After Fighting For Independence For 60 years, Spain's Basque Separatists ETA Has Officially Disbanded All Of Its Structures

CNN: Basque separatist group ETA announces full dissolution

ETA, the Basque separatist group that killed around 850 people during its half-century campaign for independence from Spain, announced its full dissolution, Spanish media reported.

The declaration was made in a letter dated April 16 and sent to a number of political institutions, Spanish news agency EFE reported. The announcement had been expected, and came just over a year after the group handed over its weapons, following a 2011 ceasefire.

ETA, which stands for "Euskadi Ta Askatasuna" or "Basque homeland and freedom," was founded in 1959 in response to the frustration felt by Basques during the repressive regime of General Francisco Franco. Its aim was to gain independence from Spain and establish a state in the north of Spain and southwest France.

The group released a statement last month in which it apologized to the families of its victims, adding that it accepted "direct responsibility" for its crimes.

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WNU Editor: 60 years of bloodshed. 853 killed and thousands wounded. Good riddance I say.

More News On Spain's Basque Separatists ETA Officially Disbanding All Of Its Structures

ETA militants declare end to armed fight for Basque homeland -- AP
End of ETA met with both relief and resentment in Basque Country -- Reuters
Basque Group ETA Disbands, After Terrorist Campaign Spanning Generations -- New York Times
Basque ETA separatists announce they are 'completely' dissolving -- DW
Key dates in history of Basque group ETA -- AFP
ETA’s bloody history: 853 killings in 60 years of violence -- AP

Basque Separatist Group ETA Apologizes For Four Decades Of Deadly Violence

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

Basque separatist group bears ‘direct responsibility’ for deaths of at least 800 people in name of nationhood struggle

The Basque terrorist group Eta, which killed more than 800 people during its four-decade armed campaign, has apologised for the suffering it caused and asked for the forgiveness of victims and their families as it prepares to dissolve.

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.”

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More News On The Basque Separatist Group ETA Apologizes For Four Decades Of Deadly Violence

Basque group Eta apology criticised by victims -- BBC
Basque separatist group ETA apologizes to victims ahead of dissolution -- Reuters
Basque separatists ETA apologise in step to disbandment -- AFP
Terrorist Group in Spain Apologizes to Victims After Decades of Bombings and Armed Struggle -- Newsweek
Basque separatist group ETA apologizes to victims -- POLITICO.eu

Spain's ETA Basque Separatists Surrender Their Arms To End Decades Of Conflict

Reuters: Basque militants ETA surrender arms in end to decades of conflict

Basque militant group ETA effectively ended an armed separatist campaign after almost half a century on Saturday, leading French authorities to the sites where it says its caches of weapons, explosives and ammunition are hidden.

ETA, which killed more than 850 people in its attempt to carve out an independent state in northern Spain and southwest France, declared a ceasefire in 2011 but did not give up its remaining arms.

Founded in 1959 out of anger among Basques at political and cultural repression under General Francisco Franco, ETA (Euskadi Ta Askatasuna - Basque Country and Freedom) gained notoriety as one of Europe's most intractable separatist groups.

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More News On Spain's ETA Basque Separatists Surrendering Their Arms To End Decades Of Conflict

Eta: Basque separatists begin weapons handover -- BBC
Basque group ETA gives French police a list of 12 arms caches -- AFP
Exclusive: Eta documents reveal details of weapons dumps as group disarms -- The Guardian
Basque Terrorists Seen Disarming as Caches in France Revealed -- Bloomberg
Basque separatist group ETA hands over weapon caches -- UPI
Spain's separatist ETA hands over remaining weapons, ending bloody campaign -- DW
Basque separatists ETA hand list of arms caches to French police - sources -- Euronews
Terrorist group ETA disarms after 40yr fight for independent state that killed 850+ -- RT
Photographer revisits scenes of ETA violence -- AP

Basque Separatists ETA Are To Formally Hand Over Their Weapons Today

Basque Separatists Eta Set To Take Historic Step By Handing Over Weapons -- The Guardian

Spanish government of Mariano Rajoy holds out for full 'defeat' declaration as independence group ends 40 years of militancy

The Basque separatist group Eta is expected on Friday to take a historic step towards handing over weapons and bomb-making equipment used in its terror campaign for independence that has claimed more than 800 victims over decades.

Sources in the northern Basque region of Spain and elsewhere said mediators would declare that Eta had already made significant moves in readying itself for giving up or disabling weapons and was ready to go further.

Details remained scarce, however, and analysts were fearful that Eta could try to drag the process out while seeking concessions from Mariano Rajoy, the Spanish prime minister.

