1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona, with which ETA tried to gather worldwide attention with massive attacks around Catalonia. After that, ETA announced a two-months ceasefire, while they restructured the whole organisation and created the
kale borroka
(, "Street Fighting") refers to urban guerrilla actions carried out by Basque nationalist youth who are integrated into the ''abertzale left''. Along with ETA, the kale borroka was the only remaining armed faction of Basque nationalists in the B ...
groups.
In 1995, ETA tried to kill
José María Aznar
José María Alfredo Aznar López (; born 25 February 1953) is a Spanish politician who was the prime minister of Spain from 1996 to 2004. He led the People's Party (PP), the dominant centre-right political party in Spain.
A member of the Fre ...
, who would become prime minister of Spain one year later, and Juan Carlos I. That same year, the organisation made a peace proposal, which was refused by the government. The following year, ETA announced a one-week ceasefire and tried to engage in peace talks with the government, a proposal that was once again rejected by
the new conservative government. In 1997, a young councillor,
Miguel Ángel Blanco
Miguel Ángel Blanco Garrido (13 May 1968 – 13 July 1997) was a Spanish politician who was a councillor in Ermua in the Basque Country for the People's Party (PP). He was kidnapped and subsequently murdered by the separatist group ETA.
Biog ...
, was kidnapped and killed by the organisation. The killing produced a widespread rejection by Spanish and Basque societies, massive demonstrations and a loss of sympathisers, with even some ETA prisoners and members of Herri Batasuna condemning the killing. That same year, the Spanish government arrested 23 leaders of Herri Batasuna for allegedly collaborating with ETA. After the arrest, the government started to investigate Herri Batasuna's ties with ETA, and the coalition changed its name to Euskal Herritarrok, with
Arnaldo Otegi
Arnaldo Otegi Mondragón (born 6 July 1958) is a Basque politician who is currently General Secretary of Basque nationalist party EH Bildu. He was member of the Basque Parliament for both Herri Batasuna and Euskal Herritarrok. He was one of th ...
as their leader.
In the
1998 Basque elections, the Abertzale left got its best results since the 1980s, and Euskal Herritarrok became the third main force in the Basque Country. This increase of support was due to the declaration of a ceasefire by ETA one month before the elections.
The ceasefire came after Herri Batasuna and several Basque organisations, such as the PNV, which at that time was part of the PP's government, agreed to the ''
Lizarra pact'', aimed at putting pressure on the Spanish government to make further concessions towards independence. The Basque nationalist forces agreed in defining the Basque conflict as having a political nature and in presenting ETA and the Spanish State as the two conflicting parties. Influenced by the
Northern Ireland peace process
The Northern Ireland peace process includes the events leading up to the 1994 Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) ceasefire, the end of most of the violence of the Troubles, the Good Friday Agreement of 1998, and subsequent political developm ...
, ETA and the Spanish government engaged in peace talks, which ended in late 1999, after ETA announced the end of the ceasefire.
2000–2009
In 2000, ETA resumed violence and intensified its attacks, especially against senior politicians, such as
Ernest Lluch
Ernest Lluch Martín, (21 January 1937 – 21 November 2000) was a Spanish economist and politician, member of the Socialists' Party of Catalonia (PSC). He was Minister of Health and Consumption from 1982 to 1986 in the first Spanish Socialist Wor ...
. At the same time, dozens of ETA members were arrested and the Abertzale left lost some of the support it had obtained in the 1998 elections. The breaking of the truce provoked Herri Batasuna's dissolution and its reformation into a new party called Batasuna. Following disagreements over the internal organization of the Batasuna, a group of people broke away to form a separate political party,
Aralar, present mainly in Navarre. In 2002, the Spanish government passed a law, named ''Ley de Partidos'' (Law of Parties), which allows the banning of any party that directly or indirectly condones terrorism or sympathises with a terrorist organisation. As ETA was considered a terrorist organisation and Batasuna did not condemn its actions, the government banned Batasuna in 2003. It was the first time since Franco's dictatorship that a political party had been banned in Spain. That same year, Spanish authorities closed the only newspaper written fully in Basque, ''
Egunkaria
''Egunkaria'' (Basque for ''The Daily'') for thirteen years was the only fully Basque language newspaper in circulation until it was closed down on 20 February 2003 by the Spanish authorities due to allegations of an illegal association with E ...
