Elizabeth A. Conger
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe
PARIS, France – On Tuesday, March 23, 2010, French President Nicolas Sarkozy announced plans to eradicate all Eta bases in France. The remarks were made as Sarkozy attended the funeral of French police officer Jean-Serge Nérin, who was killed by alleged Eta members last week. Sarkozy was joined by Spanish Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero at the ceremony, which took place in Melun, south-east of Paris. Sarkozy said:
“We will eradicate, one by one, all Eta bases in France. We will flush them out one by one. We will dismantle all of the support networks of this terrorist organization.”
Nérin, a fifty two-year-old father of four, was killed near Paris in an exchange of fire with Eta members. Sarkozy stated that the killing would not go unpunished, and the French police force would be “completely mobilized” in its efforts to arrest the gunmen.
The shootout, which took place in Dammarie-lès-Lys, a municipality in the south-eastern suburbs of Paris, began after police apprehended individuals suspected of stealing automobiles. One person at the shootout, an unidentified twenty seven-year-old man, has already been arrested in connection with Nérin’s death, and the police are still searching for five others.
French police have frequently arrested Eta suspects in south-west France, and Eta’s suspected military leader, Ibon Gogeascotxea, was arrested in Normandy last month with two other terrorist suspects. The suspects, driving a car with false license plates, were detained in a joint French-Spanish sting near the village of Cahan.
Although Eta has used bases in France during much of its existence, Nérin is the first French police officer to be killed by Eta. Sarkozy said:
“This crime will not go unpunished . . . France, more than ever, stands side by side with democratic Spain . . . We will not allow French territory to serve as a base for terrorists and assassins.”
Eta is believed to be responsible for more than 800 deaths since the late 1960’s. The Basque separatist group has engaged in acts of violence in the effort to acheive an independent Basque state. Classified as a terrorist organization by the United States, Eta resumed attacks in June of 2007 after a fifteen month truce ended.
Eta released a statement earlier this week indicating that it was willing to take steps towards politice change in the Basque region, but did not call for an end to the armed struggle.
For more information, please see:
BBC – Sarkozy says France to ‘eradicate’ Eta bases – 23 March 2010
Irishtimes.com – Sarkozy pledges to eradicate Eta as policeman buried – 23 March 2010
Radio France Internationale – Sarkozy vows to eradicate Eta bases in France – 23 March 2010