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My Comment: 800 dead. Thousands wounded. And what for?

Top ETA Commander Arrested

Senior Eta Leader 'Responsible For Terror Group's Killer Squads' Arrested In France -- The Telegraph

The woman alleged to be the leader of the ETA Basque terrorist movement's killer squads was arrested Sunday along with her boyfriend and number two in the heart of the Macon wine producing region of central France.

The couple were detained in the early hours at a hotel in the city of Macon itself, some 43 miles north of Lyons, in a joint operation by French counter-terrorist intelligence officers and Spain's paramilitary Civil Guard. Both Izaskun Lesaka and her lover Joseba Iturbe were armed but put-up no resistance when a French National Police swat squad burst into their room.

The pair are considered by Spanish counter-terrorist intelligence to be right at the top of ETA's current hierarchy and decision makers. As such they would have been behind the announcement a year ago that the Basque terror movement, which has killed more than 800 people over the past four decades, had abandoned violence - its so-called "armed struggle" in support of independence for the northern Spanish region.

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More News On The Arrest Of Senior ETA Leader

'Eta military leader' Izaskun Lesaka arrested in France -- BBC
Basque terrorist leader arrested in early morning raid at French hotel -- Daily Mail
French police arrest suspected head of ETA -- Reuters
Spain: French police arrest top Basque ETA leader -- Bloomberg Businessweek/AP
Police: Top ETA leader arrested in France -- UPI
France arrests 'top ETA leader' -- Al Jazeera
France vows to keep up its fight against ETA -- Expatica

ETA's Military Commander Captured

Eta announced last year that it was ending its armed campaign. BBC

ETA Military Leader Among Two Captured In France -- The Telegraph

Two members of ETA, the Basque separatist group, including Oroitz Gurruchaga Gogorza, the group's military leader, have been arrested by French police.

Gurruchaga and "his deputy" Xabier Aramburu were arrested in the southwestern French village of Cauna while travelling in a stolen vehicle with fake number plates in a joint operation by French and Spanish police, it said, adding that both men were armed with a pistol and a revolver.

"The presence of both men in southern France could indicate they were setting up meetings to recruit new ETA members," the ministry said.

Gurruchaga, 30, joined ETA in 2008 and rose through the organisation's ranks to become its military and recruiting chief, according to the ministry.

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More News On ETA's Military Commander Being Arrested In France

ETA Leader Arrested in France -- RIA Novosti
France arrests Eta commander and alleged accomplice -- BBC
Police swoop on ETA commander -- Herald Sun/AFP
France arrests suspected Basque separatist leader -- Reuters
French police arrest ETA military chief -- Deutsche Welle
Capture of alleged Basque terrorist leaders casts doubt on 2010 ceasefire -- Irish Times

ETA's Offer For Talks Rejected By Spain

Spain Rejects Eta Talks Request And Demands Disbandment -- BBC

The Spanish government has rejected a request from the Basque militant group Eta for talks, seven months into its truce, and called on it to disband.

The separatist group had sent a message to the AFP news agency announcing it had set up a team to conduct a "direct dialogue" with Spain and France.

Eta called for a "definitive solution" to the "ongoing conflict".

But Interior Minister Jorge Fernandez Diaz said Spain would never negotiate with the group.

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Update: Spain rejects calls to negotiate with ETA -- The Telegraph

My Comment: Spain is not going to have any talks with the ETA in it's present form. The best hope for the ETA will be at the ballot box .... but this is probably an option that they feel will not be to their benefit.

Spain's ETA Declares An End To Armed Conflict

The homepage of Basque newspaper Gara with the announcement of the end to 50 years of armed struggle [Reuters]

Eta Declares Halt To Armed Conflict -- The Guardian

Basque separatist group renounces use of arms after year in which it has observed unilateral ceasefire.

Half a century of bloodshed in the Basque country has come to a historic close after the separatist group Eta finally renounced the use of arms and sought talks with the Spanish and French governments.

Three leaders in masks announced that the group was calling a final halt to the use of bombs and bullets in a video on the website of the Basque newspaper Gara.

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More News On ETA's Decision To End It's Armed Conflict

Basque group ETA ends armed independence campaign -- AP
Basque group ETA announces end to campaign of violence -- CNN
Basque Separatists Declare Halt to Violence -- New York Times
Basque group Eta says armed campaign is over -- BBC
ETA announces end to more than 40 years' violence -- AFP
ETA announces 'definitive cease' to armed struggle -- The Telegraph
Basque separatists ETA end armed struggle -- Al Jazeera
A Glance at Basque Militant Group ETA, Its Goals -- ABC News/AP
Timeline: Key events in history of Basque separatists ETA -- Reuters
ETA calls a 'definitive' ceasefire -- RTE News

WNU Editor: Read the full text of Eta's ceasefire statement.

