One Basque Anthem

Poor old Colin Davis, always getting it wrong when it comes to his hated Basques.

Here you have his last pearl of wisdom:

Many of you will be unaware the Rugby World Cup is currently taking place, mostly in France. So far, it’s been a terrific event, with the ‘minnows’ of Georgia, Portugal, Fiji and Namibia putting in spectacular performances against the big-name teams. But at one match the other night the commentator said something rather odd, viz. “The crowd has begun to sing the Basque national anthem, which has become something of an unofficial song for this tournament.” Did he mean the anthem of the French Basque region? Or is there something shared between the French Basques and their brethren across the Pyrenees?

There is only one Basque anthem dear Colin, and the reason why it has become the unofficial anthem to the tournament is because the stars of the French rugby team are either Basques or play for Basque teams.

One people, one nation, one anthem.

And one day those Basque players will play the Rugby World Cup as part of their own team, mark my words.

~ ~ ~

Medieval England Sides with Medieval Spain

How would the subject to a queen would react when a king is shown in all of its anachronism?

Well, he would defend that king, what else could he do, doing the opposite would be to go against decades of indoctrination.

You don't believe me?

Read this:

Spain seeks to defuse protests over monarchy

By Leslie Crawford in Madrid
Updated: 4:11 a.m. CT Oct 4, 2007

The Spanish government and senior opposition figures on Wednesday sought to play down recent protests in Catalonia against King Juan Carlos, even as young Catalan nationalists vowed to continue campaigning for the abolition of the Bourbon monarchy and the independence of their region.

With less than six months to go before a general election in which regional issues are set to be a campaign theme, the Socialist government of José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, prime minister, wants to prevent disaffected nationalists in Catalonia and the Basque country from using the monarchy as a proxy for attacking the national unity of Spain.

The national unity of Spain?

That sounds a lot like the national unity of the United Kingdom doesn't it?

But that is exactly what a small pro-independence party known as Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya (ERC) says it aims to do. "We are burning photos of the king to open a debate on the Spanish political system that was handed down by the fascist dictatorship," said an ERC spokesman. The party plans more protests this week.

Hey, I wonder why Leslie does not mention that Juan Carlos gained the Spanish crown thanks to Francisco Franco's personal decision since the actual king was alive and kicking and Juan Carlos was just a prince. Why does Leslie does not mention this in the article?

Well, because doing so would remind people who were the folks behind Franco's ascent to power, you know them, they went by the names of Adolph Hitler and Benito Mussolini.

After a series of incidents in which Catalan protesters have burned photos of King Juan Carlos and hurled abuse at Crown Prince Felipe, the king took the unprecedented step earlier this week of defending himself in a speech.

The parliamentary monarchy had underpinned the longest period of prosperity and stability in Spain's democratic history, he told a university audience in the northern town of Oviedo.

No dear Juan Carlos (and Leslie), monarchy and democracy are two opposite concepts, one can not be the strength of the other, this is why since 1939 the Spaniards have not known an authentic democratic government, one more reason why the Basques and the Catalonians want out, because the Spaniards seem to enjoy being subjects to either a king or a dictator.

In parliament, however, the ERC's attacks against the monarchy have continued, with the filing of more than 100 objections to the royal household's finances in the 2008 budget.

The ERC also wants to strip the monarch of his role as commander-in-chief of the armed forces, a direct rebuke to the pivotal role he played in aborting an attempted military coup in 1981, when Spain's parliamentary democracy was less than three years old.

Poor Leslie, the truth is, it is widely known today that it was Juan Carlos the one behind that alleged coup. It was a reminder to the Spaniards that the Franco thugs were still in position of power and calling the shots. The whole thing was a little set up to make Juan Carlos' weak position a little bit stronger, it showed the army was behind him and so the Spaniards understood that their so called democracy was just a fantasy.

The king went on to play a key part in modernising the armed forces, using his friendship with Ronald Reagan, the late US president, and European leaders to secure Spain's entry into Nato and the European Union. During his 32-year reign, he has survived assassination plots by both Basque separatists and fascist officers.

