I just got finished reading about how there has beenyet another arrest of an ETA top officials.

The serial arrests of ETA’s military chiefs may be even better news in the long term. The four captured over the past year apparently belonged to a hardline faction that pushed for an end to ETA’s ceasefire two years ago. Now there are signs that the peaceniks have regained control. Josu Urrutikoetxea, a veteran who took part in talks during the ceasefire, is said to be back near the top. Arnaldo Otegi, who has served time in jail for terrorist offences, has reappeared as a spokesman for ETA’s political arm. He is said to want a negotiated end to four decades of violence.

I honestly don’t know too much about the Basque/ETA conflict in the Spain region. I know through subcomandante Marcos that it is essentially a conflict over land–and that conflicts over land these days tend to wind up with “government” being “right” and those it’s stealing land from being “terrorists” (witness the recent Somalian “pirate” conflict). But I also know that far too often organizations engaged in violent resistance are beyond highly problematic for the women, disabled folks, queers and other marginalized people of the communities they are from.

So, I’ve been reading about the history of ETA–and as usual, when it comes to far too many factions and organizations that have a valid critique of the concept of the “nation/state”–it is a confusing, long, violent, and far too male centered history.

It reminded me a lot of FARC, an organization that may be rooted in ideals that I can support, but in practice, has become just as mercenary, if not more so, than the nation/state they hope to overthrow. I don’t know if ETA is totally mercenary (it seems like there is at least a faction of ETA that is trying to prioritize the needs of the community rather than the organization), but it sure does seem to have some big problems.

I’m interested in hearing from others who know more about this than I do. What do you know about ETA? Am I wrong in my conclusions? I don’t need a history lesson (unless you’re willing to offer one!) but I would really like to hear about these arrests from somebody who knows more about Basque/ETA than I do!