Spain's Clumsy Censorship

As you may know by now, the Basque and Catalonian fans that were present at the Mestalla stadium in Valencia to witness the final of the Copa del Rey tournament between Basque team Athletic de Bilbao and Catalonian team Barcelona decided to express what Basques and Catalans feel regarding the anthem and king of an expansionist state that has impossed those foreign symbols on them.

Knowing that something like this could happen, the government lead by Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero decided to skip the opening ceremony and in doing so try to ensure that the entire world would learn that Basques and Catalonians do not feel Spaniards, they did it in such a clumsy way that now the Spanish government is the laughing stock around the world. Of course, when something like this happens in a totalitarian state with a king that was selected to the charge by the worst fascist dictator in Europe then someone has to take the blame and in this case, the scape goat is the Sports Director at the state television according to this article published at Soccer365:

Spanish TV station in hot water

While showing the game between Athletic Bilbao and Barcelona, Television Espanola (TVE) cut to reporters in Bilbao - the largest city in the Basque country - and Catalonian capital Barcelona instead of showing live footage of the Spanish national anthem being drowned out by whistles and boos from the two sets of fans at the Mestalla stadium in Valencia.

The station then aired the playing of the national anthem during half-time in the game, but with the jeers of the supporters edited out while also showing images of some of the supporters, who hail from two of Spain's most separatist regions, holding their hands to their hearts.

Antonio Gutierrez, PP representative for the Spanish autonomous region of Melilla, accused Luis Fernandez, president of the company which owns the channel, of "deciding which images or sounds may or may not be harmful for audiences".

TVE 1 presenter Juan Carlos Rivero apologised to viewers at half-time, explaining the decision to cut away from the stadium while the anthem was being played had been due to "human error".

The company which owns the channel, RTVE, then issued a statement at the end of the broadcast which again put the incident down to human error.

This morning TVE director Javier Pons held a press conference at which he announced that the station's director for sport, Julian Reyes, had left the broadcaster as a result of the incident, and that "an investigation had been begun to seek out others who may have been responsible".

On the pitch Barcelona overcame the surprise of conceding an early goal to Gaizka Toquero by romping to a comfortable 4-1 win thanks to strikes from Yaya Toure, Lionel Messi, Bojan Krkic and Xavi.

Barca are one point away from clinching the Primera Division title while Manchester United lie await in the Champions League final in Rome on May 27.

There you have it, more evidence that Spain has not yet evolved since the time when Francisco Franco ruled with iron fist.

.... ... .

Manu Chao

A couple of years ago I published a lot of information about the censorship suffered by Manu Chao during his tour in Spain due to the fact that he was featuring fellow Basque artist Fermin Muguruza.

Well, back then I was not paying a lot of attention to the fact that I never told my readers who Manu Chao was. Well, as it happens, The San Francisco Chronicle published a pretty cool article about how a guy who moved to Lima in Peru got to learn about Manu.

Here you have it:

Addicted to Manu

Delfin Vigil

Sunday, July 23, 2006

Manu Chao saved my life.

The story begins in early 1999 in Peru, when I moved there to go to school and be near my family. Life in Lima was easy to adjust to. I had been there before, knew the city, loved the food and spoke the language. But there was one thing I couldn't quite understand: the music.

When my father emigrated from South America to San Francisco in 1962, he brought with him lots of music. By the time I was born, our living room was filled with stacks and stacks of scratched 45s and LPs bent at the edges because they had been smuggled in the corners of fake leather luggage. Thanks to my father, the soulful voices of Jesus Vasquez, Lucha Reyes and the gut-wrenchingly beautiful guitar work of Los Embajadores Criollos made their way through customs and into my heart. These people weren't just musicians; they were teachers. They taught me poetry, Spanish and all about a land that, at that point, I had felt little connection with.

While packing for my move to Peru, I purposely avoided bringing a single CD of my own and instead left lots of room to bring back modern versions of what my father had found.

But by the end of the first week I nearly went crazy.

I had spread the word to my cousins and friends that I was looking for the best new Peruvian music. Invariably, they'd play back songs sung in English. Much of it was from the '80s -- Simple Minds, the Cure, Duran Duran. None of it was Peruvian.

After I insisted that I wanted something in Spanish, they finally delivered a stack of CDs and tapes of "rock en Español." It was good stuff -- Los Fabulosos Cadillacs, Babasonicos and Andres Calamaro. But it was all music I already knew. And it was all from Argentina.

I tried the live route, but Lima is a city that lives and dies in the dance clubs. What little live music I found usually featured bands covering songs by ... Simple Minds, the Cure or Duran Duran.

Seeing that I was clearly suffering from serious music withdrawal, a friend at my school knew I needed help -- fast.

"I know a guy," my friend said, using words that even in Spanish usually lead to a dark alley. "He's got what you're looking for."

Two hours later, after school, I met this friend at our city bus stop. It wasn't dark and it wasn't in an alley. It was hot as hell, and we were at the front entrance of the university.

"This is your man," he said, handing over a bootlegged 60-minute cassette with one side labeled "Manu Chao," the other "Clandestino."

I took the tape, thanked my friend and hopped on the bus. Popping the cassette into my Walkman, I expected to hear either a sappy love song or maybe a salsa version of "Girls on Film." But within the first few seconds of Chao's choppy acoustic guitar and poetic lyrics about an immigrant suffering from shame, condemnation and shouting "Peruano!" and "Clandestino!" I knew I had found what I was looking for.

For the rest of that year I lived in Peru, Chao's "Clandestino" was all I listened to because it was all I needed. Not having any artwork or pictures on the tape to know for sure, I pictured Chao as a combination of all my heroes -- Che Guevara, John Lennon, Frank Zappa, Emiliano Zapata and my father. His songs, sung in Spanish, English, French and Portuguese, were the perfect soundtrack for what I was seeing and feeling on that bus ride from school -- from the hot Latin American sun burning the vinyl seats, to the guy next to me smelling of tequila and seafood. Chao sang about my frustrated friends who had no idea if they could ever find a good job but knew how to forget about it at night and have a good time anyway. He perfectly described the lady from the Andes who lived her life on the floor of my bus stop. And Chao sang about all of this within two or three songs.

Because the first song on "Clandestino" has Chao shouting something about Peru and perfectly describing the country I was living in, I assumed he was from South America. But after checking the Internet, I found out he had been born in Paris, where he was raised by a Basque mother and a Spanish father, both of whom had fled Franco's dictatorship.

Chao spent much of his youth hanging around the subways of Paris, where he met other musicians and formed bands influenced by punk rock, North African music and Bob Marley. They started a band in the '80s called Mano Negra, which had some success in Europe and Latin America. I checked out some of the music, and it was cool -- but it didn't speak to me the way "Clandestino" did.

What made "Clandestino" so special was the way Chao recorded it. After Mano Negra split up, Chao meandered around the world for about eight years carrying just a small four-track recording machine and acoustic guitar with him. He spent much of the time in Latin America and recorded sound effects such as city buses and conversations in the street and sampled them into his solo songs, making it sound as if the song were being sung from the back of a bus in Latin American traffic.

"Traveling is my school of life," he said in the only interview I've ever seen of him. "And that was the best school you can have."

After recording "Clandestino," he released the solo album in 1998 and said he expected "only his Mommy" would buy it. By the end of 1999, more than 4 million copies had been sold, and Chao was getting ready to play concerts to more than 150,000 people in Mexico City.

But in early 1999, when I was first becoming addicted to his music, it felt as if only a few people cared as much as I did. Convinced that Chao would be embraced by my Peruvian friends as their Bob Dylan, I always played "Clandestino" at our weekend parties. But instead of looks of approval, I'd usually get frowns from my friends, who would insist I put Metallica back on, or at least some salsa.

