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Basque militants display defiance Eta 'committed to armed struggle'
(about 3 hours later)
Militants claiming to speak for Basque separatist group Eta have said it will not give up arms until it has secured independence for the Basque region. Basque separatist group Eta has said it will not relinquish weapons until the region gets independence from Spain.
The announcement was read out by three hooded gunmen during a pro-independence rally in northern Spain. Three hooded gunmen told an Eta rally in northern Spain their fight was not a thing of the past, despite a ceasefire announced six months ago.
The statement made no mention of the ceasefire Eta declared six months ago. Since then, talks with the Spanish government have failed to begin. Speaking after the statement, Spain's prime minister said he would work towards ending 40 years of violence.
Eta has killed more than 800 people in the last 40 years. His government has indicated that it is ready to talk to Eta, but has ruled out Basque independence.
Interior Minister Alfredo Perez Rubalcaba was due to publish a report shortly on the lack of progress since the ceasefire. The BBC's Danny Wood, in the Spanish capital Madrid, says this is the sixth communication by the armed separatist group since it declared a permanent ceasefire in March.
'Present and future' He says it could be the strongest sign yet that Eta is not prepared to give up the violent struggle for independence - or just a strategy before starting talks with the national government.
Shots fired
Saturday's rally was held in the town of Aritxulegi, near San Sebastian.Saturday's rally was held in the town of Aritxulegi, near San Sebastian.
In their statement, reported by Basque media, they said: "Until we achieve independence and socialism in the Basque country, we reaffirm our commitment to keep taking up arms firmly. In their statement, reported by Basque media, the hooded gunmen said: "Until we achieve independence and socialism in the Basque country, we reaffirm our commitment to keep taking up arms firmly.
"The fight is not a thing of the past. It is the present and the future.""The fight is not a thing of the past. It is the present and the future."
Low-level street violence, such as petrol bomb attacks on banks, buses and political party offices has been rising in the Basque region of northern Spain in recent months. After the announcement, the militants fired shots into the air and disappeared into the forest.
A Spanish government spokeswoman declined to comment on the statement, saying only: "The peace process is going to be long and the prudent option is not to react to Eta communiques." In a speech in Barcelona, Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero said: "We are going to be firm as we go forward.
"The rules of the game are clear: respect for the law and peace, and peace means the absence of violence, of absolutely any kind of violence ... The end of violence has no price."
But the leader of Spain's conservative opposition, Mariano Rajoy, said the statement was a reminder that negotiating with terrorists was pointless.
"Eta has not changed - Eta is still a terrorist organisation," he said.