Eta seeks cash from Basque firms

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The armed separatist group Eta has written to businesses in Spain's Basque region requesting payments of up to 150,000 euros (£102,000), reports say.

One such letter, published in the daily El Mundo, calls for "help towards the liberation and construction of Euskal Herria (the Greater Basque Country)".

It said the Basques were at a "key moment" in their struggle for freedom.

The Spanish government froze peace talks with Eta after a Madrid bomb blast in December killed two people.

The letters, dated May 2007, did not make threats, but asked for payment in banknotes of 20, 50 and 100 euros for "reasons of security".

They urged recipients to make a contribution to "the future of our people".

Some Basque employers had also reported receiving such letters back in April.

Eta is seeking an independent state in northern Spain and south-west France.

The group has been waging an armed campaign for more than 30 years and is blamed for more than 800 deaths.