Outside my small circle of friends, the people I could tell did dig Chao were taxi drivers. Living in Lima means living in a taxi much of the time. Because of my addiction to "Clandestino," I would only board taxis (usually old Volkswagen Beetles) that had cassette players. My drivers would usually be irritated that I insisted on playing my music, but if I offered a little extra cash, they'd deal with it. Within 30 seconds of Chao shouting "Peruano!" and "Clandestino!" each new taxi driver would suddenly get a rush of adrenaline and start driving faster. Sometimes they'd pretend they knew the song, even when I could tell that they were hearing it for the first time. That's what good music is supposed to do to people.

Invariably, the taxi driver and I would be so engulfed in Chao's music we'd forget where we were going. On one occasion, we missed the turn to my home and ended up lost in a very sketchy barrio. As the driver attempted to make a U-turn around a dead end, three thuggish dudes holding sticks and rocks in their hands approached the car and forced us to stop. The windows were down, and Chao's music blared out, describing the dirt roads, poverty and frustration that was staring us in the face.

With a rock still in his hand, the leader of the pack approached the passenger side of the car where I was sitting and said in Spanish, "Hey, isn't this a Manu Chao song?"

I nervously nodded my head.

"I love this song," he said, smiling and singing along. Then he let us go.

Chao, who lives mostly in Spain these days, has since recorded two other full-length CDs and one live album, each critically acclaimed by my soul. Last year, in his spare time, he helped produce and record an album for the blind couple from Mali known as Amadou and Mariam. The album, "Diamanche a Bamako," is another lifesaver.

.... ... .

The Ban on Gerry Adams

Seems like some people just don't get it.

Such is the case of the big wigs at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. They decided that famous Irish politician Gerry Adams was not suitable for the opening of the exhibition they are to host called "Che Guevara: Revolutionary and Icon" (boy, famous Che lovers Val Prieto and Dean Esmay are going to be so happy when they find out about this exhibit).

Back to our topic.

Seems like some people in England's establishment are not too happy with Gerry Adams, a staunch defender of the Irish dream to reunite one day, leaving behind the last remnant of Brittish imperialism and tyranny in the green island.

It is then quite ironic that a revolutionary and an icon of freedom today, has been rejected from the list of guests that the exhibit's curator, Trisha Ziff, provided. Seems like she is not to happy that the zealots also decided to exercise some censorship on her work, forcing her to post the missing information on her own page.

To add insult to injury, the people at the V&A decided not to welcome Gerry Adams right when the Irish politician is deeply involved in the peaceful resolution of the Basque Country's conflict. Ironically enough, Che Guevara is of Basque background, his father's family having moved from Bilbo (Bilbao) to Argentina in the late XIX century.

Seems like some people in positions of power in England are as backwards as their Spanish counterparts, like for example, those who refuse for Picasso's "Guernica" to go to Euskal Herria.

Anyway, here you have the story as it was published by The GuardianUnlimited:

Sorry Gerry. You're just not the right sort for Che's V&A party

Curator furious as 'inappropriate' Adams barred from guest list

Duncan Campbell
Friday June 2, 2006
The Guardian

Che Guevara himself would have enjoyed the controversy. The Victoria and Albert Museum has decided that Gerry Adams, the Sinn Féin leader, should be removed from the guest list for next week's opening of its big exhibition on the "revolutionary and icon" because his attendance would not be "appropriate".

The museum authorities felt that because there was a high-profile exhibition of 60s fashion opening simultaneously, with many models and fashion photographers due to attend, Mr Adams's presence would not be "relevant". So Jerry Hall is on the guest list - but not Gerry Adams.

The decision has infuriated the exhibition's curator, Trisha Ziff. Yesterday Mr Adams said he wondered if Guevara would also have been barred, had he still been alive.

The exhibition arrives in London trailing plaudits. In Mexico City it was front-page news and increased museum attendance eightfold, while in Los Angeles it prompted protests by rightwing Cubans. Ms Ziff, originally from Leeds and now living in Mexico City, produced the exhibition of both rare and familiar photos, and was looking forward to a display in one of Britain's most prestigious venues. She submitted her guest list, which included Mr Adams, a personal friend with whom she had worked on exhibitions in the past.

She then received an email from Shaun Cole, acting head of the contemporary programme at the V&A, who told her all guests had been approved "except Gerry Adams, who is not relevant or appropriate". Ms Ziff, already unhappy that the museum had removed much of the text accompanying and explaining the images, which has now been posted on the website instead, said: "I was gobsmacked. Inviting Gerry was not a stunt and it never occurred to me there would be a problem."

After further inquiries, she was told the decision had been taken by "senior staff who won't be moved on this point". She inquired further and was then told by the museum's head of public affairs, Damien Whitmore, via email, that he needed help "with a difficult and very delicate situation".

Two other exhibitions were opening the same night, on design and fashion in the 60s, the latter sponsored by Miss Selfridge, which was bringing along "a number of models and actresses from the 60s as well as a number of fashion press".

He explained: "My difficulty is that the evening will attract a fashion crowd ... My sense is that having Gerry Adams there may not be appropriate because of this joint event ... I am sure you will understand our reasons for not inviting him."

Ms Ziff, however, does not understand, particularly as Mr Adams had jokingly told her he would have looked out his old Afghan jacket and loons for the occasion. She contacted Mark Jones, V&A director, who told her the museum had a policy of not inviting people affiliated to any political party. However, it turns out that Ken Livingstone, London's Labour mayor, has been invited.

"I find the attitude of the museum bizarre and nonsensical," said Mr Adams yesterday. "On the basis of the current 'reason' offered by the V&A of refusing to invite politicians, it would appear that if Che was alive, he would be barred from his own exhibition. The British establishment works in wondrous ways."

He would, as it happens, be in Spain, where he is due to be meeting political figures involved in peace efforts in the Basque country. But he found it odd that he was now welcome at 10 Downing Street but not at the V&A.

Ms Ziff remains dismayed. "It's extraordinary," she said. "The V&A have tried to turn it all [the Guevara exhibition] into just a design image and remove the resonance from it all.

"But you can't just turn Che Guevara into a commodity. The photo of Che by Alfredo Korda is the most reproduced image in history but it still has power. You can call it a storm in a teacup but it is really insidious. And on top of all that, the V&A shop is selling all these images of Che - there is even a Che lip balm.I'm amazed at the mindset."

Among items for sale during the exhibition will be a Che finger puppet, Che chocolate cigar, Che doll and Che cigar box as well as T-shirts, stickers, neon signs and badges.

A V&A spokeswoman said the museum had no comment. She could neither confirm nor deny a museum policy of not inviting politicians to exhibitions. A Miss Selfridge spokeswoman said about 1,000 guests from the world of fashion, design and photography were being invited to the joint opening.

.... ... .

New Fascist Logo

Thanks to Dean's World and blogger Mary Madigan we learn about the logo that some Americans and their Gusano (Right wing Cuban-American) underlings use now a days in support of military dictatorships.

Here you have it:

Memorize it, that way, whenever you see someone in the street or at a posh coffee shop, you know that the pearson that so proudly displays it wants people like Franco, Batista, Pinochet or Somoza to run a country as to ensure that the most backwards policies out there can be applied by the USA as to rape the resources of any given society.

These nuckledraggers support the invasion of countries that have never been a threat to the USA, clear example, Iraq. Their morals are so low that they think that the criminal embargo against Cuba is actually the right thing to do.

What is hilarious is the these Gusano characters are trying to hijack the Latino/Hispanic identity as we can see in this note via Sun Sentinel:

Postponing of film draws anger

By Scott Wyman Staff writer Posted October 5 2005

Plans to show a critically acclaimed movie about Cuban revolutionary Che Guevara's youth as part of Hispanic Heritage Month have placed Broward County's library system under siege, facing charges of insensitivity and censorship.

The Motorcycle Diaries was supposed to run Monday evening as part of the heritage festival's lineup. After an attack by Hispanic activists who say Guevara killed and tortured their friends and family, the library is now under fire from civil liberty advocates for deciding to yank the film.

