One of Madrid's main operators in the Basque Country called it quits and there is a little bit of hope that the technocrats within the PNV (Basque Nationalist Party) are losing the control they exercised with an iron fist for the last couple of years.
Now that Imaz is out maybe Ibarretxe will finally fire Balza and this way continue to eradicate all those who use the present situation to engage in human rights violations against the Basque people, let us remember here what just took place in Donostia a couple of days ago.
Here you have the note by Reuters that openly states that Zapatero needed Imaz to boycott any move by the Basque nationalism towards the self determination of Euskal Herria. Here it is:
Notice how Basque-phobe Jason Webb peppers its note with a couple of misconceptions about the political situation in Euskal Herria. First he dishes out Madrid's mantra that not all Basques want independence. If they are so sure why then do they refuse to allow a referendum on the issue?
Which brings us to Jason's second attempt to manipulate things. Referendums are considered within Spain's legal frame, but even if that was not the case, referendums are considered one of the basic human rights covered by the UN's Charter.
So there you have it, now you know in who's payroll Jason Webb is.
Now that Imaz is out maybe Ibarretxe will finally fire Balza and this way continue to eradicate all those who use the present situation to engage in human rights violations against the Basque people, let us remember here what just took place in Donostia a couple of days ago.
Here you have the note by Reuters that openly states that Zapatero needed Imaz to boycott any move by the Basque nationalism towards the self determination of Euskal Herria. Here it is:
Basque upheaval a headache for Spain's Zapatero
13 Sep 2007 12:47:58 GMT
Source: Reuters
By Jason Webb
MADRID, Sept 13 (Reuters) - The resignation of a senior politician in the Basque Country could stir separatist sentiment there, causing a serious problem for Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero as he seeks reelection.
Josu Jon Imaz said on Wednesday that he would leave his position as president of the Basque Nationalist Party (PNV), which has run the region's government since the 1980s.
The decision by Imaz, a moderate in Basque politics, was widely interpreted as a capitulation to a pro-independence wing within the PNV, which is proposing a referendum to ask Basques whether they want to be consulted about independence from Spain.
It could hardly have come at a worse time for Zapatero, a Socialist who had been hoping the Basque issue would not take centre stage in general elections next March.
"If (the call for a Basque referendum) were to come to the fore in the next couple of months, I think that could do Zapatero a certain amount of damage," said Charles Powell, a professor at Madrid's San Pablo-CEU University.
"It would show that both his Basque policy and his Catalan policy are unravelling."
Zapatero has tried to reach a compromise with nationalist sentiment in the Basque Country and also in Catalonia, by holding out the possibility of more autonomy on top of the significant powers already held by regional governments.
SPANISH UNITY
Spanish national unity is a traditional rallying cry of the conservative opposition Popular Party (PP), which fiercely criticised the Zapatero government's failed attempt to negotiate a peace deal with Basque separatist rebels ETA.
The prime minister's decision to call the talks off after ETA killed two people with a bomb at Madrid airport in December had deprived the PP of one of its main electioneering themes. But Imaz's decision means that the Basque question could become a major issue again.
"The moderate, pragmatic, deal-making figure is departing the PNV, and that could leave the party in hands of the radicals," wrote former PNV official Joseba Arregi in Thursday's El Mundo.
The Socialists have an opinion poll lead of three or four percentage points over the PP, which lost power at the last elections here in 2004. But, with Spain's economy showing signs of slowing after a decade-long boom and fears that younger left-wing Spaniards might not bother to vote, the Socialists know they have no room for complacency.
The PNV has long been the accepted face of Basque nationalism, whose violent extreme is represented by ETA, which has killed more than 800 people in four decades of armed struggle for independence.
Polls show most Basques do not want full independence and the regional government does not technically even have the power under Spanish law to call the referendum it is proposing. But this has not stopped it making plans, even though it has set not date for a vote.
"The thing is, who's going to have the guts in Madrid to call their bluff?" said Powell.
Notice how Basque-phobe Jason Webb peppers its note with a couple of misconceptions about the political situation in Euskal Herria. First he dishes out Madrid's mantra that not all Basques want independence. If they are so sure why then do they refuse to allow a referendum on the issue?
Which brings us to Jason's second attempt to manipulate things. Referendums are considered within Spain's legal frame, but even if that was not the case, referendums are considered one of the basic human rights covered by the UN's Charter.
So there you have it, now you know in who's payroll Jason Webb is.
~ ~ ~
No comments:
Post a Comment