Spain rejects ETA cease-fire proposal

MADRID, Jan. 11 (UPI) -- Spain has rejected a proposed permanent cease-fire with the Basque separatist group ETA, saying it did not go far enough.

The Spanish government said Tuesday it wanted to see ETA disarmed and disbanded, something that the cease-fire proposed this week did not do.

"The only thing that matters is the definitive end of the ETA terrorist group," said Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero.

The EUObserver said the government has been leery of ETA due to bombings in 2006 and 2009 while previous cease-fire agreements were in place.

Spain's Diario el Mundo said Tuesday that more-mainstream Basque political parties were also distancing themselves from the ETA and the cease-fire proposal.