Endgame for ETA: Elusive Peace in the Basque Country

437 Pages·2014·2.35 MB·English

by  Teresa Whitfield

ENDGAME FOR ETA
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TERESA WHITFIELD
Endgame for ETA
Elusive Peace in the Basque Country
El ojo que ves no es
ojo porque tú lo veas;
es ojo porque te ve.
The eye you see is not
an eye because you see it.
It is an eye because it sees you.
Antonio Machado
March 2014
Teresa Whitfield
A
A
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Copyright © 2014 Teresa Whitfield
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Whitfield, Teresa.
Endgame for ETA : elusive peace in the Basque Country / Teresa Whitfield.
pages cm
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-19-938754-0 (alk. paper)
1. ETA (Organization) 2. Terrorism—Spain. I. Title.
HV6433.S72E8586 2014
363.3250946’6—dc23
2014004957
Printed in the USA on Acid-Free Paper
For Jason, Isabel, and Harry
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CONTENTS
Acknowledgements xi
Glossary of Individuals and Organisations xiii
Timeline xxvii
Introduction 1
How can this be? 4
Why the Basques? 8
Terrorism, conflict and the Basque case 16
1. The Basque problem and ETA 23
In Euskadi 25
The shadow of violence 28
The emergence of Basque nationalism 33
Civil War and Franco 36
ETA takes shape 40
A contested transition 44
2. Violence, terror and talking 51
Contacts and killing 53
The Socialists and the GAL 57
ETA and its world 61
The ‘two souls’ of the PNV 67
Conversations in Algiers 70
Turning point 74
3. Aznar, counter-terrorism and Estella-Lizarra 79
Pursuing the defeat of ETA 81
From Northern Ireland to Estella-Lizarra 86
The ceasefire and beyond 91
vii
CONTENTS
Aznar’s offensive and 9/11 96
‘All of the law’ and the banning of Batasuna 100
4. The Basque crisis: looking for a way out 107
Beyond impasse 109
The Ibarretxe Plan 114
‘Basquist’ socialism and the Txillare channel 118
The great taboo 122
Outsiders venture in 128
5. Zapatero’s moment 133
A second transition? 135
Towards Anoeta 140
Green light and broken bridges 146
In Geneva and Oslo 150
To a ‘permanent’ ceasefire 155
6. Th e ceasefire unravels 159
The shadow of Northern Ireland 161
Off to a shaky start 165
Failure to launch 169
The political track 173
Oslo, Barajas and bust 177
Limping forward 181
7. Aftermath 187
Post mortem 189
Terror and counter-terror, again 193
‘Thou shalt not negotiate’ 198
Batasuna digs in 201
International dimensions 207
8. L eaving violence behind 213
Zutik (Stand up) Euskal Herria 215
Inching forwards 220
Hesitation and resistance 225
Have we all gone mad? 229
Crossing the Rubicon 234
9. Virtual peacemaking 241
Winners and losers 243
Towards endgame 248
viii
CONTENTS
ETA and its prisoners 254
Aiete 256
The definitive end to armed activity 262
10. Unfinished business 265
Rajoy’s Spain, and ETA 267
‘What do they all think they are doing here?’ 271
The prisoners as touchstone 275
Coexistence and ‘el relato’ 280
‘Normal politics’ and the challenge of an orderly end 286
Conclusion: What can we learn from the Basque case? 293
ETA’s not-quite end 295
The long road to peace 298
Endgame and its lessons 303
Notes 321
Selected Bibliography 375
Index 379
ix