Eta ceasefire: 'A step forward but a slow one' | World news | The Guardian

Eta ceasefire: 'A step forward but a slow one' | World news | The Guardian: "The words of peace uttered by three Eta leaders hiding behind white silken masks sounded promising, but hopes that they would turn into anything concrete were dim today.

'It is a step forward, but a slow one,' said Kepa Aulestia, an Eta expert at the Vocento media group. 'Eta's end is inevitable. It is now trying to justify its own place in history.'

The key words used by the men with the raised fists were that they now considered the ceasefire to be 'permanent' and 'general', while also offering a vague promise it would be 'verifiable'.

Spain has been down this road before. The ceasefire Eta called in 2006 was also deemed 'permanent'. Carlos Palate and Diego Estacio disovered that December that the description was not literal when Eta planted a bomb at Madrid's Barajas airport.

Both men died. Not only were hopes of peace buried in the rubble, so was much of Eta's credibility."