means `` Basque Homeland and Freedom '' in the Basque language , killed what some say was its first victim in 1968 . Since then it waged a campaign of violence against the Spanish state , targeting politicians , policemen , judges and soldiers , often clocking up numerous civilian casualties with deadly car bombs . In 1980 alone ETA was blamed for 118 deaths , and in 1995 it nearly succeeded in assassinating Jose Maria Aznar , then leader of the opposition and later Spain 's prime minister . On September 16 , 1998 , the organization declared a `` unilateral and indefinite '' cease-fire , raising hopes that its campaign was at an end . ETA called off the cease-fire in November 1999 , however , and 2000 saw a sharp escalation in violence . Another unilateral cease-fire was declared in March 2005 , with ETA raising hopes for a lasting peace by declaring it `` permanent . '' It was called off by ETA in June 2006 following numerous more ETA attacks . At the center of the struggle is a region know as Euskal Herria in Basque . The area straddles the western end of the
-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- The separatist group behind a series of bombings on a Spanish vacation island marks the 50 year anniversary of its struggle this year , a milestone that sees it no closer to achieving its goal . Police cordon off the route leading to the location of the latest blasts in Palma de Mallorca . ETA , which is fighting for the independence of Spain 's northern Basque region , was said to be behind three bombs that detonated on the island of Mallorca on Sunday without hurting anyone . The latest incident appears to be part of a new wave of attacks , including another in Mallorca which killed two Civil Guard officers in July , which have left a 2006 cease-fire a distant memory . The violent resurgence also defies Spanish government claims that the group 's operational capabilities have been broken by a series of high profile arrests in Spain and France . ETA , blamed for more than 800 deaths and listed as a terrorist group by Spain the European Union and the United States , began campaigning for Basque independence in 1959 . The group , whose full name Euskadi Ta Askatasuna