ETA ends its days-long dissolution process Friday at a peace conference in the French Basque Country, putting paid to western Europe’s last armed insurgency after more than four decades of violence.

Created in 1959 at the height of Francisco Franco’s dictatorship, ETA was blamed for hundreds of killings and kidnappings in its fight for an independent Basque homeland in northern Spain and southwest France.

The conference in the small southwestern French town of Cambo-les-Bains will be attended by international personalities such as Northern Ireland’s Gerry Adams.

ETA had already announced it would be fully disbanding in a letter leaked Wednesday in Spanish media, addressed to various groups and figures involved in recent peace efforts.

On Thursday, it released a “final declaration” recorded by Jose Antonio Urrutikoetxea, better known as “Josu Ternera”, a historic high-ranking ETA figure who has been on the run since 2002.

In the recording, he announced that the separatist group had “completely dismantled all its structures” and “put an end to all its political activity”.

Weakened in recent years by the arrest of its leaders and a major drop in support among Basques, ETA announced a permanent ceasefire in 2011 and began formally surrendering its arms last year.

At the peace conference, Northern Ireland’s Gerry Adams, the former head of Sinn Fein — once considered the political wing of the Irish Republican Army — will be among several attendees.

Adams was active in the Northern Ireland peace process which culminated with the 1998 Good Friday Agreement.

Former Irish prime minister Bertie Ahern will also be present, as will Jonathan Powell, who once served as chief of staff for British leader Tony Blair.

On the Spanish side, representatives of Basque nationalist party PNV, in power in the Spanish region, and far-left Podemos will also attend according to media reports.

Since its ceasefire in 2011, ETA has wanted to follow the United Nations’ peace steps of disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration into society, just like the FARC rebels in Colombia.

But Madrid has refused to make any gesture of appeasement, under pressure from ETA victim associations.

Spain’s conservative Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy on Thursday dismissed the announcement of ETA’s disbanding as “noise and propaganda” and vowed there would be “no impunity” for the group’s crimes.

ETA’s announcement has also been rejected by victims’ groups, who argue it should first and foremost condemn its history of violence and Basque separatists must stop paying public homage to militants as they are released from prison.

They have also asked that light be shed on at least 358 unsolved crimes.

A partial apology by the separatist group last month in which it acknowledged the harm done and apologised to some of its victims — but not to those it considered legitimate targets such as police — has done little to stem the criticism.

“The victims are watching with pain and stupor how ETA is being allowed to direct this farce,” the Victims of Terrorism Association (AVT) said in a statement.

So to seal the last chapter of its history on Friday, ETA chose the French Basque Country, which it once used as a safe haven.

Neither the Spanish Basque Country’s regional government, nor that of neighbouring Navarra, which is considered part of the wider Basque territories, have accepted invitations to attend.

Going forward, the sensitive issue of ETA’s 270 militants imprisoned across Spain and France will also need to be addressed.

Separatist coalition EH Bildu, the second largest grouping in the Basque regional parliament, wants the prisoners to be transferred to jails that are closer to home and their families.

Paris has started to make moves in that direction, but for now, Madrid will not hear of it. </s> CAMBO-LES-BAINS, France (AP) — International mediators hailed the disbanding of Basque separatist group ETA as a turning point for Europe after decades of bombings and shootings — but Spain's prime minister remained unforgiving of a group that killed 850 people in its drive for a Basque homeland.

The Spanish and French governments refused to take part in a peace conference Friday in Basque country in southern France celebrating ETA's formal dissolution.

Victims' groups dismissed ETA's move as propaganda, and the Spanish government said it would continue to prosecute anyone with any links to past violence.

Mediators working to resolve the Basque conflict urged Spain on Friday to be more conciliatory as families and communities try to turn the page on the violence. The negotiators warned that any party seeking "total victory" could end up re-igniting the conflict.

"Deep wounds remain. Families and communities are still divided," said a statement read out in the town of Cambo-les-Bains, in Basque, Spanish, French and English.

"Work remains to be done on all sides .... Peace is not a zero-sum game but a matter of political consent where both sides agree to pursue their aims peacefully and democratically," they said.

Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, in a televised address about ETA's dissolution, repeated his government's hard-line stance, saying the separatist group's efforts were "a resounding failure" and that none of its crimes would be forgiven.

ETA "can announce its dissolution, but its crimes won't go away, nor will the efforts of our legal system to pursue them and punish them come to an end," said Rajoy.

