Crisis

Is quite obvious that the Spanish government does not desire a peaceful resolution for the political conflict with Euskal Herria, they've been holding on to the "glory" of their colonialist past at every step of their relationship with the Basque people.

This article published by EITb tells us just how bad the situation is with the present peace process:

Statement

ETA says peace process is now "in a clear situation of crisis''

08/18/2006

The band explicitly referred to the governing party in the Basque Autonomous Region and that in the Spanish State, and warned that "if the attacks continue against Euskal Herria, ETA will respond."

The armed Basque group ETA said Friday that the peace process launched in Spain with its cease-fire declaration five months ago is now in crisis, accusing politicians of delaying steps toward a settlement of the conflict.

The band explicitly referred to Basque Nationalist Party PNV, governing party in the Basque Autonomous Region, and Socialist Party PSOE, governing party in the Spanish State.

In a communiqué issued to Basque Country newspapers Gara and Berria, ETA said the peace process was at an "impasse". It accused the government of hounding Basque nationalist politicians and threatened an unspecified "response" if this continued. "If the attacks continue against Euskal Herria (Basque country in Basque language), ETA will respond," the group said.

Thus, it made a vague warning to "respond" if the Spanish government continues what ETA called repression of Basque pro-independence militants.

In Friday's statement ETA accused the ruling Socialist party and the Basque Nationalist Party, which governs the troubled northern region, of "showing a clear will to delay the steps to be taken.'' Neither party is interested in negotiating any real changes to the Basque country's status within Spain, ETA said. And Zapatero's party just wants to make history by ending the decades-old conflict and is trying to "convert the peace process into a mere tool for staying in power.'' The peace process, it added, "is in a clear situation of crisis,'' the statement said.

ETA also repeated a charge that the Spanish government had agreed to a "cease-fire" of its own in talks leading up to the ETA truce, apparently agreeing to stop arresting ETA members. But the government is not living up to this commitment, ETA charged.

The government has repeatedly denied it made any promises with ETA to elicit the militants' cease-fire, which began in late March.

President José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero announced formally in Parliament in late June that his government would hold talks with ETA on getting it to dissolve. The government is to brief the legislature in September on how the peace process is going. Zapatero has said the process could take years.

ETA has been fighting since the late 1960s in its campaign for a Basque homeland straddling northern Spain and southwest France. Prior to the cease-fire announcement it had not staged a fatal attack since May 2003.

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