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Seven ETA members arrested
Seven alleged members of the Basque separatist group ETA were arrested early today, believed to belong to the radical Askapena group, considered as the foreign propaganda branch of the armed organisation.
The group, banned as a terror group by the European Union and the United States, is blamed for the death of 829 people in its 42-year campaign for independence.
ETA had announced a ‘permanent ceasefire’ in 2006, after which Spain’s socialist government said it was launching tentative peace talks with the group.
In December 2006, the group set off a bomb at a car park at Madrid's airport, killing two men from Ecuador. In June 2007 ETA formally called off its ceasefire citing a lack of concessions by the government in peace talks.
Since then, the government has taken a hard line against the group and its political wing, Batasuna, arresting dozens of members.
Spanish officials on Sunday rejected the group’s latest statement that it is ready to observe a permanent ceasefire in its battle for an independent homeland.
