Terrorism index and Peace index for 2011 Click here to see the source:
| Country | Rank | Index | Incidents | Fatalities | Injuries | Property | Global Peace Index |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| France | 63 | 1.73 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1.71 |
| Italy | 57 | 2.07 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1.69 |
| Spain | 45 | 3.09 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.47 |
| Portugal | 77 | 1.13 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1.548 |
Since their revolution in 1974, Portugal has had very little terrorist activity. From 1990 to 2011 there have been 7 incidents but only 2 fatalities, 5 of these attacks were made by unknown persons or groups and 2 were by suspected anarchists. The Popular Forces of the 25th of April (FP-25) was the only organized group to be active in Portugal since 1980-1993. FP-25 was responsible for assassinations, bombings, bank robberies. All attacks were against NATO and US assets in Portugal. In 1984 the FP-25 leader Otelo Saraiva de Carvalho was arrested and since then most terrorist activity has been reduced to minor attacks by obscure radical groups. In 1992 FP-25 members were given a general amnesty and Carvalho freed on a conditional basis.
Spain has had several groups that have been active since the late 1950’s. These groups ranged from Takfir Wa al-Hjira to Euskadi Ta Askatasuna (Basque Fatherland and Freedom (ETA)) including several anti-terrorist paramilitary groups. Takfir Wa al-Hjira is supposedly responsible for the 1981 assassination of President Anwar al-Sadat, as well as an attempted assassination on Usama bin Laden for his liberal views. Abu Hafs al-Masri Brigade claims to be responsible for blackouts in 2003 but this has been proven to be false and to be caused by technical errors. So far, Abu Hafs al-Masri Brigade does not appear to be anything more than a terrorist group on paper. A high profile paramilitary group was the Anti-Terrorist Liberation Group or GAL whose goal was to counter the activities of ETA. This group was responsible for revenge bombings and kidnappings of suspected ETA activists and leaders. It was later learned that the group was secretly funded by the Spanish intelligence agencies.
The ETA has been active since 1958 with goals of creating a separate nation-state for Basques. The ETA is responsible for hundreds of attacks within Spain ranging from assassinations to bombings. in 2004 the ETA was blamed for the 2004 Madrid train bombing that killed over 200 people – it was later learned that an al-Qaeda group planted the bombs.The IRA and ETA leadership felt that mass casualty attacks discredits any violent tactics. ETA issues warnings before their bombings, much like the IRA did, these warnings helped prevent any deaths.
Both France and Italy have multiple terrorist groups that have many different agendas that range from ending cruelty to animals to gaining liberation for various peoples and like Spain France has anti-terrorist paramilitary groups that fight against Basque separatists. France, with it’s long history of colonization has many groups that allegedly are fighting for independence ranging from Basques, Armenians, Corsicans and various other Islamic groups. The most recent activity was during a warehouse robbery and a member of ETA shot a French Gendarme which marks the first time a member of the ETA has ever harmed a French police. In 1985 there was an attack at Leonardo da Vinci-Fiumicino airport by the Abu Nidal Organization. 16 were killed and 99 wounded before 3 of the attackers were killed. The fourth was captured by the Italian police.
Don’t understand how Spain in the above chart is at zero incidents. It is not clear for what period the table represents.
Dr. Campbell,
The period reported is just for 2011 which is why it is zero incidents. I have included a reference to the year, and a link to the data that someone can use to navigate to the site and check other years that may interest them as well.
For instance, the Terrorism Index shows Spain with 3 incidents in 2010, 20 in 2009, 35 in 2008, 9 in 2007, and 22 in 2006.
Regards,
Robert Barger
Didnt know these pages persisted after our class was over.