Sunday, November 30, 2008

The Last Conflict

Via The Guardian we get this article that speaks out against the campaign of lies and deception set in place by Madrid against the Basque people, an slander campaign that easily finds echoes in the international media. Here you have it:

Europe's last conflict

Recent events point towards a gloomy prognosis for the Basque-Spanish conflict

Máirtín Ó Muilleoir

guardian.co.uk, Saturday November 29 2008 14.00 GMT

In the mountain village of Lizartza – population 500 – in the Basque country, they have a stellar reputation for rolling out the red carpet for visitors. So why has the arrival of a new blow-in village mayor sparked angry protests?

Because in the most recent local government poll, the sitting council members were all banned from standing for election due to their association with the Basque independence party Batasuna. That left the way clear for a representative of the conservative Partido Popular to sweep the boards and, with almost fewer votes than fingers, become village mayor.

Visits by the mayor, whose major contribution to civic life is to provocatively raise the Spanish flag over the fiercely Basque hamlet, prompt the full deployment of the riot police.

So far, one local pensioner has received a four-year sentence for allegedly hitting the mayor in the eye with a Basque flag during demonstrations by furious villagers.

It's against this surreal background – of banned political parties, aborted political processes, and prison sentences for voicing points of view – that coverage of the attempted extradition of former Eta leader Iñaki de Juana Chaos from Belfast to Madrid must be assessed.

The Guardian reports that de Juana Chaos handed over a letter to Basque protesters urging the continuation of the Eta armed campaign (a bloody and counterproductive campaign which this writer condemns unreservedly).

In fact, the former Eta prisoner denies providing any such letter. It's even more bizarre: the alleged call to arms in the "letter" is the statement, "keep the ball going forward".

Post 9/11, the Spanish government got away with disgraceful activities in the name of the "war on terror". That included the shuttering of the Basque daily newspaper Egunkaria and the torture of its directors.

Almost six years later, asinine accusations that the newspaper – the only one banned by a western democracy in recent times – was sending secret messages to Eta have yet to reach a court of law.

The UN special rapporteur on torture has found clear evidence of the torture of the Egunkaria staffers, including Martxelo Otamendi, now editor of the replacement Basque daily Berria, who I interviewed on video for my blog last week – after the judges in Madrid had returned him his passport, seized in 2003, so that he could travel to our annual awards evening.

Last year, the priest credited with brokering the Irish peace process, Father Alex Reid, returned from the Basque country because in his view, the Spanish government had no interest in building a peace process.

Recent events would seem to confirm his gloomy prognosis for the Basque-Spanish conflict. However, having sipped the sweet patxarana liquor in the clubhouse of the Lizartza gastronomical society and raised a glass to the generosity of the Basques, I refuse to believe that Europe's last battlefield must be condemned to another generation of warfare.


Things could be different if the Spaniards (and the French for that case) were able to let go of the pride the get from their colonialist (and genocidal) past.

Kudos to Mr. Ó Muilleoir for his commitment with peace, justice and truth. I have added a link to his blog entitled "From the Balcony, A Publisher's Blog".

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Friday, November 28, 2008

Visiting Iruñea

This article about the capital city of Euskal Herria, Iruñea (known around the world as Pamplona) comes to us courtesy of Napa Valley Register:

No bull: Pamplona is cultural and culinary center of Basque Country

Friday, November 28, 2008

By L. PIERCE CARSON
Register Staff Writer

PAMPLONA, Spain — While Pamplona has achieved international notoriety thanks to Ernest Hemingway’s fascination with and descriptions of the thrilling Running of the Bulls in his novels, this otherwise tranquil city is without a doubt, much more than the edge-of-your-seat, bull-dashing frenzy that often seems to define it.

The winding streets of the compact center not only host the clamoring bulls for one week each July, but are also home to lots of history, architectural treasures, picturesque plazas, quaint shops and delightful cafés.

Tucked into a valley and surrounded by lush alpine countryside of the Pyrenees foothills, Pamplona is the historic capital of Basque Country and the current capital of Navarra, one of Spain’s 17 autonomous communities.

Pamplona’s main sights are dispersed throughout the so-called “old town,” which is divided into three parts — La Navarrería, the city’s oldest section, and the 12th century boroughs of San Cernin and San Nicolás.

Culture vultures won’t walk away disappointed after a meandering stroll through La Navarrería, the oldest “burgo,” home to well-preserved architecture, stretches of the original city walls, museums, theaters and Catedral de Santa Maria with its thundering bells.

In addition, La Navarrería is the hub of Pamplona’s social life and without a doubt “pintxos” central, where you can enjoy the Spanish art of bouncing around from bar to bar tasting each establishment’s scrumptious tapas, called “pintxos” in Basque.

One of Pamplona’s noteworthy aspects is the impressive amount of parks, gardens and other greenspace that make it one of Europe’s greenest cities. Also at the edge of the city is La Ciudadela, a star-shaped citadel built centuries ago to defend Pamplona from invaders. Today, it is a top historical attraction and home to non-stop exhibitions.

On top of that, it is a great place to stay should you want to meander around the region to visit impressive wine estates.

Where to stay: if you want to keep the bill under 200 Euros per night, one of the best options is Iruña Palace Hotel Tres Reyes, a four-star hotel located by the Taconera Gardens, right in the center of Pamplona, between the old town and the modern city. Hotel Tres Reyes features a garden and an outdoor swimming pool. For those aiming to keep fit, the hotel boasts a complete gym, offering personal trainer service. It also offers an Internet Point with printer.

For well under 100 Euros per night, there’s the three-star Husa Avenida Hotel, a short walk from Ciudadela Park and Taconera Gardens. It has two restaurants, the Leyre and the Tradicional, which offer traditional dishes, a coffee bar, Wi-Fi Internet connection throughout and the advantage of being only minutes away from the train station and Pamplona-Nóain International Airport.

Where to eat: With its small, compact city center, Pamplona is the perfect city in which to spend an evening bar hopping from tapas bar to tapas bar. Basque tapas are widely considered to be the tastiest in all of Spain. The streets Calle San Nicolás, Calle Estafeta and Calle de Jarauta are chockfull of pintxos bars.

Another popular establishment is Café Iruña with its Belle Epoque decor. Located on Plaza del Castillo, Café Iruña was a Hemingway hangout and is a great place to nurse a coffee, nibble on a snack, grab a drink and just people watch.

There are also a few fine dining establishments, including one with a Michelin star. Long one of the premier restaurants in Navarra, Rodero Restaurante offers both nuevo and traditional Basque dishes. Executive chef Koldo Rodero and his team provide exciting menus paired with the restaurant’s extensive wine collection — or even the wines you may have discovered while visiting — matched by the outstanding service directed by the family’s distaff side in the front of the house. A recent dinner there featured baby squid casserole with sweet and sour potatoes and squid ink-infused tapioca, as well as a hare stewed in foie gras, truffles and its own blood.

Named for a mountain in Quinto Real, Enekorri features creative cookery and a fabulous wine list. A comfortable dining room features contemporary oil paintings on the walls and never-ending plates of outstanding food from the kitchen of chef Fernando Flores. Flores and his first-rate culinary team delighted visiting journalists with a meal that ranged from a very seductive tomato soup to a dessert plate that explored the diverse yet complementary flavors of spices — pear with cardamom, creme anglaise with cloves, chocolate mousse with nutmeg and cake roll with cinnamon cream. In between, taste buds were stimulated by wild bluefish over black olive and onion sauce, sautéed langoustines on creamed broccoli and butter foam, plus grilled loin of venison with seasonal vegetables and raspberry jus.

Getting there: If you want to fly directly into Pamplona, then your best bet is to book a flight to Madrid on Iberia and connect to Pamplona. Our group flew to Bilbao instead, allowing us a little time to check out the cultural scene in this bustling Basque city. You can fly to Bilbao via Frankfurt on Lufthansa or United, or via Paris with Air France. Then when you’re ready, hop aboard a relatively comfortable bus for the inexpensive, picturesque two hour ride to Pamplona.

