Sepcial Report: ETA declares permanent ceasefire

    CARACAS, March 26 (Xinhua) -- Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said on Sunday that he welcomed the Basque separatist group ETA's declaration of a permanent ceasefire.

    "How good it is that ETA has announced a unilateral ceasefire," said Chavez in a radio and television address to the nation. He also spoke highly of Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero's "peacemaking" efforts.

    ETA announced last Wednesday that it would begin a permanent ceasefire starting from Friday.

    The Basque separatist group, which wants to establish an independent state in northern Spain and southwestern France, has killed 850 people since 1968 in its violent campaign. Enditem