Basque conflict

Basque conflict
Part of the European separatist movements in the Basque Country
Clockwise, starting at top left: ETA members at the 2006 Gudari Eguna in Oiartzun, Gipuzkoa; the Madrid Airport bombing; a demonstration against ETA in Madrid; pro-ETA graffiti in Pasaia.
Date 31 July 1959 – 20 October 2011 (1959-07-31 – 2011-10-20) (52 years, 2 months, 2 weeks and 6 days)[3] Location Greater Basque Country (Spain, France) Result Spanish and French government victory 2011: ETA declares definitive cessation of its armed activity 2017: ETA completely disarms 2018: ETA completely dissolves
Belligerents
Spain Ertzaintza National Police Corps Spanish Army Civil Guard Armed Police Corps Anti-Terrorist Liberation Groups (1983–1987)[1][2]  France National Gendarmerie National Police	Anti-communist paramilitaries: Spanish Basque Battalion (1975–1981) Anti-Communist Apostolic Alliance (1976–1983) Spanish Armed Groups (1979–1980) Warriors of Christ the King (1968–1980) Spanish National Action (unknown) ETA Anti-Terrorism (1970s) Anti-Marxist Commandos (unknown) Falange y Tradición (2009)	Basque National Liberation Movement: Euskadi Ta Askatasuna Iparretarrak (1972–2000) Iraultza (1982–1996) Autonomous Anti-Capitalist Commandos (late 1970s–1980s) Irrintzi (2005–2009) Kale borroka Hordago (1980s) Euskal Zuzentasuna (1977–1979) Supported by: Provisional IRA (IRA)
Casualties and losses
387 Spanish law enforcement agents killed 98 off-duty Spanish soldiers killed 1 French policeman killed[4] 343 civilians killed by ETA (including 23 minors)[4] 2,400 wounded and 1,294 permanently incapacitated[5]	Total number of casualties is unknown	140 militants killed by law enforcement agencies 101 killed in a number of criminal cases involving various parties 44 killed due to their own explosives [5] 4,250 wounded[5] c. 30,000 arrested[5]
Total number of casualties is disputed (see Casualties)

The Basque conflict, also known as the Spain–ETA conflict, was an armed and political conflict from 1959 to 2011 between Spain and the Basque National Liberation Movement, a group of social and political Basque organizations which sought independence from Spain and France. The movement was built around the separatist organization ETA,^[6][7] which had launched a campaign of attacks against Spanish administrations since 1959. ETA had been proscribed as a terrorist organization by the Spanish, British,^[8] French^[9] and American^[10] authorities at different moments. The conflict took place mostly on Spanish soil, although to a smaller degree it was also present in France, which was primarily used as a safe haven by ETA members. It was the longest running violent conflict in modern Western Europe.^[11] It has been sometimes referred to as "Europe's longest war".^[12]

The terminology is controversial.^[13] "Basque conflict" is preferred by Basque nationalist groups, including those opposed to ETA violence.^[14] Others, including a number of Basque academics and historians commissioned to draft a report on the subject by the Basque government,^[15][14] reject the term, seeing it as legitimate state agencies fighting a terrorist group which had been responsible for the vast majority of deaths.^[16][17]

The conflict had both political and military dimensions. Its participants included politicians and political activists on both sides, the abertzale left (Basque nationalist left) and the Spanish government, and the security forces of Spain and France fighting against ETA and other small organizations, usually involved in the kale borroka (Basque youth guerrilla violence). Far-right paramilitary groups fighting against ETA were also active in the 1970s and 1980s.

Although the debate on Basque independence started in the 19th century, the armed conflict did not start until ETA was created in 1959. From 1959 until the conflict ended in 2011, more than 1,000 people were killed, including police, security officers, members of the armed forces, Spanish politicians, journalists, civilians and some ETA members. Thousands of people were injured, dozens kidnapped, with a disputed number of people going into exile, either to flee from the violence or to avoid apprehension by the authorities.^[5][18]

On 20 October 2011, ETA announced a "definitive cessation of its armed activity".^[19][20] Spanish premier José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero described the move as "a victory for democracy, law and reason".^[20]