Terra Lliure
Encyclopedia
Terra Lliure (ˈtɛrə ˈʎiwɾə, ˈtɛra ˈʎiwɾe "Free Land"), sometimes referred to as TLL, was an armed Catalan nationalist
and left-wing
separatist
organisation. Formed in 1978, with the goal of establishing an independent Marxist state in the so-called Catalan Countries, the group carried out dozens of attacks that left many people injured and one person dead.
Terra Lliure, which was proscribed as a terrorist organization by the Spanish authorities, became known to public with a manifest in a mass meeting at the Camp Nou
stadium in Barcelona
in 1981. An important police raid in 1991 and the renunciation of violence by some of the group members led to the dissolution of Terra Lliure in 1995. After disbanding, many members joined the political party Republican Left of Catalonia.
's death in 1975, Spain began its transition to democracy
. Under Franco's rule the Catalan language
had been banned, the culture
suppressed, institutions abolished and people imprisoned for their political beliefs. In 1977, the president of Catalonia in exile came back to Catalonia and the Generalitat of Catalonia was restored. Following the approval of the Spanish constitution in 1978, a Statute of Autonomy
was promulgated and approved in referendum. Catalonia was organized as an Autonomous Community
.
Not satisfied with that level of autonomy, some organisations started to demand the full independence of Catalonia. The demand for an independent Catalonia had been present since the beginning of the 20th century but after the end of the dictatorship
, it gained more notoriety among the Catalan society. This would lead to many people using violence to achieve that goal.
Most of Terra Lliure's original members converged into the group around 1980, arriving from other armed organizations such as the Popular Catalan Army (EPOCA), the Catalan Liberation Front (FAC) or political organizations such as the Socialist Party of National Liberation (PSAN) and Catalan Countries' Independentists
. In 1979, Terra Lliure started its armed activities and two of its members died that year, one in a shootout with Civil Guard
members and another one blew up himself.
In May 1981, Terra Lliure kidnapped journalist Federico Jiménez Losantos
, shot him in the leg and set him free. He was targeted due to signing and promoting a manifesto commenting on the Catalan nationalist menace to Spanish language
in Catalonia. In June, the group published its first statement, called Free Land Calling, in a mass meeting at the Camp Nou stadium.
In 1982, Terra Lliure held its first assembly, while it continued its armed campaign against Spanish and French interests, bank offices and other administrations. A second assembley was held in 1984 and the group started publishing official statements and claimed actions that they carried out through the Alerta magazine. In 1985 and 1985, two more members died while carrying explosive devices.
Between 1984 and 1989 some of Terra Lliure's leaders were arrested, nevertheless the group maintained its structure and capacities and a parallel political movement was developing, the Solidarity Committee with the Catalan Patriots (CSPC) and the Movement for the Defense of the Land (MDT). In 1987, the group committed its only killing, with a bomb attack in Les Borges Blanques
, Lleida
. Terra Lliure admitted the killing was an error. The group also committed several attacks, mainly against American interests, together with the Catalan Red Liberation Army
. In 1988, Terra Lliure held its third assembly and developed three documents to describe the theoretical framework and analyze the social reality of the Catalan National Liberation Movement.
in Barcelona in 1992. Also in 1991, a former member of Terra Lliure, who had joined ETA
, was killed in a police raid after a bomb attack
in Vic
, Barcelona
.
In July 1992, under an order of judge Baltasar Garzón
, police arrested around 40 of members of the group. Years later, the European Court of Human Rights
ordered the Spanish government to compensate some of the arrested people for failing to investigate allegations of torture during the raid. The following years, the group did not commit any attack and announced its dissolution on the 1995 National Day of Catalonia
.
Catalan nationalism
Catalan nationalism or Catalanism , is a political movement advocating for either further political autonomy or full independence of Catalonia....
and left-wing
Left-wing politics
In politics, Left, left-wing and leftist generally refer to support for social change to create a more egalitarian society...
separatist
Catalan independentism
Catalan independentism is a political movement, derived from Catalan nationalism, which supports the independence of Catalonia or the so-called Catalan countries from Spain and France...
organisation. Formed in 1978, with the goal of establishing an independent Marxist state in the so-called Catalan Countries, the group carried out dozens of attacks that left many people injured and one person dead.
