ETA 1971-2011: a brief overview
The BBC is reporting that the cease-fire between the Spanish government and ETA might be at an end. Here is the story.
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Spaniards have been in this situation before.
So there is little surprise that after nine months of its so called "permanent ceasefire" Eta has returned to bomb attacks.
But there is certainly disappointment. The majority of Spaniards were in favour of their prime minister's attempt to solve the Basque conflict through dialogue.
While not technically a Small War, I feel that terrorism is closely linked to the evolved 3GW we're seeing more and more of today.
Spain Arrests 16 North Africans Accused of Recruiting Militants
29 May NY Times - Spain Arrests 16 North Africans Accused of Recruiting Militants by Victoria Burnett.
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The police on Monday arrested 16 men, most of them Moroccans, suspected of recruiting volunteers to fight in Iraq and other countries and spreading propaganda calling for Islamic jihad.
Most of the men were arrested in the northeastern region of Catalonia, which has a large concentration of immigrants from Morocco and elsewhere...
Spain hails an end to Basque Eta violence
A welcome piece of news, citing the Spanish PM:
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...hailed the end of Basque separatist group Eta's armed campaign as a "victory for democracy, law and reason".
Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero said the 800 victims of Eta's 40-year struggle would be remembered forever and that the "terror" should never happen again.
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In a statement provided to the BBC on Thursday, Eta said it had renounced armed struggle as a tool for achieving an independent Basque state - a key demand by the Spanish government. The group said it faced "a historic opportunity to obtain a just and democratic solution to the age-old political conflict. Eta has decided on the definitive cessation of its armed activity,"
Link to BBC report:http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-15398799
There is a lengthy Wikipedia account of ETA:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ETA
Partly due to the links between Northern Ireland and Spain the UK has watched the Spanish situation closely, with several books written expanding knowledge on the links - IIRC cited on other threads.
What is remarkable in the Spanish response to ETA's campaign is the role of the Spanish public, who have repeatedly en masse rejected ETA in street protests; this took longer to gain traction in the Basque areas of Spain. As the BBC story shows obtaining France's agreement to "cracking down" on ETA was vital.
Spain & terrorism (catch all)
An interesting, if perplexing report from Cadiz, Spain, following the arrest of three suspects, two who appear to be Chechens and a Turk, married to a Spanish Moroccan, who worked in Gibraltar. Who are suspected to be LeT operatives working with or on the behalf of AQ.
The BBC report:http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-19091753
There is more detail on the Spanish newspaper El Pais report:http://politica.elpais.com/politica/...87_980097.html
A different possible attack method has been emphasised:
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Western intelligence services were on the trail of this command for several months. The General Information Office detected its presence in Spain for about a month, when they arrived from France. Had trained in glider flight, so the police suspect they were going to use these devices to carry out an attack from the air. Police recalled that the area where they lived detainees is very close to the Rock and the joint Spanish-American naval base at Rota.
AQ planned to attack civilians in Gibraltar
A lengthy Daily Mail article, with some speculation and a lot of detail about the ex-Spetsnaz, Russian national who had turned to helping AQ:http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...=feeds-newsxml
Basque Eta: Spain's frozen peace process
A lengthy update on terrorism and reconciliation in Spain, principally the long struggle between ETA and its opponents (including the Spanish state) until ETA declared a permanent ceasefire two years ago:http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-25349626
Given the often strong public role in the conflict, with mass demonstrations against ETA's actions, this is not a process involving minority groups.
Talking to terrorists alongside being tough
A new book 'Endgame for ETA:Elusive Peace in the Basque Country' by Teresa Whitfield, pub. by Hurst. From their website:
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The violent Basque separatist group ETA took shape in Franco’s Spain, yet claimed the majority of its victims under democracy. For most Spaniards it became an aberration, a criminal and terrorist band whose persistence defied explanation. Others, mainly Basques (but only some Basques) understood ETA as the violent expression of a political conflict that remained the unfinished business of Spain’s transition to democracy. Such differences hindered efforts to ‘defeat’ ETA’s terrorism on the one hand and ‘resolve the Basque conflict’ on the other for more than three decades.
