ETA (separatist group)

ETA, an acronym for Euskadi Ta Askatasuna ("Basque Homeland and Liberty" or "Basque Country and Freedom"), was an armed Basque nationalist and far-left separatist organization in the Basque Country between 1959 and 2018, with its goal being independence for the region. The group was founded in 1959 during the era of Francoist Spain, and later evolved from a pacifist group promoting traditional Basque culture to a violent paramilitary group. It engaged in a campaign of bombings, assassinations, and kidnappings throughout Spain and especially the Southern Basque Country against the regime, which was highly centralised and hostile to the expression of non-Castilian minority identities. ETA was the main group within the Basque National Liberation Movement and was the most important Basque participant in the Basque conflict.

ETA's motto was Bietan jarrai ("Keep up on both"), referring to the two figures in its symbol, a snake (representing politics) wrapped around an axe (representing armed struggle). Between 1968 and 2010, ETA killed 829 people (including 340 civilians) and injured more than 22,000. ETA was classified as a terrorist group by Spain, France, the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, and the European Union. This convention was followed by a plurality of domestic and international media, which also referred to the group as terrorists. As of 2019, there were more than 260 imprisoned former members of the group in Spain, France, and other countries.

ETA declared ceasefires in 1989, 1996, 1998 and 2006. On 5 September 2010, ETA declared a new ceasefire that remained in force, and on 20 October 2011, ETA announced a "definitive cessation of its armed activity". On 24 November 2012, it was reported that the group was ready to negotiate a "definitive end" to its operations and disband completely. The group announced on 7 April 2017 that it had given up all its weapons and explosives. On 2 May 2018, ETA made public a letter dated 16 April 2018 according to which it had "completely dissolved all its structures and ended its political initiative".