ETA, one of Western Europe's last terrorist groups, is rumored
to be weakening as a split forms between those who call for
violent resistance and those who advocate negotiation. The
November 2008 arrest of the group's alleged military leader,
Garikoitz Aspiazu Rubina, may help swing the group away from
violent tactics. Spain has historically resisted ETA and the
idea of an independent Basque homeland. In November 2008, left-
leaning political party Eusko Alkartasuna (EA), which had
previously belonged to a coalition affiliated with ETA,
announced it will run in regional elections in March 2009. This,
experts say, could restart the integration of the group into the
political process. ETA's violent past, however, keeps it
designated as a terrorist organization by the United States,
European Union, and United Nations. What is ETA? 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 Eusk