The Madrid Agreement on Terrorism

Signed in Madrid on 5 November 1987

The political parties –PSOE (Spanish Workers Socialist Party), AP (Popular Alliance), CDS (Democratic and Social Centre), CIU (Convergencia i Unio), PNV (Basque Nationalist Party), PDP (Popular and Democratic Party), PL (Liberal Party), PCE (Spanish Communist Party), and EE (Euskadiko Ezkerra)- having attended the meeting of the Members of Parliament which took place on 5 November 1987 in the Hall of Congress, and following a process of conversation and joint reflection, agreed to the following points based on the belief that terrorism is a problem of the State:

1.- To adopt the principles expressed in the resolution on violence approved by the Basque parliament on the 14 March 1985, as a result of which :

1.1.- We denounce the lack of legitimacy on the part of ETA to express the will of the people of the Basque Country and, consequently, we reject their claim to negotiate the political problems of the Basque People, as only the political parties with parliamentary representation, the Basque Government, and the State Government have this right.

1.2.- We declare our common determination to remain faithful to the will expressed by the inhabitants of the Basque Country when they approved by majority the Statute of Autonomy. The complete development of this Statute is to be the framework for solving conflicts and maintaining democratic coexistence in the Basque Country. ·

1.3.-We express our belief that pursuing policies of murder, economic extortion, and any other forms of violence or intimidation as methods of supposed political action threatens to destroy Basque society itself, prevents the development of freedom and tolerance amongst citizens and creates conditions which make it difficult to overcome the serious economic crisis which the area is suffering from.

1.4.- We formally call upon ETA to lay down their arms definitively and to accept the channels which the democratic system provides for tackling the social and political consequences of violence.

1.5.- We ask the Government of the Autonomous Basque Region, relying on the unanimous support of all the representatives of the Basque people, to take the lead in ensuring the eradication of violence and terrorism and the definitive establishment of peace.

1.6.- We call upon all citizens, both individually and through the associations and groups within civil society of which they are members, to assume their responsibilities and to work for the eradication of extremism and intolerance within our coexistence and for the consolidation of liberty. These are fundamental elements of the society which, between us all, we must build.

1.7.- We ask that those responsible for the media -out of respect for freedom of expression- collaborate with the representative institutions of the will of the people through the media under their influence, in order to create the atmosphere necessary for the extension of values of mutual respect, tolerance, and a rejection of violence and terrorism.

2.- To express our agreement with the repeal of the Anti-terrorism Law and our desire to study the modifications which might prove necessary to bring into General Legislation, seeking through this to reach the greatest degree of agreement possible.

3.- To work jointly within the European Institutions with the aim of moving towards the creation of European judicial space in the struggle against terrorism and other forms of organised crime.

4.- To establish information mechanisms between the political parties and the government and climates for discussion between political organisations in order to continue a joint reflection of the problems at the root of terrorism, those which arise from it and the most effective way to achieve its lasting eradication from our society.

5.- To keep open a process of inter-party cooperation which will allow us to examine the reaching of future agreements which shall derive the mechanisms of information and discussion which are set up.

To understand that the reaching of an agreement by political parties in the Basque Autonomous Region is a fundamental aspect in the successful creation of peace in Euskadi and in the State as whole. For this reason we value very highly the initiative taken by the leader of the Basque government, the Lehendakari (President), and encourage those political parties in their efforts to reach a final agreement and a united front against violence, and, should that occur, we declare our intention to share in that agreement when indeed it has been made.

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Stipulated Condition of the PCE (Spanish Communist Party) to Paragraph 3.