Winds of Freedom in Catalunya

It started in the tiny town of Arenys de Munt, know its all over 100 towns across Catalunya. Madrid spends millions of euros each year making sure that the main stream media portrays the political conflicts in Catalunya, Nabarra and Galiza as something of no consequence when in reality Spain fails to comply with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights that demands self determination for all nations that endure colonial occupation.

So you can imagine just how angry Spaniard must be to see that the international community is learning about the call for independence in Catalunya. Here you have one example, an article published at Bloomberg:

Catalan Mayors Plan Independence Vote in Challenge to Zapatero

Emma Ross-Thomas

Oct. 5 (Bloomberg) -- More than 100 towns in Catalonia voted to hold referendums proposing independence from Spain, an attempt to press national leaders to heed their views.

The 117 unofficial referendums will take place on Dec. 12, Feb. 28 and April 25, Jordi Fabrega, spokesman of the Decidim.cat initiative said in a telephone interview after a meeting of around 100 mayors and municipal representatives near Barcelona on Oct. 3. The movement includes representatives from all political parties except the People’s Party, the biggest national opposition group, he said.

“As the constitution prohibits it, we decided to do it ourselves in a very democratic way,” Fabrega said. Private entities will organize the voting to avoid legal problems for the town halls, which are not allowed to hold referendums. “There’s no stopping us now.”

The polls, which have no legal weight, are an attempt to exert pressure on the government of Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero to allow Catalans to decide whether they want to remain part of Spain. They will follow a similar poll in the village of Arenys de Munt on Sept. 13, where 96 percent favored independence. Described by the government as illegal and unconstitutional, the referendums may also stir unease in the capitals of other European countries such as the U.K., France and Belgium where separatists are pushing for more autonomy.

“It may cause a frisson of concern if they seem to give others what would be perceived to be false hope,” said Hugo Brady, Senior Research Fellow at the Centre for European Reform, a London-based think-tank.

Autonomous Regions

Spain’s 1978 constitution ended an almost 40-year dictatorship and established a system of autonomous regions with varying degrees of self-government, including Catalonia and the Basque Country, both of which have their own police and use co- official languages. Rather then defuse nationalism, the return to democracy and entry into the European Union fueled tensions. The Basque terror group ETA has killed more than 800 people in its campaign for independence.

Catalonia’s economy is the biggest in Spain, accounting for almost 20 percent of gross domestic product. Its capital, Barcelona, is home to Spain’s largest gas company, Gas Natural SDG SA and third-largest lender by assets, La Caixa.

Joan Costa i Font, a lecturer in European social policy at the London School of Economics, said the referendums were a “laboratory experiment to test the central state reaction,” and a “first step towards a large-scale referendum backed by the Catalan parliament.”

Independence Favored

More than half of Catalans favor some kind of break with the central government, according to a poll in July by the regional government. Nineteen percent backed outright independence with another 32 percent saying it should be a state within a federal Spain, the poll said.

The regional government is a coalition including Socialists and Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya, a republican party which favors independence from Spain and counts Welsh, Corsican, Flemish, and Scottish nationalists among its allies in the European Parliament.

The Scottish administration, led by the Scottish National Party, intends to hold a referendum on independence for 2010, which First Minister Alex Salmond said Sept. 23 may include an option allowing voters to opt for greater autonomy rather than full independence from the U.K.

We want to remind Emma Ross-Thomas that Catalunya, Nabarra and Galiza are not mere "regions", they are nations.

Oh, and maybe she could venture telling us how many Basques have been murdered since the XII century when Castile started the invasion and colonization of Nabarra (the Basque Country).

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Trapped in the Past

Scotland and Catalunya are two European nations with a strong sense of identity. Both have very long historic legacy. Their respective populations are very similar. And they share one more trait, their respective societies are not settling down for with the info we just enunciated, they want more, they want for their nations to achieve statehood, just like the English and the Spanish states. Then again, that's when they become really different from each other: while London seems to see as democratic "fair play" the possibility that the Scots make an statement regarding their independence in a referendum set for 2010, when it comes to Spain it takes just a consult that involves no more than 7,000 people for all the red lights to go off, something that includes judiciary vetoes and the Phalanx's street violence.

