In a move that demonstrated that the war on terrorism has no religious, ethnic or geopolitical limits, the administration of U.S. President George W. Bush early this year ordered institutions to freeze the assets of 21 individuals affiliated with Spain's ETA (Euzkadi Ta Askatasuna, or "Basque Fatherland and Liberty" in the Basque language).

The decision is consistent with a series of U.S. attempts over recent years to crack down on the organization. Washington first designated ETA a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) in 1997, and has re-designated it every two years. As part of the anti-terrorism campaign, the administration last October designated ETA as Specially Designated Global Terrorists (SDGTs), requiring institutions to take specific legal and financial measures against ETA.

Global efforts to quash ETA have intensified since last September, but the Spanish government has been fighting the separatist group since the era of Gen. Francisco Franco. The group was founded in 1959 by activists seeking to establish an independent Basque homeland spanning the border region of northern Spain and southwestern France. Infused with Marxist principles, the group has since been held responsible for a number of bombings, shootings and kidnapping or killing of high-profile government figures, including Adm. Luis Carrero Blanco who had been Franco's heir-apparent in 1973, and Popular Party Councilor Manuel Zamarreno in 1998. Its primary targets are Spanish and French government interests, and its activities have claimed over 800 lives in four decades.

Though believed to be relatively small (with perhaps 20 main activists and several hundred supporters), some ETA members are believed to have received training in Lebanon, Libya, South Yemen and Nicaragua, as well as to have sought sanctuary in Cuba. The group also allegedly maintains close ties with the Irish Republican Army (IRA) through the two groups' political wings. Its link with the IRA, in fact, is believed to have been the motivation for ETA's declaration of a unilateral ceasefire in 1998, following peace agreements in Northern Ireland. Neither the Spanish government nor ETA took the ceasefire seriously, however, and it collapsed after 14 months in December 1999. ETA resumed its acts of violence thereafter.

The struggle between ETA and the Spanish government persists, but the government of President José Aznar has gained the upper hand since the onset of the anti-terror campaign. More than 50 suspected ETA members have been arrested since last fall, and authorities succeeded in dismantling a number of ETA terrorist cells and logistics bases and confiscated over 100 pounds of explosives. Spain has also secured bilateral agreements with the United States, France and Mexico on denying ETA sanctuary, choking off its funds, and sharing intelligence on terrorism. Spain, the United States and the European Union all recognize ETA as a terrorist organization.

Nevertheless, the battle is far from over. ETA has relentlessly carried out fatal attacks since last September, including bombings, shootings and assassination of a town councilor. In fact, ETA may be broadening its tactics and vision in defiance against the U.S.-led war on terrorism. Whereas the group has carried out attacks mainly against Spanish police and government figures in the Basque region, in mid-May Spanish police foiled plans by ETA to car-bomb the EU-Latin American summit held in Madrid, arresting several ETA members and seizing 400 pounds of explosives. Such an attack might have become the first act of violence against non-Spanish or French targets, and would have marked a significant turning point for ETA's traditionally domestic-focused operations.

But in targeting a large international gathering, ETA may have sowed the seed of its own decline. What has been Spain's domestic separatist concern has now been thrust into the international counter-terrorism limelight, and will likely remain there for a time to come.

Sources:

"Foiled Attack Raises European Concerns Over ETA," Stratfor.com, May 15, 2002.

Patterns of Global Terrorism 2001, U.S. Department of State.

"Remarks by the Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill on New Terrorist Financing Designations," Treasury News, U.S. Department of the Treasury, Feb. 26, 2002.

Socolovsky, Jerome, "Spanish Officials: Attack Thwarted," Associated Press, May 15, 2002.

Terrorist Organization Profiles from the ICT Database, The International Policy Institute for Counter-Terrorism.

 

By Reyko Huang CDI Research Analyst

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