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Thursday, November 27, 2008

Greenland and Euskal Herria

Greenland's move towards independence has created some ripples in Europe, two different news outlets refer to the Basque Country in their coverage.

Here you have the article from Russia Today:

Greenland votes to freeze out Denmark

The Artic island of Greenland – a Danish province - has voted resoundingly to start weaning itself off subsidies from Copenhagen. A vote on Tuesday could pave the way to independence for the world’s largest island.

The non-binding referendum was supported by 76 per cent of the population, according to Greenland's election commission; only 24 per cent voted against.

The plan, among many things, calls for Greenland to have its own police force, courts and coast guard.

It would also make the native Inuit tongue, Greenlandic, the official language. Most people descend from Inuit and speak their native language on a daily basis. Only a small minority of ethnic Danish speak only Danish.

Perhaps one of the most important aspects of the referendum was how potential profits from undiscovered oil fields in Greenland would be shared.

Under the current plan, the first 500 million Danish Kroner ($US 84 million) is split evenly between Denmark and Greenland. However, the new plan would give Greenland the first 75 million Kroner ($12.6 million) of oil revenue, with additional revenues being shared equally with Copenhagen.

The world's largest island connection with Denmark goes back a long way.

In 1775 it became a colony of the Danish Kingdom and remained so until 1953, when the constitution was revised making Greenland a province.

On a side note, the United States developed a geopolitical interest in the island and in 1946 offered Denmark $100 million to buy it. Denmark refused.

Under the 1979 Home Rule Act, Greenland got its own parliament and government. It also runs its own health system, schools and social services.

However, the Danish government still looks after the military and foreign affairs.

Most of the major political parties in Greenland supported more autonomy for its population of 54,000, except the opposition Democrats, who were worried that Greenland might not be able to financially support itself under greater autonomy.

The outcome of the referendum is likely to be respected because Denmark supports both greater autonomy for Greenland and a phase-out of an annual Danish subsidy of about 3.5 Kroner ($588 million), which accounts for two-thirds of the island's income.

With the support of the Danish parliament, Greenland looks to have a relatively smooth transition towards greater autonomy.

However, not all battles for autonomy in Europe go so smoothly.

The Basque situation

The Basque country is an autonomous area in northern Spain which is similar to Greenland in that it has its own parliament and government, controls the health and education systems and has a police force.

The history of its people and origin is relatively unknown and the language itself has no relation to any of the Indo-European languages that surround it. The language is central to how Basque people identify themselves.

The term Euskaldun meaning 'basque speaker' is the term for identification and Euskal Herria meaning 'Country of the Basque Language' is how they refer to their country.

Since Spain granted the area autonomy in 1978, and even before, violence and controversy has punctuated the Basque country’s fight for independence.

The ETA party (Euskadi ta Askatasuna) meaning Basque Fatherland and Liberty has been at the heart of this fight.

ETA declared a ceasefire in 2006. However, later that year a car bomb exploded in a parking lot at Madrid’s Barajas International Airport, killing two Ecuadorians.

The event prompted Spanish president José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero to call the peace process "discontinued".

Kosovo independence

Following the intense UN bombing missions in Serbia and Kosovo, the two Balkan regions remained bitter enemies. The first time Kosovo declared independence was in 1990 and only Albania recognized it.

Following the war in 1999, Kosovo began pushing harder for independence, culminating in its recent declaration in February of this year. Now 52 nations including the United States recognise it as a sovereign country.

The European Union advised all member states to make an individual choice about recognizing Kosovo. So far, 22 of the 27 have established ties with Pristina.

In February, Germany became the first nation to formalize its recognition by renaming its diplomatic presence in Pristina, Kosovo's capital, an embassy.

Russia has so far resisted acknowledging Kosovo due to the resistance by the west to applying the same status to the breakaway republics of South Ossetia and Abkhazia.

Rusyns in Ukraine

In Ukraine, a group of people identifying themselves as Rusyns have declared autonomy from Kiev.

While this group of people have never been independent, they are now seeking to free themselves from Ukraine's control.

The group has recently called for the establishment of a Ruthenian Statehood within Ukraine.

This would grant the Rusyns broad autonomy. However, the European Congress of Rusyns (ECR) said that if Kiev does not accept their proposal by 1 December, Rusyns will proclaim itselft an independent state, which could lead to violence.

Back to Europe

Belgium is in the midst of a major political crisis and the Dutch speaking Flemish part of Belgium aims to distance itself from the French speaking south.

The Dutch speaking area, which is more wealthy and home to cities like Antwerp, feels that it is burdened with supporting French speaking Walloons in the south with their tax money.

On the other side, the French want there language to be the official language of Belgium.

The government is in turmoil as various factions jockey for position. A solution is not visible in the foreseeable future. There has even been speculation that the crisis could cause the country to split.

The Green Mountain Manifesto

Fortunately, not all secession movements involve violence. The US state of Vermont is the perfect example.

The Second Vermont Republic is a secessionist group that aims to restore the independent status of the state, which it enjoyed between 1771 and 1791 before joining the United States.

According to its website, it is aiming for a peaceful separation from the Union. In 2005, 300 people turned out for a secession convention.

More recently, the University of Vermont's Center for Rural Studies conducted a poll in which 13 per cent responded that they would support Vermont leaving the union which is up from eight per cent two years earlier.

Vermont is one of four states (California, Hawaii and Texas) who were once independent republics. Naturally, there are small secession movements in those states as well.


And the reaction in Euskal Herria from Monsters and Critics:

Basques hail Greenland vote as precedent for Spain

Europe News Nov 26, 2008, 11:33 GMT

Bilbao, Spain - Basque separatists Wednesday hailed the vote giving Greenland more autonomy as proving the right of peoples to self-determination within the European Union.

The vote showed the democratic character of Denmark, which had allowed it to take place, as opposed to 'the blinkered attitude of Spain, which denies the right of the Basque people to obtain independence,' said Mikel Irujo, a European Parliament member and spokesman for Eusko Alkartasuna (EA).

EA is in the Basque regional government, which is headed by the more moderate Basque Nationalist Party (PNV).

By the way, the reporting by Russia Today regarding Euskal Herria contains all the mistakes you usually find when the reporter reduces its research to whatever is available from the press junkets prepared by Madrid. The Basque Country's northern portion is under the occupation of France, therefore the political conflict can not be reduced to an internal issue for Spain. The "greater autonomy" was granted to only three out of the four Basque provinces currently under Spanish colonialist occupation. And it was Zapatero the one who derailed the Peace Process when he had ETA's envoys to the peace talks arrested, thus violating the Geneva Convention.

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Songs of Struggle

This information comes to us from our friends at the Irish Basque Committees:




SATURDAY 29TH OF NOVEMBER
SONGS OF STRUGGLE FUNDRAISING NIGHT
IN AID OF BELFAST BASQUE SOLIDARITY COMMITTEE
RODDEY'S MCCORLY'S, Glen Road
8PM £5

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Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Boise's Ikastola

This comes to us thanks to EITb:

Boise

Boiseko Ikastola, a dream come true

Igor Lansorena

Boiseko Ikastola, the only Basque preschool outside of the Basque Country, opened its doors in 1998 thanks to some parents' hard work. Ten years later, it is a dream come true.

One would never expect to find a Basque language school in the United States. However, Boiseko Ikastola, a Basque language immersion preschool in the capital city of Idaho, serves as an example of how Boise's Basque community grows stronger every day and remains devoted to keeping its links to the Basque culture alive.

Started ten years ago by a group of parents who wanted for their kids to have a chance to learn the Basque language, Boiseko Ikastola started with eight kids and some parents as teachers. Nowadays, they have two Basque native teachers, Irune and Goiuri, and sixteen kids split between two classes, including some who do not have any Basque heritage behind them. "A lot of people are interested in having their kids speak a second language", Mara Davis, director of Boiseko Ikastola, says.

