Zapatero: "ETA has made same decision it made in the past"

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The president of the Spanish Government, Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero

The president of the Spanish Government, Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, affirmed that ETA is making "a mistake" as it announced it called off the ceasefire. He added that he will respond to the rupture of the truce with Democracy as the rest of heads of the Spanish Government did in the past, and demanded the unity of all parties. Nevertheless, he insisted that he will do as much as he can to reach peace "as soon as possible."

In a public appearance at the Government presidency headquarters and alongside Deputy Prime Minister Maria Teresa Fernandez de la Vega and Interior minister Alfredo Perez Rubalcaba, Zapatero said: "Now, as it did (in the past), ETA is again making a mistake," vowing to remain tough against the militants. "ETA's decision goes totally in the opposite direction of the path that Basque and Spanish society want, the path of peace."

Thus, he noted the necessity of a common defence of values and democratic institutions as well as international cooperation to combat terrorism. Furthermore, he addressed Basque citizens to note the fact that he has made "all possible efforts" to reach peace and he will be keep on working hard along this line.

In a short televised speech, Zapatero said the truce had already ended with the December bombing and he noted that ETA has declared ceasefires before, only to resume its armed campaign.

He called on ETA to lay down its arms and expressed confidence that "sooner or later, Spanish society will achieve peace."