Yes, Madrid has real reasons to worry about. "El País" reminded its readers just yesterday that the polls in the Generalitat showed an increase of six points for those who support independence since 2005. And "La Vanguadia" stated that the street polls show that the support for independence could easily reach 40% if was actually an option on election day. More so, the pro-independence Catalans gathered yesterday in Arenys de Munt constantly shouted in support of Euskal Herria, where the polls throughout the last few years locate the support for independence above 30%, despite the frustrating fact that such option is not something that will be allowed any time soon.

To the self-determination exercise in Arenys the Spanish state answers by dispatching the Phalanx, a political party that has not been outlawed as opposed to those within the abertzale left (Batasuna, ANV, EHAK, D3M), and with a judicial ban directly inherited from the "Spain one, great and free". We have the very same recipes used almost a century ago on plain sight. A period in which the Spanish state has not only been unable to eliminate the pro-independence camp but has also been unable to offer any democratic alternatives.

Madrid is running out of time. The referendum in Arenys de Munt is undeniable proof that the pro-independence Catalans are more that ready to make Catalunya happen, and perhaps quite soon Euskal Herria too.

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Basque Orchestra in Scotland

Well, seems like this summer Scotland will be under the spell of the Basque culture. We just mentioned an article about a Basque delegation to the Inverness Highland Games and now thanks to EiTB we learn about the Basque Youth Orchestra being invited to perform in Aberdeen:

Basque Youth Orchestra to perform in Scotland

E. S.

The Basque Youth Orchestra is starting the summer season on July 26 in its homeland. After performing in the three Basque capitals, its members will be touring around Scotland.

The Basque Youth Orchestra (EGO in their initials in Basque) is starting its summer season on July 26 at the Principal Theatre in Vitoria-Gasteiz. After performing in the three Basque capitals (Bilbao -July 27, Euskalduna Palace-, Donostia-San Sebastian -July 29, Kursaal-) and at the Urko Sports Centre of Sopelana on July 28, its members will be touring around Scotland.

The orchestra is taking part at the Aberdeen International Festival in Scotland, an event aimed to support the young in the world of arts, as the EGO said in a statement. Over 30,000 people are expected to visit a ten-day long festival which counts on more than 70 events scheduled.

From August 1 to 5, the young orchestra will be performing in venues such as 'His Majesty's Theatre in Aberdeen or at the 'Perth Concert Hall' in the Scottish town of the same name. The EGO will be accompanied by other European bands like the Northhollands Youth Orchestra, the Iceland Youth Orchestra, the National Youth Orchestra of Scotland or the Inverness Youth Orchestra.

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Basque Delegation at Inverness Games

This article was published at The Press and Journal:

Games to have international appeal

Record number of overseas competitors visiting Inverness for Masters World Championships

Jane Candlish

This year’s Inverness Highland Games will have an international feel, organisers said yesterday.

A record number of foreign competitors – more than 80 from 10 countries – will take part in the Masters World Championships, including the first participants from Japan and France.

And there will be a Basque feel to the whole afternoon as the Nazioen Mundua Display Team demonstrate their traditional games.

The Pyrenees group will take part in wood-chopping, stone-lifting, anvil-lifting, bale-lifting, tug o’ war and sawing.

The group made their debut in Inverness last year, with a display in Falcon Square.

The 65-strong Nazioen Mundua Party will also include traditional Basque dancers, singers and musicians and a team of Basque Yoaldunak marchers.

Yoalduna means “he who has the bells" and each marcher has two giant metal bells attached to their sheepskin jacket and the sound of ringing can be heard from some distance away.