'', and journalists were arrested, due to allegations of links with ETA which were dismissed by a Spanish justice seven years later. In 1998, another newspaper, ''
Egin
Egin may refer to:
* ''Egin'' (newspaper), a defunct bilingual Basque-Spanish newspaper
* Eğin, the name for the town of Kemaliye, Turkey, until about 1923
* Egin, Idaho, United States, an unincorporated community
* Yuri Egin, an anime-only cha ...
'', had already been closed on similar grounds that were also dismissed by Spanish justice eleven years later.
![Repulsa atentado lazkao 2009](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f1/Repulsa_atentado_lazkao_2009.jpg)
After the government falsely accused ETA of carrying out the
2004 Madrid train bombings
The 2004 Madrid train bombings (also known in Spain as 11M) were a series of coordinated, nearly simultaneous bombings against the Cercanías Madrid, Cercanías commuter train system of Madrid, Spain, on the morning of 11 March 2004—three days ...
, the conservative government lost the elections to the Socialist Workers' Party, and
José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero
José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero (; born 4 August 1960) is a Spanish politician and member of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE). He was the Prime Minister of Spain being elected for two terms, in the 2004 and 2008 general elections ...
became the new Prime Minister of Spain. One of Zapatero's first actions was to engage in new peace talks with ETA. In mid-2006, the organisation
declared a ceasefire, and conversations between Batasuna, ETA and the Basque and Spanish governments started. Despite the claims of peace talks ending in December, when ETA broke the truce with a
massive car bomb at
Madrid-Barajas Airport, a new round of conversations took place in May 2007. ETA officially ended the ceasefire in 2007, and resumed its attacks around Spain. From that moment on, the Spanish government and police intensified their struggle both against ETA and the Abertzale left. Hundreds of members of the armed organisation were arrested after the end of the truce, with four of its leaders being arrested in less than one year. Meanwhile, the Spanish authorities banned more political parties such as
Basque Nationalist Action
Basque Nationalist Action ( eu, Eusko Abertzale Ekintza, es, Acción Nacionalista Vasca, EAE–ANV) is a Basque nationalist party based in Spain. Founded in 1930, it was the first Basque nationalist political party to exist running on a socialist ...
,
Communist Party of the Basque Homelands
The Communist Party of the Basque Homelands ( eu, Euskal Herrialdeetako Alderdi Komunista, EHAK; es, Partido Comunista de las Tierras Vascas, PCTV) was a communist Basque separatist party in the Basque Country, Spain. The party was outlawed b ...
or
Demokrazia Hiru Milioi. Youth organisations such as
Segi were banned, while members of trade unions, such as
Langile Abertzaleen Batzordeak
(, Basque for "Nationalist Workers' Committees") is a Basque left-wing nationalist and separatist trade union operating mainly in Spain currently led by Garbiñe Aranburu.
It was created in 1974 by Jon Idigoras among others. They are part of ...
were arrested. In 2008, Falange y Tradición, a new Spanish far-right nationalist group appeared, carrying out dozens of attacks in the Basque Country. The organisation was dismantled in 2009.
2010
In 2009 and 2010, ETA suffered even more blows to its organization and capacity, with more than 50 members arrested in the first half of 2010. At the same time, the banned Abertzale left started to develop documents and meetings, where they committed to a "democratic process" that "must be developed in a complete absence of violence". Due to these demands, ETA announced in September that they were stopping their armed actions.