Library director Bob Cannon defends his actions as appropriate. He has rescheduled the movie to early November so it no longer is part of Hispanic Heritage Month.

"In my mind, this isn't censorship," Cannon said Tuesday. "The film is readily available, we are still showing it. But this is a celebration of Hispanic culture, and some felt it was insensitive to show the film since it shows him in a positive light.

"Valentín, a film about a young boy who lives with his grandmother in Argentina, was shown in its place. The Motorcycle Diaries will now be played at 6 p.m. Nov. 7 at the Southwest Regional Library, 16835 Sheridan St. in Pembroke Pines.

The Motorcycle Diaries, produced by Robert Redford, is based on diaries Guevara wrote during a 1952 road trip across South America. It ends before he unites with Fidel Castro to take over Cuba.The movie was nominated this year for an Academy Award for best foreign film and won honors internationally. It drew no opposition when it hit theaters in 2004.

On Monday night, when the movie was supposed to be shown at the Pembroke Pines library, about 20 people concerned about its removal protested outside. "Basically, the library is saying that if you put enough pressure on us, we'll censor," said Zeina Salam of the Broward chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union. "If the library is not the bastion of free speech, what is?"

Excuse me, but since when right wing Cuban-Americans represent the broader Hispanic community?

We all know that most of them are heirs to the mafia style families that use to run Cuba as a gigantic whore-house. Many of them long for "strong" men (Batista style) to impose their iron fist on Cubans in behalf of some group of greedy politicians in Washington.

If you want more information about how fascistoid these Gusanos are, just visit blogs like Babalú Blog, that will give you an idea. And that way you will understand why conservative nuts like Dean Esmay in the USA or Franco Alemán in Spain support them.

.... ... .

Freemuse and IBO

The International Basque Organization has issued a press release in defense of the Basque artists being persecuted by the Spanish Government, fake human rights organizations and far-right fascist groups. It appeared at the Freemuse site.

You can go and visit Freemuse, you will find the press release at the "News" section. To make it easier for you I also post the article hear, hopefully Freemuse will print it on their newsletter.

SPAIN

CASES/NEWS

CENSORSHIP IN SPAIN

Article from International Basque Organization For Human Rights
January 2004

"When we think of musical censorship in these modern times, it is usually totalitarian governments that come to mind as the instigators. Censorship of music and film rarely occurs in modern day Europe, right? Wrong. It is alive and well in Spain. Not since the days of the Franco dictatorship have Basque musicians, filmmakers and media been subjected to such censorship.

Censorship of Basque musicians has occurred infrequently over the past ten years or so. One well-known case was against the rock group Negu Gorriak, who performed a song called "Ustelkeria" (Corruption). This song was about the accusation of the then chief of police of San Sebastian being involved with drug smuggling. The band members were prosecuted for this song and made to pay 15 million pesetas. The chief of police was subsequently found to be guilty of the drug charges. 8 years later, Negu Gorriak was declared innocent of their previous charges.

Over the past two years, censorship of Basque musicians in Spain has steadily increased. Groups such as Association for the Victims of Terrorism, a human rights group that receives grants from various ministries of the Spanish government, and the ultra-right wing group Espana2000 campaign relentlessly to cancel concerts. These groups use lawsuits and threats of uncontrollable demonstrations to forcefully pressure venue operators to cancel shows. Local government officials of Spain's Popular Party have jumped into the fray, taking it upon themselves to call for concert cancellations in their own towns.

The reasons given for censorship by the AVT are that "many of these words humiliate the victims". The AVT also takes issue with the bands using the term "political prisoner" in their songs, saying, "The only thing we are trying to point out is that freedom of expression has a limit". Some of the lines that the AVT takes offense with are:

"We close Egin with this system, Una, Grande y Libre. The police and all that crap are the cancer of this #$@% nation." - Berri Txarrak

"Like every week, she looks in the mailbox for a card from her son who is a prisoner in Spain, but instead she receives a cold call 'your son is dead with a rope around his neck' - Berri Txarrak from the song "Nation of Open Wounds"

The most recent bands to have their concerts cancelled due pressure by AVT, Espana2000 and the Spanish government's Popular Party are Su Ta Gar, Sociedad Alcoholico, Fermin Muguruza and Manu Chao, Berri Txarrak and Leihotikan.

Fermin has even been taken to court by AVT who claim that one of his most well known songs, "Sarri, Sarri" is pro-ETA and therefore illegal. This song has been performed for nineteen years, and tells about one of the Basque Country's most famous poets, Joseba Sarrionandia. Sarrionandia was in prison, accused of being a member of ETA, when he and a fellow prisoner escaped in the large speakers of a group who had just given a concert at the prison.

Berri Txarrak and Leihotikans latest concerts were cancelled in Madrid and Valencia, with the Madrid venue's proprietor stating"Due to the rarified situation created by the recent campaign of right extremist groups and various mass media against the Berri Txarrak and Leihotikan concert planned for January 10, 2004 in Madrid, and due to their arguments that the public, the artists and the organizers may be in physical danger, the people in charge of the Caracol Room have decided to cancel this musical concert. The group laments the situation that has been created, and hopes to offer its music soon to the Madrid public."

It is not just musicians being censored. Two of the directors of EITB, the Basque regional television station, are being charged as accessories to terrorism. The station aired a videotaped interview of two ETA members making a statement. There are also the cases of Basque language newspapers and radio stations being shut down, charged with aiding terrorists, then years later the cases being dropped. Too late for these media outlets; they are closed.

There was also the case of the documentary, The Basque Ball, Skin Against Stone. This documentary was created by one of Spain's most famous directors, Julio Medem, who is originally from the Basque Region. This documentary attempts to show the problems of the Basque conflict from all points of view and tries to find ways of reaching a middle ground. It debuted at the San Sebastian Film Festival amid much anticipation, and also howls of protest from the government of Spain and AVT. The Minister of Culture, Pilar Del Castillo, suggested that the film festival drop the documentary. This did not happen and the film opened to wide acclaim. Soon after, the documentary appeared at the London Film Festival. Representatives from the Spanish Embassy asked that the film be dropped from the festival. When the organizers refused, the Spanish government withdrew their traditional stipend that is given for the expenses of Spanish festival participants.

This is a dangerous road being traveled down in Europe. Whether or not one agrees with the message, in a democracy, all are supposed to have the right to be heard without the threat of violence and censorship. This is part of the duties of a democratic government."

For more info: www.euskojustice.org

.... ... .

Censorship on Basque Music

Like we been mentioning lately, Basque culture is under siege by the Spanish establishment, here you have another example, this time the target is the music artists:

The censor strikes back against Basque radical music

Two Basque bands SuTaGar and Sociedad Alcoholica and artist Fermin Muguruza have been victims of media campaigns as a result of charges against them by the Association of Victims of Terrorism in October 2003.

For artists Fermin Muguruza, this is not the first time as he has had gigs canceled due to the action of this organisation and had previous experiences with the censor for a song implying the chief of the Guardia Civil in Donostia (San Sebastian) with drug smuggling. For the other band, Sociedad Alcoholica, this is another experience to add to years of media campaigns and boycotts against them. For SuTaGar, this is the price any Basque band with and anti-Spanish message will pay at some point. Like in any other cases of repression, here too the authorities aim at damaging these artists but also to lay a precedent for those youngsters who would like to express themselves in the same way.

Basque radical music enjoyed the same freedoms offered by any other so-called ‘democracies’. Basque radical music especially developed in the eighties as a way of expression of the young generations against the dilation of the conflict and the fake promises of the new system. Before this form of expression, Basque music was limited to traditional expressions and to singer-song-writers. These later ones experienced a harsh repression: their gigs were banned, clandestine and the possibilities of recording etc no until the end of the dictatorship.