The event, which is part of the Inverness Summer Festival, will start at the Bught Park at 11.30am on Saturday, with the shinty World Cup final between Fort William and Portree.

Heavy events will start at 1pm each day.

A spectacular opening ceremony will see the first appearance of the new official Inverness Highland Games tartan.

Inverness Provost Jimmy Gray will be the first wearer of the specially designed tartan.

The Inverness Highland Games will be the largest gathering yet staged in the Highland Capital since the event was revived in 1822.

More than 10,000 spectators are expected to attend the event, which will feature more than 600 competitors and performers.

In the last few years Scotland has joined Nabarra in the front line of the demand for self determination of the European nations trapped by the outdated but generalized conception of state. This is why we think it is positive that both nations send their own delegations so we can weave a tight net of solidarity so our voice is heard loud and clear in the European and international institutions.

For more information about the Inverness Highland Games visit their page.

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Essay on Self Determination

The text you're about to read was published at EUobserver, the author tries to make sense out of the way the international community sees the right of self-determination enshrined in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Here you have it:

No easy answers to the status of Ossetia, Abkhazia and others

Richard Corbett

EUOBSERVER / COMMENT - The collapse last week (on the first day!) of EU backed peace talks between Georgia and Russia to resolve the crisis in the breakaway regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, with the sides unable to enter the same room, serves merely to illustrate that there are no easy answers to the question of the status of Ossetia, Abkhazia, and indeed many other territories in the world.

Ever since US President Woodrow Wilson's 14 points, borne out of the wreckage left by the First World War, the self-determination of peoples has featured as a principle of international affairs. But less clear is the definition of who has the right to self-determination.

When Yugoslavia broke up, the international community was willing to recognise the right of its internal units that had the status of republics (such as Slovenia and Croatia) to declare themselves independent, but not to recognise such a right for those that had the status of provinces (namely Kosovo, despite its having a bigger and linguistically more distinct population than some of the republics).

Recently though, after lengthy deliberations, part of the international community has changed its mind and recognised Kosovo's independence.

When the Soviet Union broke up, the 15 internal units that had the status of Soviet Socialist Republics (SSR) were recognised as sovereign states, but not the Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republics (ASSR) or Autonomous Oblasts (AO).

Some of the SSRs (such as the Baltic republics) had previously existed as independent countries, but others were based on somewhat arbitrary boundaries, many of which were drawn up by Josef Stalin when he was commissar for nationalities.

Mr Stalin also determined the hierarchy of which groups were to have their own SSR, which an ASSR, and which merely to be an AO. This sometimes changed over time: the Karelo-Finnish SSR was downgraded in 1956 to the Karelian ASSR. Had this not happened, we would presumably now have an independent Karelia, possibly seeking unification with Finland.

A Transcaucasian SSR existed until 1936, when it was split into Armenia, Georgia and Azerbaijan, the latter two including their own ASSRs and AOs. Would we now be defending the territorial integrity of Transcaucasia against Georgian demands for independence had the Soviet leader not re-designed the borders?

It is not surprising that the legacy of Mr Stalin's frontiers is now causing problems. The South Ossetians do not want to be part of Georgia and do not see why they cannot be independent.

Moreover, the Ossetians were bound to see Kosovan independence as a precedent. And if Serbia had sent its troops back into Kosovo in August, the Western countries with troops there would certainly have reacted, as Russia did when the Georgians sent their troops into Ossetia - but hopefully not have over-reacted as the Russian's have done so brutally.

Complex situation

The situation is highly complex. Georgia was wrong to attack Southern Ossetia, and Russia was wrong to have reacted unilaterally and so disproportionately.

Due recognition by the West of this complexity would go a long way to avoiding any continued flexing of muscles by Russia or other actors in the region. As would some more consistent thought on the principles at stake.

It is not as though these issues are new. When Ireland opted out of the UK, its right to do so was challenged by many in Britain. Many Irish then questioned the right of Northern Ireland to opt out of Ireland and many in Northern Ireland opposed the right of Fermanagh and Tyrone to opt out of Northern Ireland.