Endgame for ETA offers a compelling account of the long path to ETA’s declaration of a definitive end to its armed activity in October 2011. Its political surrogates remain as part of a resurgence of regional nationalism — in the Basque Country as in Catalonia — that is but one element of multiple crises confronting Spain.
The Basque case has been cited as an example of the perils of ‘talking to terrorists’. Drawing on extensive field research, Teresa Whitfield argues that while negotiations did not prosper, a form of ‘virtual peacemaking’ was an essential complement to robust police action and social condemnation. Together they helped to bring ETA’s violence to an end and return its grievances to the channels of normal politics.
Link:http://www.hurstpublishers.com/book/endgame-for-eta/
After the killing stopped
A superb article in the FT 'After ETA: Spain's history of violence', which reminds one how the Spanish people, including those living in the basque region peacefully opposed ETA's violence - notably when executing elected politicians.
It maybe behind a registration wall:https://www.ft.com/content/8ad74460-...d-198855707e9d
Slowly the ETA -v- Spain conflict ended
Hopefully this is the end as ETA declares an end to its violence and arranges for its weapons in France to be handed over. A short BBC News report that starts with:
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Police in France have found nearly 3.5 tonnes of weapons, explosives and other materiel in eight caches handed over by Basque separatist group Eta.
(Reminds us later) Four years later, in 2010, Eta announced it would not carry out further attacks and in January 2011, it declared a permanent and "internationally verifiable" ceasefire but refused to disarm.
Link:http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-39540081
"No tinc por" which means "I'm not afraid" in Catalan.
The attacks in Catalonia, Spain - with a car driven down Barcelona's main street, killing fifteen and injuring dozens have been well covered here. The NYT had an excellent report, plus a BBC overview and The Soufan Group (TSG) a commentary.
NYT:https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/23/w...cks-imam.html?
BBC:http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-40964242
TSG:http://www.soufangroup.com/tsg-intel...a-terror-cell/
Spain sadly has long experience of terrorism, nationalist and Islamist. One feature has been massive public displays of solidarity and yesterday 500k people walked in Barcelona, joined by the King. See:http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-41063293
Two video clips are different and illustrate how Muslims denounce the terrorists, who are suspected to be inspired by ISIS. First:
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The sister of two terrorist suspects has condemned the attacks in Spain which left 15 people dead.
Link (55 secs):http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/world-e...demns-violence
Then:
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Xavier Martinez, the father of three-year-old Xavi who died in the Barcelona attack, hugs Imam Driss Salym.
Link (40 secs):http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/video_and_...ctim-hugs-imam
Not to overlook the response of the emergency services, including one police officer @ Cambrils, who when suspected bombers were challenged shot four of the five dead.
ETA releases statement announcing its complete dissolution
A Spanish newspaper (in English) article sub-titled:
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Historic declaration puts an end to the organization 59 years after it first launched its violent campaign for Basque independence
In the message, ETA states that it has “completely dismantled “all of its structures,” and “has put an end to all its political activity. It will no longer express political positions, promote initiatives or interact with other actors...
Link:https://elpais.com/elpais/2018/05/03...31_830131.html
A NYRB article:https://www.nybooks.com/daily/2018/0...d-of-etas-era/
A Uk-based academic's brief overview, which ends with:
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If Spain’s Eta terrorist experience has a lesson to offer to the rest of Europe is that neither absolutism nor denial are effective ways of solving complex issues of national security. Had the Spanish political establishment accepted at an earlier stage that Eta did not operate in a sociopolitical vacuum and was therefore a political problem that required a political solution with everything that entails, the conflict over the Basque country might have ended sooner. In the long run, all politically-motivated conflicts eventually end. But the longer they are allowed to last, the more innocent people die and the more damage is caused.
Link:https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/ent...b066cd764091d0
A short BBC News item:http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-43991629
