et a causé la mort de plus de 800 personnes. Même si l'indépendantisme basque n'a plus tué depuis quatre ans, les plaies sont encore vives dans la société basque et espagnole. Les associations de familles de victimes, très actives, se sont radicalisées. Plus de 500 membres d'ETA sont toujours détenus pour actes terroristes, dispersés dans les prisons d'Espagne et de France pour les empêcher de s'organiser . Lire notre reportage (édition Abonnés) : Le lent chemin vers la paix de la société basque espagnole (/europe/article/2014/02/21/le-lent-chemin-vers-la-paix-dela-societe-basque-espagnole_4371060_3214.html)
Mais les progrès depuis deux ans sont réels. La peur a disparu du Pays basque, où la plupart des élus circulent à présent sans garde du corps. La gauche « abertzale », ou patriote basque, a décidé de jouer le jeu démocratique et institutionnel pour défendre ses revendications indépendantistes, et elle s'y tient. Le gouvernement autonome basque a mis en place un plan de paix pour superviser les efforts de reconstruction et de réconciliation. Au sein de la société civile elle-même, des initiatives courageuses s'emploient à combler le fossé entre victimes et ex-terroristes. Malgré le ressentiment encore à fleur de peau, les Basques de tous bords veulent tourner la page de la violence, de
ar., 2014.eko otsren 25a 15:26
Au Pays basque, une chance à saisir
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l'intimidation et de la répression. C'est dans ce contexte qu'intervient le travail de la CIV. Déjà impliquée dans les processus de résolution de conflits en Afrique du Sud , dans l'ex-Yougoslavie et en Irlande du Nord, cette institution est respectée et fait un travail essentiel. Malheureusement, et contrairement au gouvernement britannique qui avait donné son aval à la supervision de la Commission pour le processus de désarmement de l'IRA, l'organisation indépendantiste irlandaise, Madrid ne reconnaît pas le rôle de la CIV. Le gouvernement de Mariano Rajoy dénonce ce qu'il considère comme une « mise en scène » orchestrée par les indépendantistes basques et souligne que les armes présentées vendredi comme détruites ne constituent qu'une fraction des stocks en possession d'ETA. En Irlande du Nord, le désarmement total de l'IRA, achevé en 2005, a pris quatre ans. M. Rajoy doit prendre exemple sur l'expérience nord-irlandaise, qui reste à mettre au crédit de Tony Blair et du réalisme des dirigeants de Sinn Féin, proches de l'IRA. Il y a aujourd'hui une occasion inédite de paix durable au Pays basque, que Paris et Madrid doivent mettre à profit. Au geste accompli par ETA avec ce début de désarmement, le gouvernement espagnol devrait répondre par la fin de la politique de dispersion des prisonniers basques, très mal vécue par les familles et source de tensions permanentes. Jamais ETA n'a été aussi faible, jamais elle n'est restée aussi longtemps sans tuer . Il ne faut pas laisser passer cette chance.
ar., 2014.eko otsren 25a 15:26
Espagne: un premier geste attendu de l’ETA vers un dé...
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Monde
Espagne: un premier geste attendu de l’ETA vers un désarmement AFP 21 FÉVRIER 2014 À 12:16
Des manifestants réclament que des prisonniers appartenant au groupe armé ETA soient rapatriés au Pays basque, le 7 décembre 2013 à Durango (Photo Rafa Rivas. AFP)
L’ETA devrait annoncer vendredi un premier geste en vue de son désarmement: une nouvelle étape, après l’abandon de la violence, vers la fin du groupe séparatiste basque, que pourrait transmettre un groupe d’experts étrangers en visite dans la région. La Commission internationale de vérification du cessez-le-feu, créée en 2011 et non reconnue par Madrid, arrivée jeudi au Pays Basque, devait rencontrer vendredi les partis politiques basques ainsi que la presse à Bilbao, pour transmettre un message «très significatif» en vue de consolider la paix. En clair, l’ETA, qui a annoncé le 20 octobre 2011 mettre fin définitivement à la violence, devrait faire savoir pour la première fois, par l’intermédiaire de cette commission, qu’il est disposé à faire un geste sur la voie du désarmement. Mais la portée de l’annonce, qui pourrait se matérialiser par des informations sur ses caches d’armes, reste une inconnue. Le président basque Iñigo Urkullu, un nationaliste conservateur du PNV, a espéré vendredi, avant sa rencontre avec les experts, que cette journée permettrait de «constater» que l’organisatation séparatiste se prépare à un «désarmement complet». L’ETA, dont il ne resterait plus qu’une trentaine de militants en liberté, a toujours refusé jusqu’à présent d’envisager un
or., 2014.eko otsren 21a 13:56
Espagne: un premier geste attendu de l’ETA vers un dé...
