“We will never forgive ETA.”

May 2, 2018 10:07 AM

ETA, the Basque separatist group, is dissolving itself, it stated in a letter published on Wednesday, closing a history that included one of the longest terrorism campaigns in modern Europe, which killed over 800 people in Spain.

The news reflected what has been evident for years, that ETA is a spent force, its ranks decimated by arrests, its popularity minimal in the Basque region along Spain’s north coast. In their long struggle, the government has won.

Last month, Spain’s interior minister, Juan Ignacio Zoido, warned that ETA would not win any concessions in return for dissolving itself. Alfonso Alonso, the leader of Spain’s governing Popular Party in the Basque region, also poured cold water on the significance of ETA’s plans.

“Neither its history nor its responsibility can be dissolved,” Mr. Alonso said recently. “We will never forgive ETA.”

Associated Press: Basque Group ETA Says It Has ‘Completely Dissolved’

The group's bloodiest period came as Spain transitioned from dictatorship to democracy during the early 1980s. It targeted not only members of the military and police forces, but politicians, entrepreneurs, civilians and some of its own members who wanted to leave ETA.

In all, the group killed 853 people over four decades, according to a tally by the Spanish Interior Ministry. ETA also injured more than 2,600 people, kidnapped 86 and threatened hundreds more, according to the latest government count.

At least another 60 people were killed by death squads set up by members of Spain's security forces to perform extrajudicial killings of ETA militants, in what became known as Spain's "dirty war" on terror.

The Guardian :'We are truly sorry': Eta apologises for four decades of deadly violence

In a statement released on Friday morning, the group made a full and unambiguous apology for its actions, accepting that it bore “direct responsibility” for years of bloodshed and misery.

“We know that we caused a lot of pain during that long period of armed struggle, including damage that can never be put right,” it said. “We wish to show our respect for those who were killed or wounded by Eta and those who were affected by the conflict. We are truly sorry.”

The statement also recognised that Eta’s “mistakes or mistaken decisions” had led to the deaths of people who had nothing to do with the conflict, both in the Basque country and beyond.

Timeline: Basque group ETA's decades of violence and gradual demise

Previously: Light at the end of the tunnel?

posted by not_the_water (13 comments total)

In July 1997, six million people took to the streets to protest the assassination of Miguel Ángel Blanco, a local conservative politician, who was kidnapped and killed by ETA.

When 6 million people march to say “cut it out” maaaaaybe it’s time to listen...
posted by Annika Cicada at 10:36 AM on May 2, 2018 [3 favorites]

Congratulations to the people of Spain, Andorra and France.

And good riddance.
posted by ocschwar at 10:56 AM on May 2, 2018 [1 favorite]

Can anyone explain the significance of the white hands of the protesting crowd? A party alliance, or a general signifier of innocence?
posted by Countess Elena at 12:14 PM on May 2, 2018

Maybe they're showing their allegiance to Saruman.
posted by tobascodagama at 12:23 PM on May 2, 2018 [6 favorites]

I'm not really a fan of separatist movements in general, so yay.
posted by sotonohito at 12:43 PM on May 2, 2018

Can anyone explain the significance of the white hands of the protesting crowd? A party alliance, or a general signifier of innocence?

Since blanco is white in Spanish, perhaps a reference to the politician who was killed, Miguel Ángel Blanco?
posted by fogovonslack at 12:47 PM on May 2, 2018

The manos blancas apparently date back to an earlier ETA assassination, Francisco Tomás y Valiente.

White hands became another national symbol in the fight against terrorism in 1997, after a professor from the Autonomous University of Madrid, Francisco Tomas y Valiente, was killed by ETA.
…
Shortly thereafter, a group of law students donned white gloves or painted their palms white to show they wanted peace. A website called Manos Blancas (“White Hands”) was also set up to report news and information about anti-terrorist demonstrations taking place throughout Spain. The website also acts as a clearinghouse for messages of solidarity and condolences for ETA victims.

posted by zamboni at 12:54 PM on May 2, 2018 [6 favorites]

in 1997

NBC has the wrong year here, since Tomás y Valiente was killed in 1996.
posted by zamboni at 1:02 PM on May 2, 2018 [1 favorite]

Related, if you only watch 1 comedy film about on the run ETA terrorists starring the funny guy from Narcos make sure its Bomb Scared
posted by Damienmce at 1:27 PM on May 2, 2018 [2 favorites]

I lived in the Basque Country and Madrid in the mid/late 90s. The giant protests in Madrid after the assassination of Angel Blanco were definitely something new. However, this also took place against the backdrop of the Partido Popular's ascension into power in the mid-90s, as the first party with historical ties to Francoists. In Madrid, where I was at the time, none of my Spanish friends went to the protest. If you're thinking it was something like the Women's March, it wasn't, really, at least from my perspective in Madrid and knowing mostly young communists and people from northern Spain living there.

In the Basque Country, the protests likely had different meaning. There, I found that even in the mid-1990s a pall of fear kept people from talking about ETA and politics. The protest movement after Angel Blanco's murder was more meaningful sea change with people emboldened to speak up against terrorism.

These are all just impressionistic memories, and I'd be glad to hear a different perspective!
posted by yarly at 3:14 PM on May 2, 2018 [4 favorites]

Euskal Herria is no less legitimate a country than Spain or France or Catalunya. I'm sorry they have no support.
posted by adrienneleigh at 5:11 PM on May 2, 2018

ETA does not equal Euskal Herria/Basque Country. The people there are often proudly Basque, doesn't mean they like ETA.
posted by deadwax at 7:35 PM on May 2, 2018 [5 favorites]

The people there are often proudly Basque, doesn't mean they like ETA.

Exactly. Granted my experience was a long time ago now, but there's a big gulf between the Basque people in general and ETA. ETA as any sort of standard bearer for Basque independence ran its course a long time ago. And for that matter, only a minority of Basques now want total independence. That said, the Spanish government's reaction to the situation in Catalonia made me really worried about sparking a new cycle of nationalist violence in the Basque Country.
posted by yarly at 7:10 AM on May 3, 2018 [1 favorite]