MALLORCA TODAY - ETA announces definitive end to terrorism campaign

ETA has announced that it has called for a definitive cessation to its terrorist campaign. Prime Minister Zapatero has described this as a victory for democracy and reason. The ETA announcement comes exactly a month before the national elections in Spain and just after a conference attended by Kofi Annan and Gerry Adams. There is a link between ETA and the Spanish elections in that it was wrongly blamed for the Madrid bombings in 2004 by the then ruling Partido Popular whose handling of the bombings was partly responsible for a surprise win for Zapatero's PSOE socialists. The PSOE candidate this time is Alfredo Rubalcaba, the former interior minister and someone therefore well versed with ETA matters. It might be thought that the ETA announcement could be a boost to PSOE at the election, though it has been accused in the past of being soft on terrorism. Partido Popular candidate Mariano Rajoy has played down the announcement, not surprisingly perhaps in that he doesn't wish to give PSOE any advantage, by saying that Spain will not be at ease until ETA fully dissolves and disarms.