ETA-GOVERNMENT MEETING

Government admitted the importance of a Basque political agreement

01/18/2007 The Basque newspaper Gara unveiled that during the last meeting between the Spanish Government and ETA, both made clear that the peace talks were freezing and that the solution would be a political agreement.

The Basque armed group ETA and the Spanish Government talked during their last meeting in December about "a political agreement between the Basque parties" as a"key-solution" to unfreeze the peace talks, the Basquenewspaper Gara assured today. The Spanish Government "promised not to block the negotiations between Basque political parties so that they could reach an agreement", informed the newspaper. The newspaper assures that both manifested their desire to continue peace talks, but made clear that a political agreement between the Basque political parties would be fundamental.

ETA's proposal.

The Basque newspaper also assured that ETA presented to the Spanish Government a global proposal to develop the peace process when a political agreement would be reached to resolve the Basque conflict. This proposal and the Spanish Government's one should be analyzed by both, at least if the Spanish President didn't put an end to the dialogue. The meeting also treated the Basque prisoners issue. The Basque armed group asked, according to the newspaper, to respect the Basque prisoners' rights and to stop the use of exceptional measures. The group also asked the Government "to respect all the guarantees linked to the agreements that gave place to the cease-fire". They warned that "policial and judicial attacks" and the situation of Basque prisoner Iñaki de Juana Chaos (nowadays in 76th day on hunger strike) could "blow up the process".