Batasuna's Call for Compromise

For those of you who do not know it, Batasuna is a political party that was banned by José María Aznar, yes, you read that correctly, in Spain a so called "young democracy" they ban political parties. You are going to love it even more when you learn that this Aznar is the son of a prominent junta member during the dictatorship of Francisco Franco. As you can see, some things never change in Spain, no wonder why the Basques want nothing to do with a country that shows such disregard for democracy, civil liberties and human rights.

Well, Batasuna was banned for refusing to state something some else wants them to state, as if you could be sent to jail for refusing to say "I hate rap music" when someone else demands it from you.

As it happens, the politicans from Batasuna are the only ones with the political courage to demand from ETA to stick to its compromise in behalf of the Basque Peace Process.

Here you have the note from Yahoo News:

Basque militant urges continued peace

By MAR ROMAN, Associated Press Writer

Mon Jan 8, 5:06 PM ET

A leading pro-independence militant urged the armed Basque separatist group ETA on Monday to maintain a cease-fire which the government declared void following a Dec. 30 car bombing in Madrid that killed two people.

Arnaldo Otegi, leader of the outlawed Batasuna Party, called on ETA "to keep intact the commitments and objectives stated in its March 22" cease-fire announcement. He also encouraged the government and ETA to resume contacts.

"Political dialogue has to be developed ... in the absence of any kind of violence," he added.

Batasuna, considered ETA's political wing, has never called on ETA to halt its attacks. Last week, party members said they said they were surprised by the Madrid bombing and offered condolences to the victims in another unexpected gesture.

The bomb destroyed a parking garage at Madrid's international airport, killing Ecuadorean immigrants Carlos Alonso Palate and Diego Armando Estacio, and wounding 26 people.

Hundreds of people in the Spanish capital, meanwhile, staged a silent protest in memory of the two victims.

Five-minute silences were observed at noon in Madrid from city hall to the airport. Workers, passengers, firefighters and police at the blast site stopped all activities for the five minutes of silence.

The bombing was ETA's first fatal attack in more than three years and it shattered a nine-month cease-fire that the group had described as permanent.

The government, which had announced plans to negotiate with ETA, responded by declaring the peace process was over.

On Monday, Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero met with opposition leader Mariano Rajoy for talks aimed at forging a united stance following the attack, but no agreement was reached.

ETA has not claimed responsibility for the blast, but a man who made a warning call to authorities before the explosion said he represented the group.

Zapatero has said he is more determined than ever to end ETA's nearly four-decade campaign of violence, aimed at achieving an independent Basque homeland.

Rodriguez (some like calling him Zapatero for some reason) must understand that to end violence one simple thing needs to be accomplished, for justice to be served, and that will happen when the Basques are allowed to go their own way, as enshrined at the UN's Charter.

~ ~ ~