The Ambassador's Letter

As you know by now (and thanks to the text about Pete Cenarrusa that I posted yesterday), the State of Idaho is working on a memorial to defend the right of Euskal Herria (The Basque Country) to its self determination.

Well, what you are about to read is a letter sent by the Spanish Ambassador Javier Ruperez to the state of Idaho's congressmen:

Dear Congressman:

I have just received a copy of the proposed House Joint Memorial #14 with which the House of Representatives and the Senate of the State of Idaho aim to speak out on violence in the Basque region.

Nothing is more deserving of respect than the daily work carried out in democratic countries by the legislative chambers as they deal with matters of interest to the citizens who elect them--I myself was a member of such a legislature for many years.

Nonetheless, one of the most difficult tasks of the legislative process is to obtain adequate information, and not just that which has been manipulated by self-interested parties.

It is not my purpose in this letter to provide the information lacking in the proposed House Joint Memorial, which I invite you to obtain through the means you see fit, but I would like to briefly underscore a few important facts:

The Basque region is granted by the Spanish Constitution and by its Statutes of Autonomy the greatest level of self-government of any region of Europe.

The Basques, like the rest of the Spanish people, have been determining their own future in each and every one of the successive democratic elections held since the restoration of democracy to Spain in 1977, and each time those who favor terror receive less and less popular support.

It is true, as the proposed Joint Memorial states in one of its rare instances of accuracy, that aside from a marginalized fraction of the population, the vast majority of the Basque people reject violence. It is therefore astounding, but very revealing, that a document which purports to contribute to ending that violence is not at all directed at those who practice it, those who with their lies and distortions promote it, those who through their silence support it. Esteemed Congressman, to not even mention ETA in a document concerning violence in the Basque region, is like speaking of September 11th without even referring to Al-Qaeda.

Esteemed Congressman, the terrible tragedy of September 11th and the subsequent war against terrorism have unmasked those who try to distinguish between "bad" terrorism and "good" terrorism, terrorism that hits you at home and terrorism that is far removed from your experience. Today we have all learned to call things by their rightful names and to distinguish only between terrorists and their victims.

Honorable Congressman, the position of the Government of the United States has always been very clear with regard to the situation in the Basque region. And the Basque people and all Spaniards are very much aware of President Bush's recent expressions of solidarity.

Therefore, no one in the Basque region or throughout Spain would understand such a gratuitously unfriendly gesture on the part of the legislature of Idaho and the misinformation which has given life to the measure does not excuse it.

Honorable Congressman, I respectfully invite you to reject the proposed Joint Memorial. If you truly want to contribute to peace in the Basque region, I urge you to direct yourselves to ETA and its accomplices and ask them to stop killing and to comply with the oft-repeated will of the by-far vast majority of the Basque people and of the rest of Spain

Sincerely

Javier Rupérez

Ambassador of Spain

Embajada de España en Washington
2375 Pennsylvania Ave. NW
Washington, DC 20327

The Basques are not Spaniars just like they are not French, the Basques have been inhabitating their land sinche long before Spain and France became states. The right to the self determination of a nation without statehood is protected by a UN resolution, it is therefore not up to Spain nor France to decide the future of Euskal Herria, that future can only be decided by the Basques.

Regarding the violence I would like to remind Mr. Ruperez that Spain has murdered thousands of Basques throughout history. Spain conquered Navarra (the Basque Kingdom) after a long war and there has been several attempts by the Basque people to regain their sovereignty and independence. Is good to remember now that the Basques sided with the Allies during WWII while Franco volunteer his soldiers to fight along Hitler.

Now you can see to which extent the Spaniards can go when it comes to their campaign of lies and misconceptions against Euskal Herria and the Basque people.

.... ... .