The freedom provided to the new generations didn’t mean that the authorities didn’t try to impose their rule. However this never reached the level of the current repression happening in the Basque Country. Artists such Fermin Muguruza, Sutagar and Sociedad Alcoholica to name but a few are suffering the consequences. The list will increase rapidly like a snowball, as once this censorship is applied, the freedoms of the so-called democracy will disappear allowing the authorities to repress without limitations.

Fermin Muguruza is the current most prestigious rock artist in the Basque Country. He’s been playing since the mid eighties when he started with the band Kortatu and later with Negu Gorriak, both together with his brother Iñigo. His courier has been very close to politics and has been candidate for the different names for the Basque separatist party. He was a candidate again for a platform with same ideology in the latest local ellections. The fact that these groups were banned by the Spanish government as a continuation of Batasuna worsened his criminalization. Last year 2002, taking advantage of the war against terrorism, the Spanish government managed to ban any group which they believe sides with ETA. Any of the party’s members qualified as ‘terrorists’ and though there are not charges against them, are treated as such by the International law: the proof is the ban to Fermin from entering the USA for any gigs (he has toured this country several times with Negu Gorriak and in his solo project). The materialization of this criminalization happened this summer when he saw two of his gigs (Malaga and Murcia) banned after being labeled ‘terrorist’ because of his political activity. He was playing these two gigs as part of his joint project with Manu Chao, Jai Alai Katumbi Express and all of them were sold out.

The banning of this gig was promoted by the Association of Victims of Terrorism, the same association who has pushed for the banning of these bands' songs. In theory this organisation, as any other organisation in the country doesn’t have the power to order the banning – they only can take the artists or the songs to court.

However, this is a very frequent phenomenon in the Spanish ‘democracy’ where an association or journalists or the government makes a legal initiative which is followed by a press conference, media echo and the consequent criminalization of artists, writers, other associations, etc. In fact, this is what happens all over the world in any so-called democracies, with the gulf-war, the Afghanistan war, war against terrorism, etc or here in Britain where we have many cases. Perhaps the most obvious one could be the media and police campaign to ban the film Injustice, exposing cases of death in custody and the lack of justice in trials. To this campaigns, we have to add the government’s intervention, a national campaign against Basque nationalism and Basque culture and the reach by the media of the entire country where Basque views are not contrasted.

We also have to add to this, as many personalities had brought it up in the last time, the use by the Spanish government of the media but specially of victims of terrorism and so-called ‘peace’ organisations to attack Basque nationalism, for their own benefit and to impose Spanish nationalism mainly in the Basque Country. This censorship has also to be understood in its current context where PP (Spanish conservative party, in the government since 1996), has developed a tough repression system violating laws and freedom of expression. This policy has included the closure of three publications, a radio, the intervention of a Basque distribution company as well as the closure and banning of many social organizations. And as an illustrative example we can mention the latest attempt to ban another film, The Basque Ball – The Leather Against The Wall by Julio Medem from being showed at the Donostia (San Sebastian) Festival. The Spanish Government through the Spanish embassy tried to do the same for the projection of the film in the London Film Festival, withdrawing the funding that they provided on yearly basis for promotion of Spanish cinema. The problem with this film is that it promotes the dialogue for a conflict that the Spanish government continues to deny.

As Fermin told me, this new attack has meant the cancellation of many of his gigs in Spain. Fermin was the artist who managed to break the siege. He decided to sign entirely in Basque despite the profit that he could gather from signing in Spanish and as proved in his first phase as a musician/singer. This was decided as a commitment with his language and culture and to encourage people to use it and to get used to it. In this way he managed to sign in Basque everywhere in Spain but also all over the world where he has toured from Japan to the USA, Latin America and everywhere in Europe. As we said, the fact of being taken to court and being victim of a media campaign has meant that many of the venues where he has been playing for the last five years have told him that they can’t run that risk (same thing that cinemas said to the Injustice directors when the film was programmed in their venues or that Spanish cinemas may be saying to Medem). And this is without the trial being over and without any decision been made!

Even more: the song that the Association of Victims of Terrorism have taken Fermin to court is a song from 1985: ‘Sarri, Sarri’. This song, as Fermin himself and the defense lawyer Miguel Castell expressed in a TV debate (in the regional Basque TV, of course) is one of the most popular songs by him, plaid by all the village music bands in any fiesta and discotheque. The song itself is a happy ska that Fermin wrote for one of the best Basque poets Joseba Sarrionandia.

Sarrionandia was in Donostia’s prison as member of ETA when he managed to escape hiding inside the speaker of a band who had performed inside the prison. He has been out ever since, living in France where he continues his literature activities. The AVT however finds that the song is a pledge for a ETA prisoner and therefore for ETA and by being victims of ETA they find the song very offensive and hurting and therefore it needs to be banned and the victims compensated. Think what could happen in this situation to Christy Moore for signing to Bobby Sand, or to Specials for signing to Mandela (who is also sung by Fermin Muguruza in the same record). As the defense lawyer Miguel Castell had pointed out, the track was done 18 years ago, therefore if in all this time no police, no judge, no politician has found a crime in the song, why now? His opinion was that this isn’t the aim, but to cause damage from a media campaign as it has happened.

The day after the debate I spoke to Fermin. He was upset – he had had an opportunity to speak but he was cut all the time by the AVT guy and this other guy from a civic organisation (not civic at all). All this happened before the passivity of the presenter, which makes you think. He was also upset because he has had many gigs cancelled. And that was something that both him and Jimy (SA) argue against their accusers: ‘you have taken us to court but before being charged you have already developed a campaign against us were we are criminalized’. The effect is brutal, but that’s what the system wants.

As Fermin reminded his accusers in that debate, Fermin is an artist from the Basque left who has made the difficult decision of speaking out and refuse the armed struggle as the way to achieve independence and to choose dialogue and social work as the option. Even in the debate, his accusers ignored his pledge! After nearly 20 years playing, Fermin has been a voice of injustice in the Basque Country and worldide. This new attack comes when he had gone more intimate and personal without forgetting politics. His latest album is a collection of his tracks remixed by artists in Bristol and UK.

But censorship hasn’t been alien to Fermin Muguruza. Perhaps the worse case happened in 1993 when he was prosecuted together with all the other members of Negu Gorriak for a song he wrote, ‘Ustelkeria’ (‘Corruption’). The song was very original, investigating hip-hop forms through a dialogue between him and guitarist Kaki. But what caused a fuss was that dialogue’s content: the accusation of the Donostia (San Sebastian) Guardia Civil colonel Rodriguez Galindo of colluding with drug smugglers. The song was published in a time when evidence and publication of information exposed the colonel and his headquarters as one of the centre where the para-military activity against Basques was organised from. In the middle of all this controversy, the Spanish government decorated the colonel to acknowledge his service but this was not enough to avoid the justice. Negu Gorriak was punished to pay 15 million pesetas (£60,000). The solidarity was incredible with massive gigs (12,000 in Oiartzun), bands in Italy, etc getting together and organising fund raisings, etc. Months later the colonel was found guilty of corruption and terrorism and imprisoned, though he has enjoyed a very condescending treatment. The case was closed in January 2001, 8 years after: Negu Gorriak was found innocent because of mistakes within the previous prosecution (!!).

Sociedad Alcoholica

S.A. (as they are also known in the scene) are from Vitoria-Gasteiz (Basque Country). They play hardcore punk with very un-compromised lyrics. They don’t position themselves with the Basque separatist movement but more with the anarchist one, though, as they have stated in their communicates challenging to be labelled as ‘terrorists’, they declare that ‘to be Basque and to defend the right to self-determination for all the countries who demand it is not a crime’. Sociedad Alcoholica sign in Spanish and they are very popular all over Spain – as a t-shirt of a punk demonstrated me in Cadiz, right in the other side of the peninsula.

S.A. have been suffering similar attacks for long time, specially last year and now again. This latest attack was started from the charges presented against them by the Association of Victims of Terrorism (AVT). In the same debate of ETB (Basque regional TV) ‘Politicamente Incorrecto’, AVT accused SA of encouraging terrorism by their song ‘Exploit Military’. Jimmy, guitarist for the group, argued simply that they were free to say what they wanted, that this was a symbolic way of expressing a dislike and that they refused terrorism. But he added that they refused all kinds of violence specially that one coming from the state and those defending it and serving it.

