BASQUE TERRORISTS SAY THEY WILL DISARM: ETA says it will “handover” its weapons on April 8. At one time ETA demanded secession from Spain and the formation of an independent Basque state. The Spanish government says ETA must dissolve as well as disarm. </s> A representative of civil society groups says the Basque separatist group ETA will complete its disarmament by April 8.

Txetx Etcheverry, a prominent figure in the French Basque community who tried to manage a disarmament effort in 2016, told Le Monde newspaper that a collective of civil society groups had received ETA's mandate.

"ETA gave us the responsibility of disarming its arsenal, and the evening of April 8, ETA will be totally disarmed," he said.

Etcheverry confirmed to The Associated Press that an announcement would be made by ETA later on Friday, but he declined to give details of its content.

ETA announced in 2011 it was renouncing violence in its campaign for independence for the Basque regions of northern Spain and southwest France. It is blamed for over 800 deaths from 1968 to 2010.

The Spanish government declined to comment in detail until an actual announcement is made. "ETA needs to do two things — to disarm and disband," said Inigo Mendez de Vigo, the cabinet's spokesman. </s> Spanish media are reporting that Basque separatist group ETA is set to announce Friday that it is prepared to disarm within weeks.

Citing sources close to the disarmament initiative, Europa Press news agency reported that ETA's declaration is aimed at speeding the stalled process. The agency said disarmament would be complete by April 8.

ETA announced in 2011 it was renouncing violence in its campaign for independence for the Basque regions of northern Spain and southwest France. It has yet to disarm or disband. It is blamed for over 800 deaths from 1968 to 2010. </s> Activist with ties to Basque community says separatist group ETA will officially hand in its weapons by April 8.

Basque separatist group ETA will fully disarm by April 8, a French environmental activist with ties to the Basque community promised on Friday.

The group announced a permanent cease-fire in 2011, but the governments of Spain and France have so far refused to take part in its disarmament because ETA tied it to the future of its members, both in and out of jail.

The two countries have demanded that ETA lay down its weapons without conditions and disband.

Txetx Etcheverry, a prominent figure in the French Basque community who tried to arrange a disarmament in 2016, told AP news agency that the new initiative was agreed upon with the ETA and will be carried out whether French authorities agree to receive the weapons or not.

"If the French government doesn't take responsibility, the Basque civil society will take a step forward. We can't imagine five more years of inaction," Etcheverry said, pledging that "ETA will be disarmed by midnight on April 8."

READ MORE: Basque group ETA to put weapons 'out of use'

ETA, which in Basque stands for "Basque Country and Freedom," was founded in 1959 during the Spanish dictatorship of General Francisco Franco.

It has killed 829 people in its nearly four-decade campaign to create a Basque homeland in a region straddling northern Spain and southwest France.

The group was most violent in the 1980s, staging hundreds of shootings of police, politicians and businesspeople.

One year after its last deadly attack, the killing of a French police officer near Paris in March 2010, the ETA announced it was renouncing violence.

In recent years, police operations have weakened the ETA. If the disarmament was completed, would primarily be symbolic, given that the group's reduced arsenal is believed to be obsolete.

ETA has linked its total dissolution to allowing imprisoned members to serve their sentences closer to home in northern Spain, among other demands.

But on Friday, Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy rejected any concessions.

"ETA has chosen to disarm unilaterally. It should do it and should also disband," Rajoy, who leads Spain's conservative Popular Party, said at a party meeting.

"The government of Spain will do what it has always done - to apply the law, which is the same for everybody." </s> MADRID – Basque civil society groups will fully disarm the separatist group ETA by April 8, a French environmental activist with ties to the Basque community promised Friday.

The militants announced a permanent cease-fire in 2011, but the governments of Spain and France have so far refused to take part in its disarmament because ETA tied it to the future of its militants, both in and out of jail. The two countries have demanded that ETA lay down its weapons without conditions and disband.

Txetx Etcheverry, a prominent figure in the French Basque community who tried to arrange a disarmament in 2016, told The Associated Press that the new initiative was agreed upon with the ETA and will be carried out whether French authorities agree to receive the weapons or not.

“If the French government doesn’t take responsibility, the Basque civil society will take a step forward. We can’t imagine five more years of inaction,” Etcheverry said, pledging that “ETA will be disarmed by midnight on April 8.”

ETA, which in Basque stands for “Basque Country and Freedom,” was founded in 1959 during the Spanish dictatorship of Gen. Francisco Franco. It has killed 829 people in its nearly four-decade campaign to create a Basque homeland in a region straddling northern Spain and southwest France.

The group was most violent in the 1980s, staging hundreds of shootings of police, politicians and businesspeople.

One year after its last deadly attack, the killing of a French police officer near Paris in March 2010, the ETA announced it was renouncing violence.

In recent years, police operations have weakened the ETA. If the disarmament was completed, would primarily be symbolic, given that the group’s reduced arsenal is believed to be obsolete.

ETA has linked its total dissolution to allowing imprisoned members to serve their sentences closer to home in northern Spain, among other demands.