So, Juan Carlos owes his power to a couple of like minded morons, Adolph Hitler and Ronald Reagan. But Leslie please, fascist officers are bred to believe that Spain is One Under God and that Juan Carlos is the true ruler of Spain, your plain out lie about assassination plots against him show your true colors. The demon that yesterday was called "communism" is today called "terrorism", so all what Juan Carlos needs to do in order to continue to rule over the Spaniards is to keep track what is the phobia in vogue at Berlin or Washington.

"For Juan Carlos, to 'live like a king' has signified a high degree of dedication and sacrifice," Paul Preston, a British historian, writes in a biography of the Spanish monarch.

Dedication and sacrifice Mr. Preston? Please, I want to make a similar sacrifice, please send me 50% of the thousands of euros Juan Carlos makes for doing nothing but getting drunk and murdering endangered species.

That dedication has made King Juan Carlos hugely popular in Spain. In May, he was voted the greatest Spaniard of all time in a television poll, beating Christopher Columbus, Pablo Picasso and Miguel Cervantes, author of Don Quixote.

This paragraph comes to show just how stupid the Spaniards are. By the way, Christopher Columbus was not a Spaniard, he was Italian.

Miguel Angel Moratinos, the Spanish foreign minister, on Wednesday dismissed the portrait-burning incidents as "the antics of a tiny minority, a bunch of hooligans, that have been magnified by the media".

"The vast majority of Spaniards love and support their king," Mr Moratinos said. "These protests will only serve to reinforce the prestige of our monarch."

And Mr. Moratinos is a socialist, good lord, the Spaniards are even more screwed than I thought.

Nevertheless, the ERC's anti-monarchist campaign is an embarrassment for Mr Zapatero, because his Socialist party governs in coalition with the maverick republicans in Catalonia.

Although the ERC polled only 2.5 per cent of the national vote in the 2004 elections, the party punches above its weight because the Socialist party has sometimes needed ERC's eight deputies to form a majority in parliament.

Does that last paragraph sound familiar?

Sure, it was used by another English parrot on Madrid propaganda ministry's pay roll a few days ago, I talked about it at my post called Propaganda Games, it went like this:

Mr Imaz's party won only 1.6% of the vote in the 2004 general election. But, like the Basque country, the PNV punches above its weight.

Fellas like Leslie are so predictable in big part because they have no imagination, as shown by the usage of the same exact expression to talk about the Basque and Catalonian parties, parties that do not present electoral options in Spain. Maybe because they know that the Spaniards prefer a god given king to a democratically elected public server.

~ ~ ~

Free Batasuna

Euskal ezker independentistako 20 ordezkari inguru atxilotu dituztela-eta, salaketa kanpaina abiatu dugu. Adierazpenarekin ados bazaude, bat egin ezazu. Zure blogean, bat-bateko mezularitzan, epostan, Myspacen, Fotologen... freebatasuna hitza duen post bat idatzi besterik ez duzu egin behar. Adierazpena: Konponbide demokratiko baten alde: hitzak soberan daude: freebatasuna

Ante la detención de cerca de 20 representantes de la izquierda independentista vasca, hemos iniciado una campaña de denuncia. Si estás de acuerdo con el manifiesto, únete. Sólo tienes que colgar un post en tu blog, en mensajería instantánea, e-mail, Myspace, Fotolog... con la palabra freebatasuna. Manifiesto: Por una solución democrática, sobran la palabras: freebatasuna

We have started a campaign to report the arrest of near 20 Basque left wing independentist representatives. If you agree with our manifest, join the campaing. You just need to publish a post in your blog, instant messenger, e-mail, Myspace, Fotolog... wth this word: freebatasuna. Manifest: Looking forward to a democratic solution, words are more than enough: freebatasuna

Face à la détention d’une vingtaine de représentants de la gauche indépendantiste basque, nous avons lancé une campagne de dénonciation. Si tu es d'accord avec le manifeste, unis-toi. Il suffit de mettre un post dans ton blog, sur un réseau de messagerie instantanée, émail, Myspace, Fotolog... avec le mot freebatasuna. Manifeste : Pour une solution démocratique, les mots sont de trop : freebatasuna

~ ~ ~

Reactions to the "R" Word

The International Herald Tribune published an article in regards of the reactions in Madrid to Ibarretxe's call for a referendum next year.

