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ETA begins
ETA was founded during the dictatorship of Franco (1939-1975), by a group of young students from Euskadi, who wanted their region to become independent. Nationalism and being opposed the government were two of the reasons why this group was followed by many people. Even though the group only began by expressing their political opinion, it later caused the lives of hundreds of innocent people. Since 1970 ETA has committed more than 700 attacks and has killed over 857 people. -
ETA's attack on special corps' headquarters (Vic, Barcelona)
ETA crashed a car full of bombs against a special corps' headquarters in Vic, Barcelona. This attack caused ten deaths, and out of those ten, five were children. ETA chose this little town in Barcelona because some of the events of the upcoming olympics were going to be held there.ETA wanted to cause panic internationally, and also scare the Spanish government once again. -
"Colateral damage"
ETA set a bomb in the car of a young woman that worked making passports. This woman was not a police officer, but in order to make a statement, ETA attacked her. In this attack her daughters where also hurt, they were "colateral damage," as some members of ETA say. This attack was important in the history of ETA because it showed how they didn't have limits, they killed children too. This event made people realize of the true danger that ETA imposed in their country. -
Kidnapping of Jose Antonia Ortega Lara
Ortega Lara, a regular prison guard, was kidnapped by ETA. He was taken to a hideout that measured 5ft11'' tall and 7ft10'' wide, where he stayed for 532 days. ETA kidnapped Lara in order to negotiate with the government; however, the government decided not to negotiate since they knew ETA was never going to stop. This kidnap was the longest in the history of this terrorist group, and even when the kidnappers were captured and taken by the police, they stayed quiet to make more of a statement. -
ETA declares peace
On October 20th 2011, after more than 50 years of action, ETA declared peace and put an end to the fear. In order to declare full peace, ETA asked for the government's help with different proposals. They wanted things such as forgiveness and help to the wounded. Even though the government didn't do exactly as ETA asked, they did help in some ways. This deal between the government and ETA created a new revolution among the people of Spain.