The Basque region's prime minister said yesterday that the central Spanish government had started peace talks with the outlawed Batasuna party, which is considered to be the political wing of the violent separatist group Eta.In an interview published yesterday in the Basque newspaper Deia, Juan José Ibarretxe said that both his government and the Socialist administration in Madrid "are already in dialogue with Batasuna", but that "a final resolution" to the conflict in the Basque region "will only be possible without violence".
| Unless they blow stuff up again, then you'll cave like a good socialist. |
The pro-government El PaÃÂs newspaper reported yesterday that Spain's prime minister, José Luis RodrÃÂguez Zapatero, and Mr Ibarretxe had agreed on the framework for future talks with Eta. It would include a political round table to which the banned Batasuna party would be invited if Eta set down its arms. The talks would revolve around the future of jailed Eta members and Basque demands for greater regional autonomy, the paper said.
Eta has killed more than 850 people in its three-decade fight for an independent state in northern Spain and southwestern France. But the organisation has been severely weakened by the arrest of hundreds of supposed activists. It has not murdered in two years.
| And you're talking to them because ... |