Adams in Spain to support Basque peace process
Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams will today embark on a three-day trip to Spain in a bid to support the peace process there involving the Basques.
Adams, whose party is believed to have played a key behind-the-scenes role in achieving the ceasefire announced by the Basque separatist group Eta in March, will travel to Bilbao, Madrid and Barcelona.
He will hold talks with political and business leaders.
His Bilbao visit will be hosted by the Basque party Batasuna, which has links to Eta.
The visit will also coincide with Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero’s expected bid to secure approval in the Spanish parliament for talks with Eta.
Mr Adams said before leaving: “There is a growing demand for multi-party talks to begin between all political parties in the Basque country and for the unbanning of Batasuna.
“The purpose of my brief visit to Bilbao, Madrid and Barcelona is to meet and listen to a broad range of political and civic opinions and where possible to reflect on Sinn Féin’s experience and on the lessons of the Irish peace process.”
In March, Eta said its objective was now to promote a democratic process in the Basque country. It urged the French and Spanish governments to enter peace process negotiations with it.
Spanish newspapers have reported that Belfast-based Catholic priest Father Alex Reid, who last year was one of two clergymen who witnessed the completion of the IRA’s disarmament programme, was involved in trying to secure Eta’s ceasefire.
Sinn Féin Assembly members Gerry Kelly and Alex Maskey were also linked to the efforts to end Eta’s armed campaign which has killed more than 800 people over four decades in a bid to secure independence from Spain and South West France.
Mr Adams is also due to address the New Economic Forum in Madrid, which is attended by all of Spain’s leading political parties.
In Barcelona, his visit will be hosted by the Catalan left-wing republican party, the ERC.
The Sinn Féin leader will also receive an international award from a Catalan group, CIEMEN, which campaigns for the cultural and linguistic rights of ethnic minorities and stateless nations.
