Spanish PM: No more talks with ETA
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MADRID, Spain (AP) -- Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero said his government is no longer prepared to negotiate with ETA to put an end to Basque separatist violence, according to an interview published Sunday.
.In a nine-page interview in leading daily El Pais, Zapatero said trying to negotiate with ETA had not produced good results.
."Dialogue has proved useless, seeing what ETA has done," Zapatero was quoted as saying. "There is not going to be dialogue."
.In March 2006, ETA declared what it described as a permanent cease-fire, but reverted to violence nine months later by killing two people in a car bombing at a Madrid airport parking garage after failing to wrest concessions in peace talks with Zapatero's government.
.ETA has killed more than 825 people since 1968 in its quest to carve out an independent country from parts of northern Spain and southwestern France.
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The government acknowledges it was caught off guard by the 2006 blast and has been cracking down on ETA ever since, arresting dozens of its members and suspending two pro-ETA nationalist political parties through legal action.
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In the interview granted to five El Pais journalists, Zapatero also said he had high expectations for the forthcoming presidential elections in the U.S.
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"I mustn't confuse my wishes with reality, but I have already said elsewhere that I like (Barack) Obama," Zapatero was quoted as saying.
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As to the state of Spain's economy, Zapatero said it was debatable if the country's performance dip following a stall in the real estate and construction sectors and a major rise in inflation to close to 5 percent could be rated as a crisis, according to the El Pais interview.
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"It's a matter of opinion if there is a crisis or not," Zapatero was quoted as saying.
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During the run-up to this year's general election, Zapatero pledged to reduce taxes by euros 400 ($588) per year for contributors who filed payments correctly and on time.
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The government fulfilled the promise as one of its first policy decisions following the March elections in a step widely seen as an attempt to relieve inflationary pressures and stimulate consumer spending.
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