I think you already know what the reactions are, here you have the article:

Basque leader challenges Spain with call for referendum on region's future

The Associated Press
Published: September 28, 2007

MADRID, Spain: The president of the Basque country announced a referendum Friday on the region's future, challenging Spain's central government as it faces a resurgence of separatist violence and general elections next year.

The Spanish government quickly rejected the idea on grounds that under the constitution only Madrid, not a regional administration, can convene a referendum.

The Basque regional president, Juan Jose Ibarretxe, a moderate nationalist, said the referendum on Oct. 25, 2008, would be based on two principles: rejection of violence by the armed separatist group ETA and what he called the right of the Basque people to choose their future — usually interpreted here as code words for independence. However, he did not specify the exact wording of the referendum question.

Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, speaking during a visit to Russia, said "nothing is going to be done without respect for the constitution."

Zapatero said: "I will listen to the Basque president, but he is going to listen to me also."

Ibarretxe said that, if approved, the referendum would issue a mandate for the government to undertake new peace talks with ETA, which has killed 800 people since the late 1960s in its quest for an independent Basque homeland.

He said he would seek support from Madrid for holding the vote, but go ahead with it no matter what the Spanish government decides.

The Spanish general elections are scheduled for March 2008, and Ibarretxe's announcement is certain to grab a large share of attention during the campaign.

Ibarretxe has been talking about such a referendum for years.

In 2005 it was part of a blueprint he sponsored calling for much greater Basque autonomy from Spain, including separate representation at the European Union and other international bodies and the right to choose between independence and remaining part of Spain.

The plan was approved by the Basque regional parliament, but shot down at the national legislature in Madrid on grounds it was a thinly veiled, unconstitutional bid to break away from Spain.

The resurrected idea comes amid renewed violence from ETA.

The group called what it described as a permanent cease-fire in March 2006, but grew frustrated with a lack of government concessions in ensuing peace talks and set off a huge car bomb at Madrid airport that killed two people in December. The government halted the peace talks.

ETA insisted then that the truce still held, but declared it formally over in June and resumed full-scale attacks in August, although there have been no fatalities.

Opposition Popular Party leader Mariano Rajoy described Ibarretxe's idea as "illegal, and a blackmail attack on the constitution." He said it aimed to "take away the right of Spaniards to decide what Spain is."

The Popular Party accuses Zapatero of having fomented separatist sentiments in Spain by encouraging reforms to give the country's 17 regions more autonomy.

I hope that one day Ibarretxe and all the senior members of the PNV finally understand that no matter what they do to accommodate Madrid, the Spanish propaganda ministry will always link them to ETA, IHT makes my point with this paragraph:

The resurrected idea comes amid renewed violence from ETA.

How they dare to accuse someone else of being violent beats me, the sole idea reminds me that not a single Franco era scumbag was ever incarcerated for the crimes against humankind committed by the regime, but Ibarretxe and company need to understand that they will be labeled as violent every single time they call for a greater autonomy for the Basque Autonomous Community.

And to Rajoy I want to say just one thing, the Spaniards have a beautiful country, they can do with it whatever they please, as long as they remain within their borders and stop trying to cling to their colonialist past.

~ ~ ~

Euskera Reloaded

Here you have some information you may find useful when it comes to a better understanding of the Basque people and their language.

EUSKARA, the language of the Baskones

The Baskon language is an inflected language whose origin is still somewhat puzzling. The fact that it is not an Indoeuropean language, and shows no resemblance to languages in neighbouring countries, has led to the formulation of a variety of hypotheses to explain its existence. Owing to some similarities with the Georgian language, some linguists think it could be related to languages from the Caucasus. Others relate the language to non-Arabic languages from the north of Africa. One of the most likely hypotheses argues that the Baskon language developed "in situ", in the land of Baskonia. That theory is supported by the discovery of some Baskon-type skulls in Neolithic sites, which ruled out the thesis of immigration from other areas. Many think it is a very old language because there are words, such as that for axe ("aizkora" or "haizkora") for example, that have the same root as the word rock ("aitz" or "haitz")

Euskara, an integral part of the craft world in Gipuzkoa

Throughout history, the Baskon language has taken up words not only from Latin, Castilian and French, but also from Celtic (Deba, zilar: "silver"), and Arabic (azoka" "market", gutuna: "letter"). On the other hand, words such as the Castilian for "left" and "scrap" ("izquierda" and "chatarra" respectively), and the French and English for "bizarre" come from the Basque language.

