Advancing Euskera in Nafarroa

It is about time a law that prevents Basques from developing spaces for Euskara in parts of Nafarroa, a Basque province, because of a law that allegedly was established to help protect and promote the language.

Is it possible that the European Community can be so blind as to allow some backwards politicians to endanger one of Europe's (and the entire world for that case) most unique languages?

Basque language activity representatives demand new law

On the 18th anniversary of the passing of the law in Navarre, they called for the language zone system to be abolished and for linguistic rights to be protected

Maitane Burusko – IRUÑEA (Pamplona)

Today it is 18 years since the Government of Navarre's charter law 15/1986, or law governing the Basque language was passed. However, it is no cause for celebration for the players in the field of Basque language activity. They have denounced “the division and the continual violation of linguistic rights,” which have resulted from cutting Navarre up into three linguistic zones.

This was why a number of players involved in Basque language activity were keen to give a joint assessment yesterday to demand that, “on the basis of the conditions laid down in the Universal Declaration of Linguistic Rights, Basque should be given official status, that it should be treated as something that belongs to Navarre and that it should be given priority”. So the following bodies made a call for the repeal of the current Basque Language Law: Administrazioan Euskaraz (Organisation promoting Basque in the Administration), AEK, Behatokia, Euskal Herria Euskaraz, IKA (Association of centres teaching Basque and literacy in Basque to adults), Kontseilua, Oinarriak (Association of 15 organisations working for the standardisation of Basque in Navarre) and Sortzen-Ikasbatuaz (Association of Basque-speaking public schools).

The representatives of organisations working in the field of Basque language activity who met together are basically saying that the Basque Language Law in Navarre lacks “the necessary foundations” to bring about the normalisation of the Basque language. On December 15, 1986 the Government of Navarre implemented the law, which governs the linguistic rights of Basque speakers in Navarre, according to where they live.

Behatokia’s chairman Paul Bilbao explained that it was “a decision devoid of logic, “because it is inconceivable that the law itself should recognise that the language belongs to Navarre, while at the same time it divides up its official status on the basis of zones”. Bilbao added that over the last two decades people have not enjoyed any rights in the non-Basque speaking zone established by the law. As far as the mixed zone laid down by the law was concerned, the Behatokia chairman stressed that the law had contributed to the decline of the language in the institutions over the last few years.

The Government of Navarre has in fact passed a number of decrees to reduce the use of Basque, for example decrees 37/2000 and 29/2003, which were blocked by the courts. Paul Bilbao said that even in the Basque-speaking zone the Government of Navarre had flouted the law; he pointed out that linguistic rights are systematically being infringed today. On behalf of the players involved in Basque language activity he added: “At the end of the day the Basque Language Law has contributed towards discrimination among the citizens of Navarre and towards making the language disappear.”

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