ETA's Military Chief Arrested In France

'Eta Military Chief' Arriola Arrested In France -- BBC

The suspected head of Spain's armed Basque separatist group Eta has been arrested in northern France.

Alejandro Zobaran Arriola and three other Eta suspects were seized by French police at a holiday cottage in a remote village near the Belgian border.

One of the other three detainees is also thought to be a senior militant.

Eta's campaign for independence for the Basque region has cost more than 800 lives since 1968 but it called a halt to armed attacks last year.

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More News On The Latest Arrests Of ETA Members

ETA terror chief snared in daring police raid on French town -- Daily Mail
French police arrest 4 Basque ETA suspects -- Washington Post/AP
French arrest top Basque suspect posing as tourist -- Expatica
Suspected ETA chief arrested in France -- CBC
French arrest suspected Eta military chief -- RFI

My Comment: These arrests have effectively killed the ETA as a viable guerrilla force.

Spain Rejects ETA's Ceasefire Move

ETA Suspects Detained in France, Spain -- Voice of America

Spanish and French police have detained two suspected ETA members in a joint operation, a day after the armed Basque separatist group declared a permanent cease-fire.

Officials said Tuesday, Iraitz Guesalaga was arrested in the southern French town of Ciboure, and his girlfriend, Itxaso Urtiaga, was detained across the Spanish border in the beach town of Zarautz.

Guesalaga is suspected of being a computer expert for ETA.

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More News On The ETA

Basque Separatists' Cease-Fire Declaration Not Sufficient, Says Spain -- NPR
Spanish government rejects ETA ceasefire move -- Reuters
France, Spain Arrest Two ETA Suspects After Truce Is Rejected -- Bloomberg Businessweek
Spain's Zapatero says Eta truce does not go far enough -- BBC
ETA declares cease-fire, but Spain critical -- Boston.com/AP
ETA "permanent" ceasefire announcement received with distrust in Spain -- Xinhuanet
Police arrest suspected top computer programmer for ETA -- CNN
Spain: 2 suspected ETA members arrested -- AP
ETA Cease-Fire: Is Basque Terrorism Finally Finished? -- Time Magazine

Basque Group ETA Declares A Permanent Cease-Fire

Photo: The group said it was committed to a "lasting resolution" to its campaign

Spain's Basque Rebels Eta Call 'Permanent Truce' -- BBC

The Basque separatist group Eta has announced a permanent ceasefire in its fight for independence from Spain.

In a video statement sent to the media, the group said the truce would be "internationally verifiable".

Eta's campaign for independence for the Basque region has cost more than 800 lives since 1968 but it called a halt to armed attacks last year.

The Spanish government has reacted cautiously to previous claims from from Eta that it was ending violence.

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More News On The ETA Calling For A "Permanent Truce"

ETA declares permanent cease-fire -- Yahoo News/AP
Basque separatists ETA call permanent ceasefire -- Yahoo News/Reuters
ETA announces permanent ceasefire -- Yahoo News/AFP
Spain's ETA in permanent ceasefire -- Al Jazeera
Basque Group ETA Calls Permanent Ceasefire After Four Decades of Terror -- Bloomberg
Basque Group ETA Declares Permanent Cease-Fire -- Wall Street Journal
ETA declares permanent cease-fire -- Washington Post
Eta to declare permanent ceasefire -- The Guardian
ETA announces permanent ceasefire in Spain -- CNN
Spain And ETA: On the verge of a nervous peace -- The Economist

Tens Of Thousands Demonstrate In Support Of Basque Prisoners

Thousands Protest Over Treatment Of Basque Prisoners -- Euronews

Tens of thousands of people have marched peacefully through Bilbao in Spain’s Basque region to protest against the treatment of separatist prisoners.

They want both Spain and France to end the policy of sending inmates to jails far from their homes.

The demonstration came amid speculation that ETA is mulling a permanent end to violence.

