Who would you believe? Not Chavez, that's for sure!

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez denied an allegation that his government helped train Basque separatists trying to create an independent state. The allegations surfaced Monday, when Spanish media reported that two captured members of the outlawed Basque separatist organization known as ETA told authorities they had received arms training in Venezuela in 2008. Juan Carlos Besance and Xabier Atristain, members of an ETA cell known as Imanol, were arrested September 29.

And a Spanish judge said in March that the Venezuelan government facilitated a long-time cooperation between leftist rebels in Colombia and ETA. Chavez called the accusations a "broken record." "There's a permanent conspiracy against the true democratic processes," Chavez said Monday night on the state-run VTV network. Yes, Mr Chavez, the conspiracy is dircted by you!

El Pais and El Mundo newspapers and other Spanish news outlets reported Monday that Besance and Atristain said they met in Venezuela with Arturo Cubillas Fontan. A Spanish High Court indictment this year alleges that Cubillas has been ETA's leader in Venezuela since 1999 -- in charge of the separatist group's relations with the Colombian rebels known as the FARC. Cubillas became an official in Venezuela's Ministry of Agriculture in 2005, the indictment says.

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Basque separatist warns of IRA-type split within ETA

ETA hardliners could form a new more violent offshoot, similar to the Real IRA, a separatist leader warned Monday, as Madrid snubbed a call by the outlawed Basque group for international mediation. ETA, blamed for 829 deaths in a flagging campaign of bombings and shootings to secure an independent Basque homeland, on Sunday called on international mediators to help resolve the decades-old conflict. That followed a September 5 video declaration in which it said it had decided several months ago to halt armed offensive actions. But the ceasefire was rejected outright by Madrid for failing to promise a permanent end to the violence. The government also Monday dismissed the latest proposal, with Deputy Prime Minister Maria Teresa Fernandez de la Vega saying it contained "nothing new." "ETA knows that the only thing that has any value is the definitive and complete end to violence and arms," she said.

Patxi Zabaleta, the head of non-violent Basque separatist group Aralar, said ETA must agree to "unilaterally end (violence), verifiably and without any political benefits. "That is what we are hoping for. But there remains the risk of a split (within ETA), similar to the Real IRA," he told the newspaper El Pais. The Real IRA (Irish Republican Army) split from the Provisional IRA -- once the main Catholic militant organisation opposed to British rule in Northern Ireland -- in 1997 over the latter's support for a peace drive. Some ETA fighters who favour a continuation of the campaign of violence could form splinter group like "that of the Real IRA, marginalised and ineffective," Zabaleta said. ETA's political wing Batasuna, with which he had met three times recently, was determined to work for "the end of violence," as it has indicated since early this year, he added. Batasuna wanted to "move forward on this path," and if that was not possible "there would be a break-up" between Batasuna and ETA.

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Basque separatist group Eta 'declares ceasefire'

Armed Basque separatist group Eta says it will not "carry out armed actions" in its campaign for independence. In a video obtained exclusively by the BBC, the group said it took the decision several months ago "to put in motion a democratic process". The Basque interior minister called the statement "insufficient". Madrid has previously insisted that Eta renounce violence and disarm before any talks.

Eta's violent campaign has led to more than 820 deaths over the past 40 years. It has called two ceasefires in the past, but abandoned them both. This latest announcement comes after the arrests of numerous Eta leaders and during an unprecedented period of debate within the Basque nationalist community over the future direction of policy, says the BBC's Clive Myrie in San Sebastian. Eta has been coming under increasing pressure to lay down its weapons.

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Hugo Chávez 'terrorist link' sparks diplomatic row between Spain and Venezuela

A Spanish judge yesterday accused the government of president Hugo Chavez in Venezuela of involvement with the Basque terrorist group ETA, sparking a diplomatic row between the two countries. The allegations, made in a court document by investigating magistrate Eloy Velasco, said that the Chávez government had acted as an intermediary between Eta and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) guerrilla group. "There is evidence in this case which shows the Venezuelan government's co-operation in the illegal association between FARC and ETA," the magistrate said as he issued international arrest warrants for six alleged Eta members and seven Colombians believed to be members of FARC.

