
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:


Global Terrorism Database Profiles
http://www.start.umd.edu/start/data_collections/tops/
National Counterterrorism Center Profiles
http://www.nctc.gov/site/profiles/index.html