SPAIN: ETA ANNOUNCES THE END TO ITS "PERMANENT

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 MADRID 001078 SIPDIS SIPDIS FOR EUR/WE E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/04/2017 TAGS: PTER PGOV SP SUBJECT: SPAIN: ETA ANNOUNCES THE END TO ITS "PERMANENT CEASE-FIRE" REF: A. MADRID 449 ¶B. MADRID 001 ¶C. 2006 MADRID 2435 MADRID 00001078 001.2 OF 003 Classified By: DCM HUGO LLORENS FOR REASONS 1.4 (C) AND (D) ¶1. (C) Summary. In the early morning hours of June 5, the terrorist group ETA published a communiqu in the electronic editions of key Basque media outlets, announcing that it would end its 14-month "permanent cease-fire" beginning at midnight on June 6, and threatening to "reopen its activities on all fronts in defense of the Basque homeland." ETA blamed the Zapatero government for not allowing the "minimal democratic conditions necessary to create a process of negotiation." Our contacts in the Spanish government have told us for weeks that they expected ETA to resume violence in advance of national elections due early next year, but Spanish security forces went on high alert in recent days as evidence surfaced that ETA would soon break its cease-fire. ETA has broken past cease-fires by striking hard, and we may see a string of bombings or assassination attempts in the coming days and weeks as a show of ETA force. On the defensive and under continued criticism by the opposition Popular Party for his ETA policies, President Zapatero immediately called a press conference on the morning of June 5 to provide the GOS response to the latest ETA challenge and said that his government would act just as previous Spanish governments had and counter ETA with "democratic values and institutions, international cooperation, and Spanish security forces." End Summary. ¶2. (U) Spaniards woke this morning to the news that ETA had posted an electronic communiqu overnight in which it declared it would end its 14-month "permanent cease-fire" beginning at midnight on June 6. ETA blamed the Zapatero government for the breakdown by providing only "pseudo-solutions" to its demands and by responding to a halt in ETA violence with "detentions, tortures and persecutions." ¶3. (C) Our contacts within the Spanish government have told us for weeks that ETA's return to violence was imminent, and Interior Minister Rubalcaba expressed his view to the Ambassador last month that it was not a question of "if, but when" ETA would strike again. Spanish security forces have been put on high alert in recent days, and ETA's past history 
in breaking cease-fires suggests that the group will try and launch a string of bombings or assassination attempts to demonstrate its present capability. Recent years of stepped-up Spanish law enforcement actions have netted many ETA leaders and greatly weakened the organization, but ETA struck back on December 30 by detonating a massive bomb at a parking garage at Madrid's Barajas International Airport that claimed the lives of two individuals. The terrorist group said at the time that the cease-fire was "still in force," though it continued to provoke street violence in the Basque region as well as its extortion of Basque businesses to raise money. All indications now are that we may be at a return to open warfare between ETA and the Spanish government. //ZAPATERO AGAIN ON THE DEFENSIVE// ¶4. (SBU) President Zapatero called a press conference for the morning of June 5 to provide the official GOS response to the latest ETA challenge. Zapatero responded to ETA's de facto declaration of war by saying that the Spanish government will counter this threat by using "the rule of law, international cooperation, and Spanish security forces," just as previous Spanish governments have done. This was a direct reminder to the Spanish public that the Aznar government had also opened negotiations with ETA, which also resulted in failure and renewed ETA violence. Zapatero ended the press conference by saying that he believes the Spanish people will obtain peace "sooner rather than later," and that he will do all within his power to see that this is accomplished as soon as possible. The Zapatero government appeared weak in its initial reaction to the December 30 airport bombing, but soon regained its balance as the opposition Popular Party's (PP) shrill criticism failed to garner any significant gains in the polls. Zapatero likely will try to show a strong hand in response to this ETA announcement. During the press conference June 5, he was flanked by Interior Minister Rubalcaba, whom he had rebuked for getting out ahead and calling negotiations with ETA over following the December 30 MADRID 00001078 002.2 OF 003 airport bombing, only to go along with Rubalcaba three days later. ¶5. (C) Zapatero will find his maneuvering room increasingly limited after past controversial ETA-related decisions (such as allowing a hunger-striking ETA assassin to be remanded from prison to a hospital for treatment, and permitting a political party with ties to ETA to field candidates in Basque municipal elections) were vehemently criticized by the PP and ETA victims organizations. The PP is coming off a solid showing in Spain's May 27 regional elections, based in part on voter rejection of Zapatero's ETA policy in some regions, and the party vows to make this issue the centerpiece of its campaign for national elections that must take place by March 2008. Zapatero phoned PP leader Mariano Rajoy on June 5 to request a meeting next week to discuss the GOS anti-terrorism policy, but this will unlikely abate Rajoy's criticism. ¶6. (C) Comment. We have reported throughout the cease-fire on the difficulties facing the fledgling peace process, which has now become totally unraveled. Both ETA and the government find themselves boxed into a corner by their own actions and pressure from opposing forces, and the middle ground was not sustainable. Leaders of ETA's political wing Batasuna sold the peace process to its more radical supporters as the only viable entry ramp into political negotiations. However, as the peace talks bogged down ETA's more radical elements became disenchanted, culminating in the December 30 bombing at Barajas airport. We agree with our GOS contacts that ETA's radical wing continues to drive the agenda, which includes the announcement of the end of the cease-fire. The opposition Popular Party will play this issue to the hilt, beginning with a demand that Zapatero's Socialist allies in the region of Navarra not form a pact to govern with Navarran nationalists (thus likely keeping the PP's ally in control),and will continue to attack the Zapatero government on the ETA issue throughout the national elections campaign. Nevertheless, the PP has to be careful not to cross the line between what is justified criticism of the government's mishandling of ETA, and being seen as disloyal to the sitting government on an issue of supreme national importance. Zapatero's public statements today in response to the ETA announcement do not appear to presage any change in policy, and the real challenge will come if and when ETA is able to carry out another successful attack. While ETA has not specifically targeted Americans in the past, the Embassy is stepping up its vigilance. ********************************************* *************** CHRONOLOGY OF KEY EVENTS IN THE ETA PEACE PROCESS (2006-2007) 2006 March 22 - ETA declares "Permanent Cease-fire" March 23 - Cease-fire takes effect May 21 - Zapatero says he will announce in June the start of direct talks with ETA June 26 - Zapatero announces that he will begin "long and difficult" peace talks with ETA August 18 - ETA claims peace process "immersed in an obvious state of crisis" September 23 - Alleged ETA gunmen announce refusal to disarm until the region gains its independence December 29 - Zapatero expresses confidence in the prospects for peace in the Basque region and predicts further improvement in the coming year December 30 - ETA detonates large explosive device at Madrid's Barajas International Airport, killing two individuals (ETA's first mortal victims in three years) December 30 - Zapatero announces the "suspension" of dialogue with the terrorist group 2007 MADRID 00001078 003.2 OF 003 January 2 - Interior Minister Rubalcaba announces that the peace process is "broken, liquidated, finished" January 9 - ETA releases communiqu claiming responsibility for Barajas bombing, but saying the cease-fire is "still in effect" March 7 - GOS remands a hunger-striking, convicted ETA assassin to a hospital for treatment and allows his to serve remainder of his sentence under house arrest May - GOS allows political party ANV (with ties to ETA political wing Batasuna) to run in the May 27 regional elections June 5 - ETA releases communiqu that "permanent cease-fire" will end at midnight June 6 ********************************************* *************** AGUIRRE