In an open letter Thursday to the Basque people, ETA said it has "completely dismantled all of its structures" and "will no longer express political positions, promote initiatives or interact with other stakeholders."

ETA, which stands for "Basque Homeland and Freedom," was born in 1958. It carried out bombings, shootings and kidnappings as it pursued the creation of a homeland in northern Spain and southern France.

The conflict tarnished Spain's return to democracy after the dictatorship of General Francisco Franco. Members of the country's security apparatus were jailed for launching a "dirty war" on terror during the 1980s with clandestine death squads, and at least 60 separatists were killed.

Mediators expressed regret that the Spanish government didn't participate in dialogue with ETA as it prepared to disband, and praised Basque civilians who persuaded militants to disarm.

The mediators — including British diplomat Jonathan Powell, who took part in Northern Ireland peace talks, and former International Monetary Fund chief Michel Camdessus — said it was important to celebrate "the end of the last armed group on the continent."

"We hope it will give hope to all those facing apparently insoluble conflicts elsewhere in the world," they said.

Angela Charlton in Paris and Barry Hatton in Lisbon, Portugal contributed. </s> Spain vowed to bring to justice all those who committed crimes in the name of former Basque separatist group ETA even as its formal dissolution was sealed on Friday with calls for reconciliation.

By disbanding, the group put a definitive end to western Europe’s last armed insurgency following more than four decades of killings and kidnappings.

But the Spanish government reiterated its vow to pursue any outstanding cases against members of the group, which is blamed for more than 800 killings.

“ETA’s crimes will continue to be investigated, its offences will continue to be tried in the courts, convictions will continue to be issued accordingly and the sentences will continue to be served,” conservative Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy said in an address.

“There has not been and will not be any impunity. We owe them nothing and have nothing to thank them for.”

Rajoy paid tribute to people the group is accused of killing and the victims’ families. He said the group is now accused of killing 853 people.

“We owe a homage to all of them — to them, their families and the hundreds of Spaniards who survived the terrorist violence but who still suffer the consequences of that cruelty.”

Mediators gathered in the French Basque country on Friday for a peace conference to mark ETA’s dissolution.

In a closing statement, they said the move must lead to “reconciliation”.

ETA’s decision marks “a commitment to take part in the democratic process” within Spain’s institutions, “which will require reconciliation,” South African lawyer Brian Currin said at the conference in Cambo-les-Bains, southwestern France.

In the small village of Oiartzun in the Spanish Basque country, graffiti reading “Thanks ETA” appeared in several locations overnight, according to an AFP journalist at the scene.

The Spanish government has refused to negotiate with ETA, which is classed as a terrorist organisation by the European Union.

ETA “will not get anything in return for announcing its dissolution,” Rajoy said.

“There is no place in the European Union for terrorism, arms and guns,” said European Commission spokesman Margaritis Schinas.

“The European Union is based on the rule of law.”

Northern Ireland’s Gerry Adams, the former head of Sinn Fein — once considered the political wing of the Irish Republican Army — called on the Madrid government to turn the page.

“In my own view, there is a particular onus on governments, which are the more powerful actors in any conflict, to proactively engage and sustain the conditions for a peace process,” he said in a speech at the conference.

He urged the Spanish government to move imprisoned ETA members closer to their families — a long-standing demand by the separatists and their relatives.

“It would not be a sign of weakness,” he said.

But Spanish government spokesman Inigo Mendez de Vigo said “the government will not alter its penitentiary policy.”

“The great thing of democracy is to integrate those who have been its worst enemies, it is its moral superiority,” he said during a television interview.

On April 20, ETA asked forgiveness from its victims for the first time for the “pain” caused by its decades-long campaign of violence.

Victims’ campaigners complained that the call for forgiveness did not extend to those the group considered legitimate targets, such as police officers and politicians.

“ETA was not able to express a word of contrition for all the victims, but Basque society and institutions can do it,” said the head of the Basque regional government, Inigo Urkullu, of the nationalist PNV party. </s> Spain vowed to bring to justice all those who committed crimes as members of former Basque separatist group ETA even as its formal dissolution was sealed on Friday with calls for reconciliation.

By disbanding, the group put a definitive end to western Europe’s last armed insurgency following more than four decades of killings and kidnappings.

But the Spanish government reiterated its vow to pursue any outstanding cases against members of the group, which is blamed for more than 800 killings.

