Spain says ETA disarmament is positive but insufficient

Record ID: 566499

  • Title: Spain says ETA disarmament is positive but insufficient
  • Date: 8th April 2017
  • Summary: MADRID, SPAIN (APRIL 8, 2017) (REUTERS) EXTERIOR OF PEOPLE'S PARTY HEADQUARTERS IN MADRID TRAFFIC LIGHTS CHANGING COLOUR / PEOPLE'S PARTY LOGO EXTERIOR OF PEOPLE'S PARTY HEADQUARTERS
  • Embargoed: 22nd April 2017 15:08
  • Keywords: ETA Spain Basque Country Disarmament France People's Party
  • Location: MADRID AND SAN SEBASTIAN, SPAIN
  • City: MADRID AND SAN SEBASTIAN, SPAIN
  • Country: Spain
  • Topics: Government/Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA0016BJFWAV
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text:Basque militant group ETA effectively ended an armed separatist campaign after almost half a century on Saturday (April 8), leading French authorities to the sites where it says its caches of weapons, explosives and ammunition are hidden.
    ETA killed more than 850 people and terrorized the country with bomb attacks in its attempt to carve out an independent state in northern Spain and southwest France. It declared a ceasefire in 2011 but did not disarm.
    The Spanish government said ETA's handover, via intermediaries, of its weapons in the French city of Bayonne was positive but insufficient and called on the group to formally dissolve and apologize to its victims.
    In a written statement, the Spanish government said the step made by ETA was the "consequence of its definitive defeat by Spanish democracy, achieved by using the arm of the law, political unity and international cooperation, as well as the commitment of the state's security services."
    Javier Maroto of the ruling People's Party said ETA's action was an attempt to twist reality.
    The Basque regional leader Inigo Urkullu welcomed ETA's decision to disarm.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2017. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
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