It was nice of the European Parliament to call the shutting down of Egunkaria a problem. They messed up a bit, because it is not only an European problem, it is actually a world wide problem for Basque culture and language is a legacy of all humakind.
It was two years ago when the dark forces led by Aznar came down on a frontal attack against Euskera, stomping all over the human rights of an entire nation. They used their usual excuse, the newspaper Egunkaria had ties to ETA.
Because for people like Aznar, Garzón or del Olmo, anything and everything Basque has ties to ETA.
Two years later, no hard evidence, as usual.
A group of European Parlamentarians spoke out :
And well, just like Hillel Halkin said, there is a touch of hypocrisy in the way episodes like these are addressed by the European Union:
And hopefully, the village idiots will not accuse the Basques of being racist for something a Scot said:
This information appeared yesterday at Berria.
You can read the whole article here also.
It was two years ago when the dark forces led by Aznar came down on a frontal attack against Euskera, stomping all over the human rights of an entire nation. They used their usual excuse, the newspaper Egunkaria had ties to ETA.
Because for people like Aznar, Garzón or del Olmo, anything and everything Basque has ties to ETA.
Two years later, no hard evidence, as usual.
A group of European Parlamentarians spoke out :
In a press briefing about seven MEPs denounced the closing down two years ago of “the only newspaper in the Basque language”, called for the paper to be opened and reiterated that the basic rights that lie at the very heart of Europe have to be respected. A total of 22 MEPs signed a statement calling for the closing down of the paper to be suspended. They include Gerard Onesta, the deputy speaker of the European Parliament, and the presidents of three political groups in the Parliament. Jens-Peter Bonde, a Dane and a co-president of the Independence and Democracy Group, Monica Frassoni, an Italian and a co-president of the Group of the Greens, and Graham Watson, the president of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe. Josu Ortuondo, the EAJ-PNV MEP, underlined the seriousness of closing down a newspaper, and the rest concurred with him. “We are here to demand that basic rights be applied in the Basque Country, too”.
And well, just like Hillel Halkin said, there is a touch of hypocrisy in the way episodes like these are addressed by the European Union:
Important media representatives were unfortunately not present. “If the Turks were to close down a Kurdish paper, this press room would be full,” said Gerard Onesta, the deputy speaker of the European Parliament with regret. And Monica Frassoni, the co-president of the Group of the Greens, reiterated this: “The problem of freedom of expression is well known in many countries in Europe, even though not much is heard about it. However, the risks are there, as we can see from the closing down of Egunkaria. Terrorism is the excuse given to justify many things. We have to keep an eye on this. The closing down of Egunkaria is not exclusively a Basque problem, it is also a European problem. It’s under our responsibility.”
And hopefully, the village idiots will not accuse the Basques of being racist for something a Scot said:
They were keen to stress the need to respect diversity within Europe, as the Scot Ian Hudghton put it: “I can identify myself with the wishes of the Basques that their identity should be recognised”.
This information appeared yesterday at Berria.
You can read the whole article here also.
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