Spain vowed to bring to justice all those who committed crimes as members of former Basque separatist group ETA even as its formal dissolution was sealed on Friday with calls for reconciliation.

By disbanding, the group put a definitive end to western Europe’s last armed insurgency following more than four decades of killings and kidnappings.

But the Spanish government reiterated its vow to pursue any outstanding cases against members of the group, which is blamed for more than 800 killings.

“ETA’s crimes will continue to be investigated, its offences will continue to be tried in the courts, convictions will continue to be issued accordingly and the sentences will continue to be served,” Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy said in an address.

“There has not been and will not be any impunity. We owe them nothing and have nothing to thank them for.”

Rajoy paid tribute to people the group is accused of killing and the victims’ families. He said the group is now accused of killing 853 people.

“We owe a homage to all of them — to them, their families and the hundreds of Spaniards who survived the terrorist violence but who still suffer the consequences of that cruelty.”

Mediators gathered in the French Basque country on Friday for a peace conference to mark ETA’s dissolution.

In a closing statement, they said the move must lead to “reconciliation”.

ETA’s decision marks “a commitment to take part in the democratic process” within Spain’s institutions, “which will require reconciliation,” South African lawyer Brian Currin said at the conference in Cambo-les-Bains, southwestern France.

The Spanish government has refused to negotiate with ETA, which is classed as a terrorist organisation by the European Union.

ETA “will not get anything in return for announcing its dissolution,” Rajoy said.

“There is no place in the European Union for terrorism, arms and guns,” said European Commission spokesman Margaritis Schinas.

“This is the European union and the European Union is based on the rule of law.”

Northern Ireland’s Gerry Adams, the former head of Sinn Fein — once considered the political wing of the Irish Republican Army — called on the Madrid government to cooperate.

“In my own view, there is a particular onus on governments, which are the more powerful actors in any conflict, to proactively engage and sustain the conditions for a peace process,” he said in a speech at the conference.

He urged the Spanish government to move imprisoned ETA members closer to their families — a long-standing demand by the separatists and their relatives.

“It would not be a sign of weakness,” he said.

But Spanish goverment spokesman Inigo Mendez de Vigo said “the government will not alter its penitentiary policy.”

Jonathan Powell, a former chief of staff for British leader Tony Blair who helped broker a peace agreement in Northern Ireland, also urged all sides to seize the opportunity for reconciliation.

“Today is a day to celebrate and to look to the future,” he said.

“It shows that dialogue can bring about peace and dialogue should be pursued everywhere where conflict exists.”

On April 20, ETA asked forgiveness from its victims for the first time for the “pain” caused by its decades-long campaign of violence.

Victims’ campaigners complained that the call for forgiveness did not extend to those the group considered legitimate targets, such as police officers and politicians.

“Our first thought must be for the victims, for all of them without exception, without distinctions,” Rajoy said.</s>CAMBO-LES-BAINS, France (AP) — International mediators hailed the disbanding of Basque separatist group ETA as a turning point for Europe after decades of bombings and shootings — but Spain's prime minister remained unforgiving of a group that killed 850 people in its drive for a Basque homeland.

The Spanish and French governments refused to take part in a peace conference Friday in Basque country in southern France celebrating ETA's formal dissolution.

Victims' groups dismissed ETA's move as propaganda, and the Spanish government said it would continue to prosecute anyone with any links to past violence.

Mediators working to resolve the Basque conflict urged Spain on Friday to be more conciliatory as families and communities try to turn the page on the violence. The negotiators warned that any party seeking "total victory" could end up re-igniting the conflict.

"Deep wounds remain. Families and communities are still divided," said a statement read out in the town of Cambo-les-Bains, in Basque, Spanish, French and English.

"Work remains to be done on all sides .... Peace is not a zero-sum game but a matter of political consent where both sides agree to pursue their aims peacefully and democratically," they said.

Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, in a televised address about ETA's dissolution, repeated his government's hard-line stance, saying the separatist group's efforts were "a resounding failure" and that none of its crimes would be forgiven.

ETA "can announce its dissolution, but its crimes won't go away, nor will the efforts of our legal system to pursue them and punish them come to an end," said Rajoy.

In an open letter Thursday to the Basque people, ETA said it has "completely dismantled all of its structures" and "will no longer express political positions, promote initiatives or interact with other stakeholders."

ETA, which stands for "Basque Homeland and Freedom," was born in 1958. It carried out bombings, shootings and kidnappings as it pursued the creation of a homeland in northern Spain and southern France.