2011
On 17 October, an
international peace conference was held in Donostia-San Sebastián, aimed at promoting a resolution to the Basque conflict. It was organized by the Basque citizens' group
Lokarri, and included leaders of Basque parties,
as well as six international personalities known for their work in the field of politics and pacification:
Kofi Annan
Kofi Atta Annan (; 8 April 193818 August 2018) was a Ghanaian diplomat who served as the seventh secretary-general of the United Nations from 1997 to 2006. Annan and the UN were the co-recipients of the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize. He was the founder ...
(former UN Secretary-General),
Bertie Ahern
Bartholomew Patrick "Bertie" Ahern (born 12 September 1951) is an Irish former Fianna Fáil politician who served as Taoiseach from 1997 to 2008, Leader of Fianna Fáil from 1994 to 2008, Leader of the Opposition from 1994 to 1997, Tánaiste a ...
(former Prime Minister of Ireland),
Gro Harlem Brundtland
Gro Brundtland (; born Gro Harlem, 20 April 1939) is a Norwegian politician (Arbeiderpartiet), who served three terms as the 29th prime minister of Norway (1981, 1986–89, and 1990–96) and as the director-general of the World Health Organizati ...
(international leader in sustainable development and public health, former Prime Minister of Norway),
Pierre Joxe
Pierre Joxe, KBE (; born 28 November 1934) is a former French Socialist politician and has been a member of the Constitutional Council of France between 2001 and 2010.
A graduate of the École nationale d'administration, he joined the Court o ...
(former Interior Minister of France),
Gerry Adams
Gerard Adams ( ga, Gearóid Mac Ádhaimh; born 6 October 1948) is an Irish republican politician who was the president of Sinn Féin between 13 November 1983 and 10 February 2018, and served as a Teachta Dála (TD) for Louth from 2011 to 2020 ...
(president of Sinn Féinn, member of the Irish Parliament) and
Jonathan Powell (British diplomat who served as the first Downing Street Chief of Staff).
Tony Blair
Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He previously served as Leader of th ...
– former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom – could not be present due to commitments in the Middle East,
but he supported the final declaration. The former US President
Jimmy Carter
James Earl Carter Jr. (born October 1, 1924) is an American politician who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he previously served as th ...
(2002 Nobel Peace Prize) and the former US senator
George J. Mitchell
George John Mitchell Jr. (born August 20, 1933) is an American politician, diplomat, and lawyer. A leading member of the Democratic Party, he served as a United States senator from Maine from 1980 to 1995, and as Senate Majority Leader from 198 ...
(former United States Special Envoy for Middle East Peace) also backed this declaration.
The conference resulted in a five-point statement that included a plea for ETA to renounce any armed activities and to demand instead negotiations with the Spanish and French authorities to end the conflict.
[ It was seen as a possible prelude to the end of ETA's violent campaign for an independent Basque homeland.
Three days later – on 20 October – ETA announced a "definitive cessation of its armed activity".][ They said they were ending their 43-year armed campaign for independence and called on Spain and France to open talks.][ Spanish premier ]Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero
Jose is the English transliteration of the Hebrew and Aramaic name ''Yose'', which is etymologically linked to ''Yosef'' or Joseph. The name was popular during the Mishnaic and Talmudic periods.
* Jose ben Abin
* Jose ben Akabya
*Jose the Galile ...
described the move as "a victory for democracy, law and reason".[
]
Aftermath
2012
On 28 May 2012, ETA members Oroitz Gurruchaga and Xabier Aramburu were arrested in southern France.
2016
Though the group declared a permanent ceasefire, the French police made a declaration warning that ETA had made no steps towards dissolution. It is also known that ETA was still hoarding weaponry and explosives, several members guarding explosives have been detained since their permanent ceasefire declaration.
2017
In March 2017 ETA declared that it would disarm completely by 8 April. On that date, civilian 'go-betweens' ( Artisans of Peace) handed a list of 8 coordinates to the authorities which showed the locations of weapons caches in southwestern France used by the group.[Reuters](_blank)
Retrieved 17 April 2017. The caches were reported to have contained 120 firearms, about 3 tonnes of explosives and several thousand rounds of ammunition, which were seized by the Spanish and French authorities. The Spanish government stated that ETA will gain no impunity for their disarmament, and urged the group to dissolve formally.