Divergent opinions on who or which unit has the right to self-determination are inevitable and inherent to such situations.

Indeed, the question of whether Kosovo and South Ossetia should be recognised as sovereign states is only the latest in a trend that has seen the number of sovereign countries in Europe more than double in the space of a century, with every possibility that this trend will continue.

Only 22 states in Europe prior to 1918

In the living memory of our most senior citizens, there were only 22 states in Europe prior to 1918 (and two of these by then, Albania and Norway, were only recently independent).

The break up of Austria-Hungary and the Tsarist empire at the end of the First World War saw this rise to 29, soon reaching 30 with the establishment of an independent Ireland.

At the end of the Second World War, however, this fell to 28, with the disappearance of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania hardly compensated for by the creation of the German Democratic Republic. This figure remained stable during the entire Cold War period.

Since the end of the Cold War, the break-ups of the Soviet Union, Yugoslavia and Czechoslovakia saw this jump within a decade to 46.

Recognition of the independence of Kosovo, Abkhazia and South Ossetia would bring us to nearly 50 sovereign states on the territory of Europe. And, of course, some would argue that the independence of Flanders, Scotland, the Basque country, Catalonia and Corsica is not beyond the bounds of the possible.

Some of these would be strongly contested, others less so - but what are the criteria? Is it possible to have objective criteria? If so, who should define them? If not, should any group that so wishes be able to constitute its own state?

What about my constituency of Yorkshire (it's far bigger than Luxembourg!)? Should Gibraltar? What about the Channel Islands? How would Russia feel about applying the same principle they argue for South Ossetia to Chechnya or Northern Ossetia?

In any case, it is possible that a continent of 20 sovereign states in 1900 could swell to one with over 50 in the coming years. Most of them will be in the European Union, so fragmentation will have been balanced by a degree of integration. Indeed, it is this very integration that has made it plausible in some cases for smaller units to be viable states.

Arguing for independence within Europe sounds far less isolationist when you are simply making the case to upgrade your status rather than head off into the wilderness (although any area opting out of an existing EU country would require the agreement of all member states to become a separate member of the EU).

Nonetheless, a world fragmented into several hundred small countries along with just a handful of giants would not necessarily be a better place for smaller countries, nor in terms of achieving world level agreement on global issues - not least environmental concerns.

The proliferation of states could also produce an arms race as such countries seek to develop their own armies and defend themselves against real or imaginary threats from their neighbours. Much would depend on the multilateral frameworks created for integration and co-operation.

While the EU certainly remains relatively successful in balancing unity and diversity, most of the world does not.

Richard Corbett is Deputy Leader of the Labour MEPs and speaks for the Socialist Group on EU Reform in the European Parliament

If Richard Corbett things that Kosovo has all what it takes to be an independent state, then truly there is not a single reason to deny this right to Euskal Herria, if anything, the Basques have a lot more assets to sustain their claim than the Kosovars.

Oh, by the way, do you remember when smack in the middle of the recent peace process Zapataro insisted that the right to self-determination did not exist? Well, he stands corrected.

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Basque Refugee Children in Scotland

Thanks to The Courier for publishing this article:

Weekend events mark civil war

SOME OF the lost children of the Spanish Civil War who stayed in Angus were remembered yesterday with the unveiling of a plaque at the house they lived in.

Meanwhile, “missing” fallen Dundee soldier Allan Craig, rediscovered through an article on the city’s contribution to the International Brigades, is also now commemorated.

None of the surviving 24 children brought from the Basque region to Mall Park House, Montrose, were able to attend the ceremony but Tom Borland provided a moving account of his mother Encarnation Buenavente, who arrived as one of the refugees in September 1937.

Despite the British policy of non-intervention during the war, it allowed voluntary groups to arrange the evacuation of children and in May 1937 the Habana docked in Southampton carrying around 4000 in the biggest single influx of refugees in British history.