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More News On Today's Basque Demonstration Against Mistreatment Of ETA Prisoners

Thousands march in Spain for ETA prisoners' rights -- AFP
Tens of thousands march in Spain's Basque region -- AP
Thousands March in Spain in Support of Jailed ETA Members -- Latin American Herald Tribune
Thousands demonstrate in Spain to support ETA prisoners -- M&C
Demonstration in Bilbao in favour of prisoners rights -- EITB
Tens of thousands march in Spain's Basque region -- Boston.com/AP

ETA's Declaration Of A Ceasefire Met With Skepticism In Spain

Basque Government In Spain Calls ETA Cease-Fire Meaningless -- Washington Post

MADRID - The armed Basque separatist group ETA, under pressure from political allies to renounce violence and weakened repeatedly by the arrests of its leaders, announced another cease-fire Sunday, suggesting it might turn to a political process in its quest for an independent homeland.

But the Basque regional government immediately dismissed the announcement as meaningless because ETA had not renounced violence or announced its dissolution.

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More News On The ETA Declaring A Ceasefire

Spain Dismisses Basque Truce Announcement -- New York Times
Spain dismisses ETA ceasefire offer as insufficient -- Deutsche Welle
Spanish gov't considers ETA truce to be "insufficient" -- Xinhuanet
Eta too weak to attack, says Spain -- The Guardian
Spain can not trust ETA truce announcement - Minister -- Reuters
Spanish government sceptical of ETA ceasefire (3rd Lead) -- M&C
Madrid 'cautious' as Eta declares another ceasefire -- The Telegraph
What is behind ETA's ceasefire announcement? -- Xinhuanet
ETA ceasefire: Basques to the future -- The Telegraph
A brief history of Eta -- The Guardian
Timeline: Basque rebels ETA say to halt armed attacks -- Reuters

Spain's ETA Declares A Ceasefire

ETA 'Ceasefire' All Too Familiar For Spain -- BBC

The Spanish government has held a firm line on the issue for some time: unless Eta, the armed Basque separatist group, renounces violence for good and disarms, there can be no negotiations.

This statement from Eta falls short of that.

Without using the word ceasefire or truce, it states that Eta "took the decision not to carry out armed attacks some months ago".

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More News On The ETA

Basque separatists Eta announces ceasefire -- The Guardian
Basque separatist group announces ceasefire -- CNN
Spain's Eta 'declares ceasefire' -- BBC
Basque separatists ETA announce cease fire -- AP
Basque separatists ETA to halt armed attacks -- Reuters

ETA Military Chief Arrested In France

French policemen stand guard as the members of the Basque separatist organization ETA, including the organization's military chief, are driven into the headquarters of the anti-terrorist subdivision in Levallois-Perret, near Paris, December10, 2008. Spain warned of possible retaliatory attacks by the armed Basque group following the arrest of the organization's latest suspected leader. (UPI Photo/Eco Clement)

French Police Arrest ETA Military Leader -- Washington Post

PARIS, May 20 (Reuters) - French police said they arrested the suspected military leader of the Basque separatist movement ETA in the southwestern town of Bayonne on Thursday.

Spanish national Mikel Kabikoitz Karrera Sarobe, known as Ata, was detained along with another man and a woman from the group during a raid on an apartment, police said. Police also found weapons in the apartment.

He has been considered the military leader of ETA since French police arrested his predecessor Ibon Gogeascoechea in February.

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More News On The Arrest Of The ETA's Military Chief

Spain: Basque separatist leader arrested in France -- AP
Spain: ETA commando unit leader arrested in France -- AP
Military Leader of ETA Under Arrest -- Voice of America
Eta 'military leader' captured in France -- The Telegraph
French police arrest ETA leader -- UPI

ETA Chief Arrested In France

Photo: Gogeascoechea (left) with the two other ETA suspects
captured by Spanish police. Photo from CNN

ETA Leader Arrested In France -- The Telegraph

French and Spanish security forces dealt a big blow to ETA on Sunday with the arrest in north-west France of the alleged leader of the Basque separatist movement.

Ibon Gogeascoetxea Arronategi was arrested with two of his alleged top lieutenants at a country house in the tiny village of Cahan in Normandy – 400 miles north of the Spanish frontier.

The predawn raid on Cahan, which has a population 300 and is south of Caen, was the climax of a joint operation by the intelligence branches of the Police Judiciare – the French detective force – and Spain's paramilitary Civil Guard. It netted three of ETA's most wanted men.

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More News On The Arrest Of The ETA's Leader

Spain says ETA chief arrested in France -- AP
Suspected Eta leader arrested in France, Spanish officials say -- The Guardian
Spain: Basque ETA chief arrested -- CNN
Spain says top ETA rebel leader captured in France -- Deutsche Welle
Spain says ETA rebels' top leader caught in France -- Reuters'
Suspected ETA leader arrested in France -- UPI

Basque Terror Group Weaker But Still a Threat

From Time Magazine:

Experience has shown it's foolish to ever consider a terrorist group definitively beaten. Still, it must be getting hard for officials in Spain and France not to strut a tiny bit following the recent blows they've dealt the separatist Basque organization Euskadi Ta Askatasuna (ETA). In the past week alone, authorities have unearthed 13 ETA weapons caches in France, and arrested three alleged members suspected of staging two recent bombings in Spain. Nevertheless, officials describe the group as just as dangerous as ever.

