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. 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. 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. "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. 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. 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. 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. In a closing statement, they said the move must lead to "reconciliation". 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." The Spanish government has refused to negotiate with ETA, which is classed as a terrorist organisation by the European Union. 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. "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. “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. 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. "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.
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.