Basque separatist group ETA declared Wednesday a permanent ceasefire after almost four decades of bombings and shootings that marked its campaign for independence from Spain.

ETA said it hoped the truce, due to start Friday, would move forward its desire for Basques to be recognized as a people.

In a message posted on the website of Basque newspaper Gara, the usual vehicle for ETA statements, the group said it wanted "Basque citizens to have their say and power to decide on their future."

"ETA has decided to declare a ceasefire which will come into effect on Friday and will be permanent," Gara said in a special edition posted on its website www.gara.net.

A ceasefire could open the way to talks with the Socialist government, which is far more inclined to cede more power to Spain's regions than the previous conservative government.

Spain's government welcomed its declaration.

"This is good news for all Spaniards," said First Deputy Prime Minister Maria Teresa Fernandez de la Vega. She said "the government will work with all political forces" to achieve peace.

Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero has stressed for months a willingness to hold dialogue with Basque radicals. A permanent end to violence was a prerequisite for talks, said he.

ETA's historical demands are for an independent Basque state carved out of northern Spain and southwestern France. The group has killed 850 people and threatened and extorted thousands of Basque businesses over the years.

Gara quoted ETA as saying that France and Spain "must recognize the results of this democratic process, with no type of limitation."

ETA, which is classed as a terrorist group by the United States and the European Union, previously declared a ceasefire in the late 1990s only to rescind it two years later.

Since 2003 ETA has set off only small bombs, which have caused damage to buildings but no deaths.

(China Daily, Xinhua News Agency March 23, 2006)