Friday, February 20, 2004

"Educated" Bigotry

If I say ignorant bigotry readers are going to claim it is an oxymoron.

Or that I am being redundant, after all, you have to be ignorant to be a bigot.

They would be mistaken.

There is "Harvard Educated" bigotry also.

Just read the first paragraph on this article by Harvard educated Samuel P. Huntington:

The persistent inflow of Hispanic immigrants threatens to divide the United States into two peoples, two cultures, and two languages. Unlike past immigrant groups, Mexicans and other Latinos have not assimilated into mainstream U.S. culture, forming instead their own political and linguistic enclaves—from Los Angeles to Miami—and rejecting the Anglo-Protestant values that built the American dream. The United States ignores this challenge at its peril.

I would discuss this article to a great lenght, but since I am Mexican and I am Basque, and therefore two times Catholic (according to Harvard educated Huntington), I happen to be too lazy and too ignorant.

That is why there is those who say that knowledge doesn't necessarily means wisdom.

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Tuesday, February 17, 2004

Egunkaria, A Year Later

A year ago, shortly after I came back from celebrating the anniversary of the Eusko Etxea in San Francisco I woke up to terrible news, the Fascist regime in Madrid had closed down Egunkaria, the only newspaper in Euskal Herria that was published entirely in Euskara. And while Spain plunges into the darkness of totalitarism the Basque spirit soars thanks to our commitment to freedom and democracy, read this note at Berria English:

Once upon a time…

After a year-long investigation the only thing Judge Del Olmo has come up with is that there was no basis for closing down ‘Egunkaria’

Imanol Murua Uria – DONOSTIA (San Sebastian)
This coming Friday it will be a year since Euskaldunon Egunkaria was closed down and over two years and eight months have gone by since the investigations began, but Judge Juan Del Olmo of the Spanish National Criminal Court has still failed to demonstrate that there is any basis for upholding the accusations against Egunkaria.

The judge maintains that Egunkaria was one of ETA’s tools and that he has sufficient data to support this. But in the numerous writs that Juan Del Olmo has issued so far, no evidence has emerged that could link the Basque-language newspaper with ETA, apart from some references to Egunkaria that appear in the documents alleged to have been seized from ETA members in the early 1990s, references made by KAS or ETA members, but not by anyone of Egunkaria. Moreover, the judge has only put forward arguments like suspicions concerning Egunkaria’s sources of funding and the fact that the publishing of a newspaper in Basque coincides with one of ETA’s aims. The judge and the Central Office of the Spanish Civil Guard’s Information Services –the real brain behind the investigation– have translated and examined thousands of documents seized on the Egunkaria premises, and numerous phone conversations. They have also interrogated 19 people, with torture being used on some of them, but the Judge has not found anything to support the accusations.

Del Olmo has accused a total of nineteen people in the two sets of preliminary enquiries relating to the closing down of Egunkaria, but as yet not one of the nineteen knows what specific crimes he or she is being charged with individually.

Ten of the people arrested on February 20 have accusations against them in the preliminary enquiries relating to the closing-down of Egunkaria. In addition to these ten, the nine people detained in the police operation in October against the Martin Ugalde Kultur Parkea in the wake of the investigations into financial crimes relating to the Egunkaria network of companies also stand accused.


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Adopting in Euskal Herria

The winds of change blow through San Francisco and Iruñea, read this note today at Berria English:

Couple formed by two women allowed to adopt children in Iruñea

The case in Navarre is the first in the Basque Country in which the right of adoption for homosexuals has been exercised

Editorial Staff – IRUÑEA (Pamplona)
Last Friday the Family Court of Iruñea recognised the joint adoption of twin babies by a couple made up of two women, in accordance with the terms of the Law of Common Law Couples. One of the couple had two babies through artificial insemination a year ago. When the Law of Common Law Couples came into force in Navarre, the biological mother and her partner applied for the right to adopt the two children, and now the court has accepted their application. As a result, the two women are now the mothers of the two children. Furthermore, as the couple’s lawyer pointed out, “the resolution is permanent and no appeals can be lodged.”

The Parliament of Navarre passed the Law of Common Law Couples in July 2000. All the parties voted in favour, except the UPN. They filed an appeal against the law with the Spanish Constitutional Court. As Gehitu said, “they appealed through the normal channels and this will not force the law to be suspended, which is what happened to the Law of Common Law Couples of the Basque Autonomous Community.” So, for the present, in Navarre the law is in force awaiting the Constitutional Court’s resolution. The Basque Government passed the Law of Common Law Couples in May 2003. Article 8 of that law provides for same-sex couples to adopt children. Today, however, there is no possibility of that in the BAC (Basque Autonomous Community), because the Spanish Council of Ministers filed an appeal against the BAC Law of Common Law Couples and the law has been suspended as a result, for the time being.

The lawyer of the two women who were granted the joint adoption said, “the social movement has always been ahead of the legislators, but this could be the start and I hope it will go further.” The case proceeded slowly, said the lawyer, and added: “If it had been a heterosexual couple, the whole thing would have been faster.”

Gay and lesbian movements have welcomed the resolution. Imanol Alvarez, EHGAM’s spokesperson, told BERRIA, “this is the first time that one of the options made possible by the law has been implemented, in this case the right to adopt.” Alvarez added that it was good news for same-sex couples. “Couples often have children as a result of a previous relationship or as a result of artificial insemination. If something happened to the biological mother, her partner could not legally take charge of these children. That is unacceptable. It’s cruel. We have always fought for this option.” Gehitu spoke in the same terms yesterday, as soon as the resolution was made known. It hailed it as a historic decision.


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Sunday, February 15, 2004

United Against Torture

Today at Berria English:

Thousands in Donostia unite against torture

Crowds of people joined the demo organised by TAT with the slogan “25 years of Torture. Enough is Enough”

Gurutze Izagirre – DONOSTIA (San Sebastian)
Thousands of people, 20,000 say the organisers, gathered in Donostia yesterday opposing torture in a demonstration organised by TAT. The slogan on the banner ran: “25 urte torturapean. Aski da” (25 years of Torture. Enough is Enough). The banner was carried by many of the people who have denounced torture like Unai Romano, Martxelo Otamendi, Anika Gil and Leire Gallastegi. They were joined by the relatives of people who have died on police premises: the relatives of Xabier Kalparsoro, Gurutze Iantzi, Mikel Zabaltza and Joseba Arregi. Together with the multitude that had gathered behind them they marched along the Donostia streets.

The march set off from the Boulevard of Donostia at exactly 17.30 hours. Behind the main banner came the people from political parties and many social organisations who were supporting the TAT call. They included Batasuna members Arnaldo Otegi, Pernando Barrena, Joseba Permach and Koldo Gorostiaga, EA representatives Martin Aranburu and Rafa Larreina, Aralar’s Juan Martin Elexpuru; Pedro Albite was there from AuB, Jesus Mari Gete from LAB, Elkarri’s Maixus Rekalde and many TAT members. Throughout the march four police vans of the Ertzaintza led the way in front of the main banner. But there was no trouble at all. The demonstrators shouted slogans in the Donostia streets. They mostly included: “The police torture and kill”, “Repression is not the way”, “No, no, no to torture”, and “People are tortured here”. The demonstrators moved fairly rapidly along their route and as they crossed the streets in city centre of Donostia, the head of the demonstration reached its starting point, the Boulevard, once again. A lot of people could not get to the start of the march, because the city’s streets were packed. Many of them arrived at the end of the march and waited for the head of the demonstration to get to the Boulevard.

Those at the end of the march, however, got to the Boulevard at around 18.45, half an hour after the head had arrived. Bringing up the rear there was another banner carried by many people from Barañain [a town near Iruñea-Pamplona]. The slogan on the banner ran: “Barañain, 100 ahots errepresioaren aurka” (Barañain, 100 voices against repression).


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Saturday, February 14, 2004

Video Against Torture

Today at Berria English:

TAT video against torture to start being shown to public

After the Office for Human Rights of the Basque Autonomous Community Government had indicated it would not be taking on the video, and as the video is not going to be shown on the EITB Basque Autonomous Community broadcasting network, TAT itself is planning to show it itself in the towns and neighbourhoods of the Basque Country

Eider Goenaga – HERNANI (Gipuzkoa)
In Hernani yesterday the TAT anti-torture group presented the video it has just produced to show that opposing torture is “the responsibility of the whole society”. TAT’s intention was for the Basque Government to take on the video and then broadcast it on EITB radio and TV. The Basque Government Office for Human Rights will not, however, be taking on the video, so it cannot be broadcast by the EITB. Consequently, TAT has assumed responsibility and will start spreading the video’s message in all the neighbourhoods and towns of the Basque Country.

The video produced by TAT starts with a scene of a man in a cell, naked, bending down with a hood on his head; Unai Romano, Susana Atxaerandio and Garikoitz Urizar then appear and give a brief testimony of the tortures they suffered. In the Spanish version of the video Oskar Bizkai speaks instead of Urizar. The video ends with a scene from the demo organised by TAT in Bilbo on June 8, 2002. “It’s not the problem of just a few. Torture is the scourge of society, it’s everyone’s responsibility,” says a voice at the end of the video.

According to Izaskun Gonzalez, the TAT representative, they were prompted to produce a video against torture by “the fact that a year and a half ago the Basque Government set up an initiative concerning victims”. “We aim to show that there is also another reality in the Basque Country, that there are other victims, too, and that there are many people suffering unspeakable pain.” With this aim in mind they met with Txema Urkijo of the Human Rights Office on Wednesday and explained TAT’s objective to him. Urkijo pointed out to them that the Basque Government would not be subscribing to the content of the video.


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Friday, February 13, 2004

Spain Fails the Euskara Test

This shouldn't come as a surprise, after all, what Spain wants is to remove anything Basque from the face of the earth, but this report by Behatokia is very interesting and it appeared today at Berria English:

Basque Language Watchdog denounces Spanish Government’s failure to fulfil European Charter

It has produced a report examining how the European Charter has been applied to Basque and has submitted it to the European Council

Agurtzane Solaberrieta – DONOSTIA (San Sebastian)


The Language Rights Watchdog Behatokia has examined how the Spanish State has applied the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages in the case of Euskara, the Basque language, and the conclusion it has reached is clear: Madrid has not fulfilled the European Charter.

The Spanish State was among the first eleven to sign the European Charter. It signed it on November 5, 1992, ratified it nine years later on April 9, 2001, and enforced it on August 1 of the same year. This is why Behatokia, with the contributions of other institutions involved in Basque cultural activity, has produced a report in which it examines how the Spanish State has applied the European Charter to Basque. Like Behatokia, the social organisations of other communities have also produced reports of this nature, as in the case of Catalonia and Galicia, to look at how the European Charter has been applied to their languages. Likewise, the Spanish Government has also produced its own report, because the first paragraph of Article 15 of the European Charter (Part IV, on enforcing the Charter) requires that the Spanish Government submit a report within a year of enforcing it to the General Secretary of the European Council. The Spanish Government presented its report on September 23, 2002. The report drawn up by Behatokia is entitled: ‘Assessment of the applying of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages to Basque by the Spanish State’ and has been submitted to the European Council in Strasbourg.

Xabier Mendiguren, the General Secretary of Kontseilua, and Juan Inazio Hartsuaga, Behatokia’s director, made an announcement yesterday concerning the report. Xabier Mendiguren said: “The Spanish State made a number of undertakings when it ratified the European Charter, and as far as the Basque language is concerned, it has not honoured them. The Spanish State is in an embarrassing position, because it has not met these commitments.” Mendiguren went on to stress that the commitment to bring about the normalisation of the language was everyone’s: “We have recently launched a campaign under the slogan “Hizkuntza eskubideak denon konpromisoa” (Language Rights are Everyone’s Commitment). When we say ‘commitment’, we mean taking real steps, and not just pretending, which has happened in this case. We are convinced that the normalisation of the Basque language will be achieved, if each sector of society acknowledges its commitments and honours them,” added Xabier Mendiguren, Kontseilua’s General Secretary.


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Thursday, February 12, 2004

Survival Maltese

Just in case you were wondering after reading the article regarding the struggle of the Maltese language, I decided to post the link to a site that gives you a crash curse, here it is, enjoy it: Survival Maltese.

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Maltese Gets No Respect

I found this rather interesting article about the Maltese language.

Losing out on the Maltese language in Europe?

by Arnold Cassola (arnold.cassola@alternattiva.org.mt)

Arnold Cassola urges government to wake up and shrug off its complacent attitude

Wednesday, 11 February, 2004
For all those of us who fought really hard during accession negotiations to ensure that the Maltese language would be an official lannguage of the EU, the end result was a real explosion of joy.

Our language spoken by 400,000 people is on a par with languages, such as German, Italian, English, French, German, Spanish and others, spoken by scores of millions. Indeed, in the European Parliament corridors, I have become the subject of amicable envy and wrath of my Basque, Catalan, Breton, etc. colleagues, whose languages - despite being spoken by millions - are not recognized as official EU languages.

Yet, after all this effort, we now risk losing it all because of the inertia of our authorities during the past 13 out of 14 years! We knew we wanted to enter the EU, but the government never prepared the necessary structures in order to form qualified translators and interpreters from and into the Maltese language. The University course only started a few months ago, in October 2003, because of the bad planning of our government.

Well, we simply cannot go on like this. We risk entering the EU without any Maltese interpreters in the European Parliament as from 1st May, when Malta joins the EU. Now we are even risking not even being able to provide one Maltese teacher to teach the language to interested foreigners.

In fact, for the forthcoming intensive summer language courses being organized by the EU institutions for its employees, all official languages of the EU are being advertised. However, the teaching of the Maltese language to EU employees is at risk since this depends on finding a teacher.

The Professional Training Services of the European institutions in Brussels is jointly organising intensive summer courses for interested EU employees. Maltese is the only language being advertised, subject to the availability of a Maltese teacher! I can assure you that this note is being sent to the 20,000 employees of the EU institutions. And, noting my language as the only one subject to the retrieval of some Maltese teacher... makes my blood curdle.

This situation cannot go on. With regards to linguistic matters, our country is becoming the laughing stock of the EU. Our government has to wake up, shrug off its complacent and fatalistic attitude, be pro-active and immediately encourage any Maltese qualified teacher to take up the summer post offered by the EU Commission in Brussels.

We must all understand, our government in particular, that the issue at stake is not only linguistic, but is mainly political. A country that does not respect the language of its people will in turn end up not being respected at all by other countries. All Maltese should fight to protect the basic dignity of our country and people through the multiple opportunities offered to us by EU membership.

A government that is not capable of taking up these opportunities is simply a government not worthy of its name.

Arnold Cassola will be contesting the coming elections for the European parliament under the Alternattiva Demokratika - The Green Party banner.


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Wednesday, February 11, 2004

Azkarraga to Idaho: Eskerrik Asko

Today at Berria English:

Azkarraga thanks Idaho for its initiative in favour of self-determination

The Pete Cenarrusa Center to promote Basque culture and identity was presented in Boise

Ainara Mendiola, Special Correspondent, Boise (Idaho)
Joseba Azkarraga, the Minister for Justice, of the Basque Government, thanked the people of Idaho the day before yesterday for their initiative in favour of the self-determination of the Basque Country passed by their Legislature two years previously. “We know it caused a lot of anguish for you,” he said, in the presence of Dave Bieter and Pete Cenarrusa, the main promoters of the initiative. The Spanish Government put pressure on the White House for the initiative not to go ahead, but Bieter and Cenarrusa did not give in until they had achieved their objective. “Thank you for defending our country; we need ambassadors like you all over the world,” Azkarraga told them.

Azkarraga has come to the United States with a request and an offer; on the one hand, to ask the citizens of Basque origin living abroad to help spread the nature of the Basque people “as a modern, hard-working country, upholder of human rights and promoter of solidarity” and not the distorted image projected by many of the media; and, on the other, to invite them to participate in the debate on Ibarretxe’s Plan.


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Tuesday, February 10, 2004

IBO: Kerry Must Apologize

Today at Berria English:

IBOHR demands apology from Kerry for calling Basques “terrorists”

Bieter says he hopes Kerry will change his attitude when he gets to know the Basques

Ainara Mendiola, Special Correspondent, Boise (Idaho)
The International Basque Organization for Human Rights (IBOHR) has asked John Kerry to rectify what he said when he equated the Basques with “terrorists” during a rally. Kerry is currently the strongest Democrat candidate for the presidential elections set to take place in the United States in November.

Kerry spoke about “terrorism” in a rally he held on January 31 in Oklahoma. He said before September 11, 2001, many states had been facing “terrorism at home”, and when citing some examples he gave the following: “In Ireland they had the IRA, in Spain they have the Basques, in India the Sikhs… you only have to look around the world a bit to realise that there are many people who live with terrorism.”

When the IBOHR heard these declarations, they asked Kerry to rectify them. According to the statement they issued, Kerry rightly identified the IRA in Ireland’s case, because he did not regard all the Irish as “terrorists”, but that was not the case when he spoke of the Basques or the Sikhs. The IBOHR has pointed out that its aim is not to damage Kerry’s image, but wishes to remind him that it is “wrong and unfair to generalise and regard a whole country and its culture as terrorist.” As a result of this, the IBOHR has launched a campaign to get Kerry to apologise; it has in fact asked people to send messages to the Democrat candidate’s e-mail address asking him to rectify what he said. The address is: info@johnkerry.com. After denouncing Kerry’s declarations many Sikh groups also launched a campaign and the senator apologised to them in a speech he gave last Friday.

Dave Bieter, the mayor of Boise, said he hoped Kerry would have the chance to get to know the Basque Country and the Basque community better. He made these declarations in Boise to BERRIA.

Bieter was elected mayor of Boise last year and until last year had been a Democrat member in the Idaho House of Representatives. Kerry has not yet been to Idaho in his American presidential election campaign, but Bieter hopes he will have changed his attitude by the time he gets there. He admits that he gets on well with Kerry, and if the latter were to reach the White House, Bieter believes Kerry would have a positive attitude towards the Basque Country.


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Monday, February 09, 2004

IBO to John Kerry

This is the text of the email that the International Basque Organization for Human Rights is sending to everyone interested on showing support to the Basques' campaign to educate John Kerry about the difference between belonging to an ethnic group and being labeled as a terrorist just because you belong to a certain ethnic group:

Hello everyone,

On January 31st, Senator John Kerry made a campaign speech in Oklahoma City. Many issues were covered, including a question on fighting terrorism. The question asked was "If other countries have faced or face terrorism at home, why do we ask our soldiers to face it for us?" Senator Kerry began his response by stating "Most countries have faced terrorism at home through their histories. You look at Ireland, the IRA, England, IRA, you look at the Basques in Spain, the Sikhs in India, you can run around the world and people have lived with terrorism for a long time".

Kerry correctly identified the IRA, rather than labeling all Irish as terrorists, yet the Basques and the Sikhs were not so lucky.

The Sikh community rallied together and complained about the unfair portrayal of their community. On February 6th, Senator Kerry issued an official apology for his comments about Sikhs. No such apology has been issued to the Basques.

Please send an e-mail to Senator Kerry's campaign headquarters to let them know your feelings about this innacurate generalization of Basques as terrorists.

Please note that this is not being done to hurt John Kerry, but rather to remind him and his campaign staff about the dangers of labeling whole cultures as terrorist.

Senator Kerry's e-mail: info@johnkerry.com

John Kerry for President, Inc.
519 C Street, NE
Washington, DC 20002
202-548-6800
202-548-6801 (fax)

Please pass this e-mail on to anyone else you think may be interested in voicing their opinion.

Thank you,

International Basque Organization For Human Rights
PO Box 225
Corte Madera, CA 94976
415 924-2151
www.euskojustice.org

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Berria, IBO and Kerry

Today at Berria they mention the International Basque Organization's campaign to educate presidential hopeful John Kerry about how unfair it is to typecast a whole culture as terrorist:

The note is in Euskara but you can get an idea.

AEBETAKO HAUTESKUNDEAK

Euskaldunak "terroristekin" parekatu ditu John Kerry hautagai demokratak

IBOHR erakundea barkamena eska dezan kanpaina egiten ari da
AEBetako lehendakarigai demokrata izateko ahaleginean dabilen John Kerry senatore demokratak euskaldunak "terroristekin" parekatu zituen urtarrilaren 31an Oklahoman egin zuen hitzaldian. Terrorismoari buruz galdetu zioten Kerryri, eta erantzun zuen, munduan bazirela hainbat herrialde urteetan "terrorismoarekin" bizi behar izan zutenak. Hala, Irlanda eta Erresuma Batua aipatu zituen "IRAren terrorismoa" aipatuz, eta, halaber, India eta Espainia, hurrenez hurren, "sikhen eta euskaldunen terrorismoa" nabarmenduz. Irlanda eta Erresuma Batuko kasuan, IRAren izen zehatza aipatu zuen; Espainiari eta Indiari buruz aritzean, ordea, "euskaldunak" eta "sikhak", guztiak, "terrorismoaren" zakuan sartu zituen. Hori dela eta, IBOHR Giza Eskubideen aldeko Naziorteko Euskal Erakundeak kanpaina hasi du Kerryk barkamena eska dezan.

Sikhek dagoeneko egin dute kanpaina hori, hau da, herri gisa "terrorismoarekin" parekatu izana salatzeko. Zehazki, otsailaren 6an barkamena eskatu zuen ofizialki Kerry hautagaiak.

IBOHR erakundeak, euskaldunekin gauza bera egitea nahi du, eta, ondorioz, lehendakarigaitarako hautagai demokratak akatsa zuzen dezan eskatzeko kanpaina jarri dute martxan. Zehazki, Kerry senatorearen kanpaina arduradunei posta elektroniko bidez mezuak bidaltzeko eskatu du talde horrek. Honakoa da helbidea: info@johnkerry.com.

Bestalde, Maine estatuko batzar demokratan, caucus -ean, Kerry izan da irabazle, eta, ondorioz, azaroan Alderdi Demokratako lehendakarigaia izateko bidean sendotzen ari da.


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Release Manu Azkarate!

Today at Berria English:

Thousands of people in Donostia call for Manu Azkarate’s release

They denounced the situation of the Basque prisoner as being “indicative of the political vengeance of Madrid and Paris”

Ainhoa Sarasola – DONOSTIA (San Sebastian)
Thousands of people gathered in Donostia yesterday for the demo organised by the Etxerat association to call for the release of the Basque prisoner Manu Azkarate. Azkarate was arrested and taken into custody on January 14 accused of not fulfilling the conditions of his parole granted in 1992 owing to serious illness. Right now he is being detained in the hospital of Donostia as a result of his hunger strike and refusal to take water and his medication while in prison, and the pneumonia he contracted in the hospital.

The march was led by a banner with the slogan “Etxean eta bizirik behar ditugu. Manu Etxera!” (“We want them alive and at home. Bring Manu home!”) carried by Azkarate’s relatives, including Ixiar Arratibel, the prisoner’s wife, and many Etxerat members, among others. Arratibel said in declarations made before the start of the march that Azkarate had not broken any rules relating to his parole, and regarded his arrest as an injustice and an act of vengeance. Next in the march came the trade union representatives who were supporting the initiative ( ELA, LAB, ESK, EHNE, Hiru, EILAS and CCOO) and who bore the banner which said, “Mendeku eta gorroto politikari ez. Manu Etxera!” (“Down with the policy of vengeance and hate. Bring Manu home!”). During the days leading up to the demo the social organisations ESAIT, Askatasuna and Elkarri pledged their support for the demonstration, as did the political parties Batasuna, EAE-ANV and Aralar, among others. Arnaldo Otegi and Pernando Barrena of Batasuna and Maixux Rekalde of Elkarri also marched along the Donostia streets. The march set out from the Boulevard at exactly 17.30 hours. After progressing through the streets of the city centre, it ended at the place where it had first set off.


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Saturday, February 07, 2004

Why Kerry, Why?

Just when I started to like John Kerry he comes and makes a blanket statement involving the Basques. He makes the same mistake that is repeated constantly by the media.

We found out about what can possible be a missunderstanding through a news paper from India that reported that an advocacy group of Sikhs in the USA were demanding an apology from John Kerry for saying that many countries had to deal with terrorism, quote: "...like the IRA in Northern Ireland, the Basques in Spain and the Sikhs in India...".

To John Kerry I say, the Basques are members of a nationality, an ethnic group if you wish, being Basque does not mean that you automatically adhere to a terrorist group, being Basque means that you belong to one of Europe's oldest ethnic groups, that you have your own cultural identity, your own language.

Yes, there is a few Basques that are members of a terrorist group, a couple dozen at the most, the terrorist group is known by its initials ETA and its members are known as Etarras.

To put it plain an simple, just as every Irish is not an IRA commando, not every Basque is an ETA commando either. If you must use the Irish and the Basques as an example of social groups dealing with terrorism then use the names of the terrorist organizations, just like you did on the case of the IRA and Northern Ireland. Your statement then should read something like "...like the IRA in Northen Ireland or the ETA in Spain...".

Do you see the subtle difference? Well, it makes a world of a difference to common folks like you and I that in my case happen to have a Basque background, I abhor violence, I believe that every conflict should find a negotiated and peaceful solution, yet just because I am Basque I am saddled with the label terrorist then and again either by idiotic people trying to damage the image of my ethnic group, by people too lazy to learn about the issue and then make educated statements and even by well intentioned people trying to make a fair assesment of the threat of terrorism which I hope was your case presidential hopeful Kerry.

Don't worry, the newspaper in India reporting the issue from the Sikh perspective, yup, the religious group that you likened to a terrorist organization, well, they made the same mistake and the called us by our other media tailored alias, they called us Basque separatists.

You see, not all Basques want independence from Spain, so, being Basque does not make a separatist out of you, heck, even the term separatist is incorrect, what we want is independence, we have all what is considered necessary to be a nation, Euskal Herria was there hundreds of years before Spain and France obtained their respective national unities and identities. So, a Basque yearning for self-determination does not want to separate a part of Spain from the rest of the country, he wants to regain the independence that the Basque Country had before the Spanish and French colonization.

So there you have it John Kerry, you are a person that once risked his life seven times in order to rescue a fallen comrade, you got shot rescuing him, you are a hero on many fellas books, so please, look into the issue and come up with an educated approach to the matter.

And yes, an apology would be nice.

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Contact Kerry Over Basque Remark

If you wish to email John Kerry at his Campaign Site about this issue or leave comments at his Blog you would be doing democracy a favor, remember, Kerry issued his statement at Oklahoma City, a city scarred by a terrorist attack that was carried out by Americans, how unfair would it be for all Americans that just because of derelicts like Timothy McVeigh all Americans would be labeled as "terrorists" or "white supremacists"?

That is exactly the danger of gross generalizations

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Kerry, Sikhs and Basques

This is the article that disclosed the information about Kerry's blanket statement while campaigning in Oklahoma (came to IBO members as courtesy of Google News Alert):



Hindustan Times


Sikhs in US demand apology from Senator Kerry

S Rajagopalan
Washington, February 6
Democratic front-runner John Kerry has raised the hackles of the Sikhs in the US with an off-the-cuff remark against the community while holding forth on the issue of terrorism.

A number of Sikh groups have demanded that Senator Kerry tender an apology and retract his remarks that tended to equate the whole community of Sikhs with the likes of IRA in Northern Ireland and the Basque separatists in Spain.

Kerry, speaking in Oklahoma during his recent campaign run, made the point that terrorism did not begin with September 11, 2001. Thereafter, the Sikh groups point out, he went on to give examples of Northern Ireland, the Basque separatists in Spain and "the Sikhs in India".

"This is deeply disturbing and has cast aspersions on the whole Sikh community," Dr Rajwant Singh of the Sikh Council told the Hindustan Times. He pointed out that the Massachusetts Senator has singled out the Sikh faith, while the others had been identified as ethnic groups.

The Sikh Mediawatch and Resource Taskforce (SMART) has written to Kerry and is awaited word from him. Singh said: "We have sought a personal meeting with him. He can't brand the entire community. He has got to retract his remarks." As a presidential candidate, he needs to be better educated about the Sikhs and their faith, another community leader said.

In its letter to Kerry, SMART noted: "Based on your response, which was broadcast on C-SPAN and other news outlets, all adherents of the Sikh faith can be interpreted as condoning or being associated with terrorism."

"Your Congressional staff has long worked with SMART on workplace discrimination and hate crimes issues, and we are confident that it was not your intent to single out adherents of the Sikh faith as terrorists," it said.

There is an undercurrent of fear among the Sikhs that ill-considered statements of the type from top political leaders could exacerbate the racial profiling that community members have been subjected to after 9/11.




If you want to learn more about the Sikhs, visit the website of SMART, the Sikh advocacy group demanding the apology from Kerry.

And if you want to listen to Kerry making the statement, here you can find it:

Your best way to know what he said is to hear/view the video recording of the speech, carried by C-Span TV.

You can find the speech at this web page:

rtsp://video.c-span.org/project/c04/c04020104_kerry.rm and forward to 31:30 (NOTE: This requires RealPlayer software application, available for free at http://www.real.com/).

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Friday, February 06, 2004

Eusko Gaztedi: 100 Years

Today at Berria English:

Century-old youth organisation

400 young Basque nationalists founded the “Euzko Gaztedi” youth organisation a hundred years ago; EGI now has about 4,000 members

Aitziber Laskibar – BILBO
Euzko Gaztedi (EGI) has completed a century. January 10 was the centenary of the founding of the youth organisation of the Euzko Alderdi Jeltzalea-EAJ in Bilbo. So this will be a year of celebrations for the youth organisation with the main event taking place in Bilbo on Sunday. In addition to this, the EGI members have brought out a new logo to mark their centenary and to be used throughout the year.

The current EGI grew out of the “Juventud Vasca”, created a hundred years ago by 400 young founders led by Luis Urrengoetxea. Although it began as a Bilbo association, Basque nationalism grew in strength and gradually spread to the whole of the Basque Country after overcoming many hurdles. Today EGI has about four thousand members and one its main aims is for “the political parties to pay attention to the demands of the young people”, as the EGI members Roberto Gonzalez and Joseba Antxustegi explained yesterday. The two young people explained during the press conference to announce the celebrations that the centenary will be marked by three initiatives. The main event is scheduled for Sunday, but it is not the only one. The EGI will in fact be holding its General Assembly on November 15 and 16 in Donostia (San Sebastian) when they will be adopting the main lines of their work for the coming years. They will be discussing mainly social matters but they will also be approving a new political manifesto. The EAJ youth wants to make this year’s “EGI Eguna” (EGI Day) special. For this reason the organisation will try to hold its annual day in Trebiño. “We will try to hold it in Argantzon, but we don’t know if it will be possible,” they explained. They want to hold this year’s “EGI Eguna” there “to proclaim that Trebiño is part of the Basque Country”.


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Thursday, February 05, 2004

Berria's New Feature

Maybe tomorrow I can tell you a little more about what is going down in Mexico, how a foreign judge is stomping all over the soverignty and the constitution of an independent country.

But first I want to show you a nifty new feature at Berria, this is how it works, you can go to Berria English and click on a given article's title, that will take you to the article and at the bottom you will find three options: "Printable Version", "Email to a Friend" and the best of them "Basque Version" which when you click on it will take you to the article on its original Euskara (Basque) version. Here I leave you with an example.

First in English:

Difficulties reported in defending Basque prisoners in Mexico

Their lawyers, Jone Goirizelaia and Joseba Agudo, have denounced that fact that since July the summary proceedings of the six Basque citizens in custody are under a sub judice rule, in accordance with the request of Judge Baltasar Garzon

Jon Eugi – DONOSTIA (San Sebastian)
In a press conference held in Donostia yesterday Joseba Agudo and Jone Goirizelaia, the Basque Country lawyers representing the six Basque citizens in custody in Mexico, denounced the “tremendous difficulties” they were experiencing in defending their clients’ rights in this case. At the request of Baltasar Garzon, the Spanish National Criminal Court judge, Jon Artola, Axun Gorrotxategi, Felix Garcia, Ernesto Alberdi, Asier Arronategi and Ernesto Urkijo were detained in July of last year and Spain has applied for them to be extradited. Agudo and Goirizelaia, who are working in collaboration with Barbara Zamora, the detainees’ Mexican lawyer, have complained about the “lack of information” in the process. They said that they had in fact gleaned what little they know from some documents sent to Mexico by the Spanish National Criminal Court.

And in Euskara:

Mexikoko euskal presoen defentsa egiteko zailtasunak salatu dituzte

Uztailetik Baltasar Garzonen eskariz atxilotuta dauden sei euskal herritarren sumarioa sekretua dela salatu dute Jone Goirizelaia eta Joseba Aguado abokatuek

jon eugi - DONOSTIA

Mexikon atxiloturik dauden sei euskal herritarren Euskal Herriko abokatuek, Joseba Agudo eta Jone Goirizelaiak, auzi honetan beren bezeroen eskubideak defenditzeko «zailtasun izugarriak» dituztela salatu zuten atzo Donostian emandako prentsaurrekoan. Baltasar Garzon Espainiako Auzitegi Nazionaleko epailearen eskariz, iazko uztailean atxilotu zituzten Jon Artola, Axun Gorrotxategi, Felix Garcia, Ernesto Alberdi, Asier Arronategi eta Ernesto Urkijo, eta haiek estraditatzeko eskaria egina dauka Espainiak. Haien Mexikoko abokatu Barbara Zamorarekin elkarlanean diharduten Agudo eta Goirizelaia prozeduraz duten «informazio faltaz» kexu agertu ziren. Izan ere, adierazi zutenez, dakiten apurra Espainiako Auzitegi Nazionalak Mexikora bidali dituen dokumentu batzuengatik dakite.


Nifty huh?

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Monday, February 02, 2004

Berria English and Its New Look

Aupa!

Go check out Berria English, it has a slick new look.

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Sunday, February 01, 2004

Kepa's Fusion Music

This article about Kepa Junkera appeared at The San Francisco Tribune:

Kepa Junkera

What happened in Spain with Kepa Junkera has happened with countless other musicians around the world, including Miles Davis and Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan: Junkera took a traditional music and modernized it for an audience that preferred more pulse -- then was barraged by critics who said the changes amounted to sacrilege.

Trikitixa music has held sway in the Basque region of Spain for more than 100 years. At its core is a button accordion (also called trikitixa) that historically accompanies tambourine and other basic instruments. During his professional career, Junkera has played the trikitixa with jazz musicians, African artists, classical orchestras -- anyone he believes will add important flavor to his compositions.

"In the beginning of my career," Junkera says in a phone interview from Spain, "traditional musicians hated my music because it was different. They used to say it was another kind of music -- not trikitixa."

That's all changed. Now, at age 38, Junkera is the pride of Euskadi (the Basque word for "Basque Country"), and constantly tours with his ensemble. On Friday, he brings them to Stanford's Dinkelspiel Auditorium, where it might be difficult for ushers to stanch the flow of people leaving their seats to dance. (Junkera also plays Saturday night in San Rafael and Sunday night in Napa.) Songs like "Kaixarranka," which is driven by drums and Junkera's volcanic trikitixa playing, are restive tributes to Junkera's homeland, but he can also slow down the pace. On his album "Bilbao Oo:Oh," some of his songs are almost sad and reflective -- which makes sense, given the volatile history of the Basque people, who were suppressed for decades under Francisco Franco.

Franco, who died in 1975, banned Basque music and the Basque language, prompting many Basques to call for the creation of a Basque nation separate from Spain. The Basque separatist movement, whose groups have used violence against Spanish officials, is still vocal in Spain, but Junkera -- like other Basque musicians -- says music and politics should be kept apart.

"When I'm asked about (being Basque), for me, I think the most important thing is the music," he says in words that are translated by his wife, Miren. "I have ideas, but I'm not radical at all. I think of myself as Basque, but I love Spain, too. I feel Basque and Spanish and European."

Basques are concentrated in the northern part of Spain, including the city of Bilbao, where Junkera grew up. It's a measure of Junkera's success that some people have compared him to the Frank Gehry- designed Guggenheim Museum that opened in Bilbao in 1997. Both (so the analogy goes) have given Bilbao a new international standing, but Junkera laughs and dismisses the comparison, just as he laughs at the ways that Spain's priests first referred, many decades ago, to the music of the trikitixa. According to Junkera, the priests called its sounds "bellows from hell" for the way it made men and women want to dance.

"It was (considered) bad because the women and men would dance together very tightly," he says.

A self-taught musician, Junkera continues to surprise established artists outside of Spain. Having already played with Bela Fleck, the Chieftains and others, Junkera performed last summer with Pat Matheny, at an impromptu concert in the Basque city of Vitoria-Gasteiz. Junkera and Matheny appeared separately at the city's annual jazz festival, but when Junkera's manager gave Matheny copies of Junkera's albums, Matheny requested an onstage collaboration.

Junkera, who has recorded more than 10 albums and also produces the records of different Basque groups, has become a role model for young Basque musicians in Spain. Other Basque groups have followed his lead and mixed their sounds with jazz and world music. As he considers all of this, Junkera almost can't believe how far he's come from his teenage days as an experimental musician playing for small crowds in village squares. He was first inspired to play trikitixa as a small boy, when he accompanied his mother and grandfather to village dances. His grandfather would play tambourine while his mother would dance. Musicians who played the trikitixa would produce sounds that, to Junkera, were unique and fun. Junkera likens trikitixa music to Tex-Mex music, which also incorporates accordions.

"I loved the rhythm and the sounds of the instrument -- that's why I started to play by myself, without a teacher," Junkera says. "When I started, I couldn't imagine that one day I could make albums, play around the world and make (a living) from my music."

Junkera still refers to trikitixa music as a "tradition," even though he has altered that tradition in ways he also couldn't have imagined all those years ago.

And when you read that someone like Junkera says something as stupid as "I feel Basque and Spanish and European" you begin to understand why reporters get so confused that they end up reporting that the trikititxa is from Spain. Junkera needs a backbone.

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Basque Night at the Goyas

It was a Basque night at the "Goyas".

Last night in Spain they had their version of the Oscar Awards, they are supposed to be called Goya Awards but since the Photographer's Association started using that name for their own awards before the Spanish Cinema Academy now the name is in dispute pending a court resolution.

Anyway, the Asociacion Victimas del Terrorismo and a few other fascist groups issued threats agains the event because the movie "Basque Ball:The Skin Against the Wall" by Basque director Julio Medem was nominated in the Documentary category. The Academy pressed on and decided to champion the freedom of speech and above all, the freedom to make movies. Actors, directors and producers showed their support by wearing a "Freedom of Speech" sticker and also during their acceptance speeches.

As it happened, "Basque Ball:The Skin Against the Wall" did not win a prize, but another Basque director swept the awards, it was Iciar Bollain with her movie "I Give You My Eyes" which revolves around domestic violence in Spain where due to the Macho Culture beating your wife is as natural as peeing after drinking a few beers. Both Iciar Bollain and her movie had previously swept the San Sebastian Film Festival awards.

Special mention goes to Luis Tosar, the Galizian actor who won for best actor for his performance in "I Give You My Eyes", last year he won the same prize and he dedicated his speech to the "Prestige" oiler tank disaster and this year dedicated his award to his "brother" Julio Medem, the freedom of speech and the resolution of the Basque conflict.

And all this smack in the middle of the heart of the beast, Madrid.

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