Zapatero is to ask permission for ETA talks 05/06/2006 00:00

5 June 2006

MADRID – The Spanish government has said it will ask for parliamentary approval on Tuesday for talks with ETA after the conservatives withdrew their support for dialogue with the separatist terrorists.

The government made the announcement after comments made by the PP at the weekend. The conservatives had accused the government of giving in to terrorism after the Basque socialists announced they would hold an official meeting with Batasuna, the political wing of ETA.

Also speaking at the weekend, in Lleida, prime minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero said he felt "horror and pain" that the PP was not supporting the "courageous" position of the Basque socialists (PSE) to start dialogue.

Zapatero said the PP would not stop the continuation of the peace process.

Batasuna had welcomed the announcement of the PSE, stating it showed there was a commitment to the peace process. Sources at the weekend said the banned political party would take the first steps shortly to becoming a legalised party, with a new name and a new statute.

At the end of last week, Batasuna also welcomed a judge's decision not to imprison eight of its members for "terrorist threats", stating it represented "a profound change".

[Copyright EFE with Expatica]

Subject: Spanish news