Posted on 02/07/2005 1:02:35 AM PST by HAL9000
According to the Spanish government, the objective of the attackers was to steal passports and documents (presumably for sale on the blackmarket or use by themselves).
ETA is well known for carrying out IRA-style robberies of things ranging from banks and cash sources to construction companies and other sources of explosives and equipment. So I suppose this could be ETA, particularly since the attackers were heard speaking French. But it would be a robbery, rather than the bombings that ETA carries out simply to terrorize and kill. (On the other hand, I suppose the attackers could be Algerians; all terrorists love to get their hands on fresh, unused passports.)
Yes, ETA has carried a lot of robberies in France mainly, but they never have committed them in Switzerland or against an embassy.
CONSULATE SIEGE NOT OVER
Swiss police running the operation to end the siege of the country's Spanish consulate have denied the three suspects have left the scene.
Earlier, Spain's foreign minister had claimed the men were no longer at the building in the capital, Berne.
But police said the kidnappers, armed with knives and a gun were still in the consulate.
Three consulate employees were initially held captive by the men, but a security guard injured by the assailants managed to escape.
The remaning two, Spanish, staff are still on site, said police.
Their statement contradicted that by Spain's foreign minister Miguel Angel Moratinos.
He had insisted the kidnappers had left the building and that all staff were well.
The identity of the suspects is not known but they are said to have spoken French and their motive believed to be a robbery targeting the safe.
Consulate staff told Swiss media the intruders wanted to snatch passports or visa stamps which are sold on the black market for up to 8,000 Swiss francs (£3,500).
They added that the consulate has been the target of several break-in attempts.
http://www.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,30200-1170118,00.html
Well, I think ETA is to the Basque country within Spain-France as the NAACP is to black America within the US. Desperate times calls for desperate actions as their relevance is being eroded.
Speaking as someone who lives in a city where terrorists were able to immolate over 2,000 helpless people, I don't think these tactics are going to have their intended effect, especially since they are so insipid, in comparison to the brutal actions committed by their radical Islamic counterparts.
This hostage-taking is about as impressive as the latest coup de'etat in the Comoro Islands, i.e., not impressive in the least.
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