The conflict tarnished Spain's return to democracy after the dictatorship of General Francisco Franco. Members of the country's security apparatus were jailed for launching a "dirty war" on terror during the 1980s with clandestine death squads, and at least 60 separatists were killed.

Mediators expressed regret that the Spanish government didn't participate in dialogue with ETA as it prepared to disband, and praised Basque civilians who persuaded militants to disarm.

The mediators — including British diplomat Jonathan Powell, who took part in Northern Ireland peace talks, and former International Monetary Fund chief Michel Camdessus — said it was important to celebrate "the end of the last armed group on the continent."

"We hope it will give hope to all those facing apparently insoluble conflicts elsewhere in the world," they said.

Angela Charlton in Paris and Barry Hatton in Lisbon, Portugal contributed.</s>International negotiators held a peace conference Friday to mark the dissolution of the Basque separatist group Euskadi Ta Askatasuna (ETA), after its 60-year fight for an independent Basque state in northern Spain and southern France.

 

 Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy commended the victims of the Basque separatist group during an address at the conference. 

 

 "Now that ETA has at last announced its disappearance, our first thought must be for the victims, for all of them without exception, without distinctions," Rajoy said. 

 

 ETA released an open letter Thursday to the Basque people, saying it had "completely dismantled all of its structures" and "will no longer express political positions, promote initiatives or interact with other stakeholders."

 

 ETA, whose full name translates to "Basque Homeland and Freedom" in the Basque language, is responsible for around 850 deaths in its decades-long campaign against Spain. Victim groups rejected the dissolution as propaganda and the Spanish government said it would continue to prosecute anyone involved in past violence. 

 

 "Convictions will continue to be executed," Rajoy said. "There will be no impunity" for crimes committed by former ETA members.

 

 One of the mediators of the years-long peace process, South African attorney Brian Currin, told the conference in the southwestern French town of Cambo-les-Baines the decision to disband is "a commitment to take part in the democratic process" which would "require reconciliation." 

 

 Basque militants founded the group in response to Spain's military dictator Francisco Franco, who banned the Basque language in public.

 

 But Basques say they were marginalized and suppressed for decades before Franco seized power in 1939.</s>Spain vowed to bring to justice all those who committed crimes in the name of former Basque separatist group ETA even as its formal dissolution was sealed on Friday with calls for reconciliation.

By disbanding, the group put a definitive end to western Europe’s last armed insurgency following more than four decades of killings and kidnappings.

But the Spanish government reiterated its vow to pursue any outstanding cases against members of the group, which is blamed for more than 800 killings.

“ETA’s crimes will continue to be investigated, its offences will continue to be tried in the courts, convictions will continue to be issued accordingly and the sentences will continue to be served,” conservative Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy said in an address.

“There has not been and will not be any impunity. We owe them nothing and have nothing to thank them for.”

Rajoy paid tribute to people the group is accused of killing and the victims’ families. He said the group is now accused of killing 853 people.

“We owe a homage to all of them — to them, their families and the hundreds of Spaniards who survived the terrorist violence but who still suffer the consequences of that cruelty.”

Mediators gathered in the French Basque country on Friday for a peace conference to mark ETA’s dissolution.

In a closing statement, they said the move must lead to “reconciliation”.

ETA’s decision marks “a commitment to take part in the democratic process” within Spain’s institutions, “which will require reconciliation,” South African lawyer Brian Currin said at the conference in Cambo-les-Bains, southwestern France.

In the small village of Oiartzun in the Spanish Basque country, graffiti reading “Thanks ETA” appeared in several locations overnight, according to an AFP journalist at the scene.

The Spanish government has refused to negotiate with ETA, which is classed as a terrorist organisation by the European Union.

ETA “will not get anything in return for announcing its dissolution,” Rajoy said.

“There is no place in the European Union for terrorism, arms and guns,” said European Commission spokesman Margaritis Schinas.

“The European Union is based on the rule of law.”

Northern Ireland’s Gerry Adams, the former head of Sinn Fein — once considered the political wing of the Irish Republican Army — called on the Madrid government to turn the page.

“In my own view, there is a particular onus on governments, which are the more powerful actors in any conflict, to proactively engage and sustain the conditions for a peace process,” he said in a speech at the conference.

He urged the Spanish government to move imprisoned ETA members closer to their families — a long-standing demand by the separatists and their relatives.

“It would not be a sign of weakness,” he said.