But on Friday, Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy rejected any concessions.

“ETA has chosen to disarm unilaterally. It should do it and should also disband,” Rajoy, who leads Spain’s conservative Popular Party, said at a party meeting. “The government of Spain will do what it has always done – to apply the law, which is the same for everybody.”

Etcheverry, member of the Basque environmental organization Bizi, was among five Basque activists arrested in December in the southern French town of Louhossoa after police said they had discovered a suspected ETA weapons trove. They were charged with possession of explosives and weapons, released on bail and are awaiting trial.

The activists said the arrests by French and Spanish police targeted peace activists who were managing ETA’s disarmament.

Etcheverry said the group would disclose details of the disarmament on Saturday in the southern French town of Biarritz.

He said the group was aiming to “unblock other important issues in the Basque peace process,” such as the future of imprisoned ETA members and the reconciliation in the Basque society. He didn’t mention the ETA disbanding.

Basque regional leader Inigo Urkullu said its government is ready to assist in the disarmament process and asked the governments of Spain and France to work to reach a permanent solution.

Groups representing ETA victims in Spain urged the government not to make any concessions.

Mari Mar Blanco, who represents the victims’ group FTV and whose brother was kidnapped and murdered by ETA in 1997, said the ETA should cooperate with the judicial system in shedding light on the more than 300 unresolved killings.

“It’s time for the relatives to close their mourning by identifying the assassins of their loved ones,” Blanco said.

The economically powerful Basque region, which has a strong cultural identity and its own Basque language, is one of 17 semi-autonomous regions in Spain. </s> Basque separatist organisation Eta has announced plans to disarm fully, more than five years after formally ending its campaign of violence.

“Eta has given us the responsibility of decommissioning its weapons and, on the afternoon of April 8, Eta will be completely disarmed,” Jean Noël Etcheverry, a member of the Bizi pro-independence environmentalist group, told Le Monde newspaper. Mr Etcheverry is one of several intermediaries involved in the process.

The news was confirmed on Friday by Arnaldo Otegi, leader of EH Bildu, the Basque separatist coalition which is seen as the successor to Eta’s political wing. The announcement was “totally genuine and credible”, Mr Otegi said in a press conference.

“We believe this is what [the Basque Country] is asking for, we believe that from a moral standpoint we can make a call for everybody to rise to this historic moment, this challenge before us, the great window of opportunity that this country is being offered so that disarmament takes place in a short period of time,” Mr Otegi said.

Eta killed more than 800 Spaniards during a four-decade terrorist campaign for an independent Basque state. However, police intelligence and increased anti-terror co-operation between Spanish and French authorities severely weakened the group, which has not killed in Spain since 2009.

In 2011, Eta announced a definitive ceasefire, but while the ensuing peace has ushered in a new era in the Basque region, it has not been consolidated by any kind of follow-up process or state-sponsored reconciliation.

Eta’s disarmament, meanwhile, has long been anticipated.

In February 2014, Eta attempted to instigate a decommissioning process, handing over a small cache of weapons to a group of international verifiers. However, the Spanish government dismissed the move as “a theatrical exercise” and refused to participate.

In December 2016, French police seized 46 guns and two grenades belonging to the group. Five people who had apparently been planning to help Eta put the weapons out of use were arrested in the raid.

One of those held was Mr Etcheverry, who made Friday’s announcement.

With security forces having seized much of Eta’s arsenal already, its remaining weapons cache is believed to be relatively small and it has few members at large. High court judge Javier Zaragoza said last year that no more than 20 active members of the organisation are in hiding.

While the conservative Spanish government of Mariano Rajoy has long called on Eta to disarm and disband, it is likely to reject Mr Otegi’s call for international involvement in the process.

On Friday, government spokesman Íñigo Méndez de Vigo reacted coolly to the news, saying that “Eta has to do two things: disarm and disband”.

Eta and its political supporters have long believed the Basque situation should be handled in a similar way to the Irish peace process. However, the government refuses to accept such comparisons, insisting that the Basque region has not suffered an armed conflict, but rather a one-sided terrorist campaign. </s> MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The government of Spain's Basque Autonomous Community believes in the reported plans of the Basque terrorist group ETA to disarm, Inigo Urkullu, the head of the Basque government, said Friday.

"The Basque Government provides credibility to this possibility of final disarmament… I ask all the concerned institutions, especially the governments of Spain and France for broadmindedness and direct communication channels, oriented at achieving the historic objective," Urkullu said, as quoted by the Cadena SER broadcaster, speaking about the ETA's announcement.

ETA, or Euzkadi Ta Askatasuna (Basque Country and Freedom) is an armed group founded on July 31, 1959. Since then the activities of the group have claimed lives of 860 people. In 2011 ETA announced a "definitive cessation of its armed activity."

Spanish authorities have already responded to the group's plans to disarm, for example Education Minister Inigo Mendez de Vigo said that Madrid would consider the situation concerning the disarmament plans with care. </s> PARIS (AP) - The Basque separatist group ETA has formally given French authorities a list of eight locations of its weapons, ammunition and explosives in a crucial move toward disarmament.

