Introduction
Euskadi Ta Askatasuna (ETA) was an extremist Basque nationalist group in Spain from 1959 to 2018. The main goal of this extremist group was to gain independence for the Basque Country from Spain. During its existence, it committed multiple terrorist attacks, mainly on public figures such as members of the government. ETA had its supporters among far-left nationalists who believed ETA’s actions were justified due to the oppression the Basques suffered during the time of the Spanish dictatorship. However, the group continued its terrorist activities after the end of the dictatorship, so most people did not support ETA due to the terror the population suffered.
Causes Behind Origin and History of Activities
ETA’s creation was caused primarily by the oppression of the dictatorship of Franco. Franco was a dictator who was strongly against any nationalism that was not Spanish. It was prohibited for minorities to speak their languages and practice their culture (Mees, 2019).
Nationalist activists and even regular people were incarcerated and sentenced to death (Buckley, 2021). Thus, Basque nationalists and their supporters saw the group’s activities as an adequate response to the political conditions of the time. They saw no other choice but to fight in this manner.
The dictatorship, however, came to an end in 1975. The country started a democratic transition, which helped the minorities to gain more rights. Despite the transition to democracy, ETA continued its activities: in 1987, 21 people were killed by a bomb in a supermarket in Barcelona; two years earlier, a similar bombing occurred in Madrid (Mees, 2019). Their independence demands led to the deaths of regular people, which people could no longer justify. Thus, their actions were not aimed solely at public figures, and the population was terrorized, which made most Spanish people feel strongly against ETA.
Conclusion
To conclude, ETA, as an extremist group, was born out of the oppression that the people of the Basque Country suffered under the dictatorship. However, their desire to separate from Spain did not cease to exist when the country turned to democracy, and the terrorist attacks continued. ETA’s far-left supporters tried to justify their actions by the historical conditions. However, the deaths of citizens who were not related to politics made them lose the support of the ordinary people.
References
Buckley, N. (2021). Out of prison: ETA life stories become history. Center for Basque Studies Press.
Mees, L. (2019). The Basque contention: Ethnicity, politics, violence. Taylor & Francis.