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More News On The ETA

Spanish, French ministers mull strategy against ETA -- AFP (video)
France, Spain Say Arrests, Seizures Have Hit ETA Hard -- New York Times/Reuters
ETA hideouts keep on appearing in France, fake IDs found -- EITB News
New ETA arms caches found in France -- AFP
Spain and France reiterate "they will keep on chasing ETA" while still alive -- EITB News
Spanish PM hails seizures of ETA arms caches -- Expatica

ETA Suspects Arrested In France After Spain Bombs

Suspected ETA members Andoni Sarasola (L), Alberto Machain Beraza (C) and Aitzol Etxaburu are pictured in this combination of handout photos from the Spanish Interior Ministry released August 19, 2009. REUTERS/Spain Interior Ministry/Handout

From Yahoo News/Reuters:

MADRID (Reuters) – Police arrested three armed suspected members of Basque separatist group ETA Wednesday in a French ski resort after a wave of bombings in Spain which killed two people, Spanish and French authorities said.

One of the detainees, Alberto Machain Beraza, was on a list of six wanted ETA suspects released by the government on July 31, the day after a car bomb killed two Spanish Civil Guards on the island of Mallorca.

Spain's Interior Minister Alfredo Rubalcaba said it was too early to say whether the detainees were involved in the Mallorca bombings.

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More News On The ETA

3 suspected Basque militants detained in France -- AP
Eta suspect wanted for Majorca attack arrested in France -- The Telegraph
Majorca bombing suspect Alberto Machain arrested in French Alps -- Times Online
Eta suspect held in France over Mallorca bombings -- The Guardian
France arrests three ETA suspects -- AFP
ETA weapons cache found 40 kilometres from Spanish border -- EITB

Is The ETA Resuming A New Bombing Campaign?

Civil Guards carry the coffins of their colleagues Carlos Saenz de Tejadá, 28, and Diego Salva de Lezaun, 27, to their funeral in Palma, Majorca, yesterday. They died in Thursday's car bombing in Palmanova. AFP

Spanish Police Step Up Majorca Hunt For Eta Car Bomb Terrorists -- The Telegraph

The search for the terrorists who killed two Civil Guards in Majorca continued on Saturday with the launch of the biggest manhunt in the history of the Balearic Islands.

Police were drafted in from mainland Spain and all leave was cancelled as authorities intensified the search for two Basque terrorists who were believed to be in hiding on the holiday island.

Authorities released photographs of six alleged members of the Eta terrorist group thought to belong to a unit that planned last week's bomb attacks and asked for the public's help in finding them.

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More News On The ETA's Latest Bombing Campaign

Hunt for female suspects in ETA bomb attacks -- Sydney Morning Herald
Terror hunt locks down Mallorca -- AFP
Return of Eta's summer bomb campaigns puts fear into tourists -- Independent
Holidaymakers face security clampdown over fears Spain faces summer of terror attacks -- Daily Mail
Eta marks 50 years in deadly fashion -- Irish Times
Spanish royals holiday in Majorca, two days after deadly bombing -- AFP

Spain On High Alert As ETA Marks The 50th Anniversary Of Its Founding

Tourists look at the smoke and flames coming from a car explosion in the Palmanova beach area, southwest of the island's capital, Palma de Mallorca. Photograph: AP Photo/AP

From AFP:

MADRID — Spain went on maximum alert Friday as ETA marked its 50th anniversary after two bombings this week blamed on the Basque separatist group, including an attack that killed two police officers.

The approach to the anniversary saw an upsurge in violence, with a massive car bomb exploding outside a police barracks in Burgos in northern Spain on Wednesday which lightly injured 64 people, including sleeping children.

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More News On Spain And The ETA

Spain on maximum alert for 50th anniversary of ETA -- AP
Bombings Put Spain On Edge As Eta Turns 50 -- SKY News
Spain on high alert after bombs -- BBC
Spain to hold memorial service for slain policemen -- Canada.com
Eta attacks achieve no more than a propaganda victory -- Times Online
Eta 'under pressure to attack' -- BBC
Travel chaos after Mallorca car bomb kills two police officers -- The Guardian
Mallorca target of Spain's second attack in two days -- Christian Science Monitor