ETA (separatist group)

Euskadi Ta AskatasunaorETA(Basquefor "Basque Homeland and Freedom";IPA pronunciation:[ˈɛːta]) was anationalistseparatistterrorist group. It wanted to establish a separate nation-state for theBasque people.They are anethnic groupliving in areas of northernSpainand southwesternFrance.There are between 2 and 2.5 million Basques in the region. Some of them speak anindigenous,non-Indo-Europeanlanguage calledEuskara.

Description

ETA was one of Europe’s most well known and long-runningterrorist groups.It was founded in 1959 from what was left ofEKIN,another radical Basque separatist group. Both EKIN and ETA were created because of discontent with the moderate nationalism of the main Basquepolitical party,theBasque National Party.ETA committed hundreds of attacks in Spain. It had ties with other terrorist groups both inside and outside the Basque region. These included theProvisional Irish Republican ArmyandColombia’sFARC.

Attacks

Most of ETA’s terror attacks targeted businesses andSpanish governmentofficials, especially members of the security services and thejudiciary,but it also targetedcivilians.Its most common tactics werebombingandassassination.Its attacks took place mostly in theBasque Country,MadridandCatalonia.Similar to the IRA, ETA sometimes issued warnings before the attacks.

The group assassinated AdmiralLuis Carrero Blancoin December 1973. At the time, Blanco was seen by many as the most likely successor to Spain’sdictator,Francisco Franco.He was killed when an underground bomb exploded underneath his car. More than twenty years later, ETA nearly assassinatedJose Maria Aznar,an opposition politician who later becameprime minister.In 1987, ETAkilled21 people inBarcelonausing acar bomb.

Status change

The status of the Basque homeland changed significantly with the end ofFrancisco Franco's regime and the return ofdemocracyin 1979. Franco tried to suppress Basque nationalism andseparatism.The new democratic government offered significantautonomyto the Basque provinces. In a deal struck in 1980, the Basque region acquired its ownparliamentsimilarly to the other regions in Spain. It was also allowed to have its own independenttaxlegislation. In addition, the language Euskara became more prominent in public culture and education. However, the new autonomous region did not deter the radical separatists that comprised ETA. ETA has committed approximately 900murdersand dozens ofkidnappings.

Change of activity

ETA’s activity has changed over the years. The group has attempted severalceasefires,including a 14-month one that lasted until December1999.While there have been a number of ETA attacks since2000,the group has claimed fewer victims. It is believed to be shrinking. Spanish officials believe that recent crackdowns have led to a serious weakening of the group and sense that its future as a terrorist organization may be limited. There are more than one hundred suspected ETA members in Spanishprisonstoday.

ETA has done sporadic attacks, including bombings in September2004,December2005,and early2006.However, these bombings were generally preceded by warnings and did not result in any deaths.

In March 2006, ETA declared a permanentceasefireand said it would join the political process. The decision may have been linked to the2004 Madrid train bombings,which killed nearly 200 people. The attack was originally blamed on ETA, though it was soon discovered to be the work of militantIslamistslinked toal-Qaeda.Like theIRA,ETA leaders may have felt that the mass casualty terrorism practiced by some radical Islamist groups discredited its violent tactics—though this is not known for certain. ETA had a secretive leadership structure.

In June2007,ETA declared its March 2006 ceasefire null-and-void. Many had seen ETA’s December 2006 bombing of an airport parking garage as an indication that thetrucewould not hold. An ETAspokespersonaccused the Spanish government of interfering in Basque localelectionsas well as continuing with the prosecution andconvictionof ETA members during the ceasefire. ETA did not officially renounce violence or initiate steps todecommissionitsweapons(as the IRA did in July 2005) as part of its ceasefire declaration. ETA ceasefires have deteriorated into violence before.

On 20 October2011,ETA announced publicly the definite cessation of its armed activities. Although it vowed to continue to seek an independent Basque state. It was announced in 2 prominent nationalist newspapers,GaraandBerria.

In May2018ETA announced that it was formallydisbanding.The move marked the end of a half-century of violence that had claimed the lives of more than 800 people.