 The Basque region's prime minister claimed the central Spanish government had started peace talks with the outlawed Batasuna party, the political wing of the violent separatist group ETA. In an interview published on Sunday in the Basque newspaper Deia, Juan José Ibarretxe said that both his government and the Socialist administration in Madrid "are already in dialogue with Batasuna", the British daily The Guardian reported. The newspaper added that Ibarretxe also claimed "a final resolution" to the conflict in the Basque region "will only be possible without violence". | "We will surrender quietly. Can I keep my goldfish? I've grown quite fond of him." |
Representatives of Spain's ruling Socialist party have denied that talks are under way. Rodolfo Ares, a Socialist representative in the Basque region, said he "wasn't aware of any negotiations". | "Negotiations, never. Rather more of a Yahoo chatroom sorta thing. They're so funny, always asking me what I'm wearing..." |
The president of the Spanish senate, Javier Rojo, said Ibarretxe should restrict his comments to his own actions, not "what he thinks others are doing," he said through clenched teeth. The pro-government El PaÃÂs newspaper reported Spain's prime minister, José Luis RodrÃÂguez Zapatero, and Ibarretxe had agreed on the framework for future talks with ETA. It would include a political round table to which the banned Batasuna party would be invited if ETA set down its arms. | Dimensions of said table to be discussed at a later date. |
The talks would revolve around the future of jailed ETA members and Basque demands for greater regional autonomy, the paper said. |