It has been four years since ETA abandoned armed activity and a huge opportunity has been missed to provide an adequate and just solution to the conflict; to build a solution based on truth, justice, reparation and non-repetition.

That was not what was wanted, the State imposed on the Basque society a scheme of winners and losers. The Spanish Government did not want it; the PNV and the Basque Government did not oppose it; it cannot be just the Abertzale Left; and in civil society there is no force to push institutions and parties in that direction.

In 2011, it might be thought that ETA’s weapons or its future could be very important to start a peace process. That has always been the case in world conflicts where worthy solutions have been sought. And this is one more, with its relationships of characteristics and strength, but one more. These four years have shown that weapons and other types of weapons are excuses. Today ETA is nothing, except a great symbol for its enemies and for those who are under its shelter.
Truth, justice, reparation and not repetition. A nice quartet, but in the current scheme it cannot develop.

It's true. It's a long way away. If a genuine constructive process had been promoted, we would know much more about what has happened – we never know everything in any conflict – than ETA and the state have done.

Justice. The armed activity of ETA has been punished, the repression of the State is in judicial and political impunity, whether it is illegal – GAL, torture… – or legal (many deaths, the closures of Egin and Egunkaria, the mass trials…); if justice had been thrown out of revenge, today there would be few prisoners in prisons – and even more fragile….

Repair. Most importantly, the dead, is irreparable. Money is fine, but the most important thing is confession. ETA has recognised a great deal of it, the State has little. And, however, interesting initiatives are being carried out, both by the victims among them, and by various associations and the Basque Government. Compensation should be discussed in many more areas of society, in depth and with a view to all kinds of victims. Little has been done, particularly with regard to the reparation of the victims of ETA.

No repetition. They are not laying the real foundations for what happened not to happen again. We have to talk a lot about the factors that have been mentioned before, of memory, of self-criticism… but all of this must be based on two conditions: honesty and freedom. None of them is driven. The Abertzale left is called for self-criticism, but he is told what he has to say, that the violence used by ETA was unfair and did not serve any purpose. And the broad sections of the Abertzale left don't believe that, they don't share it, and they don't have the freedom to say what they think, without the risk of jail or jail. It is ineffective.

Violence has always been there, there it is and will be, both in power and in response. It is a phenomenon that is fully integrated into the history of mankind, and is closely linked to society and the individual. The key is that it has the least possible presence in any area.

Free and deep dialogue between all actors in the conflict is the best guarantee of non-repetition. The current model hides problems, does not redirect them. To entrench ETA – and to the Abertzale left – and not to push for a genuine peace process does not in any way fuel non-repetition, quite the contrary. Let there be clear and loud talk, and let Basque society draw its conclusions.

With the PP's model of vengeance, denying political solutions to political problems, or simply repressive -- there's possibilities to repeat history before or after. That's what history tells us: each one has a different character, but there are the Carlist wars, the 36th, half-century ETA war...

Madrid is a key, but also Vitoria-Gasteiz. The new situation can give opportunities in Madrid, it is time to change course and to really activate society in favour of a genuine peace process.