ETA (separatist group)

This article is about the former armed Basque separatist group. For other uses, see eta (disambiguation).

Euskadi Ta Askatasuna
Leaders
Dates of operation31 July 1959 – 16 April 2018
  • 5 September 2010 (extant ceasefire)
  • 8 April 2017 (disarmament)
  • 16 April 2018 (dissolution)
HeadquartersGreater Basque Country
Active regions
  • Spain
  • France[a]
Ideology
Allies
OpponentsEuropean Union European Union
France France
Spain Spain
United States United States
Battles and warsBasque conflict
ETA emblem

ETA,[b] an acronym for Euskadi Ta Askatasuna[c] ("Basque Homeland and Liberty"[11] or "Basque Country and Freedom"[12]), was an armed Basque nationalist and far-left[13] separatist organization in the Basque Country between 1959 and 2018, with its goal being independence for the region. The group was founded in 1959 during the era of Francoist Spain, and later evolved from a pacifist group promoting traditional Basque culture to a violent paramilitary group. It engaged in a campaign of bombings, assassinations, and kidnappings throughout Spain and especially the Southern Basque Country against the regime, which was highly centralised and hostile to the expression of non-Castilian minority identities.[citation needed] [14][failed verification] ETA was the main group within the Basque National Liberation Movement and was the most important Basque participant in the Basque conflict.

ETA's motto was Bietan jarrai ("Keep up on both"), referring to the two figures in its symbol, a snake (representing politics) wrapped around an axe (representing armed struggle).[15][16][17] Between 1968 and 2010, ETA killed 829 people (including 340 civilians) and injured more than 22,000.[18][19][20][21] ETA was classified as a terrorist group by France,[22] the United Kingdom,[23] the United States,[24] Canada,[25] and the European Union.[26] This convention was followed by a plurality of domestic and international media, which also referred to the group as terrorists.[27][28][29][30] As of 2019, there were more than 260 imprisoned former members of the group in Spain, France, and other countries.[31]

ETA declared ceasefires in 1989, 1996, 1998 and 2006. On 5 September 2010, ETA declared a new ceasefire[32] that remained in force, and on 20 October 2011, ETA announced a "definitive cessation of its armed activity".[33] On 24 November 2012, it was reported that the group was ready to negotiate a "definitive end" to its operations and disband completely.[34] The group announced on 7 April 2017 that it had given up all its weapons and explosives.[35] On 2 May 2018, ETA made public a letter dated 16 April 2018 according to which it had "completely dissolved all its structures and ended its political initiative".[36]


