ETA Ends Truce With Spanish Government
Fears That Basque Separatist Group Will Resume Frequent Attacks After 15 Months
MADRID, Spain, June 5, 2007

(AP) The armed Basque separatist group ETA called off its 15-month-old cease-fire with the Spanish government in a statement Tuesday, formalizing what many saw as the demise of a once-promising peace process already struck down by a deadly bombing in December.

ETA said the truce it called in March 2006 would end at midnight Tuesday, and that after that it would be "active on all fronts to defend the Basque homeland." The move could mean a quick resumption of violence, and authorities say they are on high alert.

In a statement sent to two Basque newspapers, it blamed the government — and particularly Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero — for the failed peace process, accusing the Socialist leader of becoming a fascist. the rest