Monday, December 20, 2004

Aznar's Worst Nightmare

And also Franco's.

The Basque Parliament has voted yes.

The "Ibarretxe Plan" obtained the green light after Batasuna decided to be political savvy and abstained from voting against it. The result, 9 votes is favor, 7 against and 2 abstentions.

The most important part, the Parliament representatives have voted yes in behalf of a referendum amongst Basques to decide if they want independence or not.

Of course, the representatives from the PP and the PSOE voted against it, lets hope they don't resort to lacing Ibarretxe's soup with cyanid.

Here you have the note that appeared today at the BBC:


Basques back 'independence' plan

By Danny Wood
BBC News, Madrid



Basque independence supporters at rally in December
Spanish leaders oppose the Basque independence plan













Members of the Basque parliament have voted in favour of proposals for more autonomy from Spain.

The plan, drawn up by the leader of the Basque government, Juan Jose Ibarretxe, calls for a referendum on independence.

This vote in the Basque parliament's institutional commission is the first important step for the Ibarretxe plan.

The autonomy plan calls for a separate judiciary, police force, financial system and a distinct citizenship for those with Basque ancestry.

The commission voted to support the proposal after more than a year of heated debate.

The document needs the endorsement of the regional parliament before it can go to a referendum.

Next step

But the initiative is strongly opposed by Spain's major parties. The leader of the opposition conservative Popular Party, Mariano Rajoy, has called the independence plan a betrayal of the state.

Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero says he is open to talks about the future of the Basque region's relationship with the rest of the country.

But his Socialist party has always been against any fundamental changes to the constitution.

Mr Ibarretxe and his regional government deny they want complete independence from Spain.

The second step for the plan is expected to be a vote in the Basque regional parliament on 30 December.

.... ... .

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