Terra Lliure, which was proscribed as a terrorist organization by the Spanish authorities, became known to public with a manifest in a mass meeting at the Camp Nou
Camp Nou
Camp Nou , sometimes called "the Nou Camp" in English, is a football stadium in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. The stadium, located in the west of the city, has been the home of FC Barcelona since its construction in 1957....
stadium in Barcelona
Barcelona
Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
in 1981. An important police raid in 1991 and the renunciation of violence by some of the group members led to the dissolution of Terra Lliure in 1995. After disbanding, many members joined the political party Republican Left of Catalonia.
Background
After Francisco FrancoFrancisco Franco
Francisco Franco y Bahamonde was a Spanish general, dictator and head of state of Spain from October 1936 , and de facto regent of the nominally restored Kingdom of Spain from 1947 until his death in November, 1975...
's death in 1975, Spain began its transition to democracy
Spanish transition to democracy
The Spanish transition to democracy was the era when Spain moved from the dictatorship of Francisco Franco to a liberal democratic state. The transition is usually said to have begun with Franco’s death on 20 November 1975, while its completion has been variously said to be marked by the Spanish...
. Under Franco's rule the Catalan language
Catalan language
Catalan is a Romance language, the national and only official language of Andorra and a co-official language in the Spanish autonomous communities of Catalonia, the Balearic Islands and Valencian Community, where it is known as Valencian , as well as in the city of Alghero, on the Italian island...
had been banned, the culture
Traditions of Catalonia
There are quite a number of festivals and traditions in Catalonia. While most are of ancient origin, certain traditions are of relatively recent introduction. There are also some that are common to the whole Catalan society, but others are relevant only to a particular location...
suppressed, institutions abolished and people imprisoned for their political beliefs. In 1977, the president of Catalonia in exile came back to Catalonia and the Generalitat of Catalonia was restored. Following the approval of the Spanish constitution in 1978, a Statute of Autonomy
Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia
The Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia provides Catalonia's basic institutional regulations. It defines the rights and obligations of the citizens of Catalonia , the political institutions of the Catalan nationality, their competences and relations with the rest of Spain, and the financing of the...
was promulgated and approved in referendum. Catalonia was organized as an Autonomous Community
Autonomous communities of Spain
An autonomous community In other languages of Spain:*Catalan/Valencian .*Galician .*Basque . The second article of the constitution recognizes the rights of "nationalities and regions" to self-government and declares the "indissoluble unity of the Spanish nation".Political power in Spain is...
.
Not satisfied with that level of autonomy, some organisations started to demand the full independence of Catalonia. The demand for an independent Catalonia had been present since the beginning of the 20th century but after the end of the dictatorship
Spanish State
Francoist Spain refers to a period of Spanish history between 1936 and 1975 when Spain was under the authoritarian dictatorship of Francisco Franco....
, it gained more notoriety among the Catalan society. This would lead to many people using violence to achieve that goal.
1978-1990
Independentists of the Catalan Countries
Independentists of the Catalan Countries was a separatist political party in the Catalan Countries...
. In 1979, Terra Lliure started its armed activities and two of its members died that year, one in a shootout with Civil Guard
Civil Guard (Spain)
The Civil Guard is the Spanish gendarmerie. It has foreign peace-keeping missions and maintains military status and is the equivalent of a federal military-status police force. As a police force, the Guardia Civil is comparable today to the French Gendarmerie, the Italian Carabinieri and the...
members and another one blew up himself.
In May 1981, Terra Lliure kidnapped journalist Federico Jiménez Losantos
Federico Jiménez Losantos
Federico Jiménez Losantos is a popular and controversial Spanish pundit, being most known for his radio talk show, but also a TV host and literary author.He was born in Orihuela del Tremedal, Teruel, on September 15, 1951.-Education:...
, shot him in the leg and set him free. He was targeted due to signing and promoting a manifesto commenting on the Catalan nationalist menace to Spanish language
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
in Catalonia. In June, the group published its first statement, called Free Land Calling, in a mass meeting at the Camp Nou stadium.
In 1982, Terra Lliure held its first assembly, while it continued its armed campaign against Spanish and French interests, bank offices and other administrations. A second assembley was held in 1984 and the group started publishing official statements and claimed actions that they carried out through the Alerta magazine. In 1985 and 1985, two more members died while carrying explosive devices.