Rural communities have kept the language alive. Donardegi Baskon farmstead.

Before Roman times, it seems that the Euskara was spoken in an area larger than the present one, which bordered on the north with Aquitane, and on the south with the River Ebro. It is estimated, nowadays, that more than 750,000 people speak Euskara in the whole territory of Baskonia and in the rest of the world.

Euskara, was not written until the 16th century, but that was not obstacle to creating a rich oral literature, kept alive up to the present times by the "bertsolarismo" and the pastorals. Curiously, the first written texts in the Baskon language (the sentences "iziogui dugu" and "guec ajutu ez dugu", "we have lit" and "we have not helped") are in the 10th century Glosas Emilianenses, which contain the first examples of the Castilian ballad. In the 12th century, the Calixtino Codex mentions some Baskon vocabulary of the people living along the pilgrim's road to Santiago de Compostela. But Linguae Vasconum Primitiae, the first book written in Euskara by Bernard Dechepare, was not published until 1545. From the onwards, and not without difficulties, a flourishing literature has developed. The bersolarismo has been kept up in the oral literature. The "bertsolaris" improvise verses in a given metrical form (eight, ten lines...) for which they use little tunes. The meaning of the verses varies, going from satire and humour to the finest Iyricism. Competitions for bersolaris are held regularly; they help spread and interest in this type of popular literature.

"Kilometroak", a popular movement supporting the Baskon language.

Things have not been easy for the Baskon language. Apart from having to compete with two powerful neighbouring languages like Castilian and French, Euskara was a forbidden language during the dictatorship that followed the Civil War. For decades, children had to study in an unfamiliar language, and were severely punished when they spoke in their mother tongue, even at play time. An important movement to open up Baskon schools called "ikastolas" started at that time. After a long and systematic effort on the part of many people, a parallel school network was set up to satisfy the needs of teaching in Basque. Today Basque schools are in the process of becoming part of the Basque Autonomy school system, but in the rest of Baskonia private schools are the only ones which provide teaching in Euskara.

We also have to mention the effort carried out for the recovery of the Baskon language among adults. Therefore, every year a large number of people, whose mother tongue is other than Euskara, learn to speak it. That way, the old myth that Euskara is an impossible language to learn, is gone for ever.

Religion, a key element in the development of the written Baskon language.

From the studies carried out by Prince Luis Luciano Bonaparte, the author of the Linguistic Charter (1883), Euskara is considered to be divided in seven main dialects (Roncalés, the eight one, almost extinct), and a number of subdialects. The reason for such variety is the geographical location, and the fact that until recent times Euskara was mainly spoken in rural areas. With a view to modernizing the language, so it could be used as a cultural vehicle, the first steps were taken to define a unified language from 1964 onwards. Since 1968 Euskaltzaindia (the Baskon Academy of the Language), founded in Oñate in 1918, has been in charge of this task. The unified Baskon language was called Euskara Batua (unified), and it is mainly based on the variety of dialects from Laburdi (with a major literary tradition), and Gipuzkoa. In spite of the natural criticism and controversy, Euskara Batua is, nowadays, the most widespread type used by the mass media, in literature, and teaching.

~ ~ ~

Navarre's History, Struggle Against Assimilation

This comes to us thanks to our friend Txabi:

The Basque Struggle against French, Spanish Assimilation

France's absolutist monarchy found strong opposition in the northern Basque territories in France. The mercenaries of Louis XIV killed all the farmers in Zuberoa who rebelled against the policies of centralisation imposed by the monarchy. Bernard Goyhenetxe who led the rebellion in Zuberoa was guillotined.

Many of the Basque revolts against French centralisation were led by women: Mugerre and Iturbe in 1696; Ainhoa in 1724; Baiona and Donibane Garazi in 1728. In 1784, hundreds of women in Hasparren challenged 150 'grenadiers' and 5 brigades of the marechaussee. The intervention of the village priest prevented a confrontation between the women and the French forces.

