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Zapatero: ETA cease-fire is holdingBy CNN Madrid Bureau Chief Al Goodman YOUR E-MAIL ALERTSMADRID, Spain (CNN) -- Spain's prime minister says a new police report indicates that the Basque separatist group ETA is sticking to its cease-fire declared last month. In an interview with Spain's SER radio network Tuesday, Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero said he had read a police report that indicated that ETA was respecting the cease-fire announced last month, despite complaints from businesses about a new round of ETA extortion letters. "The latest report that I have from the state security forces concerning ETA's cease-fire confirms that since March 22, the cease-fire is one that covers all the aspects, and it is real," Zapatero said during the radio interview. Shortly after the cease-fire announcement, Zapatero said he would go to the Spanish Parliament before summer break to seek authorization to hold talks with the group if the government was able to verify that ETA is respecting the cease-fire. Zapatero's remarks on Thursday seemed to indicate that the initial police report looked good but that there would be follow-up reports before the summer, to continue the verification process. ETA, blamed for more than 800 deaths in its 37-year fight for Basque independence in northern Spain, has declared cease-fires in the past but never a "permanent" one like that announced on March 22. The "permanent" cease-fire announcement has raised hopes across Spain that there might a chance to completely end the separatist violence of car bombs and shootings. The government has said that during the cease-fire, ETA must not only stop its attacks, but also stop its logistical organization and its fund-raising, which has included extortion letters to businesses demanding payment in return for being spared from attacks. In the SER radio interview, Zapatero acknowledged the recent complaints from businesses about a new round of extortion letters, but he said police believe those letters were written and sent before the ETA cease-fire announcement. ETA is listed as a terrorist organization by the United States and the European Union. 
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