Eta hunger striker calls for peace talks to resume

5 February 2007

MADRID — Spain’s most notorious Eta terrorist, who is staging a hunger strike, called on Monday for peace talks to resume.

In an interview with the British daily The Times, Iñaki de Juana Chaos said he backed the peace process.

The Eta terrorist, who was convicted of 25 murders and has served 18 years in jail, has been on hunger strike for 91 days.

A photograph of de Chaos in his high-security hospital bed showed his emaciated body.

He is being force-fed.

The peace process was shattered when Eta set off a huge bomb at Barajas airport on 30 December, killing two. 

De Chaos told the paper: “I am completely in agreement with the democratic process of dialogue and negotiation . . . to resolve the political conflict between the Basque region and the French and Spanish states.”

For the Spanish Government, de Juana’s protest over his continued detention, two years after completing his sentence, is a major dilemma.

If he dies, he will become a martyr for hardliners.

But if the government shows any leniency, then it will face serious criticism.

[Copyright EFE with Expatica]

Subject: Spanish news