“ETA’s crimes will continue to be investigated, its offences will continue to be tried in the courts, convictions will continue to be issued accordingly and the sentences will continue to be served,” Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy said in an address.

“There has not been and will not be any impunity. We owe them nothing and have nothing to thank them for.”

Rajoy paid tribute to people the group is accused of killing and the victims’ families. He said the group is now accused of killing 853 people.

“We owe a homage to all of them — to them, their families and the hundreds of Spaniards who survived the terrorist violence but who still suffer the consequences of that cruelty.”

Mediators gathered in the French Basque country on Friday for a peace conference to mark ETA’s dissolution.

In a closing statement, they said the move must lead to “reconciliation”.

ETA’s decision marks “a commitment to take part in the democratic process” within Spain’s institutions, “which will require reconciliation,” South African lawyer Brian Currin said at the conference in Cambo-les-Bains, southwestern France.

The Spanish government has refused to negotiate with ETA, which is classed as a terrorist organisation by the European Union.

ETA “will not get anything in return for announcing its dissolution,” Rajoy said.

“There is no place in the European Union for terrorism, arms and guns,” said European Commission spokesman Margaritis Schinas.

“This is the European union and the European Union is based on the rule of law.”

Northern Ireland’s Gerry Adams, the former head of Sinn Fein — once considered the political wing of the Irish Republican Army — called on the Madrid government to cooperate.

“In my own view, there is a particular onus on governments, which are the more powerful actors in any conflict, to proactively engage and sustain the conditions for a peace process,” he said in a speech at the conference.

He urged the Spanish government to move imprisoned ETA members closer to their families — a long-standing demand by the separatists and their relatives.

“It would not be a sign of weakness,” he said.

But Spanish goverment spokesman Inigo Mendez de Vigo said “the government will not alter its penitentiary policy.”

Jonathan Powell, a former chief of staff for British leader Tony Blair who helped broker a peace agreement in Northern Ireland, also urged all sides to seize the opportunity for reconciliation.

“Today is a day to celebrate and to look to the future,” he said.

“It shows that dialogue can bring about peace and dialogue should be pursued everywhere where conflict exists.”

On April 20, ETA asked forgiveness from its victims for the first time for the “pain” caused by its decades-long campaign of violence.

Victims’ campaigners complained that the call for forgiveness did not extend to those the group considered legitimate targets, such as police officers and politicians.

“Our first thought must be for the victims, for all of them without exception, without distinctions,” Rajoy said. </s> Spain vowed to bring to justice all those who committed crimes in the name of former Basque separatist group ETA even as its formal dissolution was sealed on Friday with calls for reconciliation.

By disbanding, the group put a definitive end to western Europe's last armed insurgency following more than four decades of killings and kidnappings.

But the Spanish government reiterated its vow to pursue any outstanding cases against members of the group, which is blamed for more than 800 killings.

"ETA's crimes will continue to be investigated, its offences will continue to be tried in the courts, convictions will continue to be issued accordingly and the sentences will continue to be served," conservative Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy said in an address.

"There has not been and will not be any impunity. We owe them nothing and have nothing to thank them for."

Rajoy paid tribute to people the group is accused of killing and the victims' families. He said the group is now accused of killing 853 people.

"They were all murdered unjustly and cruelly," he said.

"We owe a homage to all of them -- to them, their families and the hundreds of Spaniards who survived the terrorist violence but who still suffer the consequences of that cruelty."

Mediators gathered in the French Basque country on Friday for a peace conference to mark ETA's dissolution.

In a closing statement, they said the move must lead to "reconciliation".

ETA's decision marks "a commitment to take part in the democratic process" within Spain's institutions, "which will require reconciliation," South African lawyer Brian Currin said at the conference in Cambo-les-Bains, southwestern France.

In the small village of Oiartzun in the Spanish Basque country, graffiti reading "Thanks ETA" appeared in several locations overnight, according to an AFP journalist at the scene.

The Spanish government has refused to negotiate with ETA, which is classed as a terrorist organisation by the European Union.

ETA "will not get anything in return for announcing its dissolution," Rajoy said.

"There is no place in the European Union for terrorism, arms and guns," said European Commission spokesman Margaritis Schinas.

"The European Union is based on the rule of law."

Northern Ireland's Gerry Adams, the former head of Sinn Fein -- once considered the political wing of the Irish Republican Army -- called on the Madrid government to turn the page.

