The announcement on Tuesday by the Basque premier, Patxi López, that the region will hold early elections on October 21 was a reminder of how much things have changed since he took power in 2009. Since López entered a governing partnership with the conservative Partido Popular, the terrorist group ETA has been increasingly weakened, culminating in last autumn’s announcement by the group that it was laying down its arms for good. The date of the scheduled elections – a year and a day after ETA’s announcement – is no coincidence. López himself was not coy about underscoring his government’s part in the new atmosphere of peace that the northern region is enjoying. “We have done what we … [Read more...] about Basque Country enters an era of uncertainty
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In Basque Country, ETA’s silence is democracy’s gain
Over a year without murders or attacks, a drop in street violence and an end to the extortion of Basque businesses. Looking at those bald facts, ETA would seem to have come a long way since making its ceasefire announcement in September 2010 - an announcement that the organisation hoped would lead to a new peace process with the Spanish government. But ETA’s ambition of returning to the negotiating table currently looks as difficult to achieve as ever. The last year has seen some extraordinary developments in the Basque Country, yet the terrorist group appears to have been marginalised from the most momentous events. That ceasefire declaration itself was symptomatic of ETA’s … [Read more...] about In Basque Country, ETA’s silence is democracy’s gain