2018
On 3 May 2018, during a ceremony held at the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue in Geneva, Switzerland, the ETA released a statement announcing its permanent dissolution, which was distributed by the Centre's director. Following this announcement, a ceremony was organized in Northern Basque Country, in Cambo-les-Bains
Cambo-les-Bains (; eu, Kanbo) is a town in the traditional Basque province of Labourd, now in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in south-western France. It lies on the south-western bank of the river Nive. Cambo-les-Bains station has rail ...
() where the "declaration of Arnaga" was pronounced.
Casualties
Estimates of the total number of conflict-related deaths vary and are highly disputed. The number of deaths caused by ETA is consistent among different sources, such as the Spanish Interior Ministry, the Basque government, and most major news agencies. According to these sources, the number of deaths caused by ETA are 829. This list does not include Begoña Urroz
Begoña or more puristically but also more rarely spelled ''Begoina'', meaning 'the lower foot' (of Mount Artxanda), is a historical municipality of Biscay (Basque Country (autonomous community), Basque Country, Spain) which was incorporated into ...
, killed in 1960 when she was 22 months old. Although this killing was attributed by Ernest Lluch
Ernest Lluch Martín, (21 January 1937 – 21 November 2000) was a Spanish economist and politician, member of the Socialists' Party of Catalonia (PSC). He was Minister of Health and Consumption from 1982 to 1986 in the first Spanish Socialist Wor ...
to ETA in 2000, as revealed in El País, the attack was committed by the DRIL (''Directorio Revolucionario Ibérico de Liberación'').
Some organizations such as the ''Colectivo de Víctimas del Terrorismo en el País Vasco'' raise the death toll of ETA's victims to 952. This is due to the inclusion to the list of several unresolved attacks such as the Hotel Corona de Aragón fire. The Asociación de Víctimas del Terrorismo
The Association of Victims of Terrorism () is a Spanish association created in 1981 by victims of terrorist attacks. Its members include those injured by ETA, GRAPO, the Provisional Irish Republican Army and Al Qaeda, as well as their families. It ...
also includes the victims of the Corona de Aragón fire on its list of ETA's deaths. Sources have suggested ETA responsibility in the crash of Iberia Airlines Flight 610
Iberia Flight 610 was a scheduled domestic passenger flight from Madrid to Bilbao, Spain. On 19 February 1985, a Boeing 727-200 operating the flight crashed into a ravine after one of its wings sliced a television antenna on the summit of Mount O ...
at Monte Oiz (Bilbao) on 19 February 1985 with 148 killed
Regarding the Basque National Liberation Movement side the Euskal Memoria foundation, linked to the Abertzale left, and born in 2009 with the proclaimed purpose of having a database in order to "counter the lies from the State", list the number of deaths on their side as 474 in the period between 1960 and 2010. News agency
A news agency is an organization that gathers news reports and sells them to subscribing news organizations, such as newspapers, magazines and All-news radio, radio and News broadcasting, television Broadcasting, broadcasters. A news agency may ...
Eusko News states that at least 368 people died on the Basque nationalist side. Most of the lists also include an undefined number of suicides caused by the conflict, coming from former ETA members, tortured people or policemen. Additional death causes in the Euskal Memoria list such as deaths to natural illnesses, a death of an ETA member due to a stroke suffered while having sexual relations, deaths due to the accidental activation of ETA bombs by ETA members, deaths in car and plane accidents, the death of common criminals, the death of a football fan killed by rivals, and deaths abroad such as a death in a mine in Nicaragua, a missionary killed by guerrilla in Colombia, two Uruguayans in Uruguay, two guerrilla collaborators in El Salvador and a protester in Rome have been claimed.
