Today, it is 50 years since president Agirre´s dream, first World Basque Congress, became truth.
UPV's Contemporary History professor Ludger Mees, interviewed in radio programme "Mas que palabras" in Radio Euskadi, has declared that the event was extremely important in its times as 20th constitution anniversary of first Basque Government was also reminded. Such anniversary had a relevant importance in the field of contemporary Basque history and in the history of anti-Franco period movement in the Spanish State.
In the fifties, "Spanish and Basque republican anti-Franco years led by Agirre went into crisis after dictator Franco succeeded in coming out of the international isolation" when he signed agreements whose basis were set in U.S.. Such agreements triggered the anti-Franco period movement to be offside.
Nevertheless, few years before the summit Agirre decided "to recover the strength the movement previously had and to unify different Basque anti-Franco years factions in a large event where they could go beyond their differences" to show the unity of the movement, Mees explained.
According to Mees, every Anti-Franco period sector and entire Basque Government took part in the congress. Many of the attendants came from Latin America where they were in exile and about 60 succeeded to come from the State. Some attendants became important people in Basque politics posterior to Agirre's death.
"Though there were big frictions among anti-Franco period sectors, we have to underline that Agirre joined all of them in one single event that set up a highly important symbol". The historian emphasized.
By that time, Agirre had already seen that the allies' intervention against Franco had failed. Nonetheless, instead of becoming immersed in crisis he tried to find "another way: the European way. Approaching Europe that was being built, joining the continent as democrats, and isolating from Franco. He thought that the dictator would have to abdicate and ease the incorporation of not only the Basque Country but Spanish State too, to the emerging Europe".
However, what Agirre had planned did not come true. This is why Mees thinks that Agirre's main achievement was organizing first World Basque Congress. Finally, though he continued keeping in touch with Europe, first Basque president died in 1960 without being able to see his dreamt free and democratic Euskadi (Basque Country).
We should keep in mind that today, a pseudo-socialist government calls the shots in Spain, and Franco's followers still run amok. The violence against the Basques set in place by the Franco regime and its heirs, the members of the Partido Popular, has been strenghtened by the members of the PSOE, years ago with the creation of the GAL, and today, refusing to seat down and negotiate an end to the Spanish occupation of Euskal Herria even after six months of ETA's announcement of a cease fire.
All of this repression would not be possible if it was not for the quiet support by the other European nations, simply because many of them are also occupying other nations. Examples?
England occupies Scotland and Wales, also keeps an outpost in Ireland.
France occupies parts of the Basque Country, parts of Catalunya, Brittany and Corsica.
And so on and so forth.
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