Press release, 13th December 2011

The International Contact Group (Basque Country) held another meeting last week, 6th of December, in London. The aim of the meeting was to continue the work to promote, facilitate and expedite resolution of the conflict in the Basque Country.

The members of the ICG made an assessment of developments since the International Conference to Promote the Resolution of the Conflict in the Basque Country held at the Aiete on October 17th, noting:

  • the ETA declaration of a permanent end to their armed activity in the days immediately following the conference;
  • that neither the Spanish nor the French government has responded positively to the ETA declaration and that talks to exclusively deal with the consequences of violence have not taken place;
  • that these talks are not intended to be political negotiations;
  • recognition by Mariano Rajoy of the ETA declaration as “an important step”;
  • the statement by the President of the European Commission hailing the ETA declaration as “a truly historic moment”;
  • the evidence in the recent elections that exclusively democratic processes are working;
  • the commitment by the international leaders, as voiced in the International Declaration at the Aiete Conference, to form a committee to follow up these recommendations;

The ICG believes that the momentum achieved during and immediately after the international conference must be maintained. It resolved, therefore, to engage with the international leaders to establish progress in forming their committee to follow up on the recommendations set out in their Declaration.

The ICG will continue to monitor developments and stands ready to support and encourage measures to build public confidence, including dialogue with civil society and among all political parties. In this regard addressing and acknowledging the past through an understanding of the perspectives of victims continues to be a primary concern.  ICG will strive to support and facilitate initiatives aimed at humanising the current situation and promoting a road map by which the people involved in the conflict of the Basque Country may resolve their differences.


International Contact Group for the Basque Country

13 December 2011