On Monday, Spanish Interior Minister Alfredo Perez Rubalcaba stated that he found the announcement of a truce by the Basque separatist movement ETA to be “insufficient.”
During an interview on the Spanish state television channel RTVE, Rubalcaba expressed skepticism about the motives behind ETA’s declaration made on Sunday, noting that simply declaring a truce without clarifying whether it is temporary or permanent holds little significance.
This marks the fourth truce announced by ETA in its 50-year existence, and it is the second one since 1998. The previous truces have all resulted in a return to violence, with the last truce—lasting nine months in 2006—culminating in a car bomb that killed two individuals at Madrid’s Barajas airport.
Rubalcaba commented, “If they were able to break one truce, they will be capable of reversing this technical halt.”
The minister believes that the recent setbacks faced by the terrorist group, including 58 member arrests across Spain, France, and Portugal this year, are key factors contributing to the truce.
“ETA has ceased operations because it cannot continue. This decision follows the dismantling of a new logistics base in Portugal and an effort to carry out activities in Gerona (Catalonia). It has also halted to regroup,” explained the Minister.
He continued, “All political parties have described the situation as ‘insufficient,’ referring to two main points.”
Rubalcaba highlighted the political demands of the “izquierda abertzale,” a segment of Basque society that largely supports ETA, which encompasses ETA’s political wing—Batasuna.
Currently, Batasuna is illegal and unable to participate in regional, local, or national elections until it renounces its association with ETA and terrorist acts.
“It is insufficient because the izquierda abertzale were already indicating that this (the truce) was anticipated,” he remarked.
The minister suggested that the truce might be a political maneuver, which he dismissed.
“ETA must abandon violence now and forever; that is why the declaration is deemed insufficient,” concluded Rubalcaba, while reiterating that the government has no plans to alter its approach to terrorism.