Between 1984 and 1989 some of Terra Lliure's leaders were arrested, nevertheless the group maintained its structure and capacities and a parallel political movement was developing, the Solidarity Committee with the Catalan Patriots (CSPC) and the Movement for the Defense of the Land (MDT). In 1987, the group committed its only killing, with a bomb attack in Les Borges Blanques
Les Borges Blanques
Les Borges Blanques is the capital of the comarca of Les Garrigues, in the province of Lleida, Catalonia.It lies in the southern sector of the central Catalan depression, near the zone watered by the Urgell canal. The high plateaux are covered by beautifully perfumed olive groves as thick as forests...
, Lleida
Lleida (province)
thumb|250px|Monastery of [[Santa Maria de Bellpuig de les Avellanes]].Lleida is a province of north-eastern Spain, in the western part of the autonomous community of Catalonia. It is bordered by the provinces of Girona, Barcelona, Tarragona, Zaragoza and Huesca and the countries of France and...
. Terra Lliure admitted the killing was an error. The group also committed several attacks, mainly against American interests, together with the Catalan Red Liberation Army
Catalan Red Liberation Army
The Catalan Red Liberation Army was a militant group seeking greater autonomy for the Catalan region of Spain.- Activities :* 1987, 27 March: Claimed responsibility for a car bombing in Barcelona which killed a Spanish civil guard and injured 15....
. In 1988, Terra Lliure held its third assembly and developed three documents to describe the theoretical framework and analyze the social reality of the Catalan National Liberation Movement.
1991-1995
In July 1991, Terra Lliure announced it was declaring a ceasefire and that some of its members would start joining Republican Left of Catalonia. Despite that, some cells kept carrying out attacks, especially due to the proximity to the Olympic Games1992 Summer Olympics
The 1992 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the Games of the XXV Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event celebrated in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, in 1992. The International Olympic Committee voted in 1986 to separate the Summer and Winter Games, which had been held in the same...
in Barcelona in 1992. Also in 1991, a former member of Terra Lliure, who had joined ETA
ETA
ETA , an acronym for Euskadi Ta Askatasuna is an armed Basque nationalist and separatist organization. The group was founded in 1959 and has since evolved from a group promoting traditional Basque culture to a paramilitary group with the goal of gaining independence for the Greater Basque Country...
, was killed in a police raid after a bomb attack
1991 Vic bombing
The 1991 Vic bombing was an attack carried out by the Basque separatist group ETA which occurred on 29 May, 1991 when a car bomb carrying more than 200 kg of explosive went off outside a Civil Guard barracks in the Catalonian city of Vic, Spain...
in Vic
Vic
Vic is the capital of the comarca of Osona, in the Barcelona Province, Catalonia, Spain. Vic's location, only 69 km far from Barcelona and 60 km from Girona, has made it one of the most important towns in central Catalonia.-History:...
, Barcelona
Barcelona (province)
Barcelona is a province of eastern Spain, in the center of the autonomous community of Catalonia.-Overview:It is bordered by the provinces of Tarragona, Lleida, and Girona, and by the Mediterranean Sea....
.
In July 1992, under an order of judge Baltasar Garzón
Baltasar Garzón
Baltasar Garzón Real is a Spanish jurist who served on Spain's central criminal court, the Audiencia Nacional. He was the examining magistrate of the Juzgado Central de Instrucción No...
, police arrested around 40 of members of the group. Years later, the European Court of Human Rights
European Court of Human Rights
The European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg is a supra-national court established by the European Convention on Human Rights and hears complaints that a contracting state has violated the human rights enshrined in the Convention and its protocols. Complaints can be brought by individuals or...
ordered the Spanish government to compensate some of the arrested people for failing to investigate allegations of torture during the raid. The following years, the group did not commit any attack and announced its dissolution on the 1995 National Day of Catalonia
National Day of Catalonia
On September 11, Catalonia commemorates the 1714 Siege of Barcelona defeat during the War of the Spanish Succession. As correction for their support to the claim of Habsburg Archduke Charles to the throne of Spain, institutions and rights of the territories of the Crown of Aragon were abolished by...
.
Attacks
- July 25, 1980: First attacks claimed by Terra Lliure, with two bomb explosions in Fecsa-EndesaEndesa (Spain)Endesa, S.A. is the largest electric utility company in Spain. The firm, a majority-owned subsidiary of the Italian utility company Enel, has 10 million customers in Spain, with domestic annual generation of over 97,600 GWh from nuclear, fossil-fueled, hydroelectric, and renewable resource power...
offices in Barcelona and CalellaCalellaCalella is a seaside town on the Costa del Maresme, 58 km north east of Barcelona, in Catalonia, Spain. It is located on the coast between Sant Pol de Mar and Pineda de Mar...
.