The Basque separatist organization Euskadi Ta Askatasuna (ETA) has claimed responsibility for bombing the Bami Building headquarters of Euskal Irrati Telebista (EiTB), the Basque Country public-service broadcaster, on the morning of New Year’s Eve.
The bomb went off at 11:00, significantly damaging the building in the Basurtu-Zorrotza district of Bilbo. Workers and nearby residents were evacuated from the area after an anonymous bomb threat was called in to local fire officials. EiTB radio and television operations stayed on air during the attack.
EiTB Director Bingen Zupiria told reporters after the bombing, “They have tried to silence one of this country’s media outlets.” The Bami Building is also home to the Basque Country bureaus of radio network Onda Cero, Antena 3 television, the newspapers DEIA and El Mundo and other media operations.
On Friday, 2 January, EiTB staff, local citizens and officials staged 15 minutes of silence at the bombing site as a response to the ETA action. They stood with a banner reading “abertzale eta langile garelako, ez gaude ados” (as patriots and workers, we do not agree).
