Cenarrusa's Dignified Defiance

He is not leaving without a fight.

Here is the note that the Idaho Statesman published today about Pete Cenarrusa's efforts to push a Memorial throgh Idaho's legislature, a Memorial that would recognize the right of Euskal Herria to its independence.

Here you have the note:

Cenarrusa not taking the quiet road to retirement

The Idaho Statesman 11-03-2002

Dan Popkey

Instead of quietly accepting good wishes for his retirement, Pete Cenarrusa is spending his last days in office fighting for Basque nationalism and taking a barrage of criticism from the Spanish government.

Cenarrusa, 84, the son of immigrant parents, learned Basque as his first tongue. He is the longest-serving state elected official ever, with 17 years in the Idaho House and 35 years as secretary of state. Beloved by his Republican Party, he is respected by Democrats for his fairness.

Last month, Cenarrusa was treated to standing ovations by Republicans across the state at 15 Lincoln Day events. Now, he is employing a lifetime of good will to push a measure through the Legislature that's drawing howls from Madrid and opposition from the White House because it conflicts with anti-terrorism policy.

Cenarrusa, working with Rep. David Bieter, D-Boise, is advancing a non-binding measure of the sort that lawmakers often pass to make themselves feel good.

House Joint Memorial 14 is different. Cenarrusa has maddened the hornets by calling on President Bush, Congress and Spain to hear Idaho's plea: End the violence in the Basque region, begin negotiations and allow a vote on independence.

It is the call for peace talks and a referendum that conflicts with Madrid and Washington, who refuse to deal with the ETA terrorist organization that has killed 900 people over 30 years.

The memorial passed the House 64-0 last week, after Cenarrusa urged its approval in an unprecedented return to the speaker´s chair he held for three terms in the 1960s.

"Today, in the Basque country, there is a great deal of joy," he said. "There is a body in North America -- the Legislature of the State of Idaho -- that understands their problems. You can´t imagine how much they enjoy that and love you for it."

Among those standing to cheer was Speaker Bruce Newcomb, who said, "He´s been a great representative for the Basque community and the state."

Nobody thinks the Legislature will change U.S. policy, but all parties say the memorial is significant.

Spanish Ambassador Javier Ruperez, who had hot words with Cenarrusa during a visit to Boise in November, wrote every legislator urging defeat of HJM 14. He called it a "gratuitously unfriendly gesture" and said its silence on ETA, "is like speaking of Sept. 11th without even referring to al-Qaida."

Florentino Sotomayor, the spokesman for the Spanish Embassy, said legislators are meddling in an internal matter. "Maybe they are a little bit confused about the situation because of their distance."

That Idaho Sen. Larry Craig knows Ruperez, has traveled to Spain, and is a member of GOP leadership also extends the clout of our small state with a big Basque population. I wasn´t able to learn Craig´s position on HJM 14, but he apparently played a role in helping the White House delay a vote in the Senate State Affairs Committee Friday.

The memorial will probably pass the Senate this week despite Bush Administration concerns about it supporting ETA. Cenarrusa and Bieter firmly reject any parallels with Sept. 11.

Bieter said Spain is using Sept. 11 "against Basques" and "trying to hook that incident somehow with the Basque cause." That, Bieter said, makes the timing of the Idaho measure important.

But outside the new foreign policy hotbed of Boise, Spain´s strategy is working. The Bush Administration has reinforced its support since Sept. 11. On Feb. 26, Treasury Secretary Paul O´Neill announced a list of 21 "financiers of terrorism" working on behalf of ETA.

"Our two nations have a common goal," O´Neill said. "We are not only committed to cooperating in the financial war against terrorism, but we are playing a leadership role together."

So, for Basque nationalists, Idaho is a rare and loyal friend. Martxelo Otamendi, editor of Egunkaria, a Basque language newspaper, is staying in Bieter´s garage apartment and giving HJM 14 front-page play.

"This is important for the Basque political class because it shows the solution," Otamendi said. "Madrid's message is, "We don't have a political problem, we have a criminal problem."

"But they'll have to admit one day they have a political problem. Someday, they will have to sit down at the table."

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