Basque Fatherland and Liberty (ETA)
On June 5, 2007, the Basque separatist group Euzkadi Ta Askatuna (ETA) – in English, Basque Fatherland and Liberty – declared their previously announced “permanent” ceasefire to be over. Stating that, “minimum conditions for continuing a process of negotiations do not exist,” ETA further claimed the ceasefire was being ended over what they say was the Spanish government’s mishandling of the truce, including ongoing arrests, torture and persecution. The ceasefire officially ended on June 6, 2007, with ETA stating that they would defend the Basque country “from all fronts with weapons.”
ETA had previously declared a permanent end to their terrorist activities on March 22, 2006, apparently calling off a campaign which had claimed over 800 lives since the group’s formation in 1959. In a statement, ETA claimed that it would work “to promote a democratic process in the Basque Country in order to build a new framework within which [Basques’]… rights as a people are recognized, and guarantee the opportunity to develop all political options in the future.” Such sentiments jarred with the events of Dec. 30, 2006, when a bomb went off near terminal T4 of Madrid Barajas airport, killing two people.
As far as the Spanish government was concerned, ETA’s ceasefire was over. In a statement by ETA, the group claimed that although they were responsible for the attack, the ceasefire was still in effect. Spanish Interior Minister Alfredo Perez Rubalcaba replied that he saw no way for dialogue on the peace process with ETA to resume. In April 2007, ETA gave an interview to the Basque newspaper Gara, reiterating its commitment to the peace process saying, “It was time to act responsibly.” The government, in turn, replied that in order to resume talks, ETA would have to renounce violence and end their nearly five-decade-long terrorist campaign.