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désarmement tant que ne seraient pas prises en compte certaines de ses revendications, dont le rapprochement au Pays Basque de ses militants emprisonnés. Le gouvernement de droite espagnol, de son côté, ne cesse de réclamer la dissolution sans conditions du groupe. L’Espagne rejette toute négociation avec «une organisation terroriste», a répété jeudi, à Paris, le ministre espagnol de l’Intérieur, Jorge Fernandez Diaz. Il a estimé que «tout pas qui va dans le sens d’une dissolution est positif», mais que «les mises en scène sont superflues», réclamant «des faits parfaitement vérifiables par les forces de sécurité». - Un geste 'significatif' Derrière ce blocage apparent, les lignes ont pourtant bougé au Pays Basque: les partis de la gauche indépendantiste ont gagné en influence, devenant depuis 2012 la deuxième force politique régionale. L’ETA, très affaiblie, a parallèlement multiplié les messages depuis son dernier attentat sur le sol espagnol, en août 2009. Un nouveau message est venu le 28 décembre du collectif EPPK, représentant plus de 500 détenus du groupe dispersés dans les prisons espagnoles et françaises. Très attendu, le texte entérinait l’abandon de la violence et évoquait, pour la première fois, de possibles démarches individuelles en vue d’une libération, ne mentionnant plus la demande d’une amnistie collective, une revendication historique de l’ETA. Cette annonce avait été largement interprétée comme un assouplissement de la position du groupe, classé organisation terroriste par l’Union européenne et les Etats-Unis, rendu responsable de la mort de 829 personnes en plus de 40 ans d’attentats pour l’indépendance du Pays Basque et de la Navarre. D’autres signaux sont venus parallèlement de la société basque: le 11 janvier, une manifestation a réuni plus de 100.000 personnes à Bilbao, convoquée conjointement, malgré leurs divergences, par la gauche indépendantiste et par le PNV, en riposte à l’interdiction par la justice espagnole d’une autre manifestation pour la défense des prisonniers. Le 7 février, dans un nouveau communiqué, l’ETA prenait acte de ces «avancées» et annonçait qu’il ferait, «dans un bref délai», un geste «significatif». «Ce sont des petits pas, et je pense que nous verrons ce vendredi un autre petit pas, peut-être plus important», relevait le journaliste Gorka Landaburu, spécialiste de la question basque. Créée en septembre 2011, peu avant l’annonce historique de l’ETA, la commission de vérification, présidée par le Sri-lankais Ram Manikkalingam, est compsée d’experts en conflits dont l’ex-ministre sud-africain des services secrets Ronnie Kasrils ou Chris Maccabe, qui a participé au processus de paix en Irlande du Nord. Début 2013, des contacts établis en Norvège avec des membres de l’ETA avaient tourné court, dans un contexte de blocage total. Mais après une pause de plusieurs mois, la commission semble avoir renoué des contacts, hors d’Espagne, avec des militants du groupe dans la clandestinité, qui ont abouti à cette visite. «On ne parlera pas encore de dissolution», souligne Gorka Landaburu. «Il y a toujours le problème des prisonniers. C’est pour cela qu’il n’y a pas de dissolution directe, qui viendra avec le temps». AFP
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or., 2014.eko otsren 21a 13:56
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Espagne: l’ETA a commencé à mettre hors d’usage son armement, selon des experts AFP 21 FÉVRIER 2014 À 12:16 (MIS À JOUR : 21 FÉVRIER 2014 À 15:05)
Le chef de la commission internationale sur le cessez-le-feu, Ram Mainikkalingam lors d'une conférence de presse à Bilbao, le 21 février 2014 (Photo Rafa Rivas. AFP)