The French National Assembly decreed the abolition of the feudal regime and the tithe on the night of August 4, 1789 - happily for everyone including the Basques. However, it also abolished the constitutions of the Basque territories of Navarre, Lapurdi and Zuberoa. On August 26 it introduced the "Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen." The Constituent Assembly furthered these reforms, proclaiming the revolutionary idea that people had the right of self-determination.

In 1790, the Basque territories were incorporated, together with Bearn, into the Departement de Basses Pyrenees.

A new assembly (the Convention) met in September 1792. It proclaimed an end to the monarchy and established the republic. The convention introduced governmental limitations on prices, declared that education should be free and compulsory, imposed taxes on the rich and made other economic and social "reforms."

The Convention took terrible measures in the Basque territories whose constitutions had been abolished by the National Assembly. Citizens of Sara, Ainhoa, Azkain, Itsaso, and Ezpeleta, without distinction of age or sex, were deported to Landes and Gers. Suspects in Kambo, Biriato, Macaio, Larresore, Medionde and Lohosa were held prisoners in churches. More than half of the deportees died of starvation, and illnesses from lack of hygiene. Survivors returned to their homes only to find these had been plundered.

The Revolution ended in 1799 when Napoleon Bonaparte entered Paris and was crowned First Consul. Napoleon established a powerful central administration and a strong code of law. He introduced the `department prefets' and obligatory military service outside the provinces. French became the only official language of France.

Among its positive aspects, the French Revolution abolished the feudal regime and monarchy. It achieved the victory of liberalism and of an individual conception of society. In the Basque territories, however, "revolution" centralism suppressed the collective rights of a community: its language, laws, and institutions.

The society that emerged in the Basque territories after the French Revolution was in the hands of a small group of nobles, landowners, and merchants who were unable to guarantee the development of an industrial or commercial capitalism. Poverty and underdevelopment during the last centuries generated massive migration of their citizens to Bordeaux, Paris, and especially, to the United States.

In Spain, the main agency for the diffusion of the ideas of the Englightenment and liberalism into Araba, Bizkaia and Gipuzkoa was the Real Sociedad Bascongada de Amigos del Pais (Royal Basque Society of Friends of the Country), founded by the Basque aristocracy in Azcoitia in 1764. This society provided Carlos III (1759-88) - the same monarch who made Bolivian indian females wear dresses copied from the regional costumes of Basque and Andalusian peasant women - with the model for the subsequent establishment of similar societies throughout Spain. The main attentions of the society were oriented toward the modernization of agriculture and the Basque metallurgical industry, the two main pillars of Spanish Basque aristocratic income.

This Spanish Basque elite - both urban and rural - regarded itself as the direct descendants of those, "uncontaminated by either Jewish or Moorish blood", who had reconquered Spain from infidels and restored civilization and Christianity to the country. Although many were familiar with Euskera, Spanish was their preferred language both domestically and publically. The nouveau riche had the most costly foods brought from France; Europe's top couturiers cut their dresses and outfits; and they sent their children to study at British and French schools. They imagined themselves at the pinnacle of European culture.

In 1767 the Society, promoters and sponsors of the Hirurak Bat (Baskongadak as the Basque Country), founded the Academy of Vergara, the first secular school established in Spain. This illustrious sector also gave the "entrepreneurial inspiration" to the Royal Guipuzcoan Company, a Basque controlled trading company in Venezuela. The Royal Guipuzcoan Company's publicity brochures pointed with pride to the company's Venezuelan philanthropies much as, two centuries later, the American Standard Oil proclaimed its own virtues. The profits extracted from one of the world's reachest countries by these pundits, in proportion to the capital invested, are only comparable with those obtained by old-time slave merchants and pirates.

Navarre's hour of revenge seemed to have stricken in 1833 when peasants, artisans and small traders arouse in arms for equality and social justice and in defense of their fueros or laws.

With the ascendance of the Bourbon dynasty to the Spanish throne in the eighteenth century, state centralism became an overriding goal. The Spanish Liberal Constitution drafted by Joseph Bonaparte and ratified by the Cortes in 1812 aroused fierce opposition among Basques.