But Spanish government spokesman Inigo Mendez de Vigo said “the government will not alter its penitentiary policy.”

“The great thing of democracy is to integrate those who have been its worst enemies, it is its moral superiority,” he said during a television interview.

On April 20, ETA asked forgiveness from its victims for the first time for the “pain” caused by its decades-long campaign of violence.

Victims’ campaigners complained that the call for forgiveness did not extend to those the group considered legitimate targets, such as police officers and politicians.

“ETA was not able to express a word of contrition for all the victims, but Basque society and institutions can do it,” said the head of the Basque regional government, Inigo Urkullu, of the nationalist PNV party.</s>MADRID: Spain vowed to bring to justice all those who committed crimes in the name of former Basque separatist group ETA even as its formal dissolution was sealed on Friday with calls for reconciliation.

By disbanding, the group put a definitive end to western Europe's last armed insurgency following more than four decades of killings and kidnappings.

But the Spanish government reiterated its vow to pursue any outstanding cases against members of the group, which is blamed for more than 800 killings.

"ETA's crimes will continue to be investigated, its offences will continue to be tried in the courts, convictions will continue to be issued accordingly and the sentences will continue to be served," conservative Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy said in an address.

"There has not been and will not be any impunity. We owe them nothing and have nothing to thank them for."

Rajoy paid tribute to people the group is accused of killing and the victims' families. He said the group is now accused of killing 853 people.

"They were all murdered unjustly and cruelly," he said.

"We owe a homage to all of them -- to them, their families and the hundreds of Spaniards who survived the terrorist violence but who still suffer the consequences of that cruelty."

Mediators gathered in the French Basque country on Friday for a peace conference to mark ETA's dissolution.

In a closing statement, they said the move must lead to "reconciliation".

ETA's decision marks "a commitment to take part in the democratic process" within Spain's institutions, "which will require reconciliation," South African lawyer Brian Currin said at the conference in Cambo-les-Bains, southwestern France.

In the small village of Oiartzun in the Spanish Basque country, graffiti reading "Thanks ETA" appeared in several locations overnight, according to an AFP journalist at the scene.

The Spanish government has refused to negotiate with ETA, which is classed as a terrorist organisation by the European Union.

ETA "will not get anything in return for announcing its dissolution," Rajoy said.

"There is no place in the European Union for terrorism, arms and guns," said European Commission spokesman Margaritis Schinas.

"The European Union is based on the rule of law."

Northern Ireland's Gerry Adams, the former head of Sinn Fein -- once considered the political wing of the Irish Republican Army -- called on the Madrid government to turn the page.

"In my own view, there is a particular onus on governments, which are the more powerful actors in any conflict, to proactively engage and sustain the conditions for a peace process," he said in a speech at the conference.

He urged the Spanish government to move imprisoned ETA members closer to their families -- a long-standing demand by the separatists and their relatives.

"It would not be a sign of weakness," he said.

But Spanish government spokesman Inigo Mendez de Vigo said "the government will not alter its penitentiary policy."

Spain's former prime minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, whose socialist government carried out secret talks with ETA, also defended dialogue.

"The great thing of democracy is to integrate those who have been its worst enemies, it is its moral superiority," he said during a television interview.

On April 20, ETA asked forgiveness from its victims for the first time for the "pain" caused by its decades-long campaign of violence.

Victims' campaigners complained that the call for forgiveness did not extend to those the group considered legitimate targets, such as police officers and politicians.

"ETA was not able to express a word of contrition for all the victims, but Basque society and institutions can do it," said the head of the Basque regional government, Inigo Urkullu, of the nationalist PNV party.</s>ETA ends its days-long dissolution process Friday at a peace conference in the French Basque Country, putting paid to western Europe’s last armed insurgency after more than four decades of violence.

Created in 1959 at the height of Francisco Franco’s dictatorship, ETA was blamed for hundreds of killings and kidnappings in its fight for an independent Basque homeland in northern Spain and southwest France.

The conference in the small southwestern French town of Cambo-les-Bains will be attended by international personalities such as Northern Ireland’s Gerry Adams.

ETA had already announced it would be fully disbanding in a letter leaked Wednesday in Spanish media, addressed to various groups and figures involved in recent peace efforts.

On Thursday, it released a “final declaration” recorded by Jose Antonio Urrutikoetxea, better known as “Josu Ternera”, a historic high-ranking ETA figure who has been on the run since 2002.

In the recording, he announced that the separatist group had “completely dismantled all its structures” and “put an end to all its political activity”.

