Euskadi Ta Askatasuna (ETA); (Basque Fatherland and Liberty).
Origins
The ETA was formed in 1959 by then-members of the Basque Nationalist Party. Two policies adopted by the Franco dictatorship are often cited as catalysts to the group’s formation: 1) the creation of a single national identity which led to the outlaw of any manifestation of Basque culture and political identities; and 2) the increase of industrial activities in the Basque country which produced a high migration of non-Basques to the area. This increased levels of migration resulted in high social costs for the Basque population that were not adequately addressed by the central government.
Location / Main area of operation
ETA operates mainly in Basque regions of Spain; however, it often carries out actions in other regions of Spain including Madrid and the tourist areas of southern Spain.
Objectives
Analysts agree that the principal objective of the ETA is the independence of the Basque country. According to ETA, the Basque country includes both territories located in Spain and France. There is, however, disagreement between analysts as to whether ETA also seeks to establish a socialist or communist regime in these territories. In this respect, it must be noted that even if it is considered that ETA adopted socialist ideas, since the beginning it has opposed to both Spanish communist parties and illegal leftist Spanish organizations. In addition, the ETA’s ideology radicalized in the 1970’s and 1980’s when those seeing armed struggle as the only mean to get its objective for independence prevailed within the organization.
Number of Members
Analysts agree on the fact that ETA has around 300 active members.
Type : National
ETA is a national NSGA as it has carried out the overwhelming majority of its violent actions in Spain and its origins and development have been mainly connected to the Basque region of Spain. It must, nevertheless, be noted that ETA members have used the neighbouring French territories in the Basque region to hide and plan their operations. According to most analysts, from 1959 until the first years of the 1980’s, France authorities neither attempted to bring to justice ETA’s members in its territory nor cooperated on their extradition to Spain. Since the early 1980’s, France changed its policy in this regard and accordingly, it has increasingly cooperated with Spain on the search, trial, and extradition of ETA’s members in its territory. This French-Spain cooperation in the fight against ETA has been one critical factor in the group’s weakening following the arrest of several members, including senior leaders.
Conflict Status : Active
On 22 March 2006, almost three years since its last assassination, ETA called a ‘permanent ceasefire.’ On 29 June 2006, Spain’s First Minister Zapatero announced that the talks would begin between ETA and his government. Spain’s conservative opposition, the People’s Party, opposed such negotiations on grounds of ETA’s involvement in terrorist acts, although this political party too held peace talks with the ETA when it was in government. During the first months of 2006, Spanish court proceedings against the leadership of the ETA’s allegedly political wing, Batasuna, continued. This political party was outlawed on 17 March 2003 by Spain’s Constitutional Tribunal based in a law of 2002 forbidding any political party that refuses to condemn terrorist acts. Nevertheless, during the hearings in the proceedings against Batasuna’s leadership that started on 30 May 2006, the public prosecution did not request preventive imprisonment measures and the members of that group were, therefore, released; Batasuna expressed that the release of its members constituted a positive sign for the peace process. On 30 December 2006, ETA ended the ceasefire declared on 22 March of the same year when it carried out a bomb attack at the Madrid International Airport. As a result of the attack, two civilians were killed, twenty-six others were injured, and a five-story parking garage was destroyed. This lethal attack constituted the first since May 2003 when an ETA operation killed two policemen. As a result of the attack, the Spanish First Minister Zapatero declared an end to the peace process with the ETA. In addition, First Minister Zapatero denied criticisms to the way the government dealt with the peace talks with ETA coming from the Secretary General of his political party, Jose Blanco. Two weeks after the attack, the Spanish government sought the support of all political parties in order to design a new policy to fight against ETA. In addition, the Batasuna spokesman asked ETA to keep its word on the permanent ceasefire declared on 22 March 2006 and criticised the government’s behaviour during the preliminary peace talks, mentioning its “incapability to response constructively to the ETA’s declaration of ceasefire.” In a statement sent to a Spanish newspaper, ETA recognised responsibility for the bomb attack, but stated that the ceasefire it called in March 2006 remained in force. ETA also said it had not intended to cause casualties in the attack, naming the Spanish authorities for failing to evacuate the parking where the bomb went off despite three warning calls giving the exact location of the vehicle containing the bomb. In addition, ETA accused the government for obstructing the peace process; the group maintained before the attack that continued arrests and trials of suspected ETA members constituted threats to the peace process.
Most analysts agree that ETA has been considerably weakened as a result of the detention of the majority of their leadership. In November 2004, Spanish media published a letter sent by six historic ETA’s leaders to the current leadership of the group asking for the cease of the armed struggle.
Structure of the organization
ETA had three main divisions split between the military, logistics, and politics. Analysts consider that an executive committee of three to five members is the top decision-making body of the group, and that the political division was constituted by the political party Batasuna that, as mentioned above, was outlawed in March 2003 by the Spanish Supreme Court. It is not clear whether this structure has been maintained since the detention of several leaders and the banning of Batasuna.