The AVT representative however had many other reasons to target them like their participation in a gig for Catalonian prisoner in Belgium Juanra. SA added quickly that he is an ‘alleged’ ETA member as after nearly 2 years in prison (January 2002), his trial hasn’t happened yet. Juanra can be considered as a miscarriage of justice and also another victim of censorship in music. Juanra was the singer of the band KOP- Ofensiva, another hardcore punk band with big support, and surely the repression against him was due to the active commitment that he took on stage and with his lyrics. He was arrested in Belgium as requested by the Spanish Government for alleged membership of ETA (apparently the Spanish government alleged that he had helped someone belonging to ETA in someway). For all his supporters, this was just a
set-up and Juanra was just imprisoned for his music activities. The fact that he hasn’t had a trial yet and that no evidence has been presented against him yet say it all. The fact that to organise a gig in his support or to highlight his situation should be punished because theoretically it hurts the victims of terrorism says even more.

As we said, the campaigns against S.A. worsened last year when the band found many of their gigs cancelled. Everything started by anti-Basque instigator radio presenter Luis del Olmo in his infamous debates (Onda 0, ‘Protagonistas’, 31st May 2002) suggesting the banning of the band from playing gigs. Even councillors and mayors from the locallities where they were playing were threatened and even asked to resigned as a consequence! This was taken by other programs and papers and developed into a big campaign against the band. As Jimmy also said in that program, they found that the bands called to replace them had even worse lyrics but they weren’t questioned because someone else was the scapegoat and because they weren’t Basques. The attack escalated to the point of being accused of being racist, anti-Semitic as well as terrorist, when S.A. declare themselves ‘antimilitarist, antifascist, antiracist, antisexist, etc’

Su Ta Gar

Su Ta Gar is another Basque band. Their originality is to produce Basque heavy metal with high doses of instrument skills. Basque heavy metal sung in Basque and Basque heavy metal supporting the separatist armed struggle. Their lyrics include from prisoners to demos to the struggle itself. The receipt is really successful and perhaps that’s why the government aims at stopping them. Sutagar publish half a dozen records with the label that Fermin Muguruza started Esan Ozenki (currently Metak). As well as these two, the label works with more than 30 bands who sign entirely in Basque and have an antiestablishment attitude. All them and more bands from other labels could be the next ones to try the new censorship cooked in Madrid.

For Fermin Muguruza: www.muguruzafm.com
For Metak: www.musikametak.com (for Esan Ozenki: www.esanozenki.com)
For Sutagar: www.sutagar.com
For Free Juanra: www.freejuanra.org / www.kop-ofensiva.org

Miguel Castell is a historic Basque defense lawyer who defended ETA militants in the historic trial of Burgos, where they were due to be executed and one of the first civil trials of the end of the dictatorship (as opposite to military ones, without defense lawyers). He was also a defense lawyer for Negu Gorriak on their court case related to Colonel F. Rodriguez Galindo

.... ... .

Interviewing Eoin Ó Broin

An interview with Eoin Ó Broin, the author of the book "Matxinada":

Interview with Eoin Ó Broin

An Phoblacht: When and why did you decide to write a book about the Basque country and its youth movements.

Eoin Ó Broin: During 1997 and 1998 I was the National Organiser for Sinn Féin Youth. At that time we were developing a number of international relationships with youth groups in England, Wales, South Africa, Catalonia and the Basque Country. The strongest and most interesting youth movements were in the Basque Country and particularly an organisation called Jarrai (To Continue). It seemed to me that they understood that in order to mobilise large numbers of young people, you had to take a youth-centred approach. In fact, they were mobilising thousands and thousands of young people, through a very effective mix of radical politics and popular culture.

After several visits to the Basque Country I realised that in fact Jarrai was just part of a much broader and diverse youth culture, involving networks of illegal radio stations, youth houses, rock bands, campaign groups, language groups and students. So around 1999, I decided to write a short pamphlet about all of this, to make people in Ireland aware of the radical Basque youth movements. However, after a while I realised that a bigger book was needed, in order to provide the reader with a history of Basque nationalism and an account of the present conflict with the Spanish and French states.

AP: So Matxinada is about more than the youth movements?

EÓB: Yes, while the primary focus is on the youth movement, I thought that it was important to provide the reader with a political and historical context in which to understand developments in youth culture. I also felt that while there is a lot of solidarity with the Basque struggle among Irish republicans, a lot of it is not based in any detailed understanding of the situation. This is primarily because there is a lack of reliable information on what is happening there. So about half of the book is devoted to the general situation.

There is a short introduction discussing existing literature and journalism on the Basque Country. There is a history of Basque nationalism from the end of the 19th century through to the death of Franco. The longest of the general chapters is an account of the conflict from about 1976 through the Socialists' period in power and covering the government of Aznar right through to 2003.

AP: Is this the first book to deal with this subject and period?

EÓB: Yes, in fact it is. Nobody has written about the youth movements at all, not even in Basque or Spanish, which is rather strange. Given the drift by young people away from politics right across Europe, you would think that someone would be interested in the Basque situation as an anomaly. I also think that it is very strange that no standard account of the recent conflict exists in English. If you go into any bookstore you will see a lot of introductions to the Palestine/Israel conflict, or indeed to the situation in the North of Ireland, but nothing on the Basque Country. So Matxinada is the first book to write about the youth movements and the first English account of political developments from 1976 to 2003.

AP: How have you separated your own political views from those in the book?

EÓB: I haven't. I think it's very important that this book is written from a standpoint of solidarity with the Basque independence movement and the radical youth movement. I make this very clear from the very beginning of the book and make no apologies for that. Most books have biases or take political sides in one way or another. For me, the question is just to be honest about where you position yourself. Having said that, I have tried to make sure that a wide range of political actors are quoted from the left and right of the Basque spectrum to the left and right of the Spanish state. The analysis is one which most radical left nationalists would agree with, but that doesn't mean that I exclude voices from other political positions.

I have also tried to present information which you would never find anywhere else, especially about state violence and repression, or the question of political prisoners. So Matxinada is neither an objective nor an academic book, it is a book written by a political activist about other political activists.

AP: So what have been your sources of information?

EÓB: I have relied on three main sources of information. Firstly, a small but valuable amount of historical research by specialist historians of Basque affairs. Secondly, lot of primary source material such as newspapers, reports, magazines, etc. And thirdly, I carried out about 30 interviews with spokespersons for a wide number of organisations and campaigns in September and October 1999. These interviews form the basis of the two chapters on the youth movements.

AP: I understand that some of these activists have been arrested since 1999?

EÓB: Yes, that's correct. 15 of the 30 interviewees have been arrested since 1999. Of these, about ten are still in jail, awaiting trial, while the others have been released on bail and are also awaiting trial.

The charges against these young people are really incredible. They are political activists like myself, but they are being accused of a whole assortment of things, primarily around the question of 'supporting an armed organisation'. However, their real 'offence' is to be politically active in the radical youth movements.

The strength of these movements is scaring the Spanish government, to the extent that since 1999, they have enacted three sets of laws primarily aimed at intimidating young people away from radical political activism. Most have spent between one and two years in jail. In effect this is a form of internment without trial, although in a more select form.

Organisations such as Jarrai are being banned, their national executives jailed. A new organisation springs up in its place (such as Haika), which in turn is banned and their new national executive is arrested. This has happened three times, with Segi the most recent victim. Despite all of this repression, however, Segi continues to organise and mobilise; it's quite incredible actually.

AP: The book also deals with recent events?

EÓB: Yes, there is a chapter that goes from 1976 through to this year. It traces the political life of Spain after the death of Franco and the rise to power of the socialist administration of Filipe Gonzalez.