Currently, Boiseko ikastola is fully settled and already planning a special celebration for its tenth anniversary. "We want to do something special for all the alumni and the kids that have been here for ten years, do something in the Basque block in springtime, do something for everybody to get together, see how they have grown, see people and the kids that were here before", Mara recounts.

According to Mara, routine and everyday problems in Boiseko Ikastola are the same as in other Basque schools, "common problems, behavior problems and discipline problems, the same as in any preschool, anywhere".

"Everyday, the morning classes are routine: colors, numbers, what is the weather like, and in the afternoons it is more arts and crafts, or we might watch a movie, or go for a walk. In the afternoon, it is more out of routine", the director recounts.

Other types of issues, such as funding or finding the teaching staff, have different solutions from a school in the Basque Country. Boiseko Ikastola receives a grant from the Basque Government, which Mara Davis is really thankful for.

"If we did not have those funds, we might not be able to function separately as an Ikastola for very long. We are so grateful for the money that comes from the Basque Government. We just do not have the enrolment that we would need to stand on our own substantially", she says.

The school also gets a grant from the Cenarrusa Foundation for Basque Culture, which, according to Mara, helps people who need financial help, about a couple of families every semester.

As for the task of finding teachers, Mara recognizes that it is the toughest part. "A lot of teachers that come over are young, they finish school and they only want to travel for a year, they want to experience something for a year, which is great, but on the other hand, the kids here, at the age they are, they need that consistency here, they need to see a friendly face every time they came to school, so it is harder on them, on the kids, because they see somebody new every year", Mara explains.

Expansion process

The Ikastola uses Saint Paul's Catholic Newman Center's building to carry out its activities because building safety regulations and health regulations prevented the Ikastola from starting at the Basque block ten years ago. However, moving there should not be ruled out in the future, if the expansion process of the Basque Center and the Basque museum ends up taking place and the same amount of space for the children can be provided.

"I would love it to be there, I would love to be part of the block. It would be nice to be down there, but we are happy with the space we have", Mara confesses. "We started here ten years ago and we have just have not found the space that we have here. We have two classes, a courtyard, a gym, a full kitchen, two offices, the computer room. So, it is really hard to find any space downtown that is as big as this or that is worth the money", she adds.

Boiseko Ikastola does not have any kind of communication with any other ikastolas in the Basque Country at the moment, but Mara admits that is one of the things she wants to start doing this year.

"I would love to be able to do it through Skype, or the webcam, or something like that but I would also like to put something together in videotape or cd-rom that we could send to them so that they could see what we do everyday and then possibly, get something back, so they know more about us and we know more about them. Maybe we are using the same curriculum, maybe we are doing the same things, so it would be nice to start communication", she says.


Hopefully this will act as inspiration for the Basque communities in Mexico, Argentina, Chile and Uruguay to come up with similar projects.

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Eusko Flickr : Lainoa


Lainoa
Originally uploaded by mberasategi

Sunday, November 23, 2008

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Welsh and Basque

This article published by Welsh OnLine tells us about how the Basque initiatives to rescue and strengthen Euskara (the Basque language) are an inspiration to other peoples defending their own languages, in this case, Welsh.

Here you have it:

Spanish example holds the key to the future of Welsh
Justify Full
Nov 19 2008 by Our Correspondent, Western Mail

Wales must learn lessons from the Basque country when it comes to ensuring the survival of Welsh, argues Catrin Dafydd of language campaign group Cymdeithas yr Iaith Gymraeg

THERE is no doubt that the next few months will have a far-reaching effect on the future of the Welsh language. Of course, there is no use discussing the Welsh language as a stand-alone figure in the corner of the pub. When we talk about languages, we talk about people and communities.

The One Wales Assembly Government is about to publish a draft Legislative Competency Order (LCO) that will show us possible legislative scenarios Welsh could face over the coming years.

And while legislation alone cannot change the situation, it can help ensure the future of a minority language in a globalised world.

A delegation from Cymdeithas yr Iaith Gymraeg recently visited the Basque country to see what people there are doing to keep their language alive.

Of all minority languages, the Basque language – or Euskara – has most in common with Welsh. There are about 600,000 Euskara-speakers in a country with a population of about three million.

From the moment you land in Bilbao, you notice a stark linguistic contrast to our own situation, with visual examples of stronger language legislation – bilingual signs are the norm and the co-operative supermarket chain Eroski provides own-brand packaging with instructions in up to five languages.

You are quickly made aware of the fact that in Euskadi – the autonomous community of the Basque country – citizens have a legal right to use the language in the public and (more recently) private and voluntary sectors. Because of this, companies such as EMUN have been set up to assist all kinds of private companies as they develop effective responses to language rights.

Companies are awarded certificates to show customers that staff are able to provide services in Euskara.

Moreover, the Observatory of Linguistic Rights provides a free phone service allowing people to log complaints when these rights are infringed. The complaints are then catalogued and presented to the government.

Lawyers working on behalf of Euskara Kultur Eskargoa are also responsible for representing Basque-speakers in courts of law. A system of defending peoples’ linguistic rights is an alien concept for us in Wales – currently we can only use Welsh in the courts under fairly limited circumstances.

Kontseilua is an umbrella group of 45 societies and institutions which campaign on linguistic matters. Most of these groups are indirectly funded by public money, yet they are happy to challenge and criticise government policy where necessary in order to promote the normalisation of the Basque language.

The government acts as a champion, not only passing legislation, but also taking responsibility to ensure it is implemented. There is a dialogue between institutions and government, in a country where the fact that independent bodies are ready to offer a critique of the linguistic legislative system is welcomed.

Back in Wales, we seem to be lagging behind other European nations in terms of language legislation. It is high time we redressed the balance between voluntary efforts to promote Welsh and the need for statutory guidance. The length and breadth of the LCO will show us just what the One Wales Government has in store. Will it create the necessary legislative conditions for Welsh language to thrive or will its growth be stunted once more?

The people of Wales should scrutinise the LCO for three things: that the Order allows Welsh to be recognised as an official language; that a commissioner is established to defend linguistic rights; and, most importantly, that it grants specific rights for anyone who chooses to use Welsh on a daily basis at work, at home, at school, at the shops or wherever.

Legislation isn’t a quick fix but positive changes can result. All eyes are on the One Wales Government as it unveils its vision for the Welsh language. Of course, we all have a role to play in ensuring Welsh is used in our communities. But for now, we should examine the exact details of the One Wales Government’s vision for a truly bilingual Wales.

Catrin Dafydd heads Cymdeithas yr Iaith Gymraeg’s campaign for a new Welsh Language Act


Now, it seems like the Western mail correspondent misses the whole point of the article by entitling his/her article "Spanish example".... is like if I would write an article about the defense of Welsh culture to go on and title it "English culture". This tells you just how deep the disinformation campaign set in place by Madrid against the Basques runs.

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Eusko Flickr : Udazkena Aralarren


Udazkena Aralarren
Originally uploaded by jonlp

Saturday, November 15, 2008

Friday, November 14, 2008

Call for Resolution of Basque Conflict

Good news come to us via An Phoblacht, a group of high profile individuals have call upon the European Union to take a more active approach towards the resolution of the political conflict between the Basque Country on one side and France and Spain on the other side.

Here you have the info:

De Brún calls for EU role in resolution of Basque conflict

Bairbre de Brún joined prominent international speakers in calling on the European Union to encourage a peace process in the Basque Country.

The call was made at a conference on Conflict Resolution in the EU which was addressed by Bairbre de Brún MEP, prominent South African human rights lawyer Brian Currin and former Secretary General of Interpol Raymond Kendall. Currin and Kendall are both members of the International Initiative for Peace and Dialogue in the Basque Country. The conference was attended by MEPs, staff and parliamentary assistants from all the main political groups in the European Parliament.