Known as the Carlists Wars (1833-1872), these guerrilla wars took the form of a popular uprising in the defence of Basque liberties and laws as opposed to Spanish centralism. Liberalism which sought the disentailment of common lands together with political and economic uniformity was an obvious political creed for the Basque urban bourgeoisie. The Basque urbanites and their liberal cronies in Madrid united to attack frontally the Basque political system based on fueros. Peasants, artisans, and small traders were fiercely opposed to integration into a Spanish national market. Integration meant the free import of Castilian cereals and livestock which would increase competition and further decrease prices. Imposition of Spanish customs duties would also result in a dramatic increase in taxation on rural consumption. In addition, the sale of common lands, which had intensified throughout the early 19th century due to liberal disentailment legislation, had already undercut a crucial buttress of
the Basque peasant economy.

The liberal Basque urbanites saw in the rural Carlists only a symbol of barbarism, the backwardeness and ignorance, the anachronism of the countryside confronting urban civilization, the beret and the abarketa against the frock coat, the stone and the knife against the troops of the line, Euskera against Spanish, illiteracy against the school. Such scorn and hatred were an expression of antipatriotism clearly tinged with political economy.

The first Carlist war broke out in 1833 and ended in 1839 with the Treaty of Bergara. The Carlists wars developed in the Spanish State but fundamentally in the three Basque provinces of Araba, Bizkaia, and Gipuzkoa and in Navarre, the conquered Basque state.

The Carlist leadership was based in Navarre. Fearing the end of their regional autonomy, Basques aligned with the Catholic church and the followers of Don Carlos, a contender to the Spanish throne, in a war against the Liberal central government. For seven years, Carlists organized their own state which spanned the Basque speaking areas of the southern territories and had the massive support of the peasants. The Carlist army comprised of volunteer Basque peasants. Historians think that the military potency of Carlism resided in the guerrilla tactics employed by its army. The first Carlist war ended four years after the death of the Carlist General Zumalakarregi.

The Treaty of Bergara offered to guarantee the Basque fueros or laws. However, the Law of 1839 which confirmed the treaty stated that "[t]he Fueros of the Basque provinces and Navarre are reaffirmed unless they are prejudicial to the constitutional unity of the monarchy." Navarre never accepted the treaty but Araba, Bizkaia and Gipuzkoa went along. There was a split between the Basque traditionalists of the interior and the liberals of the cities of Bilbo and Donostia.

Spain was paving the road to the annexation of Navarre. In 1841 the Spanish government passed the law of Modification of the Fueros (aka Pacted Law) and Navarre was transformed from a viceroyalty into a province. All legislative and executive powers were transferred from the Assembly to the Spanish parliament and government. A Provincial Assembly, an administrative body with no control over public funds, was set up as the main institution of Navarre. The establishment of compulsory military service caused uprisings during the following eight years. In 1833, a royal charter restructured the Spanish state into forty nine administratively equivalent provinces. The "Hispanic" character of Navarre, the dream of the Spanish conquerors, had come true.

The Land Reform of Madoz of 1855, despite its liberal and progressive ambitions, prepared the way for the nascent mercantilist oligarchy. Basque peasants and artisans, whose communal lands passed into the hands of the commercial and landed elites, would be turned into teeming proletariat of the Spanish economy which was to devastate the Basque countryside.

The popular insurrection, however, was used by the Carlist leadership to advanced the political ambitions of Don Carlos, brother of the deceased Spanish king, Fernando VII, allied against the defenders of Isabel II, the unanticipated daughter of the late king and the wife of his old age, Maria Cristina of Naples.

Regrettably the protection of the "Basque laws" was not the main goal of the Carlist leadership, but the religious unification of Spain. A second Carlist War broke out in 1872 and ended in 1879 with the defeat of the Carlists. As a consequence of the Carlist defeats, the fueros of Araba, Bizkaia and Gipuzkoa were abolished. Basques lost their leadership and their culture and language became under attack in their own homeland. In 1893, a massive rally called the 'Gamazada' took place in Pamplone (Iruña in Basque language), the capital of Navarre. The rally gathered 80,000 people protesting against the attempts of Spain's minister Gamazo to abolish Navarre's fiscal system. This was the first popular mobilization uniting the Navarrese
people in the defense of their laws.