Miss May Wilson, who was fluent in the language, was put in charge at Montrose, while Basque teacher Adelina Larraga and helper Maria Blanco came with the children.

To raise funds, the children performed Spanish and Basque dances and songs across Scotland, often accompanied by accordionist Charles McNeil. One in Dundee in November 1937 attracted 3000.

By 1939 many of the children had been repatriated, but others had no home to go to so stayed in Britain.

In Dundee, Mr Craig’s son Allan jun unveiled the plaque, alongside former Transport and General Workers Union general secretary Jack Jones—at 95, the oldest surviving British volunteer.

Mr Craig died after being wounded near Madrid in February 1937 and a granite memorial will be placed alongside the existing plaque in Albert Square.

Allan (74), who lives in Glasgow, saw an article in the Scottish Local History Forum journal which said 16 men from Dundee died in Spain, though the late Tom Clarke, the last survivor, always claimed 17 volunteers from Dundee had died.

“I thought my father was born in Dundee, so I got in touch with the article’s author,” said Mr Craig.

Dundee TUC secretary Mike Arnott, who wrote the article, was delighted to have tracked down the city’s “missing” soldier.

Other events at the weekend included a Saturday march and a meeting at the Central Library.

Dundee TUC has also published a book tracing the city’s involvement with the International Brigade, available in city bookshops from next week. An exhibition is also on show at the Central Library.

The rescue operation described in this article had nothing to do with the Spanish government, it was negotiated between the Basque government and the UK.

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Basque Poets in Edinburgh

Scotland and Euskal Herria have a lot of things in common, they are both occupied by colonialist powers unable to evolve. This is why I was glad to read at EITb about how these two nations are coming together through art. Check this out:

Writers will present 'Six Basque Poets' at Edinburgh Book Festival

The book is a poetic anthology compiled by Mari Jose Olaziregi that gathers poems by Bernardo Atxaga, Rikardo Arregi, Felipe Juaristi, Miren Agur Meabe, Kirmen Uribe and Joseba Sarrionandia in Basque and English.

The Basque writers Bernardo Atxaga, Rikardo Arregi and Miren Agur Meabe will present the book Six Basque Poets, published by the English publishing company Arc, on Sunday, August 12, at the Edinburgh International Book Festival.

According to EuskalKultura.com, the book Six Basque Poets is a poetic anthology compiled by Mari Jose Olaziregi and translated into English by Miren Gabantxo that gathers poems by Bernardo Atxaga, Rikardo Arregi, Felipe Juaristi, Miren Agur Meabe, Kirmen Uribe and Joseba Sarrionandia in Basque and English.

The work is the second volume in a series that tries to bring closer contemporary poetry by European authors as well as from other continents to English speakers. That is why Atxaga, Arregi and Meabe will start a presentation tour that will take some of the writers later to Manchester and Reno.

According to sources of the English publishing company, the six poets included in the book have played a crucial role in the development of poetry written in Basque within the last 30 years. The book was published with aid from the Culture Department of the Basque Government and the Cervantes Institute from Manchester as well as Culture 2000.

Presentation tour

The first presentation event of the book will be this Sunday in Edinburgh. In turn, Kirmen Uribe and Felipe Juaristi will present the book at the Cervantes Institute of Manchester in October. In November Uribe and Ataxga will visit Reno, where they will lecture at the Center for Basque Studies (CBS) of the University of Nevada.

Reno will host the first International Meeting of Basque Literature in April 2008, under the guidance of Atxaga at the CBS. The CBS will publish the book History of Basque Literature for the occasion. Among the main authors of the work are Jean Haritschelhar, Beñat Oihartzabal, Aurelia Arkotxa, Igone Etxebarria, Joxerra Garzia, Lourdes Otaegi, Xabier Altzibar, Jesus Maria Lasagabaster, Patri Urkizu, Xabier Etxaniz, Manu Lopez and Mari Jose Olaziregi, translated into English by Amaia Gabantxo.

