BASQUE IN THE SUN Tourists as terrorists’ targets

Press, 1 June 1985, Page 18

BASQUE IN THE SUN Tourists as terrorists’ targets

RONALD PAYNE, of the “Daily Telegraph,” strips the terrorist movement of its bland words and assesses the threat to Spain’s visitors.

When they cannot get something they want, terrorists have a habit of taking out their anger upon harmless bystanders. So it is no accident that, as the high summer season approaches, E.T.A., the Basque terrorist group now threatens European and British holidaymakers in Spain. Already there have been a dozen small explosions on Spanish beaches near well known resorts. Of course, by modern warlike pyrotechnic standards these sandcastle bombs are trivial affairs. But, if the campaign continues, sooner or later somebody will get killed. Naturally the publicity sensitive “urban guerrillas,” as they like to be called, announce through their spokesmen that E.T.A. has no desire to harm foreigners. Their statements are accompanied by one of those pseudo-reasonable arguments that goes like this: “You see, we oppose the wicked and oppressive Spanish Government and intend to strike in the tourist zones because their economy depends upon money brought in by foreign visitors and we intend to stop that. It is a form of

economic warfare, nothing to do with your vacation in the sun.” This is the same explanation offered when the Palestinian groups first went into action as international terrorists. Their equally bland spokesmen explained in the 1970 s that Israeli interests were worldwide and therefore Palestinian fighters were compelled to take action in Europe, they were forced to assault tourists with bomb, bullet and the hijack of aircraft, to discourage them from contributing to the budget of Israel. Just too bad that people looking forward to a peaceful holiday in Israel were thrown into alarm and confusion. Small matter to the P.L.O. that outsiders were killed, that airline captains were shot, and that women and children were held as terrified captives in pirated aircraft. As always it was Colonel Gaddafi of Libya who took this mad logic to its final conclusion. On a famous occasion he gave orders which he had no business to do anyway, to the captain of an Egyptian submarine on loan to

torpedo a British liner bearing thousands of Jews on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. Mercifully the Egyptian commander had the good sense to disobey after consulting his own President. Now that the Basque terrorists have ordered similar though lesser action to place tourists in their sights, the question must be asked, how serious is the threat? To answer it involves consideration of the extent of the E.T.A. terror campaign in Spain itself. The fact is that terrorists often turn their guns on foreigners when they have doubts about their ability to strike effectively at their main target, the Government which opposes their will and thwarts the means to achieve the main aim. The hard-line military wing of E.T.A., which anyway is the rump of the old undivided movement, has by no means been having its own way lately. After years of effort, France has been persuaded to take a less tolerant attitude to Basque terrorists who until recently were able to train and organise their hit teams in the safe haven of south-west France. Thirty leaders were deported, arms dumps were seized and all this gave a boost to the reorganised Spanish security forces and helped them to seal off the Py-

renean border. But the French are still wary. They maintain the theory of “La France pays d’asile” as a sacred tablet of the law and remain reluctant to hand over terrorist leaders who claim they are simply political exiles seeking asylum. For many years, Basque separatists enjoyed a measure of support in Britain as well as in France, partly as an ancient people with an undoubted claim to national cohesion, but mainly because of their dogged resistance to the oppression of General Franco’s fascist regime. But the old Caudillo has been in his grave nine years. Spain is now a fully fledged constitutional monarchy ready to become a Community member. It has made generous political concessions to autonomy which in fact satisfy most reasonable Basque, now content with their own regional Parliament. The Basque language outlawed by Franco has been restored to its rightful position and the brave flag of Ikurrina flies over the province of north-west Spain. If blood be the price of autonomy, they have paid enough. Since E.T.A. first went into action in 1959 more than 500 men and women have been killed. But still the hardliners are not satisfied, for a partial political solution does not suit those who have made terror a way of life.

Targets for the E.T.A. •■!! bombers have included Alicante and Orihuela, far from ; the Basque country and the ’ terrorists’ historic sanctuar- ' ' ies in France. .air They have substituted MarxistLeninist revolution for nationalism 'i' ; and have raised the price so that each concession brings a fresh ■< death toll. That is the message of the beach or, bombs as the terrorists reach out’** for fresh targets to make their flweight felt outside Spain. They still enjoy sentimental support in the Basque country even though they have killed fellow countrymen like •< Lieutenant-Colonel Carlos Diaz, headoftheprovince’sownpolice.They are still a force to be reckoned with. Organisationally they are divided into cells: consisting of mutually supporting “legals” and “illegals.” The so-called legals are those who have no police records, live in Spain or abroad, and in between helping their warlike comrades to plan and execute raids, go about their normal lives. The illegals are those scores, or even hundreds, of wanted men and women living in secret. They collect for, use arms and explosives purchased abroad, notably in Belgium, and smuggled across the Pyrenees or into the ports. Their networks extend to Madrid and the eastern provinces where they get some sympathy from likeminded Catalan nationalists. Many of the operational men have trained abroad with fellow terrorists, including the 1.R.A., in camps in the Middle East. At a former British army camp near Aden, supervised by Arab and East German instructors, they practise the special technique of motorbike murder. They have the men, they have the guns, they have the money too. In spite of all the efforts of Spanish anti-terrorist forces, they are still a group capable of raiding in the Basque country and in Madrid, even though they have failed to destabilise the new democracy. For British holidaymakers going to the Spanish seaside this summer the best reassurance must be that E.T.A. teams operating on the Mediterranean coasts are a long way from their homeland. They cannot count on much support for their beach bomb campaign from local people whose livelihood depends upon the tourist trade. They tried once before, six years ago, and, although they killed some Spaniards, their campaign failed. It is to be hoped that they will fail again.