Speaking at the Conference de Brún said:

“As the US, the EU and others helped the Irish Peace Process, so too there is an important role for the international community in encouraging a peace process in the Basque country. In the first instance the European Union should encourage inclusive political dialogue in the Basque Country, recognising that a security response to conflict is not sufficient to ensure lasting peace.

“The EU has contributed and continues to contribute to the success story of the Irish Peace Process. We in Ireland can now also give something back through a proposed Europe-wide network of regions and cities that are coming out of conflict or that are living with conflict and exclusion, and through the possibility of establishing in the North of Ireland an EU Centre for Conflict Resolution.”

The Conference on Conflict Resolution in the EU was organised by Basque Friendship: MEPs support group for a peace process in the Basque Country, of which Bairbre de Brún is a member.

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The Importance of a Name

The government of the Basque Autonomous Community has decided to give a step backwards in the struggle by the Basque sports' teams to compete for the Basque Country. But the Basque football players are not buying it, this note published by the International Herald Tribune addresses the issue:

Basque players may boycott Iran friendly over name

The Associated Press
Published: November 13, 2008

BILBAO, Spain: Basque Country players may boycott a football friendly against Iran next month because of a dispute over the team's name.

One hundred and sixty-five current and former Basque players said in a statement on Thursday that they will not be available for the Dec. 23 match if the Basque football federation returns to calling the team Euskadi instead of Euskadi Herria.

The federation changed the name to Euskadi Herria last July at the urging of the players, who felt it was a better overall reference to the players' origins.

Basque County had been referred to as Euskadi since 1990.

Twenty-seven players from Basque club Athletic Bilbao and others from a variety of clubs ranging from Real Sociedad to Panathinaikos signed the letter.

Like other Spanish regions, players native to the Basque Country occasionally gather to compete in friendlies against international teams but aren't permitted to play in official competitions.


Actually, the name that the players want is Euskal Herria, not Euskadi Herria. The thing is, the name Euskadi has been increasingly associated with only the three provinces that conform the Basque Autonomous Community, a political entity that is ruled by the Basque Nationalist Party, a political party that has been veering off the path to independence for the Basque Country to comply by the goal of its leadership to obtain financial profits from the current political status with Spain. Euskal Herria on the other hand is a term that encompasses the seven historic Basque provinces, this is why the players prefer it over the other one, because their will is to participate in the broader project of conforming a Basque nation, recognized by the international community.

As its obvious, the Basque football players have much more integrity and dignity that the Basque politicians that rule the destiny of the Basque Nationalist Party.

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Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Real Union's Victory

Spaniards must be quite upset right about now, but why?

Well, a humble Basque football team just expelled the mighty Real Madrid from a football tournament that honors Franco's appointed ruler Juan Carlos Borbon (whom some people call king for some obscure reason).

Back in October when Irun based Real Union defeated Real Madrid in their home field this was the reaction:

Madrid loses 3-2 to third-division Real Union in Copa del Rey

Oct 30, 2008

IRUN, Spain — Third-division Real Union upset Real Madrid 3-2 in the Copa del Rey on Thursday, continuing the Spanish league champion's poor record in the knockout competition it hasn't won since 1993.

Juan Dominguez scored twice and Inaki Goikoetxea netted the winner for Real Union, while Gonzalo Higuain and Javier Saviola replied in the fourth round first-leg match for Madrid, which will need a victory to progress from the return leg at Santiago Bernabeu Stadium on Nov. 12.

Madrid was the fourth top-flight team to suffer an upset in this week's Copa del Rey games. On Wednesday, Villarreal was humiliated 5-0 at third-division Polideportivo Ejido, Racing Santander went down 2-1 at second-division Murcia, while Sevilla lost 1-0 at third-division Ponferradina.

There was a scare in the 14th minute when Madrid's Spain midfielder Ruben De La Red fell as he walked away from the Real Union penalty area. De La Red was carried off on a stretcher after being treated for two minutes. Reports said De La Red fainted but quickly recovered consciousness at Real Union's Gal Stadium. The 23-year-old player was taken to hospital as a precaution but would reportedly be allowed to travel back to Madrid with his teammates.

Madrid coach Bernd Schuster fielded an understrength team, with goalkeeper Iker Casillas, captain Raul Gonzalez, striker Ruud van Nistelrooy among those rested. Real Union, which won the competition in 1924, stunned the league champions in the second minute when Dominguez forced his way past Madrid right back Michel Salgado and sidefooted his shot past goalkeeper Jerzy Dudek.

Madrid took eight minutes to tie the score, Higuain capitalizing on a defence-splitting pass from captain Jose Maria "Guti" Gutierrez to sidefoot home. The minnows regained the lead in the 21st after Madrid defender Christoph Metzelder lost possession. Joseba Aguirre crossed from the right and Dominguez ran in to power a header past Dudek.

Saviola, who had wasted a clear chance moments earlier, made amends by equalizing in the 53rd minute with a curling, rising shot after Real Union failed to deal with a corner. However, Real Union again responded and Goikoetxea turned home Felix Quero's cross from the right in the 63rd for his team's winning goal.


Noticed? Not a single mention that Real Union is a Basque team, which really matters since Real Madrid represents the Spanish most backwards ultra-nationalism.

Here you have a bit of history about Real Union provided by Goal.com:

Early Pioneers

Real Unión de Irún were one of the founding members of the inaugural Primera Liga competition back in 1928. They only spent four seasons in the top flight before being relegated and subsequently disappearing off the map of Spanish football, but they enjoyed some glory years while it lasted.

They won the Copa del Rey three times in the early days, two of which came by beating their very opponent on Thursday, Real Madrid, first in 1918 and then again in 1924. That was some 90 years ago. Nowadays, the club’s main focus is to slowly crawl back up the divisions and they appear to be on the right track at this stage of the campaign.

Currently leading the Group I Segunda B (third tier) standings after ten rounds, the Basque outfit coached by Iñaki Alonso have only lost once in all competitions so far this season and they have won their last four games in a row. Unión might not have the same kind of rivalry and animosity as an Athletic Bilbao or a Real Sociedad would have towards Los Blancos, but Bernd Schuster’s men can still expect a frosty reception.


So, you can imagine the general mood when Real Union went to Madrid to oust Spain's most representative team:

Madrid humbled by battling Union

A Raul hat-trick was not enough to save Real Madrid from an embarrassing Copa del Rey exit on their own turf against Segunda B side Real Union. Madrid lost the opening leg 3-2 in Irun on October 30, and although they again struggled against a team who plays in the same league as their reserve side, they looked to be going through when Raul completed his treble with five minutes left to give them a 6-5 aggregate lead.

However, there was still time for one last twist in a entertaining tie as Arangoa Eneko Romo scored in injury time to pull the score back to 4-3 and send Real Union through to the last 16 on away goals. Bernd Schuster's players had spoken about the importance of the competition in the lead up to the game and the coach included some of his key men with Fabio Cannavaro, Wesley Sneijder, Rafael Van der Vaart and Raul all handed starting roles.

Despite that it was the home side who went behind after 14 minutes when Paul Abasolo was on target. Raul made sure Madrid went into the break on level terms with his first goal after 35 minutes but the hosts were again behind four minutes after the break thanks to an Asier Salcedo strike.

Raul was again the man to find an equaliser, a minute later, and when Alberto Bueno netted after 69 minutes the Primera Liga champions finally looked to be getting a grip on their rivals. Madrid's comeback looked to have been completed when Raul added his third of the night with just five minutes left but Eneko Romo would ensure a famous night for Real Union when he netted in injury time.


In Latin America all of the sports channels haven been keeping this result from the public, as if all Latin Americans were fans of Real Madrid. My bet is because they would have to report that Real Union is a Basque team, and the media is being paid by the Spanish political class to creat a smoke curtain around anything and everything Basque. This is why I leave you with this picture of Real Union's captain celebrating their victory at the Bernabeu Stadium (home to some of the must racist and violent fans in Europe) with his armband showing the Ikurriña (Basque flag):




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Antonio Barberena in Orlando

This note was published at the Orlando Sentinel:

Antonio Barberena in concert

Concert in the gardens of the Maitland Art Center.

