Basque separatists vow to cease armed struggle

BILBAO, Spain – After killing more than 800 people across Spain over the last four decades in its drive for an independent state, the Basque separatist group ETA on Thursday said it would lay down its arms – but stopped short of declaring it was defeated.

The historic announcement was made via video by three ETA members wearing trademark Basque berets and masks with slits for their eyes. At the end of the clip, they defiantly raised their fists in the air demanding a separate Basque nation.

Once a force that terrorized the country with shootings and bombings, Europe’s last armed militant movement has been both romanticized and vilified. But it had been decimated in recent years by a wave of arrests, declining support among nationalists and repulsion with raw violence, and the announcement had long been expected.

The carefully choreographed process toward Thursday’s announcement began a year ago when its political supporters renounced violence. ETA then called a cease-fire, one of nearly a dozen over the years. This week, international figures such as former U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan attended a conference that called on ETA to lay down its weapons.

The announcement marks the first time the group has said it was willing to renounce armed struggle, a key demand by Spain.

Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero hailed the news as a victory for Spanish democracy. In a brief appearance before reporters, however, he made no mention of prospects for dialogue with ETA.