Declining public support for ETA

From its creation in 1959 up until about the late 1980s ETA had a degree of public support over their cause, not only within the Basque Country but throughout Spain. This was in part that people understood the repressed nature of the area under Franco and agreed that they did deserve a degree of autonomy. Although assassinations were carried out by ETA, they did concentrate on targeting law enforcement and politicians rather than civilians. For a video of the surpression of the Basque Country please view: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B3avs8DQYww&feature=related.

ETA enjoyed both public and international support, especially in 1970 during the ‘Burgos Trials’, where the repressive nature of Franco’s regime was highlighted. Members of ETA who had been sentenced to death by Franco were eventually sentenced to life inprisonment instead after international pressure. Even after ETA’s most high profile attack, the 1973 assassination of Luis Carrero Blanco, the would be President after Franco, many opponents of Franco both home and abroad applauded the move. Other events that helped ETA gain public support was during the period 1983-87 where the government set up GAL (Antiterrorist Liberation Group) in order to quash ETA. During this period the group committed assassinations and the kidnapping and torture of ETA members and their families, some who had no association with ETA at all. Although later disbanded, GAL’s ‘dirty war’ against ETA was seen as a negative effect on the issue of the Basque due to their controversial tactics. Indeed in 1997 several GAL officials including high ranking members of the government were convicted of crimes such as torture.

After the Spanish Consitution of 1978 however the Basque Country slowly but surely started to gain a degree of autonomy, yet ETA were still caryying out its violent activities which began to alienate the public from ETA's cause. Such events included the 19th July 1987 bombing in Barcelona which killed 21 and injured 45 and resulted in entire families being killed. Such was the public outrage that ETA were compelled to issue a statement saying they had given the police prior warning to the attack, although this was rebuffed by the police. Perhaps the most pivotal event that finally turned public support away from ETA was the 1997 murder of Miguel Angel Blanco, a local politician in Biscay. After kidnapping Miguel they demanded that all ETA prisoners to be relocated to nearer the Basque Country (as ETA prisoners were dispersed throughout Spain) within 48 hours or he would be executed. Such was the public outrage that 6 million people from around the country including the Basque demonstrated for his release. However when the deadline expired he was killed, and what little public support ETA had slowly disappeared.

Can ETA hope to achieve its aims without lack of public support? Have they done too much damage to their reputation to achieve their goals? Perhaps if the public supports the government over the Basque issue ETA has little hope of accomplishing their objectives.