These were very bad years for the Basque Country, particularly because of the state-sponsored murder gang GAL. However, much of this chapter focuses on the consequences of the rise to power of the right after 1996. The present government of Jose Maria Aznar has unleashed a wave of repression since 1997, starting with the imprisonment of the national executive of Herri Batasuna and the closure of the daily newspaper Egin in 1997 and 1998.

More recently he has overseen the closure of the Basque language daily newspaper Egunkarria and the illegalisation of Batasuna. This year's local elections, held a few months ago, were the first to take place since the death of the dictator which saw a political party banned. There have also been a large number of political demonstrations banned, under the most spurious grounds. In fact, last weekend saw the first State of Exception declared (for 30 minutes) since the mid 1970s. A State of Exception means that it is illegal to congregate in groups of more than two people. And this measure was taken to prevent a peaceful demonstration against the illegalisation of Batasuna.

The more you think about it, the more incredible it is that at the start of the 21st century, in the European Union, a member state can erode the most basic civil liberties without a sound from the international community. The right to free speech is gone. The right to freedom of assembly is gone. The right to vote is effectively gone. It's frightening and has serious implications for us all. If one EU member state can do this, then so can the rest.

AP: How do you see the political situation in the Basque Country developing in the coming period?

EÓB: It's hard not to be pessimistic at the moment. This autumn will see the beginning of what is known as the Macro Sumario, which is the large legal case against a number of political organisations. That will be followed by a slightly smaller set of proceedings against the various youth organisations that have been banned. These trials will last for a while and could see a large number of political activists receive large jail sentences.

In addition, the newspaper Gara, which replaced Egin after it was closed, is beginning to attract the attention of the Spanish authorities and some of its staff fear the worst. With no political party, no newspaper, no youth organisations, what the Spanish government are doing is closing all of the political means of expression and organisation that the left nationalism movement has at its disposal. This can only lead to more confrontation with the state and greater levels of violence.

I really think that the next number of years will be very hard ones in the Basque Country. There will be a lot of arrests, more torture, more legal sanctions and in turn more violence. It is almost inevitable.

AP: So the Basques need support more than ever?

EÓB: There is no doubt about it. In some ways, it is a little like Ireland during the early 1980s. Aznar's government is like Thatcher's in that regard - solely focused on repression and more repression.

If the political situation is going to change at all, then there needs to be more international pressure exposing the reactionary ways in which Aznar and his allies in the Spanish judicial system are dragging the Basque Country and indeed Spain into deeper cycles of conflict. There needs to be a realisation that what is going on in the Basque Country has implications for us all. So the Basques need our solidarity more than ever.

There is a determined effort in the international community to isolate and criminalise Batasuna and the political expression of left nationalism. Sinn Féin can play an important role in making sure that that doesn't happen. Irish republicans must continue to hold to the belief that exclusion, criminalisation and censorship are not acceptable, and in its place we must promote dialogue and respect for civil and human rights for all people.

AP: Finally, what do you hope your book achieves?

EÓB: There are two things really. Firstly, I hope that it enables people to understand the situation in the Basque Country a little better. Like I have said, solidarity can sometimes be based on romantic ideas, not reality, but it is important that when we support a people in struggle it is on the basis of the facts. Secondly, I think that all struggles have somthing to learn from others. And we have a lot to learn from the Basques, particularly in terms of their radical youth culture. These objectives might be a little grand, but if even in a small way people learn a little, then the book will have been worthwhile.

AP: One final question, what does Matxinada mean?

EÓB: You will have to read the book to find out.

Eskerrik asko Eoin, we certainly need more people like you in this word.

.... ... .

The Kurds and The Basques

Here you have this interesting essay published by Kurdish Media:

Democratic Transition within the Spanish Constitutional Framework: The Case of the Basque Country

KurdishMedia.com - By Welat Lezgin
10/07/2002 00:00:00

There are many similarities between the opressed Basque and Kurdish ethnic-nationalisms. Both the Basque and the Kurdish issues are heavily influenced by the global changes and are trans-national. Although this essay concentrates specifically on the Basque question, Kurds can draw some useful conclusions from it.

However, there is one thing that should be kept in mind when reading this essay. The process of the erosion of the nation-state, and in paralell to that the rise of regionalism, which has been gaining pace in Europe, has not reached the states that control Kurdistan. The states that occupy Kurdish territories manage their Kurds with the same policies as Franco managed its Basque population during his ruthless reign. The biggest difference is that while the oppressive regime of Franco is long gone leaving his place to a vibrant Spanish civil and democratic society, unfortunately the Kurds are still heavily oppressed, probably by the most backward regimes this planet has ever seen.

Introduction

During the past decade we have witnessed intensifying ethnic conflicts, serious suffering and loss of lives from Bosnia, Kosovo and Kurdistan to Chechenya and beyond in many conflict areas around the world. As Anthony Smith argues, ‘it has become commonplace to recognise the 1990s as the decade of recrudescent ethno-nationalism’.[1] With the development of modernisation through industrialisation, liberal democracy, capitalist economy and universal literacy, nationalism emerged and nation-states were established in the 18th and 19th Century European politics as one of the historical consequences of the French Revolution. Later on, in the wider world through colonial expansion and incorporation, the extension of nationalism and the international system brought together various population groups within the same political units.

For some of these political units the historical progress has not been easy, however. In those countries both in Europe and beyond, where the state-building process has been problematic, the dominant or colonising ethno-nations either supplanted or absorbed the subordinate ethno-nations through a structural assimilation process. They created a system of exploitation by their exclusionist policies, forced assimilation and the denial of civil rights for the other nationalities. This oppression and inequality of citizenship rights contribute to the development of a collective political consciousness and ethno-nationalism by the subordinate ethno-national communities. The denial of identity and ethnic differences, as it happened during the Franco regime in Spain the consequences of which will be examined in detail here, create a political ground for the suppressed communities to seek their self-determination by ousting the foreign rulers and by trying to reshape the states’ despotic political structures, in the case of the Basque Country after the 1978 Spanish constitution for example.[2]

Some ethnic identities with their own distinctive cultures and identity feel on the verge of extinction and aim to save their political future. The regionalist movements can choose violent methods and carry out an armed struggle to establish a more independent political future for themselves, as it has happened in the case of the emergence and continuation of the ETA movement for the same example we study here. Even beyond this European context in the international world, ethnic violence and the regionalist autonomy movements created a system where the modern wars have become intra-, rather than inter-, state since the end of the Second World War.[3] Although it is hoped that the advent of a global culture will inspire peace, prosperity and a general lessening of conflicts, it is not easy to achieve this as a quick glance at the world map of ethnic conflicts would show.[4]

The Basque Autonomy and the 1978 Spanish Constitution

In relation to nationalism in Spain, as Conversi argued, and in parallel with the explanation we gave earlier about the reasons for ethnic conflict, modernity replaces the traditional markers of ethnicity through the subsequent processes of nationalism, namely state centralisation, assimilation of the local elites, and finally the mass migration.[5] In many other cases as well as in the Spanish context, this erosion of traditional societies has created difficult historical memories and caused the development of the aim of independence, despite the cultural assimilation attempts we referred to above. Taken together, these changes in the cultural and political life of the nations give rise to ethnic conflicts, further nationalist mobilisation and the separatist regional movements.[6]

Since we aim to examine the Basque case, we first need to look at the state response for the recognition of the Basque identity in detail here. We will specifically concentrate on the current Spanish Constitution and discuss the position of the minorities, and the Basques in particular. In this context, we will argue that support for secession and independence can diminish if there is a genuine democratic transformation, if the regional ethnic identity is well represented and an advanced level of self-government is allowed.

