By Tito Drago
MADRID, Nov 5 2001 (IPS)

Representatives from the Spanish Association of Armed Escorts, most of whose 1,500 members serve as bodyguards for people likely to be targeted by the illegal separatist organisation ETA, launched negotiations Monday with the Ministry of Labour for improved working conditions.

What the guards are seeking is a substantial increase in the minimum wage for their sector, which currently is less than 500 dollars a month for working a dangerous job eight hours daily, Vicente de la Cruz, the association’s secretary-general, told IPS.

The wage hike would allow the armed escorts to cut back on the overtime hours they now work in order to supplement their incomes. A bigger paycheque would also improve their efficiency and give them more time to spend with their families and to rest, said De la Cruz.

Active members of the national police, the civil guard and the police of Spain’s autonomous communities also provide protection for people threatened by ETA (Euskadi Ta Askatasuna – Basque Homeland and Freedom, in the Basque language). The Association’s membership, however, does not include police who are still active on the force.

In the Basque Country region alone, in northern Spain, 650 people are protected 24 hours a day, requiring a minimum of 3,900 armed escorts.

ETA has been blamed for the deaths of 847 people since the group was founded in the 1960s with the aim of winning independence from Spain during the dictatorship of Gen. Francisco Franco (1939-1975).

The terrorist organisation’s attacks in recent years have targeted unarmed, unescorted citizens. Such was the case of Basque journalists Angel Luis de Lacalle, who was shot to death, and Gorka Landaburu, who was seriously injured.

The two journalists were known for their activism against the Franco dictatorship and for their progressive ideas. Both had refused to leave the region where they were born, in spite of threats, and were loud critics of ETA violence.

“It used to be that the military arm of ETA was subordinate to the political head, but now it is the reverse,” said Julen Madariaga, one of the founders of the separatist group, in an attempt to explain the apparently indiscriminate attacks against the population.

In a survey conducted by the private polling firm Sigma Dos for the daily ‘El Mundo’, 85 percent of the Basques consulted say the indiscriminate violence is harmful to freedom and human rights in the Basque Country.

Furthermore, 76 percent of the Basques polled said that terrorism is the region’s most important problem, and 69.6 percent said terrorism affects them personally.

ETA used to pay attention to what the majority of the Basques wanted, but today it ignores the people and instead dictates the standards it thinks civil society should follow, said Madariaga, who still seeks independence for the Basque Country, though he has renounced violence.

Two men who served as armed guards for a socialist leader who was a minister during the Felipe González government (1983-1996) told IPS that they are very much aware that the aggressor is always at an advantage because he knows exactly when he is going to commit an attack.

The two guards, who asked not to be named, said they are not any more afraid than would be considered normal in circumstances like this, in which one is constantly on alert. After awhile, they became used to the stress of putting their lives on the line, they said.

“On the other hand, our families do fear that something will happen to us,” said one.

Those who rely on bodyguards have to completely change their lifestyles. They can no longer leave their homes or the workplace alone, they cannot go shopping or spend an evening with friends at a restaurant or bar.

Individuals under threat of an attack must renounce any sort of routine, including such simple things as going to the corner store to buy a newspaper or taking their children to school. The bodyguards explain that the most dangerous thing a potential target can do is try to carry out a normal life, one with set hours and itineraries.

IPS had access to a confidential manual for bodyguards which recommends that potential ETA targets should structurally reinforce the doors to their homes, place bars over their windows and keep the curtains closed.

The manual also advises that threatened individuals should be suspicious of poll-takers, sales people or mendicants who approach their homes, that they should not take in the mail from their letterboxes themselves, and that they should be aware of what is going on all around them when out in public.

Other suggestions include checking the underside and interior of vehicles for bombs before getting in, and leaving the doors open while starting the vehicle because, in the case of an explosion, the occupants would have a better chance of being thrown clear by the blast.

According to the two armed guards, such measures help, but are not enough to prevent deaths in the attacks perpetrated by ETA. The Basque extremists are known for detonating bombs placed in their victim’s route using remote control devices, and for shooting their targets in the back.

Given this reality, the armed escorts closely watch anyone who approaches the individual they are protecting, paying special attention to the unknown person’s hands. One of the guards pointed out that being able to anticipate when someone is preparing to fire a weapon has saved lives on numerous occasions.

The guards and the guarded are aware that this climate of fear will likely last for a long time because there is no sign that ETA is willing to renounce violence, or that the group will disappear – though recent police efforts have proven increasingly effective against the terrorists.

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