Statement on the announcement by ETA to end its terrorist activity
Committee convenes in Porto Alegre, 24-25 October 2011
The Socialist International expresses its great satisfaction at the announcement made by the terrorist group ETA on 20 October in which it declared an end to its terrorist activity.
This represents a resounding victory for Spanish democracy, freedom and the rule of law, which brings to an end one of the longest and darkest pages in the history of Spain.
The Socialist International extends its heartfelt congratulations to all the security forces and bodies for their dedication and efficiency, and to the successive democratic governments of Spain which, through decades of struggle, have led to this victory of democracy, law and reason. In particular, the SI wishes to acknowledge the work of Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero and that of the until recently Minister of the Interior, Alfredo Pérez Rubalcaba, in this unconditional defeat of terror.
Lastly, the SI reaffirms, today more than ever, its solidarity, recognition and full support for all the victims of the barbaric terrorist activity perpetrated for over half a century, with more than 800 assassinations and thousands of lives ruined by pain and anguish, and whose memory must be a fundamental cornerstone of these new times of full freedoms and peace which is definitively beginning in Spain.
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