Page 95 - Encyclopedia Of Terrorism

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Basque Fatherland and Liberty———69

Undoubtedly, the aspect of the Catechism that most Basque independence from Spain, is responsible for a
horrified Bakunin’s contemporaries and that has 44-year-old liberation campaign whose bombings and
caused Bakunin to be regarded as the grandfather of murders have left more than 800 dead. Among its
terrorism is its description of the attitude of the pro- most high-profile attacks were the assassination of a
per revolutionary toward his fellows. The Catechism Spanish prime minister and the killing of 21 shoppers
states that the revolutionary must completely obliter- at a Barcelona supermarket.
ate all weaknesses within him and devote himself Feeling that the right-wing Basque Nationalist
body and soul to the cause of revolution; no alle- Party (PNV) was not significantly advancing their
giances, to family, friends, neighbor, country, or love, goal of achieving Basque independence from Spain,
must be allowed to stay his hand. He exists in society dissidents created this extremely radical and violent
only to learn better how to destroy it. faction of the Basque Separatist movement in 1959.
Furthermore, this attitude must extend not only to ETA’s liberation campaign has long been funded by
the members of the society that he loathes but to his crime, including robbery, kidnapping, and extortion. It
fellow revolutionaries as well. He must not hesitate to has resorted to bombings and the murder of govern-
send them to their death if it furthers his cause, and in ment officials and members of political parties to
turn must weigh the cost of rescuing them against their advance its cause. In 1969, several prominent leaders
value to the revolution. Nor should he hesitate to use of the ETA were arrested for their involvement in the
cunning and deceit if these serve his purpose; in short, death of a police chief. One of the ETA’s most well
the revolutionary must be both utterly dedicated and known crimes was the murder of Spanish prime min-
utterly ruthless in attempting to bring about revolution. ister Carrero Blanco in 1973. Blanco’s assassination
Some biographers have asserted that this aspect of was a particular triumph for the ETA as he was also
ruthlessness was far more Nechaev’s contribution than formerly a top-ranking member of the Francisco
Bakunin’s, and does not represent Bakunin’s own rev- Franco administration. Franco was adamantly
olutionary ideology. Nevertheless, it is this aspect that opposed to Basque self-rule, and when he died in
most perfectly encapsulates the tortuous logic of the 1975, the activities of the ETA dramatically increased.
terrorist, whose unshakable belief that he is fighting The members founded their political wing, Herri
against evil leads to the commission of the most terri- Batasuna, in 1978, and also began to target members
ble crimes against humanity. of the People’s Party for assassination.
Overall, the ETA has killed more than 800 people,
See also ANARCHISM; TERRORISM,DEFINITION AND HISTORY OF
including 21 people with a bomb at a supermarket in
Barcelona in 1987. Although cease-fires took place
Further Reading
during peace talks with Spain in 1988, 1995, and
Kelly, Aileen. Mikhail Bakunin: A Study in the Psychology 1998, they were unsuccessful, and in all three cases
and Politics of Utopianism. Oxford, UK: Clarendon, 1982. the violence escalated again.
Masters, Anthony. Bakunin: The Father of Anarchism. A group similar to the ETA that exists mostly in the
New York: Dutton, 1974. French provinces of the Basque region is called
Nechaev, Sergey, and Mikhail Bakunin. Catechism of a Enbata. It offers support to the ETA and sometimes
Revolutionist. 1869. http://spectrum332034.tripod.com/
Texte/1.htm. they coordinate their terrorist attacks. In 2000, the
Sonn, Richard D. Anarchism. New York: Twayne, 1992. Spanish group, Jarrai, and the French group,
Gasteriak, united to form a youthful faction of the
ETA called Haika. They are responsible for an
Banna, Sabri al-. See AL-BANNA, SABRI. increase of terrorist attacks in France. Fifteen mem-
bers of Haika were arrested in March of 2001. Later
that summer, eight members of the ETA were arrested
in Spain, found with a loaded car bomb that was
BASQUE FATHERLAND AND LIBERTY already armed for an attack. The group’s most recent
campaign has been against the tourism industry in
Spain, and the chosen weapon has been the car bomb.
Basque Fatherland and Liberty (Euskadi ta
Askatasuna; ETA), a group of separatists seeking See also BASQUE SEPARATISTS