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  1. ^ "30 años de la disolución de ETA pm". EITB.
  2. ^ Muro Ruiz, Diego (2004). Ethnicity and Violence: The Case of Radical Basque Nationalism (PDF) (Doctor of Philosophy thesis). ProQuest LLC. p. 161.
  3. ^ Azcona Pastor, José Manuel (2011). "El nacionalismo vasco y la deriva terrorista de ETA.". In Azcona Pastor, José Manuel (ed.). Sociedad del bienestar, vanguardias artísticas, terrorismo y contracultura. Madrid: Dykinson. pp. 220–221.
  4. ^ ETA (1962). Libro Blanco. pp. 89–90.
  5. ^ Lionel Henry; Annick Lagadec (2006). FLB-ARB: L'Histoire (1966–2005). Foesnant: Yoran Embanner. p. 136.
  6. ^ FLB/ARB Délegation exterieur, Euskadi ta Askatasuna, Irish Republican Publicity Bureau (1972). "Communiqué". Documentos Y Vol. 12. p. 386.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  7. ^ van Dijk, Lisa (March 2018). "Voting or violence? Analysing political violence by ETA and Terra Lliure during and after the Spanish transition to democracy" (PDF). University of Utrecht.
  8. ^ Davis, Ian (May 2002). "Small arms and light weapons in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia: The nature of the problem" (PDF). Saferworld. p. 55.
  9. ^ "ETA". Collins English Dictionary. Retrieved 8 March 2020.
  10. ^ Goodman, Al. ETA: A history of violence. CNN. Archived from the original on 11 December 2021 – via YouTube.
  11. ^ ETA BASQUE ORGANIZATION, Encyclopaedia Britannica 20 October 2011
  12. ^ Watson, Cameron (2007). Basque Nationalism and Political Violence: The Ideological and Intellectual Origins of ETA. Reno: Center for Basque Studies. p. 15. ISBN 978-1-877802-75-1.
  13. ^ "Der Generalbundesanwalt - International terrorism with a far-left or separatist background". www.generalbundesanwalt.de.
  14. ^ (in Spanish) Goiz Argi Archived 3 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine. Goiz Argi (27 January 2002). Retrieved on 30 January 2011.
  15. ^ Quiosco | El Mundo en ORBYT. Elmundo.es. Retrieved on 30 January 2011.
  16. ^ ETA, una serpiente vacilante. elmundo.es. Retrieved on 30 January 2011.
  17. ^ De patrulla por Vitoria. elmundo.es (24 March 2006). Retrieved on 30 January 2011.
  18. ^ "Lista de víctimas mortales". Ministerio del Interior (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 15 September 2010. Retrieved 19 September 2010.
  19. ^ "Datos significativos del conflicto vasco, 1968–2003". Eusko News (in Spanish). 2003. Retrieved 19 January 2011.
  20. ^ "ETA has killed 829 people as of 19 January 2011". Ministerio del Interior (in Spanish). Gobierno de España. Archived from the original on 15 September 2010. Retrieved 29 July 2018.
  21. ^ Peace at Last? | People & Places|Smithsonian Magazine. Smithsonianmag.com. Retrieved on 30 January 2011.
  22. ^ "Leader of Eta Basque rebels arrested in France". BBC News. 16 May 2019. Retrieved 24 August 2020.
  23. ^ "Schedule 2: Proscribed Organisations". Terrorism Act 2000. UK Public General Acts. Vol. 2000 c. 11. 20 July 2000. Archived from the original on 21 January 2013.
  24. ^ Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs). Retrieved on 16 April 2013.
  25. ^ "About the listing process". www.publicsafety.gc.ca. 21 December 2018.
  26. ^ "Council Common Position 2009/468/CFSP of 15 June 2009 updating Common Position 2001/931/CFSP on the application of specific measures to combat terrorism and repealing Common Position 2009/67/CFSP". Council of the European Union. 15 June 2009. Retrieved 9 March 2020.
  27. ^ "Eta gives terrorists disguise manual". The Independent. London. 15 December 2007. Retrieved 27 March 2010.
  28. ^ Owen, Edward (7 August 2007). "Eta terrorists demand protection money". The Daily Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 12 January 2022. Retrieved 27 March 2010.
  29. ^ Spain's rail ambitions: Ave Madrid. The Economist (5 February 2009). Retrieved on 30 January 2011.
  30. ^ Spanien: Mutmaßliche Eta-Terroristen gefasst – SPIEGEL ONLINE – Nachrichten – Politik. Spiegel.de (2 July 2007). Retrieved on 30 January 2011.
  31. ^ "Cifran en 21 los presos de ETA aquejados por enfermedades graves". El Mundo newspaper. 7 January 2019. Retrieved 16 January 2019.
  32. ^ "Basque separatist group Eta 'declares ceasefire'". BBC News. 5 September 2010. Retrieved 5 September 2010.
  33. ^ "Basque group Eta says armed campaign is over". BBC News. 20 October 2011. Retrieved 20 October 2011.
  34. ^ "Basque separatists Eta 'ready to disband'". BBC News. 25 November 2012.
  35. ^ "Eta: Basque separatists plan to unilaterally disarm on Saturday". BBC News. 7 April 2017. Retrieved 7 April 2017.
  36. ^ "Basque group ETA says has 'completely dissolved': El Diario website". Reuters. Reuters. 2 May 2018. Retrieved 2 May 2018.