Time’s up for Eta as separatist group to fully disarm

Basque separatist group Eta has not really been a credible threat to the average Spaniard for many years, and now the terrorist organisation has said that it will fully disarm by April 8…

The head of the regional Basque government in northern Spain said last Friday that it has been in touch with Eta’s leaders and – with the help of both Madrid and Paris – will lay down its arms and provide the location of its weaponry stockpiles next month.

The group has been angling for an independent Basque nation for decades, but its heavy-arm tactics have been increasingly shunned by former sympathisers, while skilled police work in both Spain and France has helped to weaken the group’s power to attack.

Last week, an ETA activist confirmed that it will aim to finalise its disarmament by April 8, and at least no later than April 23 – the date of the French general elections.

While the Basque region officially sits in Spain, Eta stakes a claim for part of its territory in southwest France, too. However, both governments either side of the Pyrenees have long resisted the group’s pressure – which for some years in the ‘80s and ‘90s claimed hundreds of lives.

Since its formation in 1959, around 830 deaths are attributed to the terrorist group, although the last deadly attack was in 2010 on a French policeman in a Parisian suburb.

Since then, Eta has taken a less heavy-handed, more political approach since its 2011 ceasefire, and while its members are still considered terrorists by the European Union, many now hide in plain sight.

One activist that has access to Eta, Txetx Etcheverry, said last week: “ETA has given us the responsibility of disarming its arsenal and, on the evening of April 8^th, Eta will be completely disarmed.

“The Basque government judges credible the potential for a final disarmament in the short term. It asks the Spanish and French governments to show ambitious vision and open direct lines of communication in order to reach a goal with historic importance for our society.”

News of Eta’s disarmament is likely to be warmly welcomed in Madrid. Spain has long fought hard to maintain its unity post-Franco, and has not only the Basque separatist issue to deal with, but the thorny issue of Catalan independence too.