MADRID: Leaders of Basque separatist militant group ETA are asking its members to vote on whether it should dismantle itself completely by the summer, it said in a statement in newspaper Gara.
ETA, which killed more than 850 people during a campaign to carve out an independent state in northern Spain and southwest France, is practically inactive after it handed over arms in April to end nearly half a century of separatist violence.
With the help of mediators, it led French authorities to caches of weapons, explosives and ammunition. It had declared a cease-fire in 2011.
The dissolution vote follows months of internal debate, said Gara, a Basque regional newspaper though which ETA usually releases its statements. Most of the group’s members are serving time in prison.
“The end of the cycle is increasingly evident, and as a result of decisions that were made, it has already occurred to a great extent,” the statement said, without making clear how a definitive dissolution would be carried out.
Spanish Interior Minister Juan Ignacio Zoido said on Thursday in a Twitter post that statements were not enough, and he called on ETA to dissolve completely and apologize to victims.
Spain, a country of strong regional identities, is currently grappling with a peaceful separatist movement in Catalonia, which has divided the northeastern region and triggered one of the country’s worst political crises since the end of General Francisco Franco’s dictatorship in 1975.
ETA (Euskadi Ta Askatasuna — Basque Country and Freedom) was founded in 1959 out of anger among Basques at political and cultural repression under Franco.
The group gained notoriety as one of Europe’s most deadly separatist groups. Its first known victim was a secret police chief in San Sebastian in 1968 and its last a French policeman shot in 2010.
It became gradually weaker over the past decade after hundreds of its members were arrested and weapons seized in joint Spanish and French operations.
Basque separatist group ETA to vote on full dissolution by summer
Basque separatist group ETA to vote on full dissolution by summer
Bangladeshi politicians hold rallies as campaigning begins for first post-Hasina election
- Feb. 12 polls will decide on proposed political reforms, bring in new leadership
- Nearly 128m of Bangladesh’s 170m population are eligible to vote
DHAKA: Bangladeshi politicians held election rallies across the country on Friday, as campaigning began for the hugely anticipated polls in February, the first since the 2024 uprising that ousted longtime Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
Bangladesh will hold general elections on Feb. 12, and the two main parties contesting it, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party and Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami, kicked off campaigning with tens of thousands of supporters on Thursday in the northern city of Sylhet and the capital Dhaka, respectively.
Nearly 128 million of Bangladesh’s 170 million population are eligible to vote in polls that will decide on proposed political reforms and bring in new leadership after prolonged political turmoil that followed Hasina’s ouster, reshaping domestic and regional dynamics.
“We want to build a Bangladesh that is free from corruption, terrorism and extortion. Our dream is to build a Bangladesh where the grassroot-level working class people also can live with their rights, the women can move freely, (and) the youths will get enough employment opportunities,” Jamaat’s spokesperson Ahsanul Mahboob Zubair told Arab News on Friday.
“We are expecting a beautiful and safe Bangladesh following the election next month. We want a free and fair election environment where people would be able to exercise their voting rights without any fear.”
After it was crushed during Hasina’s 15 years in power, Jamaat-e-Islami is leading a 10-party alliance that includes the National Citizen Party, formed by student leaders who spearheaded the uprising.
NCP’s Nahid Islam launched their campaign urging voters to “carry forward the progress of reform.”
Tarique Rahman, BNP chairman and son of the late former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, is widely seen as a leading contender for prime minister. He has vowed to create jobs for “millions of unemployed youth” and support women’s economic independence.
More than 1,800 candidates are contesting for around 300 seats in the Bangladeshi parliament in the upcoming polls, which the country’s interim leader Muhammad Yunus said will be a benchmark for future votes.
“It will be a festive election. It will set the standard for good elections in the future. Let’s keep our fingers crossed,” Yunus said during a meeting with US Ambassador to Bangladesh Brent Christensen, his office said on Friday.
Yunus, the 85-year-old Nobel Peace Prize laureate who has led Bangladesh’s caretaker government since August 2024, will step down after the polls.
The 2024 mass uprising that forced Hasina to resign from office and flee to India began in early July as peaceful student demonstrations, triggered by the reinstatement of a quota system for the allocation of civil service positions.
Two weeks later, they were met with a communications blackout and a violent crackdown by security forces.
A special tribunal in Dhaka found Hasina guilty of allowing lethal force to be used against the protesters, at least 1,400 people of whom died, according to estimates from the UN’s Human Rights Office.
After a months-long trial, she was sentenced to death in absentia in November for crimes against humanity.
The Yunus-led administration has banned all activities of Hasina’s Awami League, meaning the former ruling party is prohibited from joining the race.
Bangladesh last held elections in January 2024, which saw Hasina return to office for a fourth consecutive term. That vote was boycotted by the country’s main opposition parties, which accused her administration of rigging the polls.
This time around, the start of election campaigns has brought an air of festivity across Bangladesh, as people find themselves brimming with hope for the future.
“Voters couldn’t exercise their voting rights for the last 17 years,” said Iqbal Hasan Mahmud Tuku, a seasoned BNP politician who is running to represent Sirajganj district.
“Naturally, people are very excited about voting in the next election. As the times have changed, people want to see change.”
Omor Fayaz Tamim, an anthropology student in Dhaka, is hoping to see a “sustainable and citizen-friendly” development in Bangladesh after the upcoming election.
“From witnessing systematic alienation from politics to being propelled into the fight for our rights in July, a (new) hope brews within (us) to be a part of a better Bangladesh,” he told Arab News.
This year marks a first for festivities surrounding the election for many Bangladeshis, especially the youth.
“I have never seen the festivities of the Bangladeshi election before because of the dummy elections arranged before. So, it’s definitely something new to our generation … I am optimistic about voting this year,” 24-year-old Ashraful Alam Khan told Arab News.
Malaika Nur, another student in the Bangladeshi capital, is hoping to see the festive energy continue until voting day.
“I hope the next government will restore peace and security for the people,” she said.
“It will ensure democracy and integrity in all sectors. It will make plans that benefit the nation. It will not oppress people who are just demanding rights.”