The landmark 1978 Spanish Constitution was the product of the consensus achieved between the main political parties, which arose out of the fall of the Franco regime. One of the important problems to tackle there was the issue of ethno-nationalism. It is not surprising, therefore, to see in the Constitution that nearly one-tenth of the text is specifically concerned with the regional issues.[7] Also, during the sixteen months of constitutional debates, the autonomy issue for the Basque country became by far the most controversial topic for the discussions.[8]

A key point in this constitutional discussion was the respect for regional languages and the provision for the public awareness of linguistic diversities in the country. The acceptance of this fact, as well as the formal State language, can be seen in the Article 3 of the 1978 Spanish Constitution, which stipulates that:

“Castillian is the official language of the State. All Spaniards have a duty to know it and the right to use it. The other Spanish languages will also be official in their respective Autonomous Communities according to their own Statues. The richness of the distinct linguistic modalities of Spain represents a patrimony, which will be the object of special respect and protection.”

The Constitution also stipulated the national integrity of Span and it warned against any possible misinterpretations in this respect. According to the Article 2:

“The Constitution is based on the indivisible unity of the Spanish Nation, common and indivisible fatherland of all the Spaniards. It acknowledges and guarantees the right to Autonomy of the nationalities and regions, which form it and the solidarity among them.”[9]

An important note for the above stipulation of Article 2 can also be found in the Article 145 of the Constitution, which explains that no federation between Autonomous Communities can be permitted under any circumstances.[10] The most fundamental aspect of the Constitution was its acknowledgement of the existence of other ‘nationalities’ only within the boundaries of one and indivisible Spanish ‘nation’. The three other nationalities, not explicitly mentioned in the Constitution, were Catalonia, the Basque Country and Galicia. But the obvious difficulty was to extend decentralisation to most other regions and, using Conversi’s word, ‘relativising’ the potential impact of the Basque and Catalan autonomies.[11]

In one way or another, a balance had to be struck between the parties of the Right and the autonomist movement to overcome the fear that any reference to the nationalities of Spain and the preference of the Left for a federal-type solution represented a threat to the national unity. The need to obtain the support of the both sides generated endless discussions in the writing of the constitution and it contributed to the lack of precision and incoherence in some parts of the text, especially in the sections regarding the historical nationalities. Nevertheless, in the end of this process, and for the first time in the nation’s history, Spain would have a constitution which was not the consequence of the opposition of any significant political force against the others. No one agreed with the entire constitutional text, but almost no one felt it was absolutely unacceptable, either.[12] . More importantly, the fascist character of Spanish nationalism defended by Francoism was seriously questioned by the 1978 Constitution, which not only aimed at the transformation of Spain into a democratic state, but also admitted the existence of national minorities within its territory as a crucial part of this democratisation process.

Another positive point for the tolerance of the other ethnic groups was that at each stage of its approval large majorities supported the Constitution, which in the end created the belief that this was a Constitution ‘of all the people for all the people’. It is also important to note that when Spaniards went to the polls on 6 December 1978, the Constitution was approved by 87.8 percent of the voters. While the percentage of abstentions, 32 percent in Spain as a whole and 56 percent in parts of the Basque Country, gave the government and the major opposition parties some cause for concern, the Spanish people seemed to have voted convincingly to open a new democratic chapter in the country’s history.[13]

By emphasising the indissoluble unity of Spain, while recognising and guaranteeing the right to autonomy of the nationalities and regions, the Constitution put forward a radically new model of the state, which rejected the Francoist centralism. But even more importantly, as we have seen earlier, the Article Two attempted to reconcile the two opposing conceptions of Spain, which were at stake during the Spanish Civil War. ‘Unity’ had to be preserved even though it was dramatically challenged by the recognition of the existence of ‘nationalities and regions’ within Spain. In this context, the reference to ‘the Spanish nation’ as the ‘common patria’ of all Spaniards seemed compatible with the existence of the other ‘little patrias’, such as Catalonia or the Basque Country.[14]

The Constitution also recognises and protects the right to ‘express and disseminate freely thoughts, ideas and opinions by word, in writing or any other means of reproduction’ (Article 20.1). In the following paragraph, the Article 20.2 forbids any form of prior censorship, something that was widely practised during the greater part of the Franco regime. Article 20.3, in a highly significant statement, ensures that the means of communication belonging to the state or other public entities shall be subject to parliamentary control and that access shall be guaranteed to all the social and political groups by ‘respecting the pluralism of society and the various languages of Spain’. On the right of assembly, which is another critical issue for the tolerance of ethno-nationalist differences, the Article 21.2 recognises the right of assembly provided that it is peaceful and it does not involve the use of violence. Assemblies in the public places and demonstrations require the permission of the authorities but can only be forbidden when there is a serious risk to public order or to the safety of the people and property.

Finally, on the right of association, the Article 22 recognises the right of association for all organisations, except for those whose objectives include activities declared to be of a criminal nature. Secret or paramilitary organisations are also banned in the same provision, which has particular relevance to political parties and workers’ organisations and trade unions. Over the last century the groups in Spain, as well as in other European countries, have waged an often one-sided battle to have these political and economic rights recognised. This development in Spanish history was also significant since it came after forty years of illegality for any organisation which did not conform in its aims and ideology to the narrow views of Franco’s National Movement.[15]

Overall, the 1978 Constitution rejects exclusive nationalism, whether it is the Spanish nationalism to the exclusion of the other group rights, or peripheral nationalism which rejects the State sovereignty with the probable inclusion of the other communities against the Central State nationalism on the basis of their claim to difference. But all the seventeen autonomous communities are now subject not only to the Constitution but also their own statues of autonomy, which govern all aspects of political life at regional level. In effect, they constitute regional constitutions. At the simplest level, a statue enables a region to organise its own institutions of self-government and establish the parameters of its own particular relationship with the central authorities.

It is interesting to note that, although these statues have many features in common, because each is the result of a long process of political negotiation, they all have individual features which reflect their own special relationship with Madrid. The Basque Statue, enshrines the restoration of the economic agreements, involving certain tax-raising privileges, while the Catalan Statute grants the region considerable freedom in matters related to education, culture and language. In common with the federal systems, with which the structure of the state had so much in common, the autonomous communities were granted the right of legislation and to execute and administer the laws through their provincial delegations. With this establishment of Autonomous Communities, the Basque and the Catalan regions also received the right to establish autonomous education systems, separate police forces and independent television networks. Additionally, the Basque and Catalan languages gained an official status alongside the Castillian in their own regions.[16]

These steps were taken to ensure a smooth democratic transition for all the peoples of Spain after the Second World War and its aftermath. However, given the expectations surrounding this programme of regionalism amongst the historic nationalities, and the economic climate for any territorial settlement in the 1970s and 1980s, it became inevitable that the reforms would fail to satisfy all the national and regional interest groups in the Spanish territory. The process of devolution has often been muddled and indecisive, although by the late 1980s major reforms had been implemented. Overall, this historic decentralisation process was probably unparalleled in terms of speed and scale elsewhere in the Western Europe.

Authentic autonomy also required the control of the financial resources. Article 156 of the Constitution recognised the right of the autonomous communities to financial autonomy, which is guaranteed in the Statues of Autonomy. The regional governments have been granted considerable freedom in spending and drawing up their own budgets, but were also subjected to strict limitations for levying their own taxes (or to share the taxes levied by the state). Over the past decade (in the 1990s), the regional governments had to take responsibility for increasingly large budgets and they managed substantial human, material and financial resources.[17]

On the issue of funds, while fifteen of the autonomous communities rely largely on the state to transfer funds in their direction, the Basque Country and Navarre enjoy the benefits of their historic rights (fueros). The Basque populated provinces (Alava, Guipuzcoa and Vizcaya) and the single province of Navarre, have the right to levy and collect all taxes, except for the custom duties and the taxes on petroleum products and tobacco. Furthermore, with respect to public security, Article 149 allowed fully autonomous regions to create their own regional police forces. The first region to take advantage of this was the Basque Country, which in 1980 created its own force, the Ertzaintza.

