Gesto por la Paz

[4] ETA was its main target, but it also protested against the use of extrajudicial violence and torture by the Spanish state.

[7] The first of these silent protests was held in Bilbao on November 26, 1985, after the killings of two Navy officers, Rafael Melchor García and José Manuel Ibarzabal.

[2] A series of high-profile ETA kidnappings in the mid-1990s greatly increased Gesto's public profile.

[2] During that period Gesto was met by aggressive counter-protests from the Basque National Liberation Movement, sometimes pitting neighbors or family members against each other.

[8][4] Gesto also introduced the use of blue ribbons as an anti-violence symbol, which was adopted by many politicians.