ETA calls it a Day
On October 20th, in a strange but stunning announcement, Basque separatist/terrorist group ETA revealed that they were laying down their arms definitively and would continue their struggle democratically.

After nearly fifty years of violence (they are responsible for more than 800 deaths), this permanent ceasefire is more than welcome. The problem is, in the past, they have also declared ceasefires (although not of the definitive kind), which eventually were broken by further violence.

ETA has been losing ground for several years, as repeated actions by both the Spanish and French security forces severely weakened their organisational structure; leader after leader was captured, more and more rank-and-file picked up, weapons stashes uncovered. Public opinion, even in their homeland, is probably at its lowest ebb ever. ETA prisoners had also begun calling for the group’s dissolution.

Reactions have been decidedly muted. Leaders are demanding ETA hand-over all weapons and insisting on caution until ETA honours its declaration; victims’ groups are tending towards the cynical, calling this another lie. It is to be hoped that this time ETA will finally disband and Spain can move on to another chapter if not another book.

Missing Children
Two Cordoban children have gone missing from a public park. Ruth and José Bretón Rúiz, aged 6 and 2, were with their father in a local park when, after briefly losing sight of them, they vanished, as reported by the father.

After informing police, he himself was arrested as they felt that the coldness with which he reported the disappearance made him suspect. He and his wife are in the process of separating, adding to the mystery. Police have conducted a massive search but so far no sign of the children has been found, and police are now considering homicide a possibility.

Franco Could Be Moved
The Spanish government is considering proposals of exhuming Franco’s remains and burying them in the El Pardo cemetery in Madrid next to his wife, Carmen Polo.

This is part of several ideas as to what might be done with Franco’s famous memorial, the Valley of the Fallen. Located outside Madrid, built by Republican slave labour, and marked by an enormous white cross, visible from miles away, the memorial is an obstacle to the government’s on-going plans to remove symbols from the Franco era.

This one, due to its immense significance and renown, should probably have been first on the list; but it is precisely this, which has saved the monument up till now. Franco still has his supporters and sympathisers, and many simply feel that one cannot wipe history clean by removing some statues and street names.