Spain's government has rejected a permanent ceasefire declared by the Basque rebel group ETA, saying the move was insufficient for starting talks to end decades of violence.
ETA, which has killed more than 850 people in its half-century armed struggle for an independent state in northern Spain and southwest France, has been crippled by arrests and Basques' rising support for more peaceful methods.
The weakened group announced a halt to armed attacks three months ago and made the decision permanent today.
ETA has been under pressure from its Batasuna outlawed political wing, which wants to be legitimised to run in local elections.
'ETA has decided to declare a permanent and general cease-fire which will be verifiable by the international community,' the group said in an English-language statement on Gara, the website of Basque regional newspaper Gara.
The statement added 'this is ETA's firm commitment toward a process to achieve a lasting resolution and towards an end to the armed confrontation.'
ETA has broken ceasefires several times in the past, most recently in 2006 when a truce was ended by a deadly bomb attack at Madrid's airport.
In today's statement, the group did not specify the mechanism of international verification, nor did it say whether it had decided to turn in weapons and explosives.
Deputy Prime Minister Alfredo Perez Rubalcaba said the declaration did not go far enough, demanding that ETA renounce violence permanently and put a definitive and irreversible end to its activities.
'The government has rejected international verification over and over again. In a country under the rule of law it's for the state security forces to verify (the ceasefire).'
Past ceasefires have been seen by analysts as ETA attempts to regroup with a view to launching further attacks.
Analysts were sceptical over the statement, in which ETA said it still aimed for self-determination for the Basque region.
Rogelio Alonso, political science professor at Rey Juan Carlos I University, told state radio: 'We can't be satisfied with this sort of statement, which does not mean that ETA is disbanding or showing a desire to disappear, it's simply an attempt to put pressure on the democratic players to negotiate their demands.'
If peace talks were to take place, ETA is expected to demand amnesty for its members and for some 550 prisoners.
ETA called on the governments of Spain and France, which has helped the Spanish capture ETA members, to 'end all repressive measures' against the group.
Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams welcomed the ETA statement. ‘It is now vital that the Spanish Government respond positively and grasp the opportunity to advance a peace process and quickly establish inclusive political negotiations,’ he said.
