From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Grupos Antiterroristas de Liberación (GAL,
Antiterrorist Liberation Groups) were death squads established illegally by
officials of the Spanish
government to fight ETA, a
Basque separatist group. They were active from 1983 until 1987,
under PSOE's
cabinets. It was proven by a judicial trial that they were financed
by important officials within the Spanish Interior Ministry. The Spanish daily El Mundo
played an important role revealing the plot with its series on the
matter.
History
GAL operated mainly in the Basque Country, mostly on the French side of the border, but kidnapping and torture were also performed
around Spain. The victims were both members and supporters of ETA,
and often people unassociated with terrorism. The GAL were active from 1983
until 1987, committing 27 killings. This period is often referred
to as part of "La guerra sucia" (The dirty war) in Spanish
history.
The GAL did not have a proper or consistent ideology other than
attacking ETA members or ETA-related targets. In this regard, the
actual perpetrators were never militants in a political sense but
mercenaries, also a few
policemen were convicted of
involvement (Lasa-Zabala case, in which Guardias Civiles were
charged and sentenced [1], Larraetxea
case, etc.).
The kidnapping and later killing of Joxe Antonio Lasa and Joxe
Ignacio Zabala in October 1983 and the kidnapping of Segundo Marey
in 1983, marked the beginning of the group's activities.
Felipe
González, then President of the Government of Spain and
leader of the Socialist Party, was suspected of being involved with
the GAL as a result of the long series of reports by investigative journalism
which the Spanish daily El Mundo and other Spanish media devoted to
the matter. It is claimed that, although González probably knew
about the GAL, he was not brought to trial in order to avoid the
consequent discrediting of Spanish political institutions.
It was also proven during the trials that the policemen
recruiting the mercenaries and the government officials involved in
organising the dirty war also embezzled large amounts of money from
the public funds assigned to the task. Also, payments were made by
the PSOE government to the individuals first jailed, in order to
buy their silence.
The GAL was one of the main issues of the campaign for the elections of 1996 in which Spanish Socialist Workers'
Party (PSOE) was defeated by José
María Aznar's People's Party (PP) for the
first time. Felipe González then resigned as leader
of the party. With the exception of Ricardo García Damborenea, PSOE
leaders have never acknowledged responsibility for the GAL, or have
condemned their crimes verbally. González himself (presumed to be
'Mr. X') has never been charged with a GAL offence, but he has
called publicly for pardons for his former subordinates. PSOE
leaders have campaigned for leniency towards their former
colleagues convicted of crimes associated with GAL and the
succeeding government of José María Aznar granted some pardons to
Socialists convicted of GAL crimes.
After 1987, when the GAL disbanded, the French government adopted a harsher
attitude towards Basque refugees, denying political refugee
status to new applicants, and facilitating extraditions requested by Spanish judges.
This change weakened ETA's veterans. It is believed that the GAL
were a major factor in ensuring ETA's survival into the 1990s and
beyond, helping to preserve the image of an authoritarian state at war with the Basque people.
Chronology
of attacks
- 1983:
- October 17: Kidnapping and assassination of alleged ETA members Joxe
Lasa Arostegi and José Ignacio Zabala. Claimed. Their mutilated
corpses were found in Alicante in
1995. Several Guardia Civiles were eventually sentenced
for this case, though allegations of torture were dismissed.
- October 18: Kidnap attempt in Bayonne of alleged ETA leader José Mari
Larretxea Goñi by four Spanish policemen. The four
agents were arrested by French gendarmes.
- December 4: Kidnapping of Segundo Marey by mercenaries hired by
the Spanish police. They demanded the liberation of the four
policemen arrested for the kidnap attempt on Larraetxea. The
policemen were released on December 8 and Marey on the 13th. S.
Marey was not related to ETA in any way and he was apparently
kidnapped by mistake.
- December 19: Assassination of Ramón Oñaederra, alleged ETA
member, in Bayonne.
- December 29: Assassination of Mikel Goikoetxea, alleged ETA
leader, in Bayonne, by a mercenary sharpshooter.
- 1984:
- February 8: Assassination of Vicente Perurena and Angel
Gurmindo, alleged ETA members, in Bayonne.
- February 25: Assassination by a sharpshooter of Eugenio
Gutiérrez Salazar, alleged ETA member, in Mendi.
