European Parliament supports dialogue with ETA

European legislators on Wednesday voted in favor of a resolution supporting the Spanish government's initiative to have dialogue with the Basque separatist group ETA.

After heated debate in the European Parliament, the house passed the resolution by a slim majority, with 321 votes in favor, 311 against and 24 abstentions.

Following the March declaration by ETA on a permanent ceasefire, Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero announced plans to launch dialogue with ETA in a bid to bring lasting peace to the Basque region in northern Spain.

Meanwhile, a motion proposed by the conservative European People's Party (EPP) has been rejected. It declared that ETA had not met pre-conditions for peace talks, and called on ETA to disarm and apologize to victims' families.

European parliamentarian Martin Schulz, whose Socialist group put forward the resolution, said it was important to lend support to the Spanish government's attempts to find peace.

But opponents said that the peace talks and the debate in the parliament only served to give publicity to the "terrorists" from ETA, which is deemed responsible for more than 850 deaths in its four-decade campaign for independence for the Basque region.

Lending support to the Spanish initiative, EU Justice Commissioner Franco Frattini told EU legislators on Wednesday that the attitude of the Spanish society during all these years has been "exemplary."

"Indeed, its tenacity and conviction in combating terrorism from the respect of democracy and the rule of law has paid off, leading to the increasing weakness of ETA," Frattini said.

Source: Xinhua