Separatist Guerrillas Stick to Their Guns

The Basque separatist guerrilla group ETA said in its first statement since the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States that it wanted peace, but not without Basque self-determination.

ETA, whose name stands for Basque Homeland and Freedom, said its members would do “everything within our power so that the conflict does not last another 20 years.”

“Peace is possible . . . and ETA’s hand will always be open,” it said in a statement published in Basque-language newspapers.

But ETA stuck to its demand for a referendum on Basque independence, and it said it would continue to fight “those who use their weapons to impose their laws on our people.”