‘We sincerely regret it’: Basque separatist group ETA apologises for its violent tactics
At least 829 people were killed before the group announced a permanent ceasefire in 2011
The Basque separatist group ETA apologised on Friday for the “pain” and “harm” it caused during its decades-long campaign of violence, and appealed to its victims for forgiveness.
“We have caused a lot of pain, and irreparable harm. We want to show our respect to the dead, to the wounded and to the victims of the actions of ETA … We sincerely regret it,” it said in a statement released in the Basque newspaper Gara.
The statement came just days before ETA is expected to announce its dissolution.
“We know that, forced by the necessities of all types of armed struggle, our actions have harmed citizens who were not responsible. We have also caused serious wrongs which are irreparable. We ask forgiveness to those people and their families,” it said.
ETA waged a nearly four-decade campaign of bombings and shootings to establish an independent Basque state in northern Spain and southern France.
We have also caused serious wrongs which are irreparable. We ask forgiveness to those people and their families
At least 829 people were killed before the group announced a permanent ceasefire in 2011.