ETA and the French

Well, Forbes published an article about the letter that ETA sent to the French authorities and the French society asking for their involvement in the ongoing peace process.

Here you have it:

Basque Group Wants Talks With France

06.14.2006, 11:08 PM

Basque separatists called Wednesday for negotiations with France, where the rebel group has long made territorial claims.

The armed group ETA issued a statement saying the cease-fire it declared March 22 still stands and it wants to take the peace process "to the end."

The statement said France had imposed "silence and censure" on its people to mask the fact that ETA claims territory in Basque-speaking regions of southwest France as well as parts of northern Spain for an independent homeland and must now be part of the peace process.

ETA said France "must give a positive response, taking concrete steps on the path to recognizing the rights of Basque citizens and showing its commitment to finding a democratic solution to the conflict."

The French Foreign Ministry said in a statement that the search for a political solution to the Spanish Basque issue was a matter for Spain.

France long served as a haven for ETA militants but Spain says better cooperation between the two countries' police forces helped net hundreds of arrests in recent years and dramatically weakened the rebel organization.

ETA is blamed for more than 800 deaths since the 1960s in its drive to create an independent homeland in northern Spain and southwest France.

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