The Maitland Art Center (MAC) and the Consulate of Mexico in Orlando are proud to announce the special presentation and concert of the classic accordionist, Antonio Barberena. The free concert is scheduled for Sunday, November 16 at 6 pm in the Mayan Courtyard.

Antonio Barberena was born in Mexico City in 1962. He started playing the accordion piano system at the age of 11 years in a lyric way; at 15 he started with formal classes with the Italian teacher Sergio Rizzardi, changing to chromatic or botton system. He has performed with the Phylarmonic Orchestra of the UNAM, the Opera Orchestra of Bellas Artes and as a soloist with the Classical Orchestra of Mexico. To date, he has been presented in the main concert halls of the city of Mexico and in most of the main theaters of Mexico.

His music has been played on TV and on the radio in the capital city. During his career he has played the world premiere of several works for accordion in Mexico. In 2004 he was prized by the Mexican Basque Society with the title “Number One Member” in recognition for playing Basque music in Mexico.

Since 2003, he has performed contemporary music together with the Marimba player Javier Nandayapa and Mirna Yam in percussion. Today he is working in the third volume of classical music in accordion and a DVD of a life concert in the Basílica de Guadalupe. He is visiting Orlando as a featured guest of the Florida Accordion Association.

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Eusko Flickr : The Future Is Independence


The future is independence
Originally uploaded by Soniko

Monday, November 10, 2008

RSF Defends Basque Journalists

Well, ever since the UN showed courage and integrity in regards of how Basques are being treated by the Spanish and French governments more and more other ONGs are starting to act accordingly. This time it was Reporters Without Frontiers the ones issuing this statement:

Prosecutor requests five-month jail terms for journalists who covered radical Basque demo

Reporters Without Borders condemns the five-month prison sentences that have been requested for two journalists - reporter Asier Velez de Mendizábal of the daily Gara and photographer Lánder Fernández de Arroyabe of the Argazki Press agency - who covered a demonstration by a radical Basque nationalist group in Pamplona, in the northern region of Navarre.

The sentences were requested on 3 November by prosecutor Edilberto Esteban Iglesias of the Navarre provincial court. The journalists are charged with “complicity in disturbing public order.”

“The prosecutor’s position is incomprehensible,” Reporters Without Borders said. “Firstly because, in his account of the events, he accepted that the two journalists were not part of the demonstration. Secondly, because they had press accreditation and were just doing their work.”

The press freedom organisation added : “It is outrageous that they must answer charges of complicity in demonstrations they were just observing. We call on the authorities to drop the charges against these two journalists and to return the equipment that was confiscated from them.”

Mendizábal and Fernández covered a demonstration staged by Basque Nationalist Action (ANV) outside the Pamplona city hall on 17 June in protest against the closure of some of its offices - ordered by Judge Baltasar Garzón on 8 February because of its alleged links with the armed separatist group ETA - and the fact that some of its election candidates had been declared illegal.

The protest was led by ANV municipal councillor Mikel Gastei, who broke the seals over the doors to the party’s offices in the city hall building. He and six other demonstrators are charged with disturbing public order and disobeying the authorities.

The Pamplona municipal police arrested the two journalists on charges of complicity under article 20 of the criminal code, and confiscated Fernández’s cameras.

In joint press release on 3 November, Baigorri Argitaletxea (the group that publishes Gara) and Argazki Press condemned the indictment as “a threat to the right to report the news” and voiced their support for the two journalists.


Not a word of ETA's so called violence, good, next thing we know RSF will be dropping the label "radical" when it comes to political parties that work in behalf of the Basque civil right to self-determination.

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Basque-phobe of the Week : Ronald Holden

Here you have a gastronomic review at the Seattle Global Gourmet Examiner by a Basque-phobe visiting the heart of the Basque Country, Navarre:

Language Lessons: Northern Spain

November 8, 10:05 AM
by Ronald Holden, Seattle Global Gourmet Examiner

Only three weeks ago, it was Italian. Now, another country and two new languages. Talking about Navarra here, in the north of Spain. My hosts for this trip. A province the size of Los Angeles County, shaped like a trapezoid, sharing its northern border with southern France, then dropping like a diamond from the crest of the Pyrenees. Called Nafarroa in Basque, but resolutely unsympathetic to the Basque separatist movement. Navarra is a kingdom, they will tell you, even as the street signs are bilingual and the capital, Pamplona, has been known as Iruña since time immemorial. Basque influences abound in the daily language, notably the tx spelling for the Spanish ch.

Pintxos, for a start. Known as tapas elsewhere in Spain, it's how you start the night. (Txori, in Seattle, is a Basque-style pintxos bar.) The other evening, four of us stopped in Bilbao (which is Basque Country) for three small bites and two glasses each; the bill was under $40. So we went to two more places.

Rabo, the tail. Rabo de buey is oxtail, rabo de cochinillo asado is the tail of a suckling pig. Kinda tough, actually, though the rest is indescribably juicy and delicious.

Caña, copa, vaso, Vasco: the first is a glass of beer, specifically. The next two are glasses or tumblers or wine glasses. And the last one is, you guessed it, Basque. Pais Vasco is the Basque Country. Which, we remind you, is not Navarra.

Boina: the traditional Basque head covering, a beret. Bought mine at a souvenir shop for $10.

Barquito. A little boat. The piece of bread you use to mop up the last of the sauce on your plate.

Txupito: a sip. By extension, the little straight-sided glass from which you drink a shot of orujo. We'd call it a brandy or a grappa, except that the orujos we've been drinking (sorry, sipping) are much milder and sweeter than the Italian version.

Echar una siestacita: your afternoon cat nap.


Sad thing to see an individual so obsessed with misleading the readers into thinking that Navarre has nothing to do with the Basque Country when in fact Navarre is THE historical Basque state.

He himself mentions that the street signs are in two languages, which happen to be Euskara (Basque language) and Spanish, but he insists Navarre wants nothing to do with the Basque Country. If so, ¿why do they have this urge to name their streets both in Basque and Spanish?

Does he know that Euskara was called Lingua Navarrorum by the Romans? And that the Basques call their nation by the name of Euskal Herria which means "land of the Euskara speakers"?

Gladly enough, two people have already taken the time to set the record straight:

jane: While you may think Nafarroa (Navarra) has no sympathy for the Basque separatist movement, you would have a hard time convincing the people I know in the northern part of Navarra. These people congregate in the tiny "Basque Basque" bars, where Basque is spoken and banners supporting bringing the Basque prisoners back to Basque country adorn the walls. Be careful to make blanket political statements based on an inadequate sampling of opinions.

tfd: Because I am am Seattleite as well as a Basque, and because I happened to catch the last post on the Basque cuisine. My gentle advise to you is that you stick to the gastronimic aspects, as you have 0 understanding of the political ones. btw its called San Fermin, grammar is important.


Because he did not care to do some research about the history of Navarre before publishing his article and because of his more than obvious bias against the right of the Basque people to its self determination, Ronald Holden is out Basquephobe of the week.

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Saturday, November 08, 2008

Friday, November 07, 2008

Spain Insults Basque Refugees

Sadly, the article you're about to read contains an useful idiot by the name of Natalia Benjamin.

As it happens, this article published by the BBC informs us that the Spanish government is willing to grant the Spanish nationality to the Basques living in England who as children were evacuated during the invasion by Franco, Mussolini and Hitler's forces to the Basque Country. Notice who Spain refused to recognize the right to self determination to the Basques but dares to bestow the Spanish nationality to the very victims of Spain's imperialist and totalitarian past.