"In my own view, there is a particular onus on governments, which are the more powerful actors in any conflict, to proactively engage and sustain the conditions for a peace process," he said in a speech at the conference.

He urged the Spanish government to move imprisoned ETA members closer to their families -- a long-standing demand by the separatists and their relatives.

"It would not be a sign of weakness," he said.

But Spanish government spokesman Inigo Mendez de Vigo said "the government will not alter its penitentiary policy."

Spain's former prime minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, whose socialist government carried out secret talks with ETA, also defended dialogue.

"The great thing of democracy is to integrate those who have been its worst enemies, it is its moral superiority," he said during a television interview.

On April 20, ETA asked forgiveness from its victims for the first time for the "pain" caused by its decades-long campaign of violence.

Victims' campaigners complained that the call for forgiveness did not extend to those the group considered legitimate targets, such as police officers and politicians.

"ETA was not able to express a word of contrition for all the victims, but Basque society and institutions can do it," said the head of the Basque regional government, Inigo Urkullu, of the nationalist PNV party. </s> MADRID: Spain vowed to bring to justice all those who committed crimes in the name of former Basque separatist group ETA even as its formal dissolution was sealed on Friday with calls for reconciliation.

By disbanding, the group put a definitive end to western Europe's last armed insurgency following more than four decades of killings and kidnappings.

But the Spanish government reiterated its vow to pursue any outstanding cases against members of the group, which is blamed for more than 800 killings.

"ETA's crimes will continue to be investigated, its offences will continue to be tried in the courts, convictions will continue to be issued accordingly and the sentences will continue to be served," conservative Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy said in an address.

"There has not been and will not be any impunity. We owe them nothing and have nothing to thank them for."

Rajoy paid tribute to people the group is accused of killing and the victims' families. He said the group is now accused of killing 853 people.

"They were all murdered unjustly and cruelly," he said.

"We owe a homage to all of them -- to them, their families and the hundreds of Spaniards who survived the terrorist violence but who still suffer the consequences of that cruelty."

Mediators gathered in the French Basque country on Friday for a peace conference to mark ETA's dissolution.

In a closing statement, they said the move must lead to "reconciliation".

ETA's decision marks "a commitment to take part in the democratic process" within Spain's institutions, "which will require reconciliation," South African lawyer Brian Currin said at the conference in Cambo-les-Bains, southwestern France.

In the small village of Oiartzun in the Spanish Basque country, graffiti reading "Thanks ETA" appeared in several locations overnight, according to an AFP journalist at the scene.

The Spanish government has refused to negotiate with ETA, which is classed as a terrorist organisation by the European Union.

ETA "will not get anything in return for announcing its dissolution," Rajoy said.

"There is no place in the European Union for terrorism, arms and guns," said European Commission spokesman Margaritis Schinas.

"The European Union is based on the rule of law."

Northern Ireland's Gerry Adams, the former head of Sinn Fein -- once considered the political wing of the Irish Republican Army -- called on the Madrid government to turn the page.

"In my own view, there is a particular onus on governments, which are the more powerful actors in any conflict, to proactively engage and sustain the conditions for a peace process," he said in a speech at the conference.

He urged the Spanish government to move imprisoned ETA members closer to their families -- a long-standing demand by the separatists and their relatives.

"It would not be a sign of weakness," he said.

But Spanish government spokesman Inigo Mendez de Vigo said "the government will not alter its penitentiary policy."

Spain's former prime minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, whose socialist government carried out secret talks with ETA, also defended dialogue.

"The great thing of democracy is to integrate those who have been its worst enemies, it is its moral superiority," he said during a television interview.

On April 20, ETA asked forgiveness from its victims for the first time for the "pain" caused by its decades-long campaign of violence.

Victims' campaigners complained that the call for forgiveness did not extend to those the group considered legitimate targets, such as police officers and politicians.

"ETA was not able to express a word of contrition for all the victims, but Basque society and institutions can do it," said the head of the Basque regional government, Inigo Urkullu, of the nationalist PNV party. </s> Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy has warned there will be 'no impunity' for crimes by former ETA members as the Basque separatist group sealed its dissolution.

Rajoy paid tribute to victims of the group which has been blamed for hundreds of killings and kidnappings in its fight for an independent Basque homeland in northern Spain and southwest France.

ETA today ended its days-long dissolution process at a peace conference in the French Basque Country attended by former Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams and other European independence politicians.

