When terrorists deter terrorism.

BBC reports:

The Basque separatist group Eta has declared a permanent ceasefire.

Eta is blamed for killing more than 800 people in its four-decade fight for independence for the Basque region of northern Spain and south-west France....

Some analysts said its campaign became virtually untenable after the bomb attacks on Madrid in March 2004, blamed on Islamic extremists, that killed nearly 200 people.

Widespread revulsion at those attacks made deadly violence politically unthinkable for Eta, they said.

So great is the ugliness of Islamic extremist terrorism that it has destroyed the charm of terrorism to those who once believed in it.

In a statement released to Basque media, the group said its objective now was "to start a new democratic process in the Basque country".