End of ETA "irreversible" but unlikely before November general elections

Basque terrorist organization ETA is unlikely to declare a definitive end to violence before the general elections on November 20, leaders of the radical abertzale left have intimated.

ETA's demands to take the final step toward disbanding - the legalization of its political platform Sortu and guarantees over the future of jailed terrorists - look set to remain on the back burner as the Constitutional Court is under enormous pressure after the legalization of Sortu's successor, Bildu, which scored heavy victories in Basque elections in May. Another stumbling block is "the behavior of representatives of this coalition, especially the Gipuzkoa provincial chief [Martin Garitano], which has not contributed to a climate of favorable opinion."

The president of the Senate, Javier Rojo, has called for Garitano to be censured after the Bildu politician's recent show of support for families of ETA prisoners and his snub toward victims of terrorism at recent rallies in Loloya and Vitoria. The other parties, Rojo said, had allowed Bildu to head the provincial council despite not having an absolute majority; now was the time for the rest of the democratic forces in Gipuzkoa to unite against the grouping's attitude.

The government is standing firm on its desire for ETA to announce a conclusive laying down of arms, at which stage prisoners' rights will be reviewed. In any case, abertzale sources say, the "process of the end to ETA violence is irreversible."