• "Profile: Hugo Chavez", BBC News, 12/5/02.
• "Basque Fatherland and Liberty (ETA), Council on Foreign Affairs, 11/17/08.
  
• "Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), Global Security, 6/25/08

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France arrests three major ETA suspects

French police have arrested three men suspected of being members of Eta, the Basque separatist group, and seized bomb-making materials. Alfredo Perez Rubalcaba, Spain's interior minister, said the trio were all "top members of the military apparatus" of Eta, responsible for "supplying arms, ammunition and explosives" to fighters.

Police found weapons, fake identity papers and computers in a dawn raid on an flat in the Alpine resort of Corbier-Villarembert on Wednesday. Rubalcaba said police also uncovered about 20 explosive devices and 42 detonators, and an additional stash of similar material at a hideout in Ferrieres, about 40km from the Spanish border.

He named one of the detained as Alberto Machain Beraza, who has been on a wanted list since a bomb attack last month on the Spanish island of Mallorca in which two police officers died. The other two were named as Andoni Sarasola and Aitzol Etxaburu. The Spanish authorities believe Etxaburu has ties with Mikel de Garikoitz Aspiazu, a suspected Eta chief arrested in November in France.

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ETA Stepping Up Bombing Campaign in Spain

There have been three bomb explosions on the Spanish island of Majorca, following a warning purported to be from the Basque separatist group, Eta. Officials say the first bomb went off in a beachfront bar and restaurant in Palma de Majorca. No-one was injured.

Two further blasts occurred at another nearby restaurant and in a town square. No injuries were reported. Eta earlier admitted responsibility for a bomb attack in Majorca last month which killed two Civil Guard officers.

On Sunday, the first bomb exploded in the toilet of a bar-restaurant called La Rigoletta, in the Paseo del Portitxol, in front of a beach called Can Pere Antoni, officials said. They said the device was small and there were no injuries. Everyone had been evacuated from the restaurant and the area was later sealed off by police.

No details have been released about the second bomb blast, but reports in the Spanish media suggest it was a controlled explosion carried out by the police.

Comment:

ETA seem to be attempting to raise their profile once more, perhaps to celebrate the 50th anniversary of their founding. They originally came into being to fight against General Franco's fascist government who especially targeted the Basque people. Despite being hit hard by arrests, ETA appear to be trying to make a statement that they are still relevant.

Source:

• "Bomb Blasts Hit Spain's Majorca", BBC News, 8/9/09.
• "Who are ETA", BBC News, 8/9/09.

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ETA Blamed For Separate Bomb Attacks in Spain

The Basque separatist terror group ETA has been blamed for two separate bombings in Spain in the last 48 hours. If this is true, it is especially startling considering that they have suffered a number of major setbacks in the last few years. Three of their military commanders were arrested by Spanish authorities in an eight month period during 2008, inflicting a major blow on the organization. ETA, which is pronounced "etta," is a leftist group that conducts terrorist attacks to win independence for a Basque state in northern Spain and southwestern France. ETA stands for Euskadi ta Askatasuna, which means “Basque Fatherland and Liberty” in the Basque language.

Steve Kingstone, BBC News Madrid correspondent, wrote"This attack is a sobering reminder of ETA's potency, to politicians and commentators who had previously portrayed the group as weakened following a series of high-profile arrests. Those arrests certainly dented ETA's leadership structure, but this attack demonstrates that other militants are willing to step into the shoes of those now in jail. And the quantity of explosives used - almost 300kg, according to Spanish reports - makes clear that the group still has the potential to inflict violence on a large scale. The catalyst for this bombing was the exclusion of separatist parties from regional elections in March. ETA branded the vote "undemocratic," and described members of the resulting Socialist administration as a "priority target." The Socialists ended almost three decades of rule by the Basque Nationalist Party, and have promised renewed vigour in tackling the militants."

• "Spain mourns as Eta mark founding", al Jazeera, 7/31/09.
  
• "Travel Chaos After Mallorca Bomb", BBC News, 7/30/09.
  
• "Spanish Barracks Hit By Car Bomb", BBC News, 7/29/09.
• "Basque Fatherland and Liberty", Council for Foreign Relations, 11/17/08.
• "The End of ETA?" Harvard International Review.
  

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