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In The Mean Time in Scotland

Things are moving in Scotland and The Nassau Guardian has published an article with a bleak outlook, here you have it:

Scotland: The road to nowhere

Gwynne Dyer

On Thursday, 4 May, the Scottish National Party, which promises to hold a referendum on independence by 2010, won the largest number of seats in the election for the Scottish Parliament. It's the first time that Labour has lost an election in Scotland in over fifty years, and the first time ever that the Scottish separatists are in a position to lead a government. So why does this not feel even a bit momentous?

One reason is that Alex Salmond, the leader of the Scottish National Party, will have to form a coalition government. The SNP won 47 seats to Labour's 46, but for a majority in the Parliament in Edinburgh it needs 65. Its most likely partner is the Liberal Democratic Party, which won 16 seats. Add a couple of Greens and one "independent" who is actually a former deputy leader of the SNP, and he can probably reach the magic number -- but the Liberal Democrats are dead set against a referendum on independence.

Salmond will probably yield gracefully and postpone a referendum on independence until a second term, because he knows that the Nationalists cannot win a referendum now.

The SNP got more votes this time because Scots wanted to punish the Labour Party, which had been in power long enough to wear out its welcome, but popular support for actual independence for Scotland has been stuck at around 25 percent for the past thirty years.

What Salmond and the SNP really need is a long period in office when they can pick fights with the British government on issues where they will look like defenders of Scottish rights. The SNP's programme for the "first hundred days" is rich in symbolic demands of that sort: "repatriation" of North Sea oil revenues (i.e. all for Scotland, none for England); a separate Scottish Olympic team; Scottish control over British negotiations with the European Union on fisheries issues, and so on.

But even that strategy won't get very far, because the SNP's prospective coalition partners will not want perpetual confrontations with London.

The SNP is now beginning the same long and thankless process that the separatist Parti Quebecois entered when it won its first election in Quebec in 1976.

Quebec is the right analogy, because in both cases "independence" is mainly of emotional importance -- and the emotion is not all that powerful. Basque separatists in Spain, Kurds in Turkey, and Tamils in Sri Lanka have bitter memories of mistreatment and repression by the majority nationality in relatively recent times, but for French-Canadians and Scots it is mainly a legacy issue.

The basic argument of separatists in both of these places is that history took the wrong turn a few hundred years ago. Even if things are comfortable at the moment, it is our duty to make the history come out right at last. But things ARE pretty comfortable: Scots already control most domestic issues in Scotland through their own parliament, as does the French-speaking majority in the province of Quebec. GDP per capita in Scotland is 95 percent of the average figure for all of Britain, the same as Quebec's in relation to the rest of Canada.

No doubt an independent Scotland or an independent Quebec would do well economically, but they're doing well economically now. Do they really need to go through all the political turbulence and economic uncertainty of creating an independent state, in order to end up not very far from where they are now? In Quebec, the answer has always been no.

The Parti Quebecois was in power in Quebec for most of the past thirty years, but it only twice dared to call a referendum on independence, and both times it lost. Like the PQ versus the Liberals in Quebec, the SNP may establish itself as the only practical alternative to Labour in Scotland.

It may form the government there for most of the next thirty years. But even that would not mean that it will ever achieve its objective of independence.

After a generation of futile effort to convince Quebecers to vote for independence, the Parti Quebecois tumbled to third-party status in last March's Quebec election. The SNP is riding high at the moment, but the same fate may await it further down the road, because the majority response to its grand project is likely to be: why bother?

There is one big difference, however.

A majority of English-Canadians always wanted to keep francophone Quebec within the country, and were willing to make major economic and political concessions to persuade French-Canadians to stay. Whereas 59 percent of English people, according to a recent opinion poll, are in favour of Scottish independence -- more than twice the proportion of Scots who are.

