ETA's motto was Bietan jarrai ("Keep up on both"), referring to the two figures in its symbol, a snake (representing politics) wrapped around an axe (representing armed struggle).[16][17][18] Between 1968 and 2010, ETA killed 829 people (including 340 civilians) and injured more than 22,000.[19][20][21][22] ETA was classified as a terrorist group by France,[23] the United Kingdom,[24] the United States,[25] Canada,[26] and the European Union.[27] This convention was followed by a plurality of domestic and international media, which also referred to the group as terrorists.[28][29][30][31] As of 2019[update], there were more than 260 imprisoned former members of the group in Spain, France, and other countries.[32]
ETA declared ceasefires in 1989, 1996, 1998 and 2006. On 5 September 2010, ETA declared a new ceasefire[33] that remained in force, and on 20 October 2011, ETA announced a "definitive cessation of its armed activity".[34] On 24 November 2012, it was reported that the group was ready to negotiate a "definitive end" to its operations and disband completely.[35] The group announced on 7 April 2017 that it had given up all its weapons and explosives.[36] On 2 May 2018, ETA made public a letter dated 16 April 2018 according to which it had "completely dissolved all its structures and ended its political initiative".[37]
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^Azcona Pastor, José Manuel (2011). "El nacionalismo vasco y la deriva terrorista de ETA.". In Azcona Pastor, José Manuel (ed.). Sociedad del bienestar, vanguardias artísticas, terrorismo y contracultura. Madrid: Dykinson. pp. 220–221.
^Watson, Cameron (2007). Basque Nationalism and Political Violence: The Ideological and Intellectual Origins of ETA. Reno: Center for Basque Studies. p. 15. ISBN978-1-877802-75-1.