Responsibility
Status
Prisoners
The Spanish and French law enforcement agencies have convicted a number of people for terrorist activities (primarily murder or attempted murder), or for belonging to ETA or organizations subservient to this organization. A small minority have been imprisoned for "enaltecimiento del terrorismo" which literally translates as "glorification of terrorism". The number of people incarcerated reached a peak of 762 in 2008. These prisoners are jailed in prisons all over France and Spain "to make it difficult for ETA to communicate with them," according to non-revealed sources. There have officially been 5,500 claims or complaints of torture or mistreating in police custody in the Basque Autonomous Community
The Basque Country (; eu, Euskadi ; es, País Vasco ), also called Basque Autonomous Community ( eu, Euskal Autonomia Erkidegoa, links=no, EAE; es, Comunidad Autónoma del País Vasco, links=no, CAPV), is an autonomous community of Spain. It ...
, but some sources and Spanish authorities claim that many of those claims are false because ETA used to instruct their militants to systematically denounce torture by the Spanish Forces.
For the Abertzale left
Abertzale left ( eu, Ezker abertzalea, es, Izquierda abertzale; ) is a term used to refer to the parties or organizations of the Basque nationalist/separatist left, stretching from democratic socialism to communism.
This leftist character is hi ...
this is one of the most emotive issues relating to Basque Nationalism. Demonstrations calling for their return to the Basque region often involve thousands of people. Currently there is a highly publicised campaign calling for the return of these dispersed prisoners to the Basque Country. Its slogan is "Euskal presoak- Euskal Herrira" ("Basque prisoners- to the Basque Country").
Some groups such as Etxerat
Etxerat (, meaning 'Homeward') is an association of family members of people who have been imprisoned or exiled because of their activity in support of the Basque National Liberation Movement. Most of those prisoners and exiles are members, or f ...
have been calling for a general amnesty
Amnesty (from the Ancient Greek ἀμνηστία, ''amnestia'', "forgetfulness, passing over") is defined as "A pardon extended by the government to a group or class of people, usually for a political offense; the act of a sovereign power offici ...
, similar to that which took place in Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...
in 2000. The Spanish government
gl, Goberno de España eu, Espainiako Gobernua
, image =
, caption = Logo of the Government of Spain
, headerstyle = background-color: #efefef
, label1 = Role
, data1 = Executive power
, label2 = Established
, da ...
has so far rejected moves to treat all prisoners in the same way. Instead they opened the 'Via Nanclares' in 2009 which is a way for individual prisoners to get better conditions, and eventually gain limited release. It involves the individual asking for forgiveness, distancing themselves from ETA and paying compensation.
See also
* Politics in the Basque Country
*List of conflicts in Europe
This is a list of conflicts in Europe ordered chronologically, including wars between European states, civil wars within European states, wars between a European state and a non-European state that took place within Europe, and global conflicts i ...
*International Contact Group (Basque politics)
The International Contact Group (ICG) is a group promoted by Brian Currin aiming to "expedite, facilitate and enable the achievement of political normalization in the Basque Country". The members of the Group, presented on 14 February 2011 in Bil ...
*History of the Basque people
The Basques ( eu, Euskaldunak) are an indigenous ethno-linguistic group mainly inhabiting Basque Country (adjacent areas of Spain and France). Their history is therefore interconnected with Spanish and French history and also with the history o ...
*The Troubles
The Troubles ( ga, Na Trioblóidí) were an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland that lasted about 30 years from the late 1960s to 1998. Also known internationally as the Northern Ireland conflict, it is sometimes described as an "i ...
– Conflict in Northern Ireland
*War In Donbass
War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular ...
– Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics, Ukraine
Notes
References
Bibliography
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
Further reading
*''ETA. Historia política de una lucha armada'' by Luigi Bruni, Txalaparta, 1998,
External links
El Mundo's special page about the conflict
Spanish Interior Ministry page about ETA
Abertzale left official page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Basque Conflict
Guerrilla wars
Politics of France
Politics of Spain
Wars involving France
Wars involving Spain
Articles containing video clips