French Interior Minister Matthias Fekl said a police operation was underway Saturday to find and search the arms caches.

"It's a great step, an unquestionably important day," Fekl said.

French Mayor of Bayonne Jean-Rene Etchegaray, fourth left, delivers his speech ahead of the announcement by Ram Manikkalingam, third left, president of the Verification Commission for disarmament of ETA, the Basque separatist group, that ETA handed over its arms in Bayonne, southwestern France, Saturday, April 8, 2017. The Basque separatist group ETA, inactive for more than five years, handed over its arms Saturday, putting a finishing touch to a 43-year violent campaign that claimed the lives of over 800 people mostly in Spain. (AP Photo/Alvaro Barrientos)

Representatives of the self-appointed Peace Artisans activist group, acting as mediators in the disarmament process, told reporters that the total number of weapons included 120 firearms and three tons of explosives and ammunition.

"We hope that with this the movement can move forward to a long-lasting peace in the Basque country," Mixel Berhokoirigoin said.

He said fellow activists were deployed at each location until French authorities arrive to take possession of the weapons.

The International Verification Commission, in charge of verifying the process, said in a statement Saturday that the list of caches communicated to them by the Peace Artisans group "was immediately conveyed to the relevant French authorities, who will now secure and collect ETA's arsenal."

Inactive for more than five years, ETA had said it would hand over its arms, a historic step following a 43-year violent campaign that claimed 829 lives, mostly in Spain.

Disarmament is the second-to-last step demanded by France and Spain, which want ETA to formally disband. The organization hasn't said whether it would do that.

A spokesman for the ruling party in the Basque Country's regional government in Spain called the disarmament "historically relevant."

"It's important that the disarmament takes place because each and every (weapon) has its history," Joseba Egibar said, as reported by Europa Press. "It's the history of who carried them and the pain and suffering of so many years."

Joe Wilson contributed to the story from Barcelona, Spain.

Ram Manikkalingam, third right, a member of the commission overseeing the Basque group ETA's ceasefire, announces delivery of ETA weapons to French authorities, surrounded by others, from left, Jean Noel Etcheverry, Bishop Matteo Zuppi, Jean Rene Etxegarray, Mayor of Bayonne Michel Tubiana and Reverend Harold Good during a press conference in Bayonne, southwestern France, Saturday, April 8, 2017. In a letter Friday to the BBC, the Basque sepratist group ETA declared itself a weapons-free organization after giving up its entire arsenal to civil society groups. It confirmed the mediators, who call themselves "peace artisans," would complete the disarmament Saturday in southern France, as announced earlier. (AP Photo/bob Edme)

Ram Manikkalingam, third right, president of the Verification Commission for disarmament of ETA, the Basque separatist group, poses for the media with French Mayor of Bayonne Jean-Rene Etchegaray, right, and other members of the Verification Commission ahead of announcing that ETA handed over its arms in Bayonne, southwestern France, Saturday, April 8, 2017. The Basque separatist group ETA, inactive for more than five years, handed over its arms Saturday, putting a finishing touch to a 43-year violent campaign that claimed the lives of over 800 people mostly in Spain. (AP Photo/Alvaro Barrientos) </s> Image copyright AP Image caption Eta has been weakened by weapons seizures in recent years and may not have many left

The militant group Eta has resolved to disarm fully by 8 April, sources close to talks between the Basque separatists and Spanish government have said.

A pro-Basque independence and environmental group called Bizi has been given responsibility for the disarmament, according to one activist speaking to France's Le Monde.

The interior minister said Eta "won't get anything in exchange".

Eta declared a ceasefire in 2011 but is yet to relinquish its weapons.

The group killed more than 800 people over four decades of violence.

It was set up more than 50 years ago in the era of Spanish dictator General Franco to fight for an independent Basque homeland.

However, in recent years it has been sapped by the arrest of hundreds of members, including leadership figures, and the seizure of weapons caches.

"Eta has handed us responsibility for the disarmament of its arsenal and, as of the evening of 8 April, Eta will have completely handed over its weapons," Txetx Etcheverry, an activist with Bizi, was quoted as saying in Le Monde.

The 8 April date was also given by an unnamed source close to talks quoted by the AFP news agency.

Image copyright Reuters Image caption The government refuses to negotiate with Eta, which announced a unilateral ceasefire in 2011

No formal announcement has yet been made and the Spanish government has so far declined to make any detailed comment.

But in a tweet, Interior Minister Juan Ignacio Zoido said: "What Eta must do is dissolve itself and disappear. It has had time to disarm and it must know that it won't get anything in exchange."

What is Eta?

Eta ceasefire scoop: how the BBC got the story

In 2014 the International Verification Commission of international inspectors said Eta had taken some of its weapons out of action, but the Spanish government dismissed the move as "theatrical".

Spanish media say recent seizures of arms have been quite small, which they say indicate Eta does not have many weapons left - giving its disarmament a predominantly symbolic character.
In Spain, the Basque separatist group ETA announces that it will fully disarm by April 8, 2017.