Ethnonationalist/Separatist Terrorist Groups

Seeking control over a specific territory

Nationalists/separatists pursue the goal of an autonomous state

Ethno-nationalist pursue the goal of state based on ethnicity

Usually operate within the confines of territorial borders

Membership requires proper ethnic background

Much different from other categories, where being a “true believer” is enough to become a member

Focus is on “forging a distinct ethnic identity” apart from the state and “fostering ethnic mobilization.” - D. Byman

Targets = members of a specific rival or dominant ethno-nationalist group

Marginalization and discrimination structural disadvantages discriminatory government policies lack of political representation and human

rights abuses based on ethnic differences

Insecurities and fear among members of an ethnic community have led them to believe that they are profoundly threatened by “others” leads to “othering” and “us” versus “them”

“Euzkadi ta Askatasuna” = “Basque Homeland and Freedom”

Autonomous nation-state for the Basque people of northern Spain and southwestern France

1930s – Franco regime seeks unification; squashes Basque culture, freedoms

1959, student movement to raise Basque political and cultural awareness; transforms into ETA in 1968, launches campaign of terrorist attacks (mostly bombings, kidnappings and assassinations); 2011 ceasefire . . .

Sinhalese (Buddhist) 75% of population; Tamils (Hindu) 12.5%

1956, Sinhala declared Sri Lanka’s sole official language; 1973 adopted Buddhism as official state religion

Legislation gave preference to Sinhalese over Tamils (government jobs, university admission, other socioeconomic opportunities)

1976: Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam formed; launches terrorist campaign, seeking independent state for Tamils

Pioneers suicide bombings (world’s leader of this tactic throughout 1990s); also developed Sea Tigers unit

Killed former Indian PM Rajiv Ghandi (1991) and Sri Lankan President Ranasinghe Premadasa (1993); finally defeated in 2009 military offensive

Attaturk, banned the teaching of Kurdish in schools and Kurdish broadcasting in an effort to secularize and standardize Turkish society

Kurdish communities are concentrated mainly in southeastern Turkey, the most rural and economically weakest regions in the south of the country

1978 Partiya Karkaren Kurdistan founded by Abdullah Ocalan

First attacks in 1984; targets include policemen, governors, members of the gendarmerie, state officials, and politicians

Ocalan captured 1999; calls for end to terrorism; PKK still launching attacks today . . .

Founded 1922 as nationalist militia committed to a unified and independent Ireland

Opposed peace treaty with UK, lost civil war to pro-treaty forces

In Northern Ireland, Protestant (pro-UK) majority discriminates against the (anti-UK) Catholic minority; conflicts heat up

1972: British military asked to help security; Bloody Sunday leads to Provisional IRA, 26 year terror campaign targeting police, soldiers, judges, civilians, etc. (“Armalite and Ballot Box strategy)

1998: Sinn Fein signs Good Friday Agreement; Omagh bombing; still some dissident splinter groups (Continuity IRA, Real IRA)

Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) Spawns religious splinter group Moro Islamic

Liberation Front (MILF)Free Papua Movement, “Organisasi

Papua Merdeka” (OPM) East Turkestan Liberation Organization

Affiliated with East Turkistan Islamic Movement East Turkestan Liberation Organization

Kashmir independence/separatist groups Lashkar-e-Taiba, “Army of the Pure” Attacks include Indian Parliament building in

New Delhi; November 2008 attacks in Mumbai

Northeast India separatist groups (Nagas, Meiteis, etc.) United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA) National Liberation Front of Tripura (NLFT) National Socialist Council of Nagaland-Isak-

Muviah (NSCN-IM) United National Liberation Front (UNLF)

Zionist, Jewish extremist groups (Stern Gang, Lehi) Mix religious ideology with ethnically-based

justification for violence Yigal Amir kills PM Yitzhak Rabin

Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) established 1964; goal of “liberating Palestine from Israel” Yassir Arafat; advancing Palestinian

nationalism through terrorism

Power and control over a relatively tiny strip of land

Nigeria: Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) Grievances include environmental destruction

of Ibo, Ogoni, Ijaw homelands by oil extraction Lack of infrastructure development, social

services provided by government in region

Angola: Front for the Liberation of the Cabinda Enclave (FLEC) Grievances similar to those of MEND

1990s, USSR dissolves, Chechnya declares independence; Russian troops invade to quell rebellion

Chechen groups launch terrorist campaign Mosvar Bayayev Gang, the Riyad us-Saliheyn

Martys’ Brigade, the Dagestani Shariah Jamaat, Special Purpose Islamic Regiment

Major terrorist incidents Dubrovka Theater, Moscow (Oct. 2002);

School No. 1, Beslan (Sept. 2004) Black Widows – Moscow subways, airplanes,

etc.

Represent an ethnic minority within a larger population of an established nation-state

Operate within the geographic regions where they seek to change the status quo

Government targets; often, government actions created grievances for terrorist group

Portrayal of selves as vanguard of oppressed people pursuing self-determination

Government actions in responding to terrorism can reinforce perceptions of oppression

Some terrorist attacks intended to provoke response; foster a stronger sense of ‘us vs. them’ among ethnic community members

Governments reluctant to make concessions; seen as weak or rewarding violence

For more on these groups, see:For more on these groups, see: Global Terrorism Database ProfilesGlobal Terrorism Database Profiles

http://www.start.umd.edu/start/data_collections/tops/ National Counterterrorism Center ProfilesNational Counterterrorism Center Profiles

http://www.nctc.gov/site/profiles/index.html