Jose Luis Alvarez Enparantza | Basque separatist, 84

Jose Luis Alvarez Enparantza, 84, one of the founders of the Spanish Basque separatist group ETA, died Saturday.

Mr. Alvarez participated in ETA's creation in 1958 and 20 years later helped form Herri Batasuna, the group's political wing. He was born in San Sebastian, Spain, and was also a linguist and writer. His work Leturiaren Egunkari Ezkutua is regarded as the first modern novel written in Basque.

Mr. Alvarez, who believed his native culture could best survive in an independent Basque nation, was elected senator for Batasuna in 1979 and also ran for the Senate in 2008 under the Basque Nationalist Action party banner. - AP