Marching for Self Determination

No matter to which lawless depths Madrid wants to descend on its virulent campaign in Euskal Herria, the Basque society will demonstrate again and again its will to be free and sovereign.

This article was published at The New York Times:

Basque March Reflects Gains In Anti-Madrid Separatism

By EMMA DALY
Published: September 9, 2002

About 3,000 Basque nationalists marched through the sunlit center of San Sebastián today shouting pro-independence slogans, allowed to proceed by the Basque regional police despite an official ban on the demonstration.

The decision, fiercely criticized by national officials in Madrid, illustrates the difficulty of enforcing the Spanish government's policy of outlawing the separatist movement, which it says forms an integral part of the militant group E.T.A.

Opposition to the policy, including a ban on Batasuna, a political party linked to the E.T.A., is growing among Basque nationalists, even those strongly opposed to E.T.A.'s violent tactics.

''For Freedom,'' read the banner at a silent protest in Guernica -- Gernika to the Basques -- which was held on Saturday by Batasuna's political rival, Eusko Alkartasuna, a member of the coalition running the Basque government. The party shares Batasuna's aim of an independent Basque country, but not its tactics.

Recent measures that Basques across the political spectrum consider threatening include a Spanish judge's suspension of all Batasuna activities for three years. The governing Popular Party, backed by most of Congress, has asked the Supreme Court to outlaw the party.

''Emotions are running very high, the tension is very noticeable,'' said José María Larrañaga, of the nationalist labor union known by its initials, E.L.A. ''We see this as a kind of coup d'état against the Basques. I don't agree with E.T.A., but I also don't agree with banning Batasuna; that is going to create a lot of problems.''

In San Sebastián, masked riot police officers in black jumpsuits stood waiting near the city's scenic waterfront, packed with revelers and tourists attending the annual rowing regatta. As the demonstration, called in support of Basque prisoners, set off behind a banner declaring, ''The Basque Country Needs Freedom,'' the police moved to block the street.

''It's a disgrace, a shame what those police are doing,'' said a well-dressed, middle-aged woman walking past.

But the police, after taking the names of those leading the march, allowed the protest to move on surrounded by traffic on a main, tree-lined avenue.

''They only let us go because there are too many people, and on a day like this, banning the march could cause major trouble,'' said Leire, who would not give her full name. She said she had been imprisoned for 10 years because, she said, ''I was a militant separatist -- I still am.''

As the rally ended, the protesters raised their left fists and sang the Basque nationalist anthem. A few even shouted, ''Long live military E.T.A.!''

Leopoldo Barreda, spokesman in the Basque country for the Popular Party, accused the Basque government of negligence in allowing the march to proceed. ''There must be some kind of political responsibility -- someone must have given the relevant instructions and someone will have to explain why those responsible for maintaining order in the Basque Country proved incapable of stopping the terrorists' friends from marching through the streets of San Sebastián,'' he said.

One of those marching, Joseba Álvarez, is a member of the Basque parliament for Batasuna, but under the judicial order suspending the party's activities, he is barred from speaking in Batasuna's name, from holding meetings or rallies or from taking part in politics as a member of the party.

Despite all this, he said separatists would continue to organize. ''The Basque people engaged in political activities during Franco's time, when there was no legal infrastructure,'' he said. ''If Madrid takes away our basic rights, we will find other ways to continue the struggle for independence.''

''If you close down all democratic, political routes, it will feed the violence,'' he warned.

Despite concern that the protest today -- and another illegal gathering on Saturday evening in Bilbao -- would provoke clashes between militant youths and the police, the narrow streets of the historic center here were peaceful, albeit packed with partygoers.

But next weekend yet another demonstration has been called for Bilbao, that one a silent protest. Those seeking permission for the gathering -- a prominent Basque poet, a journalist, former members of the Basque parliament and others who say they represent no group -- hope that such an innocuous gathering will not be banned.

The Spanish government is determined, with the backing of the opposition Socialist Party, to crush E.T.A. and its supporters. But Batasuna won 150,000 votes in regional elections in May 2001, and it is the second-largest Basque political group.

''Fifteen percent of the Basque electorate will not have political representation in the next regional election,'' said Mr. Álvarez, adding that any successor party to Batasuna would also be outlawed under legislation approved this year.

The national government presented more than 1,000 pieces of evidence to the Supreme Court that it contended tied Batasuna to E.T.A., but even if the case is proven and the party outlawed, Batasuna supporters and other nationalists say they will remain loyal to the cause.

''We're going to keep on until we win freedom for the Basque country,'' said Elvira Matía, 93, a veteran of the Spanish Civil War who was attending the Guernica rally to protest the banning of Batasuna. ''We have been fighting for 90 years. We're not going to stop now.''

.... ... .