Arzalluz : Hit and Miss

In this short article by the BBC the PNV's leader Xabier Arzalluz hits and misses when it comes to his view of the current events in Euskal Herria:

European press review
Friday, 29 March, 2002, 05:25 GMT

Aznar is a 'pocket Sharon'

The leader of the Basque National Party, Xabier Arzalluz, has called Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar a "pocket Sharon" and compared his policies in the Basque Country to those of President George W Bush in Afghanistan, according to the Spanish newspaper El Pais.

Speaking at the party's celebration of Basque National Day, Aberri Eguna, in Bilbao, he said he wanted the Basque Country to have "its own place in Europe, not as a sublet of Spain or France".

He accused Mr Aznar of "trying to do to the Basque Country by means of the Law-based State what (dictator Francisco) Franco did by other means".

He accused the armed separatist group ETA of being "Aznar's front organization" in obscuring debate of serious issues by its attacks.

He poured scorn on ETA's recent announcement that it would continue the armed struggle as "such an immense contribution", but criticized the government's proposal to ban the political wing of ETA, Batasuna, as "providing an oxygen cylinder to ETA and moving us further away from peace".

If ETA put away its guns, Basque constitutional nationalists would have an absolute majority, Mr Arzalluz said, adding "Euskadi is the homeland of the Basques and we are the masters of our own destiny".

His comparison of Aznar to other genocidal murderers like Sharon, Franco and Bush a hit, more than a hit, a home run with loaded bases.

His miss? To oversimplify the political outcome if ETA were to give up its armed struggle. Would Sharon stop murdering Palestinians if the PLO were to call off its armed defense of Palestine?

We all know the answer.

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