Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero on Sunday defended his failed bid to bring about peace by holding talks with separatist group ETA, saying he had been trying to save lives.
During an interview with daily El Pais, the prime minister said it was not only worth trying to save lives, but also he would not have been able to forgive himself had he not made the effort.
The interview came one day after four suspected ETA members were arrested in southern France. The four were believed to have participated in the Madrid Barajas International Airport bombing in December 2006, during which two people were killed.
After the bombing, the government ended peace talks with the group.
The prime minister said his government was committed to fighting ETA to end years of violence and he believed that the group had no future and nothing to gain, the paper said.
Zapatero emerged winner in the March 2004 elections, days after the Madrid train bombings, which killed 191 people.
ETA, struggling for an independent Basque state in northern Spain and southwestern France since the late 1960s, called off its 15-month ceasefire in June this year.
On Aug. 24, a car bomb exploded in front of the Civil Guard quarters in Durango in northern Spain, wounding two civilian guards.
About 800 people have died during the four decades of violence, and the armed organization is classified as a terrorist group by the United States and the European Union.
Source: Xinhua
|
Comment
Tell A Friend
Print Format
Save Article