A glance at Basque militant group ETA, its goals (AP)

A glance at the armed Basque separatist group ETA and its conflict with Spain.

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HISTORY ? ETA was formed in 1959 during the right-wing dictatorship of Gen. Francisco Franco. Its name is a Basque-language acronym for Euskadi Ta Askatasuna, meaning Basque Homeland and Freedom.

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AIMS ? The group wants to create an independent state made up of Basque areas in northern Spain and southwestern France and parts of the northern Spanish region of Navarra. Many people in those areas speak Basque.

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VIOLENCE ? On Thursday, ETA issued a statement saying it is ending its armed campaign for independence and called on Spain and France to open talks. After initially seeking its goals through political means, ETA began to resort to violence, mainly car bombs and point-blank shootings. Its first killing was in 1968. ETA is blamed for 829 deaths. The group's last deadly attack in Spain was a July 2009 car bomb that killed two policemen on the Mediterranean island of Mallorca.

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CEASE-FIRES ? ETA has announced 11 cease-fires over the years. It declared its latest in September 2010 and went further in January 2011 by saying it was permanent and verifiable by the international community. Spain's government rejected the announcement and reiterated its demand that the group simply dissolve. ETA had also declared a permanent cease-fire in March 2006, but negotiations with the government went nowhere and the group set off a car bomb at a parking garage of Madrid's airport in December of that year, killing two people who were sleeping in cars.

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POLITICAL SUPPORT ? Spain began to ban political parties linked to ETA in 2003, but this year a party with links to the group was allowed to field candidates in local elections on renouncing violence. Previously, political groups linked to ETA, such as Batasuna, used to garner around 12 percent of votes in regional elections.

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MEMBERS ? During the 1970s and early 1980s, ETA was estimated to have had around 1,000 members, out of a regional population of some 2 million. In the 1990s, France stepped up cooperation with Spain in chasing down ETA militants who had traditionally sought refuge there. Authorities claim the group has been reduced to a handful of commandoes with two to three members each.

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PRISONERS ? There are now 700 ETA prisoners, including about 550 in Spain. Basques regularly stage protests to demand that the prisoners in Spain be jailed closer to home.

(This version corrects that cease-fire made permanent in January, number of prisoners to 700.)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/europe/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111020/ap_on_re_eu/eu_spain_basques_glance

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