Leadership
Since 2002, Spanish and French authorities have arrested several ETA’s top leaders. For example, on 16 September 2002, the then-suspected military head of ETA, Juan Antonio Olarra Guridi, together with his second-in-command, Ainhoa Mugica Goni, were arrested in Bordeaux, France. In April 2004, Felix Alberto de Lacalle (alias “Mobutu”), who was allegedly responsible for ETA’s logistics, was detained. Subsequently, in October 2004, an anti-terrorist unit of the French Police arrested Mikel Albizu Irirarte (alias “Mikel Antza”) and Soledad Iparraguirre; at the time of their arrest, they were considered the two highest leaders of the ETA. In 2005, other allegedly senior leaders of ETA were captured, including Pedro Esquisabel U., who was the supposedly the current military leader, and Harriet Aguirre, who was presented as the second highest ETA’s leader at that time.
External aid/Third party involvement
As noted above, various sources report that France was reluctant to cooperate with Spain during the search and extradition of ETA members from 1959 until the early 1980’s. Following this period, France changed its policy and has since then cooperated with Spain in this regard.
External effects of the NSAG's armed activities
As noted above, member of the ETA have, since the creation of this group, used the French territory of the Basque region to hide form authorities and organize operations. French authorities are currently fully cooperating with Spain in the search and extradition of ETA’s members within its territory; this cooperation has resulted in the arrest of several ETA’s members, including senior leaders.
Funding
ETA’s funding comes from contributions of support organisations’ members, the amounts received from the extortion to merchants and kidnappings in the Basque regions.
Relationship with the international community
ETA is included in the lists of terrorist organizations of both the U.S. Department of State and the European Union.
Books
• Atkins, Stephen E. (2004), Encyclopedia of Modern Worldwide Extremists and Extremist Groups (Westport, CT: Praeger Publishers), available at link
• Arostegui, Julio (ed) (1994), Violencia y Politica en España (Madrid: Marcial Pons).
• Balencie, J-M and A. de La Grange (2005), Les Nouveaux Mondes rebelles (Paris: éditions Michalon).
• Caunègre, Guy (2000), Pays Basque: une nation sous le feu de ETA (Villeurbanne: Golias).
• Jebb, Cindy R. (2006), The Fight for legitimacy Democracy vs. Terrorism (Westport, CT: Praeger Publishers), available at link.
• Santos, Juliá (ed) (2000), Violencia Politica en la España del siglo XX (Madrid: Taurus).
Articles and Chapters
• Avilés F., Juan (2003), “El Terrorismo en la España Democratica”, in José M. Jover Z. (ed), Historia de España Menéndez Pidal 633(Madrid: Espasa Calpe).
• Harper, F.J. (2004), “Spain”, in Szajkowski, Bogdan (ed), Revolutionary and Dissident Movements of the World 450 (London: John Harper Publishing).
• Shepard, William S., “The ETA: Spain’s Fights Europe’s Last Active Terrorist Group”, 13 Mediterranean Quarterly 54 (2002), at 54-68.
Reports and resolutions of intergovernmental organizations
• EU Council, Common Position of 27 December 2001 on the application of specific measures to combat terrorism, Doc. No. 2001/931/CFSP, Official Journal of the European Communities L 344/93, 28.12.2001.
• EU Council, Common Position 2006/380/CFSP of 29 May 2006, Official Journal of the European Communities L 144/25, 31.5.2006.
Governmental reports
• U.S. Department of State, Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs), Fact Sheet
Office of Counterterrorism, Washington, DC, 11 October 2005, available at link
Reports of think tanks and non-governmental organizations
Press Information (in chronological order)
• “Talking peace: Spain and ETA”, The Economist, 8 July 2006, U.S. Edition.
• “Dérives de la « Guerre contre le Terrorisme »”, Régression de la démocratie au Pays basque espagnol”, Le monde Diplomatique, May 2003, at 10.
• “ETA claims car bombing but says cease-fire stands”, The Associate Press, in International Herald Tribunal, 9 January 2007, available at link
• “Carlos Alonso Palate, primera víctima mortal de ETA desde mayo de 2003,” El Pais, 4 January 2007, available at link
• “Zapatero aseguar que ETA “ha llevado el proceso de paz a su punto final”, El Pais, 7 January 2007, available at link
• “El Gobierno pide al PP que se sume a la “voluntad mayoritaria de los españoles” contra ETA”, El Pais, 8 January 2007, available at link
• “Otegi pide a ETA que mantenga el alto el fuego permanente,” El Pais, 8 January 2007, available at link
• “ETA claims car bombing but says cease-fire stands”, The Associate Press, in International Herald Tribunal, 9 January 2007, available at link
Interviews
Internet resources
• IISS Armed Conflict Database, Non State Armed Groups, Euskadi ta Askatasuna (ETA), available at link
• Federation of American Scientists, Intelligence Resource Program, ETA, available at link
• National Memorial Institute for the Prevention of Terrorism, Basque Fatherland and Freedom (ETA), available at link
Statements of the armed group
Agreements involving armed groups