Not one single Basque and their descendants should ever apply to obtain the Spanish nationality, they would be betraying all those Basques who died fighting against the European fascists powers from 1936 until 1945, and beyond since they continued to demand their independence from the different Francoist governments.

Here you have the article:

Nationality for 'Basque children'

An Oxford woman is welcoming a new law which will allow "Basque children" and others who fled the Spanish civil war to apply for Spanish nationality.

Four thousand children were evacuated to Britain as refugees in 1937 and more than 100 came to Oxfordshire.

Now, they and their descendants are to be allowed to apply for citizenship.

"I am pleased," said Natalia Benjamin, who runs the Basque Children of '37 Association from her home in Oxford, "It is long overdue."

Ms Benjamin, 64, is half-Spanish. Her mother, Cecilia Gurich, fled Spain in 1937, as Franco's troops advanced.

She now plans to apply for a Spanish passport.

"It is good, because I am finding my Spanish roots in middle age," she said.

"I regret not having asked my mother more, or having listened more while she was still alive.

"I will apply for sentimental reasons, to get back my roots."

History's 'overlooked'

Ms Benjamin set up the Basque Children of '37 Association so the children who found refuge from the Spanish civil war in Britain would not be forgotten.

There were four "colonies" for Basque children in Oxfordshire; in Thame, Shipton-under-Wychwood, Aston and Faringdon.

"Eighty members of our association are Basque children," said Ms Benjamin.

"They are now in their seventies or eighties and are often overlooked in history books.

"It's very sad that women who fled Spain and married foreigners lost their nationality.

"Now they can get a Spanish passport and their descendents can also."

The measure is part of new legislation that aims to compensate and rehabilitate victims of Spain's 1936-1939 civil war.

An estimated 500,000 people died in the war, which left Spain a dictatorship under the rule of the Fascist General Francisco Franco.


Please, feel free to contact the members of the Basque Children of '37 Association to inform them that they have no need to betray their forebears by acquiring the Spanish nationality, after all, it was the Spaniards the ones destroying the right of the Basques to have an independent republic, to have their own statehood, which is why they had to be evacuated so they would not be murdered like the children at Durango or Gernika.

And, don't forget, you can always request your Basque nationality document known as EHNA from Udalbiltza.

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Thursday, November 06, 2008

Food for Nahr El Bared

This note comes to us thanks to Relief Web:

Basque Government donation aids food security in Nahr El Bared

The Basque Government has contributed US$192,308 over the past year towards UNRWA's Relief and Early Recovery Appeal to provide humanitarian relief work for 27,000 refugees displaced from Nahr El Bared Camp.

The donation was used to procure food items between September 2007 and August 2008, to complement the food assistance for displaced refugee families from Nahr El Bared.

The project contributed to the ongoing UNRWA intervention to ensure food security for all of the families from Nahr El Bared and ensure that all of the families affected by the Nahr el-Bared conflict are able to maintain basic nutritional standards. Addressing the problem of food accessibility, potentially reduces the burden on overstretched healthcare providers, and relieves tensions amongst the community. It also allows families to redeploy their resources towards restoring their livelihood.

This project was part of the Emergency Appeal, which ran from September 2007 to 31 August 2008. UNRWA is seeking further support from donors for Nahr El Bared and launched the Recovery and Early Recovery Appeal in September 2008. This is an appeal for $42.7 million to maintain temporary services- up to December 2009 – for the displaced pending reconstruction. Interventions include temporary shelter for 16,000 refugees and emergency food rations for all 27,000 displaced as well as other essential services such as temporary healthcare, education, water and sanitation.

The first stages of a major reconstruction and recovery effort of Nahr el-Bared camp – to rebuild the camp and allow displaced refugees to return to their homes – are now underway. A phased approach to reconstruction is planned, through which families will begin to return to their homes inside the camp by the end of 2009. The reconstruction is due to be completed by mid-2011.

Just in case you want to know, Nahr el-Bared is a Palestinian refugee camp located in northern Lebanon.

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The Economist : A Basque-Phobe Media Outlet

There is not author to an article published by The Economist entitled "How Much is Enough?" so my guess that it is the editor is the one in the pay-roll of Madrid's Ministry of Propaganda.

There is so many lies and misconceptions in the article that it was simply impossible to avoid it, lets check it out. It starts out with some basic facts about Spain's political panorama but then it says this:

But this panoply of decentralisation has not placated the politicians in Catalonia, the Basque country and Galicia. That is because they never wanted café para todos: they wanted it just for themselves, as a recognition that they were different. They still want that, no matter that Spain is now an extraordinarily decentralised country in which the Basques, for example, enjoy a greater degree of home rule than any other region in Europe. Their demands make it difficult to draw up a stable and permanent set of rules.


The home rule enjoyed by the Basques is not equal to having its own statehood, with the right to issue its own passports, have its own national anthem, flag, army and police force, like any other independent state. And to long for all of these elements of a nation-state is protected by the UN's International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. There is an "stable and permanent sent of rules" for the Check Republic and Slovakia, or for Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia, so why couldn't there be one for Euskal Herria (Basque Country), Catalonia and Galicia?

Catalan and Basque “nationalists” argue that unlike, say, La Rioja or Murcía, their territories are nations, not regions (nor “nationalities”, in the tortuous formulation of the constitution), and invoke history to support their claim. “Here the conflict dates from 1836,” insists Joseba Aurrekoetxea, a leader of the Basque Nationalist Party (PNV), referring to the Carlist war after which the central government revoked the Basques’ fiscal privileges (restored in 1979). “Catalonia was always distinct,” says Artur Mas, who replaced Mr Pujol as leader of CiU. It descends from the medieval kingdom of Aragón, and rebelled against Madrid in 1640 and in 1701.


Uh oh, shaky ground here, as it happens, Errioxa (called La Rioja by the Spaniards) was part of Navarre, known today as the Basque Country, so, as you can see, the author was a bit sloppy about the historic facts.

But maybe he got his facts from the one guy by the last name of Aurrekoetxea who despite belonging to a Basque political party knows little or nothing about Basque history. The conflict does not date to 1936, it dates to 1522 when as a result of a long war Castile was able to conquer the Basque kingdom of Navarre in its southern portion. The northern portion, today occupied by France, was able to remain a sovereign state until the 1800's, which debunks the misconception that the Basque Country was never an independent political entity and that the current conflict is of an internal nature involving only Madrid.

But Catalan and Basque nationalism are creations of the late 19th century. They stem from industrialisation, which made these the richest regions in the country, taking in migrants from elsewhere in Spain. At the time the Spanish state, unlike its French counterpart, lacked the resources to integrate the country, says Antonio Elorza, a Basque political scientist at Madrid’s Complutense University. Otherwise Catalonia and the Basque country would have been as content within Spain as Languedoc and Brittany are within France.


Oops! Again, Navarre (the Basque kingdom) was conquered after a long war (which means that the Basques strongly opposed the idea of losing their sovereignty) back in 1522, how can it be a creation of the late 19th century? Seems like the author has its centuries all mixed up.

Brittany and Languedoc are happy to be within France?!

Well, sounds like the anonymous author is in for a surprise, check this out:

Breton nationalism is the nationalism of the traditional province of Brittany in France. Brittany is considered to be one of the six Celtic nations (along with Cornwall, Ireland, Wales, the Isle of Man and Scotland). Like the nationalism of many neighbouring regions, Breton nationalism combines political as well as cultural aspects.

The political aspirations of Breton nationalists include the desire to obtain the right to self-rule, whether within France or independently of it, and to acquire more power in the European Union, United Nations and other international bodies.

Breton cultural nationalism includes an important linguistic component, with Breton and Gallo speakers seeking equality with French language in the region. Cultural nationalists also seek a reinvigoration of Breton music, traditions and symbols, and the forging of strong links with other Celtic nations. It should be noted that many Bretons who identify with cultural nationalism and Breton identity do not share the political aspirations of Breton political nationalism.