Adams posed for a selfie with others as he attended the event in Cambo-les-Bains.

The conference ends western Europe's last armed insurgency after more than four decades of violence.

But Rajoy dismissed it as 'noise and propaganda' and vowed there would be 'no impunity' for the group's crimes.

'Now that ETA has at last announced its disappearance, our first thought must be for the victims, for all of them without exception, without distinctions,' Rajoy said in an address.

On April 20 ETA asked forgiveness from its victims for the first time for the 'pain' caused by its decades-long campaign of violence.

Victims' campaigners complained that the call for forgiveness did not extend to those the group considered legitimate targets, such as police officers and politicians.

Created in 1959 at the height of Francisco Franco's dictatorship, ETA was blamed for more than 800 hundreds of killings and numerous kidnappings.

It waged an armed campaign for an independent Basque homeland in northern Spain and southwest France.

Rajoy warned that ETA's dissolution did not mean its fugitive members were off the hook.

'Convictions will continue to be executed,' he said. 'There will be no impunity' for crimes by former ETA members.

ETA had already announced it would be fully disbanding in a letter leaked on Wednesday in Spanish media, addressed to various groups and figures involved in recent peace efforts.

On Thursday, it released a 'final declaration' recorded by Jose Antonio Urrutikoetxea, better known as 'Josu Ternera', a historic high-ranking ETA figure who has been on the run since 2002.

In the recording, he announced that the separatist group had 'completely dismantled all its structures' and 'put an end to all its political activity'.

Weakened in recent years by the arrest of its leaders and a major drop in support among Basques, ETA announced a permanent ceasefire in 2011 and began formally surrendering its arms last year.

At the peace conference, Northern Ireland's Gerry Adams, the former head of Sinn Fein - once considered the political wing of the Irish Republican Army - was among several attendees.

Adams was active in the Northern Ireland peace process which culminated with the 1998 Good Friday Agreement.

Former Irish prime minister Bertie Ahern was also due to be present, along with Jonathan Powell, who once served as chief of staff for British leader Tony Blair.

On the Spanish side, representatives of Basque nationalist party PNV, in power in the Spanish region, and far-left Podemos were also due to attend according to media reports.

Since its ceasefire in 2011, ETA has wanted to follow the United Nations' peace steps of disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration into society, just like the FARC rebels in Colombia.

But Madrid has refused to make any gesture of appeasement, under pressure from ETA victim associations.

ETA's announcement has also been rejected by victims' groups, who argue it should first and foremost condemn its history of violence and Basque separatists must stop paying public homage to militants as they are released from prison.

They have also asked that light be shed on at least 358 unsolved crimes.

A partial apology by the separatist group last month in which it acknowledged the harm done and apologised to some of its victims - but not to those it considered legitimate targets such as police - has done little to stem the criticism.

'The victims are watching with pain and stupor how ETA is being allowed to direct this farce,' the Victims of Terrorism Association (AVT) said in a statement.

So to seal the last chapter of its history on Friday, ETA chose the French Basque Country, which it once used as a safe haven.

Neither the Spanish Basque Country's regional government, nor that of neighbouring Navarra, which is considered part of the wider Basque territories, have accepted invitations to attend.

Going forward, the sensitive issue of ETA's 270 militants imprisoned across Spain and France will also need to be addressed.

Separatist coalition EH Bildu, the second largest grouping in the Basque regional parliament, wants the prisoners to be transferred to jails that are closer to home and their families.

Paris has started to make moves in that direction, but for now, Madrid will not hear of it. </s> The Basque militant group ETA will make the highly anticipated announcement of its dissolution on the first weekend in May, an international mediator told Basque radio Thursday.

Alberto Spektorowski, one of a group of international mediators brokering talks on a definitive end to the conflict in Spain's northern Basque region, said that "failing a last-minute surprise" ETA would make the announcement on May 5 or 6.

"The declaration that ETA no longer exists will be very clear," the Israeli academic, a member of the International Contact Group (ICG), told Basque radio EITB.

"I cannot say what words they will use but no one will be left in any doubt," he said, adding that the announcement would be made across the border, in the French Basque region.

ETA waged a nearly four-decade fight for an independent Basque state that killed at least 829 people before it announced a permanent ceasefire in 2011.

Last year it went a step further and laid down its arms.

Spain's 2.2-million-strong Basque region is now gearing up for the dissolution of the group created in 1959 at the height of Francisco Franco's dictatorship.