Weakened in recent years by the arrest of its leaders and a major drop in support among Basques, ETA announced a permanent ceasefire in 2011 and began formally surrendering its arms last year.

At the peace conference, Northern Ireland’s Gerry Adams, the former head of Sinn Fein — once considered the political wing of the Irish Republican Army — will be among several attendees.

Adams was active in the Northern Ireland peace process which culminated with the 1998 Good Friday Agreement.

Former Irish prime minister Bertie Ahern will also be present, as will Jonathan Powell, who once served as chief of staff for British leader Tony Blair.

On the Spanish side, representatives of Basque nationalist party PNV, in power in the Spanish region, and far-left Podemos will also attend according to media reports.

Since its ceasefire in 2011, ETA has wanted to follow the United Nations’ peace steps of disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration into society, just like the FARC rebels in Colombia.

But Madrid has refused to make any gesture of appeasement, under pressure from ETA victim associations.

Spain’s conservative Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy on Thursday dismissed the announcement of ETA’s disbanding as “noise and propaganda” and vowed there would be “no impunity” for the group’s crimes.

ETA’s announcement has also been rejected by victims’ groups, who argue it should first and foremost condemn its history of violence and Basque separatists must stop paying public homage to militants as they are released from prison.

They have also asked that light be shed on at least 358 unsolved crimes.

A partial apology by the separatist group last month in which it acknowledged the harm done and apologised to some of its victims — but not to those it considered legitimate targets such as police — has done little to stem the criticism.

“The victims are watching with pain and stupor how ETA is being allowed to direct this farce,” the Victims of Terrorism Association (AVT) said in a statement.

So to seal the last chapter of its history on Friday, ETA chose the French Basque Country, which it once used as a safe haven.

Neither the Spanish Basque Country’s regional government, nor that of neighbouring Navarra, which is considered part of the wider Basque territories, have accepted invitations to attend.

Going forward, the sensitive issue of ETA’s 270 militants imprisoned across Spain and France will also need to be addressed.

Separatist coalition EH Bildu, the second largest grouping in the Basque regional parliament, wants the prisoners to be transferred to jails that are closer to home and their families.

Paris has started to make moves in that direction, but for now, Madrid will not hear of it.</s>Spain vowed to bring to justice all those who committed crimes in the name of former Basque separatist group ETA even as its formal dissolution was sealed on Friday with calls for reconciliation.

By disbanding, the group put a definitive end to western Europe's last armed insurgency following more than four decades of killings and kidnappings.

But the Spanish government reiterated its vow to pursue any outstanding cases against members of the group, which is blamed for more than 800 killings.

"ETA's crimes will continue to be investigated, its offences will continue to be tried in the courts, convictions will continue to be issued accordingly and the sentences will continue to be served," conservative Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy said in an address.

"There has not been and will not be any impunity. We owe them nothing and have nothing to thank them for."

Rajoy paid tribute to people the group is accused of killing and the victims' families. He said the group is now accused of killing 853 people.

"They were all murdered unjustly and cruelly," he said.

"We owe a homage to all of them -- to them, their families and the hundreds of Spaniards who survived the terrorist violence but who still suffer the consequences of that cruelty."

Mediators gathered in the French Basque country on Friday for a peace conference to mark ETA's dissolution.

In a closing statement, they said the move must lead to "reconciliation".

ETA's decision marks "a commitment to take part in the democratic process" within Spain's institutions, "which will require reconciliation," South African lawyer Brian Currin said at the conference in Cambo-les-Bains, southwestern France.

In the small village of Oiartzun in the Spanish Basque country, graffiti reading "Thanks ETA" appeared in several locations overnight, according to an AFP journalist at the scene.

The Spanish government has refused to negotiate with ETA, which is classed as a terrorist organisation by the European Union.

ETA "will not get anything in return for announcing its dissolution," Rajoy said.

"There is no place in the European Union for terrorism, arms and guns," said European Commission spokesman Margaritis Schinas.

"The European Union is based on the rule of law."

Northern Ireland's Gerry Adams, the former head of Sinn Fein -- once considered the political wing of the Irish Republican Army -- called on the Madrid government to turn the page.

"In my own view, there is a particular onus on governments, which are the more powerful actors in any conflict, to proactively engage and sustain the conditions for a peace process," he said in a speech at the conference.

He urged the Spanish government to move imprisoned ETA members closer to their families -- a long-standing demand by the separatists and their relatives.

"It would not be a sign of weakness," he said.

But Spanish government spokesman Inigo Mendez de Vigo said "the government will not alter its penitentiary policy."

Spain's former prime minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, whose socialist government carried out secret talks with ETA, also defended dialogue.

"The great thing of democracy is to integrate those who have been its worst enemies, it is its moral superiority," he said during a television interview.

On April 20, ETA asked forgiveness from its victims for the first time for the "pain" caused by its decades-long campaign of violence.

Victims' campaigners complained that the call for forgiveness did not extend to those the group considered legitimate targets, such as police officers and politicians.

"ETA was not able to express a word of contrition for all the victims, but Basque society and institutions can do it," said the head of the Basque regional government, Inigo Urkullu, of the nationalist PNV party.</s>Spain vowed to bring to justice all those who committed crimes in the name of former Basque separatist group ETA even as its formal dissolution was sealed on Friday with calls for reconciliation.

By disbanding, the group put a definitive end to western Europe's last armed insurgency following more than four decades of killings and kidnappings.

But the Spanish government reiterated its vow to pursue any outstanding cases against members of the group, which is blamed for more than 800 killings.

"ETA's crimes will continue to be investigated, its offences will continue to be tried in the courts, convictions will continue to be issued accordingly and the sentences will continue to be served," conservative Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy said in an address.

"There has not been and will not be any impunity. We owe them nothing and have nothing to thank them for."

Rajoy paid tribute to people the group is accused of killing and the victims' families. He said the group is now accused of killing 853 people.

"They were all murdered unjustly and cruelly," he said.

"We owe a homage to all of them -- to them, their families and the hundreds of Spaniards who survived the terrorist violence but who still suffer the consequences of that cruelty."

Mediators gathered in the French Basque country on Friday for a peace conference to mark ETA's dissolution.

In a closing statement, they said the move must lead to "reconciliation".

ETA's decision marks "a commitment to take part in the democratic process" within Spain's institutions, "which will require reconciliation," South African lawyer Brian Currin said at the conference in Cambo-les-Bains, southwestern France.

In the small village of Oiartzun in the Spanish Basque country, graffiti reading "Thanks ETA" appeared in several locations overnight, according to an AFP journalist at the scene.

The Spanish government has refused to negotiate with ETA, which is classed as a terrorist organisation by the European Union.

ETA "will not get anything in return for announcing its dissolution," Rajoy said.

"There is no place in the European Union for terrorism, arms and guns," said European Commission spokesman Margaritis Schinas.

"The European Union is based on the rule of law."

Northern Ireland's Gerry Adams, the former head of Sinn Fein -- once considered the political wing of the Irish Republican Army -- called on the Madrid government to turn the page.

"In my own view, there is a particular onus on governments, which are the more powerful actors in any conflict, to proactively engage and sustain the conditions for a peace process," he said in a speech at the conference.

He urged the Spanish government to move imprisoned ETA members closer to their families -- a long-standing demand by the separatists and their relatives.

"It would not be a sign of weakness," he said.

But Spanish government spokesman Inigo Mendez de Vigo said "the government will not alter its penitentiary policy."

Spain's former prime minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, whose socialist government carried out secret talks with ETA, also defended dialogue.

"The great thing of democracy is to integrate those who have been its worst enemies, it is its moral superiority," he said during a television interview.

On April 20, ETA asked forgiveness from its victims for the first time for the "pain" caused by its decades-long campaign of violence.

Victims' campaigners complained that the call for forgiveness did not extend to those the group considered legitimate targets, such as police officers and politicians.

"ETA was not able to express a word of contrition for all the victims, but Basque society and institutions can do it," said the head of the Basque regional government, Inigo Urkullu, of the nationalist PNV party.</s>Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy has warned there will be 'no impunity' for crimes by former ETA members as the Basque separatist group sealed its dissolution.

Rajoy paid tribute to victims of the group which has been blamed for hundreds of killings and kidnappings in its fight for an independent Basque homeland in northern Spain and southwest France.

ETA today ended its days-long dissolution process at a peace conference in the French Basque Country attended by former Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams and other European independence politicians.

Adams posed for a selfie with others as he attended the event in Cambo-les-Bains.

The conference ends western Europe's last armed insurgency after more than four decades of violence.

But Rajoy dismissed it as 'noise and propaganda' and vowed there would be 'no impunity' for the group's crimes.

'Now that ETA has at last announced its disappearance, our first thought must be for the victims, for all of them without exception, without distinctions,' Rajoy said in an address.