From 1876 onwards, the integration of Spain's Basque territories into a national market made possible the emergence of the first monopolies of the Basque industrial and financial oligarchy in Bizkaia, centered on five families linked by marriage. With the abolition of the Basques fueros there was no obstacle to free trade and the intensive extraction of Bizkaian iron ore. Under the foral regime the mines were municipal property and rights of usufruct were available to all municipal residents.

The Spanish Basque oligarchy was rewarded with an instrument for increasing its profits and economic power: a special fiscal and administrative regime - the economic concerts - for Araba, Bizkaia and Gipuzkoa. This regime allowed the Spanish Basque oligarchy to control the Provincial Councils (Diputaciones) and reduce fiscal pressure on industrial production which was to have repercussion on the working class and the popular strata.

"Very importantly, however," writes Marianne Heiberg, "the Basque urban liberals were dedicated to preserving within the new system of Spanish constitutional unity the one aspect of the foral regime which had been of considerable importance to their interests: fiscal autonomy." The Spanish parliament approved a special fiscal and administrative regime - the conciertos economicos - for Araba, Bizkaia and Gipuzkoa. This regime enabled these three Basque provinces to negotiate their own taxes with Madrid and pay a fixed sum into the Madrid treasury. The quotas agreed upon, which were significantly inferior to the taxes paid out by other Spanish provinces, were to be raised in whatever manner the Basque provincial governments deemed suitable.

The Basque oligarchy became a Spanish national bourgeoisie and opted for the construction of a Spanish capitalist state. Industrialization was largerly confined to the areas surrounding the city and port of Bilbo and, to a lesser extent, specific urban centers in Gipuzkoa. Navarre and Araba remained mainly rural until the 1950s. The heart of Basque industrial potential lay in the rich deposits of high quality iron ore located in the mines near Bilbo. This way, from the Adour river to the Ebro, from Baiona to Bilbo, liberalism and the process of consolidating the capitalist mode of production brought with it the domination of the markets, cities and ports by the bourgeoisies of the Basque territories.

Bibliography: Mikel Sorauren, Historia de Navarra, el Estado vasco, 1999; Tomas Urzainki, La Navarra maritima, Pamiela, 1998; Roger Collins, The Basques, Basil Blackwell, 1986; Jean-Louis Davant, Ebauche d'une histoire du peuple Basque, in Euskadi en guerre, Ekin, 1982; Marianne Heiberg, The Making of the Basque Nation, Cambridge University Press, 1989; Luis Nuñez Astrain, La Razón Vasca, Txalaparta, 1995.

~ ~ ~

Basque Baskets

Yes, it sounds like tongue twister but here you have the note published by EITb:

Sports
Basketball - Spain's Super Cup

Basque derby in the super cup final

09/29/2007

Tau defeated Real Madrid and Iurbentia Bilbao Basket stormed into the final by downing Barcelona.

There will be two Basque teams, Tau Cerámica and Iurbentia Bilbao basket, at the final of the ACB's super cup after both of them won their semifinal game.

Spain's super cup opens the basketball season in Spain every year. The winner of the ACB cup, the playoffs winner, the best team during the regular season and the host team play the super cup.

Tau Ceramica made it to the final by beating Real Madrid 83-82. Pablo Prigioni was unstoppable leading the Basques with 18 points .

Marcelinho Huertas led the way for Iurbentia Bilbao Basket, who took control of the game frustrating Barcelona. It will be the first time the Bilbao team plays a final.

~ ~ ~

Canadian Lawyer : Spain Tortures

This note appeared at the International Herald Tribune:

Lawyer says evidence against accused Basque terrorist taken under torture

The Associated Press
Published: September 28, 2007

VANCOUVER: The lawyer for a man accused of being a Basque terrorist said Friday that evidence used in the decision to deport his client to Spain was obtained from witnesses under torture and should be dismissed.

Lawyer Phil Rankin told the Immigration and Refugee Board that Canada has signed the U.N. Convention Against Torture, so the evidence the Canada Border Services Agency is relying on to deport Victor Tejedor Bilbao should be set aside.

Bilbao, 51, is accused of the attempted murder of a newspaper executive in 1981.