Spektorowski said the Basque region was entering a new "post-ETA" phase.

"It will be clear that a chapter of the history of the Basque Country and of Spain is closed," he said.

The language used by ETA in its statement will be scrutinised closely, however, for proof that it is sincere about disbanding.

In a statement announcing a press conference Monday in the French city of Bayonne, one of the groups involved in the peace process, Bake Bidea, avoided talk of "dissolution", referring instead to ETA's "demobilisation".

Bayonne Mayor Jean-Rene Etchegarray insisted on the need for clear language.

"Things must be perfectly clear, words are important. The demobilisation began in 2011 when ETA announced its ceasefire," he said.

Beyond ETA's dissolution, questions remain over how to move forward.

Spektorowski said ETA's main demand is that jailed Basque nationalists be moved closer to their families.

"France has already done that... but the Spanish state still has some problems with that," he said.

Reacting to news of the imminent dissolution, he said: "ETA obtained nothing for stopping the killing and will also get nothing for declaring its dissolution." </s> Basque separatist group ETA formally declared its dissolution Thursday, marking the definitive end to western Europe's last armed insurgency after more than four decades of violence.

Created in 1959 at the height of Francisco Franco's dictatorship, ETA was blamed for hundreds of killings and kidnappings in its fight for an independent Basque homeland in northern Spain and southwest France.

The group said in a "final" statement it has "completely dismantled all its structures" and "has put an end to all its political activity".

"ETA wishes to end a cycle of the conflict between the Basque Country and the Spanish and French states; the cycle of the use of political violence," it added in the statement, dated May 3 and presented in Switzerland and Spain.

ETA was blamed for the deaths of 829 people during its armed campaign.

The group's highest-profile killing was that of Franco's prime minister and heir apparent, Luis Carrero Blanco, in a Madrid car bombing in 1973.

ETA also kidnapped dozens of business leaders to finance its activities, leading many people to leave the wealthy northern Basque region.

Weakened in recent years by the arrest of its leaders, ETA announced a permanent ceasefire in 2011 and began formally surrendering its arms last year.

ETA had already announced that it would be fully disbanding in a leaked letter addressed to various groups and figures involved in recent peace efforts and published Wednesday by Spanish online newspaper El Diario.

International mediators will hold a peace conference in southwest France on Friday. Irish former Sinn Fein party leader Gerry Adams and representatives of several Spanish political parties are expected to attend.

But Spain's conservative Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy earlier on Thursday dismissed the planned announcement of ETA's disbanding as "noise and propaganda" and vowed there would be "no impunity" for the group's crimes.

"ETA can announce its disappearance but its crimes do not disappear, nor do the efforts to pursue and punish them," he said in the northern city of Logrono.

"We don't owe them anything and we have nothing to thank them for."

While an overwhelming majority of Basques welcome the end of violence, many still want independence.

The separatist coalition EH Bildu, the second largest grouping in the regional parliament, won 21 percent of the votes in the 2016 regional elections.

The party has long called for the roughly 300 ETA prisoners held across Spain and France to be transferred to jails closer to the Basque region and their families.

The regional leader of Spain's Basque Country, Inigo Urkullu of the nationalist PNV party, said he hoped Madrid would soon bring ETA prisoners closer to the Basque region.

"It responds to a demand of the majority of Basque society," he said in an interview published earlier on Thursday in Spanish newspaper El Pais.

"ETA never should have existed. It puts an end to a dark chapter of 60 years," he added.

Apart from ETA victims, there were also separatists killed by far-right groups and death squads backed by members of Spain's security forces in what has become known as a "dirty war" campaign.

According to a December report commissioned by the Basque regional government, more than 4,100 complaints of police torture were made between 1960 and 2014.

Those victims are also demanding they be acknowledged.

"If you don't recognise part of the suffering, it's very difficult to create conditions for... reconciliation," said Ane Muguruza, 28.

Her father Josu, a lawmaker for Herri Batasuna, ETA's political wing, was murdered in 1989 by far-right militants she believes were state-backed.

"It's very difficult when there are open wounds," she said.

"To close them, you have to clean and cure them. And for that to happen, there must be acknowledgment, it's crucial."
In Cambo-les-Bains, France, ETA performs its final act of dissolution in the presence of politicians such as Gerry Adams, Jonathan Powell, Brian Currin and Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas.