Referendum, the Pesky Issue

Well, despite what other people say, seems like the Lehendakari will continue with his plan of a referendum.

Reminder to the nay-sayers, referendums are not violent, people answers to a couple of questions and that's it.

Meaning, the Basque Premier and those who support him are as commited to a peaceful resolution to the conflict as they can be.

Why are the Spaniards that have been telling the world that the Basque do not want independence so afraid of?

If they are so sure of their statement, one that the US media repeats like the mindless parrots they are, how come no one wants the referendum?

Wouldn't the same Basques that (according to Madrid) do not want independence simply vote against it at a referendum making it the end of it?

Seems like the spin-meisters are not being consistent, double standard is a bitch.

Here is a note that appeared at Berria regarding Ibarretxe's promise for a referendum:

Ibarretxe says referendum will complete process

In his end-of-year message the President of the Basque Autonomous Community spoke of his intention to hold a referendum, either on an accord reached with Madrid or on the project passed with an absolute majority in the BAC Parliament

Editorial Staff – GASTEIZ (Vitoria)

During his end-of-year message Juan Jose Ibarretxe, the Lehendakari (President) of the BAC-Basque Autonomous Community, hailed the legislative term that will shortly be coming to an end as “historic”, because it had “paved the way towards breaking the deadlock in the Basque question”. With respect to the Political Statute Proposal he said that he had asked the Spanish Prime Minister to begin “an open, flexible” negotiation process, and confirmed that the process would culminate in a referendum. “Either with a referendum on an accord which could be reached in the future, or one on the project which had been passed with an absolute majority in the BAC Parliament,” he said.

Regarding the approval of the Plan, he said: “I am delighted to be able to tell you that today we have set the train of the future in motion. As you know, we debated the New Political Statute Proposal in the BAC Parliament yesterday [December 30]. This proposal sets out a new sphere of coexistence with Spain, which is based on free association and the acceptance of mutual respect.” He explained that the thirty-nine votes in favour meant that the Proposal had secured a majority backing, which was sufficient, according to the terms of the Statute of Gernika [currently in force], to continue the process to draw up a New Statute in the Spanish Parliament. “This is not the moment,” he went on, “to cast doubt on the legitimacy of the support obtained by the new Statute Proposal”. He pointed out that the ones who doubted the legitimacy of Batasuna’s votes in Parliament had not said a single word about the fact that the PP, the PSE-EE and Batasuna had often voted together against the initiatives of the BAC Government, like the vote on the Budget on December 28.

In this context he said the time had come “to stress the two main foundations on which the New Statute Proposal is built: respect for all the human rights of all the people and citizens and respect for the wishes of the Basque public at large.”

He explained that he and his government had decided that meetings should be held with representatives of the parliamentary groups over the coming days to discuss how to manage the New Statute Proposal, “to specify how to manage a new political era from which there is no turning back”. He pointed out that everyone, starting with himself, “has to rise to the occasion calmly and not insult anyone else.” He went on to say he had informed the Spanish Prime Minister on December 30 that the BAC Parliament had passed the New Statute Proposal and asked him to start “an open, flexible process of political negotiation”. He added that the process would culminate in the decision taken by the Basque public at large by means of a democratic consultation conducted in a situation without violence, “either on an accord that can be achieved in the future, or the project that has secured an absolute majority in the BAC Parliament”.

With respect to peace he said: “Basque society has been through many years of pain and suffering. Wars, repression, dictatorship, violence, terrorism, victims, torture, dispersion. We have suffered enough. We have to put an end to this tragic spiral.” He concluded by saying that 2005 would be a year of peace in the Basque Country.

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