Impacts
Impact on Neighboring Community
Spain and France has been impacted politically and in the military aspect.
France has been used as a base by ETA and many arrests have taken place there as well. One of which includes the arrest of Garikoitz Aspiazu Rubina, the suspected military head of ETA in November 2008 by the French police.
Many riots also occurred in Spain. ETA had kidnapped, Miguel Angel Blanco, a local councillor for the ruling Popular Party in the Basque region. The ETA group demanded that “as a prerequisite for his release, its 460 prisoners who were held in jails all over Spain be returned to the Basque region.” However, the demand was not met. Thus, Blanco was shot twice in the head and later died in the hospital. Because of this horrifying act, more than 6 million Spanish people took over the streets for over 4 days to demand an end to ETA’s violence.
This image depicts Izaskun Lesaka, the ETA terrorist leader, being arrested by French police.
Impact on the International Community
There have been international attempts to solve this conflict. An example is the Swiss government. The Swiss government was able to create the only official meeting between the Basques and the Spanish government.
Another impact the Basque conflict has had on the international community, is influencing them to find solutions to similar problems over identity and sovereignty all over the world.
Lastly, the Basque conflict can have an impact on the rest of the international community if it finds a way to use shared sovereignty as a solution. If this concept is used, it would lead to a solution for similar problems all over the world.
The above painting was created by Pablo Picasso. It is titled “Guernica” and it depicts the horror of numerous disfigured bodies. It shows how the Basque conflict began. This painting helped bring the world's attention to the Spanish Civil War.