The French government's official position is to consider Brittany as a part of France, a position claimed to date from the time when the March of Neustria was controlled by Roland, but dating officially from the dynastic marriage in 1491 of Anne, Duchess of Brittany with the king of France. This could include a range of views, from allowing Brittany a devolved government to curbing wishes for independence through to the extremes of banning Breton nationalist parties entirely and the Breton and Gallo languages.


The information you just read is readily available at Wikipedia, and information source that the author of the article seems to ignore. Same goes for Languedoc and its Occitan nationalism. But let us get back to Euskal Herria and Catalunya:

Perhaps because the historic claim to nationhood is shaky, language has become an obsession for the nationalists. Franco banned the public use of Catalan, Euskera (Basque) and Gallego. The constitution made these languages official ones alongside Spanish in their respective territories. In Catalonia the official policy of the Generalitat (the regional government), under both the nationalists (some of whom are really localists) and now the Socialists, is one of “bilingualism”. In practice this means that all primary and secondary schooling is conducted in Catalan, with Spanish taught as a foreign language. Catalan is also the language of regional government. A Spaniard who speaks no Catalan has almost no chance of teaching at a university in Barcelona. A play or film in Spanish will not be subsidised from public funds. “If we don’t make a big effort to preserve our own language, it risks disappearing,” says Mr Mas.


Only backward minded people can see bilingualism as something negative. But what I really want to point out is just how cynical and hypocritical the author and his chorus of enablers are. Spain has the dubious record of being one of the countries that has oblitarated more cultures and language in the entire world. Because they had the military might, the Spaniards erased entire civilizations from the face of the earth. How dare they complain now because some of the nations still being held captive by their rancid colonialism are doing anything they can to preserve their culture and their language? Even the author mentions it, during the Francoist genocidal reign of terrror people were abducted, tortured and in many occasions executed for their work in behalf of Catalonian and Euskara, so please, next time an Spaniard complain that he can not get a job in Catalunya or Euskal Herria remind him about the millions of people that were murdered during the process of expansion of the Spanish language in America.

Catalan and Spanish are more or less mutually comprehensible. Not so Euskera, which does not belong to the Indo-European family of languages. The Basque government allows schools to choose between three alternative curriculums, one in Euskera, another in Spanish and the third half and half. But in practice only schools in poor immigrant areas now offer the Spanish curriculum. Despite these efforts, Basque and Catalan are far from universally spoken in their respective territories: only around half of Catalans habitually use Catalan and about 25% of Basques speak Euskera.


The Basque government allows parents to decide to which educational model they want to send their kids to, and as it happens, the public schools are the ones with the Spanish as a first language model, which means that Basque parents that wish for their kids to be educated in Euskera need to expend more money. Barely what you can call a biased policy against the poor and the immigrant. The last sentence in that paragraph is the reason why both Basques and Catalans need to strenghten their respective languages. I can tell the author that this world is better off with all of those languages instead of just a few of them. But the author writes in English, a language that is not in the endangered list, which comes to prove that he is just a supremacist like his bosses in Madrid.

But the big question is, why would anyone wish for Euskara to disappear? Like the author said, it is a language isolate that does not belong to the Indo-European branch like its neighbors, so, shouldn't Europeans be working together towards the preservation of such an unique language?

But wait, check this out:

The nationalists’ linguistic dogmatism is provoking a backlash. Earlier this year Mr Savater, the philosopher, together with a diverse group of public figures ranging from Placido Domingo, a tenor, to Iker Casillas, Real Madrid’s goalkeeper, signed a “manifesto” in defence of the right of citizens to be educated in Spanish. They were denounced as “Castilian nationalists” in the Socialist press. But they touched a nerve. Many thoughtful Catalans believe that Catalan would be safe if it remained the language of primary schools, but that Catalonia would gain much by allowing a choice between Catalan and Spanish in secondary schools.


Finally, the mastermind behind the article, no one else that pro-Franco and the mouth piece for the extreme right in Spain, "philosopher" Fernando Savater. No, the "manifesto" was not criticised by just the "Socialist press", it was criticized by human rights, civil rights and indigenous rights organizations all over the world. Linguistic dogmatism? Only Spain has applied such a concept, shall we remind the author about his own quote regarding Francisco Franco's policy towards Euskara, Catalonian and Galizan during his long dictatorship?

But Savater is not done yet, here you have another one of his venomous darts:

The argument about language is really about power. “The problem with nationalists is that the more you give them, the more they want,” says Mr Savater. What some of them want is independence; all of them use this as a more or less explicit threat to gain more public money and powers. The polling evidence suggests that no more than a fifth of Catalans are remotely tempted by the idea of independence. The figure for Basques is around a quarter, despite 30 years of nationalist self-government and control of education and the media, and despite the departure of around 10% of the population because of ETA’s violence, points out Francisco Llera, a (Socialist) political scientist in Bilbao.


Savater is the champion of Spanish nationalism, but he criticizes the other nationalisms, how consistent. But he is not alone, the guy by the last name Llera insists that not the Catalans nor the Basques want independence, so, why does Madrid oppose a referendum that would clear up things so violently? Both Aznar and Zapatero have threatened Ibarretxe with jail time for wanting to conduct a referendum regarding Basque self determination. Why are Spaniards so scared to learn the true numbers of Basque nationalism once and for all?

The article goes on, but the author just repeats itself in a vain attempt to make his point across.

Just another Basquephobe acting as a mercenary in behalf of Spain's colonialist nationalism.

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The Basque Cosmogonic Series

This note comes to us thanks to Artdaily:

Nestor Basterretxea: Basque Cosmogonic Series Donated to Museum of Fine Arts in Bilbao

BILBAO.- Basque sculptor Nestor Basterretxea (Bermeo, Biscay, 1924) recently donated one of the most celebrated series of Basque sculptures dating from the second half of the XX century to the Museum: the Basque Cosmogonic Series. The Series was first exhibited by the Museum in 1973. The current exhibition comprises 18 sculptures, 17 of which are made of oak and 1 of bronze, which the artist created between 1972 and 1975. The finely crafted works executed in contemporary language are based on mythological characters, forces of nature and traditional objects from Basque culture. Visitors will also have the opportunity of admiring 5 works from the Máscaras de la Madrina Luna Series created in 1977 as well as several preparatory drawings. It is also on exhibition two movies directed by Nestor Basterretxea and Fernando Larruquert, entitled Pelotari 1964) and Ama Lur (1968), and a documental about the artist.

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Wednesday, November 05, 2008

Monday, November 03, 2008

Francoist Judge to "Prosecute" Franco

It sounds Kafkian but it is the truth, infamous human rights' violator Baltasar Garzón will prosecute the crimes committed by the regime he has shown a total submission to, the Francoist regime.

The note you're about to read was published at the World Socialist Web Site:

Spain: Investigation launched into Franco’s crimes

By Paul Bond
3 November 2008

Spain's most prominent investigative judge has opened the country's first criminal investigation into the executions and repression carried out by the fascist regime of General Francisco Franco. In a 68-page court document, Baltasar Garzón accepted a petition demanding an investigation into the forced disappearances of Republicans under the Franco regime. The petition was filed by 13 associations of the families of victims of Franco. Garzón has ordered the opening of 19 mass graves, including one believed to contain the remains of the poet Federico García Lorca.

Over the last month Garzón has sought information from local churches, city halls, and senior church authorities, in an attempt to establish a definitive list of victims between 1936 and 1951. According to the court document, he has compiled a list of 114,266 names.

No region was untouched, from the 262 victims identified in the Canary Islands to the roughly 10,000 victims each in Aragón, the Basque Country, and Extremadura. The document has identified 32,289 victims in Andalucia, 7,797 of them in the province of Malaga alone. Malaga's San Rafael cemetery is believed to contain the remains of 4,300 of these victims of fascism, making it the largest mass grave in Spain. Exhumations began there two years ago and some 2,300 bodies have already been recovered.