As it is seen in the examination above, the modern Spanish State has become highly de-centralised and extensive powers have been devolved to the regions, especially the Catalan and Basque regions due to their historical background and the level of ethnic consciousness. What we will be examining and discussing now is the development of Basque separatism and its continuation despite the democratic transition and the devolved powers for the region. What we are aiming to understand is how the democratic change has undermined the support for separatism and the armed struggle. We will also aim to explain why, despite the extensive devolution of power from the core to the peripheries, the radical Basque separatist organisation ETA (‘Basque Homeland and Freedom’) has been persistent in pursuing the political aim of creating an independent Basque Country by violent means.

Notes

Smith, A. 1999. ‘Ethnic election and national destiny: some religious origins of nationalist ideal’, Nations and Nationalism 5 (3), p.331-55. Ignatieff takes this further by arguing that ‘the key language of our age is ethnic-nationalism’. Ignatieff, M. (1994) Blood and Belonging: Journeys into the New Millennium. New York: Farrar, Strauss and Giroux. p. 5.

2 Smith, A. (1991) National Identity. Reno, NV: University of Nevada Press.

3 This was pointed out by Wilson, R. ‘The politics of contemporary ethno-nationalist conflicts’, in Nations and Nationalism. 7 (3), 2001, p.368. The role of the state oppression is also important here as it helps to radicalise the movement of that specific identity.

4 For a general, global overview of ethnic conflicts, see Gurr, T. R. (1993). Minorities at Risk: A global View of Ethnopolitical Conflicts. Washington. DC. United States Institute of Peace Press.

5 See the analysis in Conversi, D. (1997) The Basques, the Catalans and Spain: Alternative Routes to Nationalist Mobilisation. London: Hurst & Company. p. 257.

6 The role of the nationalist elites has been to use such ‘slumbering’ human material and raise a set of popular myths and perceptions in the process. On this significance of the intellectuals for the nationalist interpretation of ethnic origins of nations, see Smith, A. (1986) The Ethnic Origins of Nations. London: Basil Blackwell.

7 The Spanish Constitution can be found online at http://www.uni-wuerzburg.de/law/sp00t___.html (the English translation) and at http://constitucion.rediris.es/CodigoConst/Codigo.html(the Spanish original).

8 Heywood, P. (1995). The Government and Politics of Spain: Comparative Government and Politics. London: Macmillan Press. p.143.

9 This basic principle is developed in detail in Section VIII of the Constitution entitled ‘The Territorial Organisation of the State’. Article 13.1 spells out this territorial integrity when the establishment of the self-governing regions becomes an issue: “Exercising the right to autonomy recognised in article 2 of the Constitution, adjoining provinces with common historical, cultural and economic characteristics, the islands and the provinces with a historical regional identity will be able to accede to self-government and form autonomous communities in accordance with the provisions of this section of the Constitution and of their respective statues.”

10 The aim of this article was to prevent the possibility of unification between the regions themselves. For example, the pan-Catalanism made reference to the importance of Valencia and the Balearic Islands, while the question of Navarre began to fuel nationalism in the Basque Country. (Conversi, p.144)

11 Conversi, D. (1997). p.144. There are now seventeen ‘Autonomous Communities’ on the official map, some entirely invented. Thus the modern Spanish State has become one of the most decentralised countries in Europe, as argued by Colomer, M. J. (1999), p.40

12 This was observed by Colomer, M. J. (1999). ‘The Spanish State of Autonomies: Non-Institutional Federalism’ in Politics and Policy in Democratic Spain. (Ed.) Paul Heywood. London: Frank Cass Publishers, p. 41 in particular. As Carr and Fusi put it at the time, this was the first Spanish constitution which was a result of ‘neither the unilateral imposition of a particular party nor the expression of a single ideology’. Carr, R. and Fusi, P. (1979) Spain: Dictatorship to Democracy. London: George Allen. p. 244.

13 The Basque nationalists urged their electorate to abstain from the constitutional referendum, arguing that the pre-existence of the Basque rights or fueros had not been clearly recognised. Michael T. Newton and Peter J. Donaghy (1997) Institutions of Modern Spain: A political and Economic Guide, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 15-16.

14 Smith, G. (1995) ‘Federation: The multiethnic challenge’, in Montserrat Guibernau, Spain: Federation in the making? London: Longman.

15 Newton, T. M with Donaghy J. P. (1997) Institutions of Modern Spain: A political and Economic Guide. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press. p. 22.

16 These measures were particularly important in meeting the demands of the Catalans cultural autonomy. Del Rion, J. and Williams, A. (1999). ‘Regionalism in Iberia’ in Regionalism in the European Union. Peter Wagstaff (ed.) Exeter: Intellect. p. 179.

17 ibid. p.130.

Bibliography

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Carr, R. and Fusi, P. (1979). Spain: Dictatorship to Democracy. London: George Allen.

Clark, R. P. (1990) Negotiating with ETA. Reno: University of Nevada Press.

Clark, R. P. (1984) The Basque Insurgents. ETA, 1952 - 1980. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press.

Conversi, D. (1997) The Basques, the Catalans and Spain: Alternative Routes to Nationalist Mobilisation. London: Hurst & Company.

Del Rion, J. and Williams, A. (1999). ‘Regionalism in Iberia’ in Regionalism in the European Union. Peter Wagstaff (ed.) Exeter: Intellect.

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Fanon, F. (1963) The Wretched of the Earth. London: Penguin Books.

Guibernau, M. (1995) Spain: Federation in the making? London: Longman

Gilmour, D. (1985) The Transformation of Spain. London: Quartet Books.

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Heywood, P. (1995). The Government and Politics of Spain: Comparative Government and Politics. London: Macmillan Press.

Heywood, P. (ed.) (1999) Politics and Policy in Democratic Spain. London: Frank Cass Publishers.

Ignatieff, M. (1994) Blood and Belonging: Journeys into the New Millennium. New York: Farrar, Strauss and Giroux.

Irvin, L. C. (1999) Militant Nationalism: Between Movement and Party in Ireland and the Basque Country. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.

Isaacs, H. R. (1989). Idols of the Tribe: Group Identity and Political Change. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Maries, J. (1990) Understanding Spain. San Juan: University of Puerto Rico Press.

Mar-Molinero, C. and Smith, A. (Eds.) (1996) Nationalism and the Nation in the Iberian Peninsula: Competing and Conflicting Identities. Oxford: Berg.

Medrano, J. D. (1995) Divided Nations: Class, Politics, and Nationalism in the Basque Country and Catalonia. London: Cornell University Press.

Moxon-Brown, E. (1989). Political Change in Spain. London: Routledge.

Newton, T. M with Donaghy J. P. (1997) Institutions of Modern Spain: A political and Economic Guide, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press.

Ross, J. C. (1997) Contemporary Spain: A Handbook. London: Arnold.

Smith, A. (1991) National Identity. Reno, NV:University of Nevada Press.

Smith, A. (1986) The Ethnic Origins of Nations. London: Basil Blackwell.

Sullivan, J. (1988). ETA and Basque Nationalism: The Fight for Euzkadi, 1890-1986. London: Routledge.

Woodworth, P. (2001) Dirty War Clean Hands: ETA, the GAL and Spanish Democracy. Cork: Cork University Press.

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Journals

Smith, A. 1999. ‘Ethnic election and national destiny: some religious origins of nationalist ideal’, Nations and Nationalism 5 (3).

Wallace, W. 1999. ‘The sharing of sovereignty: the European paradox’. Political Studies. Vol. 47.

Wilson, R. ‘The politics of contemporary ethno-nationalist conflicts’. Nations and Nationalism. 7 (3), 2001

Other sources

Documentaries:

States of Terror: The Organisation ETA, BBC1, 01/12/93.

Internet:

http://constitucion.rediris.es/CodigoConst/Codigo.html

http://www.uni-wuerzburg.de/law/sp00t.html

Is obvious that things are so bad for the Kurdish that when it comes to sovereignty, the crumbles that Spain has given to Euskal Herria seem like gold bars to them.

.... ... .