L’ETA a commencé à mettre hors d’usage son armement, ont annoncé vendredi les experts de la commission internationale de vérification du cessez-le-feu, une nouvelle étape vers la disparition du groupe séparatiste basque après l’abandon de la violence en 2011. La commission a pu vérifier en janvier que l’ETA a «scellé et mis hors d’usage une certaine quantité d’armes», ont annoncé ces experts devant la presse à Bilbao, dans le nord de l’Espagne. Cette visite, la première au Pays Basque depuis un an de cette commission composée d’experts en conflits, créée en 2011 et non reconnue par Madrid, faisait suite à l’annonce, le 7 février, par le groupe armé basque, qu’il s’apprêtait à faire un geste «significatif» en vue de consolider la fin de la violence dans la région. Le groupe avait le 20 octobre 2011 annoncé qu’il abandonnait définitivement la violence, mais jusqu’à présent refusait de déposer les armes si certaines de ses revendications n’étaient pas prises en compte, à commencer par le rapprochement de ses militants détenus de prisons du Pays Basque. Dans son dernier communiqué cependant, l’ETA faisait état «d’avancées», évoquant notamment un message diffusé le 28
or., 2014.eko otsren 21a 15:31
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décembre par le collectif regroupant ses prisonniers, qui entérinaient alors l’abandon de la violence. Parallèlement, la commission de vérification a poursuivi son travail en coulisses. En avril 2013, a expliqué le président de cette commission, «l’ETA a demandé de manière confidentielle que soit inclu dans son mandat un processus unilatéral de mise sous scellés et hors d’usage opérationnel de ses armes, munitions et explosifs». AFP
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L'ETA a commencé à mettre hors d'usage son armement 21.02.2014 15:48
Neuf militants de l'ETA libérés après une décision de la justice européenne 08 novembre 2013 Les victimes de l'ETA manifestent à Madrid pour réclamer "justice" 27 octobre 2013 La Cour européenne des droits de l'Homme libère une militante basque 01:52 | 12:45 le journal | 23 octobre 2013 L'Espagne condamnée pour la détention prolongée d'une terroriste de l'ETA 01:23 | Monde | 22 octobre 2013
Le groupe séparatiste basque avait annoncé l'abandon de la violence en octobre 2011. [Gara - AFP]
L'ETA a commencé à mettre hors d'usage son armement, ont annoncé vendredi les experts de la commission internationale de vérification du cessez-le-feu. La commission a pu vérifier en janvier que l'ETA a "scellé et mis hors d'usage une certaine quantité d'armes", ont annoncé vendredi les experts à Bilbao, dans le nord de l'Espagne. Il s'agit d'une nouvelle étape vers la disparition du groupe séparatiste basque après l'abandon de la violence en 2011. Cette visite, la première au Pays Basque depuis un an de cette commission composée d'experts en conflits, créée en 2011 et non reconnue par Madrid, faisait suite à l'annonce, le 7 février, par le groupe armé basque, qu'il s'apprêtait à faire un geste "significatif" en vue de consolider la fin de la violence dans la région.
Violence abandonnée en 2011 Le groupe avait le 20 octobre 2011 annoncé qu'il abandonnait définitivement la violence, mais jusqu'à présent refusait de déposer les armes si certaines de ses revendications n'étaient pas prises en compte, à commencer par le rapprochement de ses militants détenus de prisons du Pays Basque. Dans son dernier communiqué cependant, l'ETA faisait état "d'avancées" qui entérinaient alors l'abandon de la violence. afp/olhor
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or., 2014.eko otsren 21a 16:07
Baskenland: ETA-Separatisten beginnen mit Entwaffnung
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http://www.rp-online.de/politik/ausland/eta-separatisten-...
21. Februar 2014 | 16.20 Uhr
Baskenland
ETA-Separatisten beginnen mit Entwaffnung Die baskischen Separatisten der ETA setzen in Spanien endlich die lange ersehnte Entwaffnung in Gang. Für die regierende Volkspartei und auch für die Opposition ist das jedoch nur eine ungenügende Geste. Außenminister Fernández Díaz sprach sogar von "Theater". Bilbao .