On April 20 ETA asked forgiveness from its victims for the first time for the 'pain' caused by its decades-long campaign of violence.

Victims' campaigners complained that the call for forgiveness did not extend to those the group considered legitimate targets, such as police officers and politicians.

Created in 1959 at the height of Francisco Franco's dictatorship, ETA was blamed for more than 800 hundreds of killings and numerous kidnappings.

It waged an armed campaign for an independent Basque homeland in northern Spain and southwest France.

Rajoy warned that ETA's dissolution did not mean its fugitive members were off the hook.

'Convictions will continue to be executed,' he said. 'There will be no impunity' for crimes by former ETA members.

ETA had already announced it would be fully disbanding in a letter leaked on Wednesday in Spanish media, addressed to various groups and figures involved in recent peace efforts.

On Thursday, it released a 'final declaration' recorded by Jose Antonio Urrutikoetxea, better known as 'Josu Ternera', a historic high-ranking ETA figure who has been on the run since 2002.

In the recording, he announced that the separatist group had 'completely dismantled all its structures' and 'put an end to all its political activity'.

Weakened in recent years by the arrest of its leaders and a major drop in support among Basques, ETA announced a permanent ceasefire in 2011 and began formally surrendering its arms last year.

At the peace conference, Northern Ireland's Gerry Adams, the former head of Sinn Fein - once considered the political wing of the Irish Republican Army - was among several attendees.

Adams was active in the Northern Ireland peace process which culminated with the 1998 Good Friday Agreement.

Former Irish prime minister Bertie Ahern was also due to be present, along with Jonathan Powell, who once served as chief of staff for British leader Tony Blair.

On the Spanish side, representatives of Basque nationalist party PNV, in power in the Spanish region, and far-left Podemos were also due to attend according to media reports.

Since its ceasefire in 2011, ETA has wanted to follow the United Nations' peace steps of disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration into society, just like the FARC rebels in Colombia.

But Madrid has refused to make any gesture of appeasement, under pressure from ETA victim associations.

ETA's announcement has also been rejected by victims' groups, who argue it should first and foremost condemn its history of violence and Basque separatists must stop paying public homage to militants as they are released from prison.

They have also asked that light be shed on at least 358 unsolved crimes.

A partial apology by the separatist group last month in which it acknowledged the harm done and apologised to some of its victims - but not to those it considered legitimate targets such as police - has done little to stem the criticism.

'The victims are watching with pain and stupor how ETA is being allowed to direct this farce,' the Victims of Terrorism Association (AVT) said in a statement.

So to seal the last chapter of its history on Friday, ETA chose the French Basque Country, which it once used as a safe haven.

Neither the Spanish Basque Country's regional government, nor that of neighbouring Navarra, which is considered part of the wider Basque territories, have accepted invitations to attend.

Going forward, the sensitive issue of ETA's 270 militants imprisoned across Spain and France will also need to be addressed.

Separatist coalition EH Bildu, the second largest grouping in the Basque regional parliament, wants the prisoners to be transferred to jails that are closer to home and their families.

Paris has started to make moves in that direction, but for now, Madrid will not hear of it.</s>EL PAÍS

Zoido: lo de ETA es "un auténtico paripé" cuando "la realidad es que el pueblo español la derrotó hace tiempo". El ministro del Interior, Juan Ignacio Zoido, ha manifestado sobre ETA que "todo es una puesta en escena, falso, cuando la auténtica realidad es que el pueblo español la ha derrotado hace bastante tiempo", ha informado Europa Press. Por ello, a su juicio, el comunicado "llega tarde porque se la había derrotado ya antes". A preguntas de los periodistas en un acto en Chipiona (Cádiz), Zoido ha insistido en que "la única realidad es que la sociedad española, los distintos Gobiernos de España, las Fuerzas y Cuerpos de Seguridad del Estado, que se han dejado mucho dolor porque han padecido muchas bajas, los jueces y los fiscales, toda la sociedad española, ha derrotado y ha vencido a ETA". Para el ministro del Interior "todo lo que está haciendo es una puesta en escena, un auténtico paripé, llamar la atención". "Que sigan con lo que quieren escenificar, y el pueblo español a seguir creciendo fortalecido por haber derrotado con el Estado de Derecho a una banda de asesinos".
In Cambo-les-Bains, France, ETA performs its final act of dissolution in the presence of politicians such as Gerry Adams, Jonathan Powell, Brian Currin and Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas.