Spain's separatist group ETA hands over weapons in disarmament procedure

The Basque separatist group ETA handed over tons of weapons on Saturday in the south of France in the group's disarmament process, the Spanish media reported.

According to the reports, the handover involved 120 firearms, 3 tons of explosives and thousands of detonators and bullets, which were from eight separate hiding places in the southwest of the country.

A total of 172 observers were present at the handover, which took place at 9 a.m. when Ram Manikkalingam, the coordinator of the International Verification Committee, read a communique in the French city of Bayonne.

In the official declaration, the coordinator assured that the "observers" accepted this as "the disarmament of ETA," and that French authorities "now take control" of these weapons.

The handover on Saturday was seen as the end of 50 years of struggle by the separatist group for the independence of the Basque Region in the Northwest of Spain, which has cost 829 lives and thousands of injuries.

ETA announced a permanent ceasefire in the runup to the 2011 Spanish general election and has not committed any attacks in the past five and a half years.

France's Interior Minister Matthias Fekl voiced his optimism over the process, describing it as "a great step" forward.

To guarantee the security of the weapons handed over, France has mobilized 180 police and anti-disturbance agents.

Spain's judicial authorities have asked for permission to analyze the weapons to see if any was used in the over 200 ETA attacks, in which the perpetrators were never identified.

It is expected that the leader of the Basque Regional Parliament Inigo Urkullo will make a statement on the arms handover sometime on Saturday.

The Spanish central government will also probably issue a communique, though it is unlikely to differ from the traditional government line, which has been calling for dissolution of the ETA and apology from the group to the victims of its actions. Endit