Knapp zweieinhalb Jahre nach ihrer Abkehr von der Strategie des Terrors hat die baskische Untergrundorganisation ETA in Spanien erstmals auch eine Teilentwaffnung verkündet. Die separatistische Gruppe habe mehrere Waffenverstecke versiegelt sowie "eine bestimmte Anzahl von Waffen und Sprengstoffen außer Betrieb gesetzt", teilte die Internationale Kommission zur Überprüfung des Waffenstillstands im Baskenland (Comisión Internacional de Verificación - CIV) am Freitag in Bilbao im Nordosten des Landes mit. Das sei ein "glaubwürdiger und bedeutsamer Schritt", erklärte der Kommissionsvorsitzende Ram Manikkalingam aus Sri Lanka, dessen Gruppe von der spanischen Regierung von Ministerpräsident Mariano Rajoy allerdings nicht anerkannt wird. Schon vor der Verkündung hatte Außenminister Jorge Fernández Díaz die Bedeutung der erwarteten Maßnahme als "Theater" heruntergespielt. "Wenn sie wirklich die Waffen abgeben wollen, dann sollen sie sie abgeben, das ist sehr einfach", sagte der spanische Chefdiplomat in Madrid. Scharfe Kritik gab es am Freitag auch von der stellvertretenden Generalsekretärin der Sozialisten (PSOE), Elena Valenciano. "ETA hat vor über zwei Jahren aufgehört zu töten, weil sie da schon endgültig besiegt war". Die Organisation könne daher jetzt "keinen Dank erwarten", sagte sie. Die "Terrorbande" müsse nun "einfach alle Waffen abgeben und endlich von der
or., 2014.eko otsren 21a 17:13
Baskenland: ETA-Separatisten beginnen mit Entwaffnung
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http://www.rp-online.de/politik/ausland/eta-separatisten-...
Bildfläche verschwinden." Manikkalingam verriet in Bilbao, die Teilentwaffnung der ETA sei vor rund einem Monat unter Aufsicht der CIV erfolgt und auf Video festgehalten worden. Szenen der Aktion wurden in "Naiz.info", dem Portal der baskischen Zeitung "Gara" gepostet. Zu sehen sind zwei vermummte mutmaßliche ETA-Mitglieder und die CIV-Vertreter Manikkalingam und Ronald Kasrils. Hinter einem Tisch voller Waffen besiegeln und unterschreiben sie das Abkommen. "Wir glauben, dass das zur völligen Entwaffnung von ETA führen wird", versicherte nun Manikkalingan. Nach Angaben der CIV setzte die ETA vier Schusswaffen, zwei Granaten, 300 Kugeln und 16 Kilogramm Strengstoff außer Betrieb. Die ETA hatte im Oktober 2011 einen definitiven Gewaltverzicht erklärt und seither keine Anschläge mehr verübt. Der Forderung der Regierung und der Opposition, alle Waffen abzugeben und die Strukturen im Untergrund aufzulösen, kam sie bisher aber nicht nach. Die ETA war 1959 als Widerstandsbewegung gegen die FrancoDiktatur gegründet worden. Sie bekämpfte den spanischen Staat auch nach der Rückkehr zur Demokratie im Jahr 1975 mit dem Ziel eines unabhängigen Staates im Baskenland weiter. Bei ETA-Anschlägen wurden mehr als 800 Menschen getötet. Quelle: dpa
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or., 2014.eko otsren 21a 17:13
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ETA começa a retirar de uso parte de seu arsenal, anuncia comissão A rede de TV BBC registrou o momento em que encapuzados entregam armas, munições e explosivos France Presse Publicação: 21/02/2014 11:00 Atualização: A organização separatista armada basca ETA começou a "retirar de uso uma quantidade determinada de armas", anunciou nesta sexta-feira (21/2) uma comissão de verificação do cessar-fogo, integrada por especialistas internacionais. Leia mais notícias em Mundo
Membro histórico da organização separatista ETA é detido em Londres
A comissão "verificou que o ETA lacrou e retirou de uso operacional uma quantidade determinada de armas, munição e explosivos, o que foi gravado em vídeo", afirmou o presidente da Comissão, o cingalês Ram Manikkallingam.
Justiça britânica deixa integrante do ETA em liberdade condicional
A BBC mostrou imagens de dois encapuzados do ETA entregando as armas.
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