The numbers are suspect: ask a slightly different question, and you'd get a quite different answer. The English aren't actually eager to push Scotland out of the Union.

But it is true that most English people would hardly notice if the northernmost bit of Britain, containing less than a tenth of the country's population, became a separate country. After all, it would still be in the European Union, so what's the difference?

With the last question the author tells us that it's missing the big picture. It is not what the English think or feel about the situation, is what the Scottish want for themselves. It also proves the little understanding that many have regarding the longing for self determination of those who feel history has short changed them, like the Scottish, the Welsh, the Basques, the Catalans, the Corsicans, to mention some.

If the dominating states don't even bother or do not see a difference, why don't they give up their former colonies once and for all?

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In Southampton

Nations must never forget their past in order to build their future. This article about the solidarity shown by individuals and organizations based in Scotland, Wales and England for the children of Euskal Herria is something that we can never forget. This article regarding the operation that saved thousands of youngsters from Fascism comes to us courtesy of EITb:

Southampton commemorates anniversary of Gernika children's arrival

Nearly 4,000 refugee children arrived in Southampton in May 1937 aboard the steamship Habana, while the Basque region was being attacked by General Franco and his German allies during the Spanish Civil War.

Basque children who 70 years ago fled Nazi bombs to find sanctuary in Britain are to be reunited in Southampton on Saturday 26 May.

Nearly 4,000 refugee children arrived in Southampton in May 1937 aboard the steamship Habana. It sailed from Bilbao with a Royal Navy escort while the Basque region was being attacked by General Franco and his Nazi German allies during the Spanish Civil War.

The arrival of the Habana on 23 May 1937 remains to this day the largest ever single influx of refugees into Britain. The town of Gernika had been destroyed by Hitler’s Condor Legion only a few weeks earlier. The bombing sparked a public outcry that persuaded a reluctant British government to accept the refugees, who were cared for entirely by volunteers.

This year's commemoration at the Southampton Solent University Conference Centre will be attended by surviving refugee children who settled in Britain along with several of the children who returned home. Some of those travelling from the Basque Country will retrace their voyage of 70 years ago by crossing the Bay of Biscay by ferry.

The commemoration will be attended by representatives of the Spanish government and the Basque regional government, as well as by local MPs and dignitaries and the children and grandchildren of the refugees. A plaque recording the anniversary will be unveiled by the representative of the Spanish government.

The event is being organised by the Basque Children of ’37 Association UK, a charity run by the children and their descendants. The commemoration begins at 11am at the Southampton Solent University Conference Centre (157-187 Above Bar Street, Southampton SO14 7NN).

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Scotland's Pro Independence Party

This article published by the Baku Sun shows that the Spaniards flat out lie each time they say that the Basques are the only Europeans seeking independence for their nation:

Scots to vote for independence-seeking party

by David Stringer
EDINBURGH, Scotland — Scotland this week marks the 300th anniversary of the day it united with England to give birth to Great Britain. Yet as it observes the milestone, Scots are poised to hand a resounding election victory to a party that vows to dismantle the union.

For Treasury Chief Gordon Brown, the proud Scotsman preparing to succeed Tony Blair as Britain’s prime minister in the coming months, there’s a bitter irony: With his moment of triumph in sight, his homeland may be slipping from his grasp.

Latest polls show the Scottish National Party is set to sweep elections to Scotland’s regional government on Thursday, claiming a mandate to chart a path toward an eventual split. The party, which has pledged an independence referendum by 2010, dreams of an independent nation matching the economic successes of neighboring and similarly populated Ireland and Norway, rather than relying on heavy subsidies from London. At the heart of the matter is the nature of nationhood at a time when the European Union — an even broader umbrella — might be seen as a guarantor of peace and prosperity no less great than Britain. And while Scotland would not have automatic entry, few believe it wouldn’t ultimately join the now 27-member club.

