| Press Statement Richard Boucher, Spokesman Washington, DC May 7, 2003 Designation of Batasuna, Euskal Herritarrok and Herri Batasuna under Executive Order 13224Today the Secretary of State is amending the designation, under Executive Order 13224 on terrorism financing, of Basque Fatherland and Liberty, known as ETA, to add the group Batasuna and its two predecessor groups, Euskal Herritarrok and Herri Batasuna.
The Secretary of State designated ETA in 2001 pursuant to section 1(b) of Executive Order 13224, which as amended authorizes the Secretary to designate foreign entities and individuals that he determines -- in consultation with the Secretary of the Treasury, the Attorney General and the Secretary of Homeland Security -- to have committed, or to pose a significant risk of committing, acts of terrorism that threaten the security of U.S. nationals or the national security, foreign policy, or economy of the United States. The action to amend the Executive Order 13224 designation of ETA to include Batasuna, Euskal Herritarrok, and Herri Batasuna is based on substantial and credible information from a variety of sources that those entities were formed at ETA's direction and functioned as part of ETA. Batasuna, Euskal Herritarrok, and Herri Batasuna have supported ETA's acts of terrorism. The Batasuna leadership and membership have included a number of people convicted of ETA-related terrorist acts. Since its establishment in the 1960's, ETA has been responsible for over 850 deaths in Spain. As President Bush said in Madrid in June 2001, the United States stands with Spain in its fight against terrorism. Spain has continued to be a strong ally in the global war against terrorism. |
 | |||
|