- March 1: Assassination of railroad worker Jean Pierre Leyba in
Hendaye.
- March 23: Assassination of Javier Pérez Arenaza, alleged ETA
leader, in Biarritz.
- March (unclear date): Assassination attempt on Ramón Basañez
Jauregi, alleged ETA member, in Bayonne. He was gravely injured but
survived.
- May 3: Assassination of Rafael Goikoetxea, alleged ETA member,
in Baigorri. His companion Jesús Zugarramurdi
is injured.
- May 26: Kidnapping and torture of Rafael and Endika Lorenzo,
members of the Anti-Nuclear Committees in Algorta (Getxo, Biscay).
- June 15: Assassination of Tomás Pérez Revilla, alleged ETA
member, by a bomb hidden in a motorcycle in Biarritz.
His companion Ramón Orbe is injured.
- July 10: Bomb attack against the tavern Consolation.
Three people are injured: José Oliva Gallastegi, Bonifacio García
and Juan Jauregi Aurria.
- November 18: Assassination of dancer Christian Olaskoaga in Biriatou. He was not known to
have connections with ETA.
- November 20: Assassination of Santiago Brouard, leader of HASI in his own
medical practice in Bilbao.
- December 11: Attack on José Iradier in Hendaye, injured.
- 1985:
- February 1: Attack on Xabier Manterola, leader of Herri
Taldeak, injured.
- February 5: Bomb attack against Christian Casteigts in Bayonne,
injured. He was not known to have connections with ETA.
- March 29: Attack on Les Pyreneés tavern in Bayonne.
Benoit Pecasteing, Jean Marc Mutio and Pedro José Pikabea were
injured, Benoit fatally. Pikabea allegedly was member of ETA.
- March 30: Assassination of photographer journalist Xabier
Galdeano in Saint-Jean-de-Luz.
- June 26: Assassination of Santos Blanco González, alleged ETA
member, in Bayonne.
- June (unclear date): Attack on the Trinkete tavern in
Ciboure: Emile Weiss and
Claude Doer are killed. They were not known to have connections
with ETA.
- August 31: Assassination of Dominique Labeyrie in St. Jean de
Luz. He was not known to have connections with ETA.
- September 2: Assassination of Juan Manuel Otegi, alleged ETA
member, in Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port.
- September 25: Attack on the Monbar hotel in Bayonne. José Mari
Etxaniz, Iñaki Asteazu Izarra, Agustín Irazustabarrena and Sabin
Etxaide Ibarguren, alleged ETA members, are killed.
- December 24: Robert Caplanne is fatally injured in Biarritz. He
died on January 6. He was not known to have connections with
ETA.
- 1986:
- February 8: Attack on the Batxoki tavern. Karmele
Martínez, Federick Haramboure and a young girl Nagore Otegui are
injured.
- February 17: Assassination of Christophe Matxikote and
Catherine Brion. They had no connection with ETA. Not claimed by
GAL.
- 1987:
- July 24: Assassination of Juan Carlos García Goena, again
totally unconnected with ETA. The attack was not claimed by GAL.
The arrested mercenaries, who performed it, accused GAL of ordering
it.
Convicted
GAL members
The actual attacks were carried by members of the Spanish Policía
Nacional or, most frequently, by Portuguese or French mercenaries.
The convicted members of GAL's leadership are:
- José Barrionuevo Peña, Homeland minister in PSOE's cabinets
from 1982-88.
- Rafael Vera, director for the Security of the State.
- Ricardo García Damborenea, secretary general of PSE-PSOE in
Biscay.
- Francisco Álvarez, Antiterrorist Fight Czar.
- Miguel Planchuelo, chief for the Police Information Brigade of
Bilbao.
- José Amedo Fouce, police chief.
- Julián Sancristóbal, gobernador civil (delegate of the
Spanish government) in Biscay.
- General (then Colonel) Emilio Rodríguez Galindo, chief of the
Guardia Civil headquarters at Intxaurrondo
Similar
groups
Members of Batasuna
gave the name "Green GAL" to a group of the Guardia Civil (who wear green uniforms)
based in the Intxaurrondo barracks at San Sebastián, because Batasuna allege that they
would attack ETA members illegally.
See also
Books
- Dirty War, Clean Hands -- ETA, the GAL and Spanish
Democracy by Paddy Woodworth - ISBN 0-300-09750-6
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