The mass graves, although kept unmarked by the fascists, were remembered locally and privately. Some sites have also been turned up by recent building work, like the installation of wind-powered electricity generators in Tarragona that unearthed human remains from the Battle of Ebro (1938). Some 1,200 bodies were found by chance during the creation of a botanical garden in Mérida in Extremadura.

Garzón's investigation has created turmoil within the Spanish ruling class. After the end of the Franco dictatorship, a number of legal measures were taken to ensure that there could be no settling of scores with the fascists by the working class. An amnesty in 1977 enabled Franco's supporters to continue in office. Former ministers and advisers of Franco formed the current Popular Party (PP) opposition.

Right wing critics of Garzón have claimed the 1977 amnesty covers any repression from the Franco era. Spanish prosecutors have lodged an appeal to prevent the investigation on this basis. This appeal will take two months to be heard, but Garzón's investigations may continue in the meantime.

Even if the amnesty does not cover these crimes, opponents have claimed, under Spanish legal regulations most crimes are deemed to have lapsed after a 20-year period, and the investigation is thus invalid. Garzón has rejected this argument, stating that Franco conducted a systematic campaign to eliminate opponents and hide their bodies. As the bodies are still missing, the crime of kidnapping effectively continues today.

Garzón also argues that the policy of "illegal, permanent detention without disclosing [victims'] whereabouts" constitutes grounds for a case of crimes against humanity. These have no statute of limitation and would take priority over the amnesty: "Any amnesty law which aims at erasing crimes against humanity that cannot be described as political crimes, is null," he has stated.

Critics have claimed that international human rights legislation cannot be used, as Spain was not signed up to it at the time. Garzón, in reply, has appealed to the Nuremberg trial of Nazis as war criminals as a precedent. If international law could be used there, he argues, the same rules could be applied to events that took place only a few years before the Nazis' war crimes.

Garzón has concluded that the National Uprising, led by General Mola and supported by General Franco, against the Republic was a criminal act. In turn this criminal act led to the planning and execution of the arrest, torture, and elimination of opponents for political and ideological reasons. This is a legal breakthrough, since the Spanish right has always claimed that Franco's was a benign dictatorship, not a dictadura, but a dictablanda. The systematic uncovering of the victims of Franco reveals the extent of this lie. Ian Gibson, the author of a book about the murder of Lorca, has said, "The winners of the war had 40 years to recover their dead. But they did not let the other side approach the mass graves."

Because this is a criminal case, Garzón must provide an accused. He has identified the 35 most responsible figures within the Franco regime, starting with Franco himself. Garzón has requested death certificates for all 35 to ascertain that they are beyond the reach of criminal punishment. However, he has also requested a list of the leaders of the Falange party during the period under examination from the Interior Ministry. Any survivors could face trial.

Garzón has created two teams to pursue the investigation. One team, comprising seven experts, will closely study the number, location, and identification of all those who disappeared between 1936 and 1951. Ten police detectives make up the second team. They have unprecedented access to public and private registers, documents, and archives. Commentators have noted how different this is to the situation facing professional historians, who have long complained about problems of archival access.

There is no doubt that the Spanish ruling class has sought to control any confrontation with the Franco period. The official fiction, chiefly promulgated by the ruling Spanish Socialist Workers Party (PSOE), was that the peaceful Transition to Democracy in 1978 laid to rest the revolutionary struggles of the 1930s. There was mutual agreement to a "pact of forgetting," which left Francoist officials in position and prevented any addressing of the crimes of the dictatorship. Victims' families often found themselves being governed by the murderers of their relatives. The right wing was given the opportunity to claim that both sides committed equivalent crimes during the Civil War. In particular, their propaganda focused on the 6,832 priests, nuns and monks killed by Republicans. The right chooses to downplay or ignore the support offered to Franco by the Catholic authorities, nor is the punishment meted out for those deaths during the 36-year dictatorship generally acknowledged.

The PSOE is caught between its desire to avoid a confrontation with the political heirs of Franco, and the need to appease and hopefully control a leftward movement of the working class, which continually brings up the unresolved questions of Spain's revolutionary history. The PSOE has several times proposed limited measures in order to buy off the mounting anger of Spanish workers without taking on the PP. In 2006, proposing a limited Law of Historical Memory, Prime Minister José Luis Rodriguez Zapatero agreed with the PP by declaring that "Spain had a civil war in which everyone was a victim." Prosecutors opposing Garzón have appealed to that PSOE law, enacted in 2007, to end the investigation: as that law rehabilitated the victims' memory, they argue, there is no need to investigate further.

When the PSOE was forced to begin removing symbols of Francoism, it tried not to upset the PP: statues were removed by night, under the pretext of road construction. It is clear that some sections of the PSOE regard Garzón's action as another safety valve for popular anger. The daily El Pais, close to the PSOE, said the action had important symbolic value: "A virtual trial of Franco is indispensable for the future of a country which has not been able to face the misery of its past," an editorial stated.

A further pressure on the PSOE has been Garzón's high-profile involvement in international human rights cases, including the extradition case against Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet (himself an admirer of Franco), and the prosecution of the Argentine naval captain Adolfo Scilingo. Emilio Silva, founder of the Association for the Recovery of Historical Memory, noted, "Spanish politicians like to talk about human rights cases in other countries, but they never deal with the ones here at home."

Associations of victims' families had been unwilling to let matters rest and had already begun to locate and exhume mass graves. Silva had undertaken a private excavation in Léon in 2000 to identify the remains of his grandfather, shot in October 1936 with 12 others. Fernando Magán, a lawyer representing victims of Franco, has said that Garzón is only doing now what the government should have been doing all along.

Concerns that Garzón's investigations could ignite unresolved political tensions in Spain are not confined to the PSOE. Retired colonel Julián Delgado warned that support for the victims and their families should be done "without the desire for revenge that is cropping up, and which does no good to democracy." It is, he said, "absurd to stir up pain." Delgado has a long record of warning the Spanish ruling class of the dangers it faces: he was one of the founders of the Democratic Military Union (UMD), a group of junior officers who proposed changes to Franco's military rule. After the Transition he headed the Guardia Urbana city police force in Barcelona.

The concern shared by all sections of the Spanish ruling class is that the demand for a reckoning with the Franco dictatorship will inaugurate a renewed era of class struggle. A PP senator, Augustin Conde claimed, "Garzón must be the only Spaniard who hasn't heard that Franco is dead. He is reopening wounds that were happily closed."

Manuel Fraga, a founding member of the PP who serve as a senior minister under Franco and was close to the dictator, said, "Politically it is a very serious error to revive the problems of the civil war."

Despite the best efforts of the PSOE, the PP, the Communist Party and all of those who imposed the pact of forgetting and the "peaceful transition" to democracy, the post-Franco arrangements are unravelling. Nieves Galindo, whose grandfather was murdered in Granada, and is believed to be buried alongside Lorca, said, "The young have never really been taught about the civil war in our schools." Lorca's family have now agreed to the exhumation being demanded by the families of Galindo and other victims. Hitherto, the Lorca family had opposed opening the grave, as this might "distinguish some of the dead above the others."

The World Socialist Web Site supports all attempts at establishing an accurate historical record of the crimes of Francoism. Notwithstanding our clear differences with Garzón, we welcome his investigation of this critical period. Spanish workers will only be able to meet the challenges ahead by a thoroughgoing assimilation of the political lessons of the revolution and civil war. We warn, however, that this will have to be carried through against the resistance not only of the PP but also of the PSOE itself, which will do everything possible to neuter the investigation and defend the political basis of capitalist rule in Spain.


I would add that this may be no more but a distraction maneuver by the Spanish stablishment and that Garzon is working on direct orders by Juan Carlos Borbon to reafirm the shaky image that Spain has as a democracy before the international community. Notice that Garzon is not indicting alive and kicking Francoist ministers, which include Juan Carlos Borbon, Franco's own handpicked succesor.

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