There are significant economic subplots. With independence, Scotland would control lucrative oil and natural gas reserves in the North Sea. The SNP also promises drastic corporate tax cuts that would attract foreign investment and, it claims, transform Scotland into a Tartan Tiger on par with Ireland’s Celtic Tiger. Brown and the governing Labour Party, however, say breaking free would wreck the Scottish economy. The territory lags behind England economically and benefits far more from British public spending than it contributes in national taxes.

And it would be a humiliation for Labour to have presided over the breakup of Great Britain — even though the English and the Scots share a surprising antipathy last demonstrated in the widespread refusal of Scots to support the beleaguered England soccer team at the 2006 World Cup.

Will a divorce take place? Perhaps not so fast. Despite the SNP’s growing support, an independent Scotland may yet remain far off — as it has been in Spain’s Basque country, which has had broad powers of self-rule since the late 1970s.

Polls show that less than a third of Scots currently want to leave the union, and even SNP party activists acknowledge rancor over Blair’s 10-year premiership is helping their cause as much as a desire for independence. Fueling the SNP’s success has been dissent over the Iraq war and domestic policies Scots feel have stunted the territory’s economic growth.

But a booming, independent Scotland is the vision SNP leader Alex Salmond sells to shopkeepers as he darts between stores in the border town of Selkirk, the historic spot where William Wallace, the famed patriot who resisted English occupation, was named guardian of Scotland — or de facto head of state — in 1298. Unlike the legendary outlaw given Hollywood treatment in the movie “Braveheart,” Salmond claims efficient governance will prove a Scotland ruled by his party can manage the nation’s affairs without interference from London.

“This is about having a chance to show what we can do as an administration,” Salmond said. “Then, in 2010 we’ll ask the voters of Scotland for their permission, in a referendum, to move forward to independence.”

Polls suggest his party will claim the largest share of seats in Scotland’s 129-member parliament and form a coalition government — probably with the Liberal Democrats, who have previously sided with governing Labour. Results of the ballot held every four years are expected to be called from the early hours of Friday. Labour has been the largest party since Scotland’s parliament was established in 1999, following an overwhelming vote in favor of a domestic legislative body in 1997. It has never run second in a Scottish poll since 1955.

Scotland’s parliament passes laws on education, health and justice and can alter income tax in Scotland by 3 pence (6 U.S. cents; 4.5 euro cent) in every pound, but London retains primacy on all matters relating to Britain as a whole — including defense, energy and foreign relations.

Lawmakers and analysts claim Blair may have brought Thursday’s predicted defeat upon himself — by failing to foresee his move to devolve some powers to Scotland would take root and trigger renewed debate about ties to England. If Scotland’s parliament is “good enough to look after health and education, why not the economy or foreign policy?” pondered Salmond, already a House of Commons lawmaker and hoping to win a Holyrood seat and lead the Scottish authority. Actor Sean Connery is the party’s leading celebrity supporter and claims “there will never be a better opportunity than now,” to move toward independence, lending his distinct Scottish burr to a campaign video.

Convincing voters of the need for secession will take more than movie star endorsements, pollsters claim. John Curtice, politics professor at Scotland’s Strathcylde University, says support for separation has hovered at 30 percent for decades. But by delaying a Scottish referendum until 2010, he said, Salmond will aim to use quarrels with London to prove the case for separation. “If London continually says no to Holyrood (as the parliament is known)the SNP will hope they’ve proven Scotland needs self-governance,” said Curtice.

Salmond’s chief foe will be Brown, who has launched an urgent defense of Great Britain, telling an Edinburgh rally any split would leave Scotland bankrupt and marginalized on the world stage. Voters aiming to use Scottish elections to sting Blair will cause an enormous headache for his successor, said analyst Phil Cowley, handing him a mischievous neighbor who could undermine Brown’s authority ahead of national polls in 2009 or 2010. “He has always seen Scotland as his fiefdom,” Cowley said. “When you do badly in the fiefdom, you suffer.”

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