Spain sentences Eta kidnap pair

Eta still has some support in the Basque country

Spain has sentenced two former leaders of armed Basque separatist group, Eta, to 32 years in prison.

Julian Atxurra Egurola and Juan Luis Aguirre were convicted of ordering the kidnapping of a prison officer in 1996.

In a separate development, four suspected members of the group have been arrested in the south of France.

The arrests, in Grenoble and Limoges, were made by a joint French and Spanish police group created to deal with the separatist threat in the region.

Refusal to disarm

Eta has been waging a violent campaign since 1968 to win Basque independence.

The two men sentenced in Spain were convicted of kidnapping and conspiracy to commit murder for their involvement in the longest kidnap in Spain.

In January 1996, the prison officer was seized by the group and held for 532 days as the militants demanded improved conditions for their members being held in prison. He was released by the Spanish Guardia Civil in June 1997.

Correspondents says that, after the IRA promised to give up its armed campaign on Thursday, Eta remains the only significant European militant group waging a violent struggle against a national government.

The group, blamed for some 800 deaths in their 40-year fight for an independent Basque nation, have recently said they are ready to talk, but not to disarm.