A hearing officer for the Canada Border Services Agency, Jesse Davidson, told the hearing that Basque separatist supporters often make claims of torture without proof.

He said they have been known to injure themselves while incarcerated.

"They're willing to chew their own wrist to make a point," Davidson told the hearing.

Bilbao has been living illegally in Canada for 11 years.

Rankin said Bilbao was associated with the political party Herri Batasuna, which is now illegal in Spain because of its ties to ETA, the militant separatist group.

Rankin stressed his client was a member when the party was considered legal and that there is no evidence that the group even has links to terrorism.

"You're just making an inference that's improper," he said. "You're saying 'well, Herri Batasuna supports ETA, therefore you're a member of ETA. That's not good enough."

He stressed his client is in no way a member of ETA, which Bilbao is suspected of joining in 1979.

But Davidson said there is compelling evidence ETA and Herri Batasuna are linked and that ETA created the group as a political front.

Bilbao was arrested in June for living in Canada illegally under several false names and has been in Canadian custody because officials believe he's a flight risk.

The border agency said there is no evidence he was ever tortured.

Two of Bilbao's co-accused have been sentenced to 17 years in prison for the attempted murder of the journalist.

Well, finally someone is saying the truth about how any Basque citizen can be accused of terrorism by Madrid, Phil Rankin is bringing the issue of the practice of torture against those who suffer the incomunicado regime.

Too bad there is some scumbags like this Jesse Davidson who are willing to stomp all over the justice principle that a person is innocent until proven guilty, for him Victor Tejedor is guilty because Madrid said so. Maybe he should read the report by Theo Van Boven regarding the issue of torture in Spain and the way the Spanish government reacted despite the evidence.

~ ~ ~

Ibarretxe Calls For Referendum

Well, Juan José Ibarretxe, the lehendakari for the Basque Autonomous Community has finally called for a referendum on the Basque issue for 2008.

Now, let us remember that he represents only three out of the seven Basque provinces so it will be interesting to say how the call for a referendum plays out.

Here you have the note from EarthTimes:

Basque region to hold referendum on independence in 2008 - Update
Posted : Fri, 28 Sep 2007 11:55:04 GMT
Author : DPA
Category : Europe (World)

Vitoria, Spain - Spain's northern Basque region Friday announced that it would hold a referendum on its future, understood to include the option of independence, on October 25, 2008. Regional Prime Minister Juan Jose Ibarretxe made the announcement during a parliamentary debate.

Ibarretxe believes the referendum would help to solve the conflict opposing Spain to the armed Basque separatist group ETA, but Spanish mainstream parties immediately condemned his plan.

Conservative opposition leader Mariano Rajoy described it as "illegal" and as "blackmail," while Basque Socialist representative Jose Antonio Pastor said it was "a crazy dream."

Ibarretxe, who had earlier proposed a "free association" between Spain and the Basque region, said he would first seek a pact with the Spanish government. The contents of the pact would be submitted to a binding regional referendum.

If no acceptable pact was reached, a non-binding referendum will be held.

Ibarretxe has been making plans for a referendum since 2000. The Spanish government says the Basque authorities do not have the right to hold referendums and that such a vote would have no practical significance.

In 2005, the Spanish parliament rejected the so-called Ibarretxe Plan, which included the referendum.

Ibarretxe, however, said Friday that the vote would have "full political validity."

The date of the referendum, October 25, coincides with the anniversary of the Gernika statute, which granted the Basque region a wide measure of autonomy in 1979.

During the 1939-75 dictatorship of General Francisco Franco, the region had suffered under a cultural repression, with the Basques often not even allowed to speak their language in public.

The repression sparked the birth of ETA, which is blamed for more than 800 deaths, and whose violence is opposed by Ibarretxe's moderate Basque Nationalist Party (PNV).

Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero's Socialist government failed in an attempt to launch a peace process with ETA in 2006.

Ibarretxe believes an open discussion about the independence question would help to solve the problem of ETA, which the European Union and the United States regard as a terrorist organization.

Spain, however, fears the rise of separatist currents not only in the Basque region, but also in nearby Catalonia.

About a half of the Basque region's 2.1 million residents support Basque nationalist parties like the PNV. The other half backs mainstream Spanish parties such as the Socialists and the conservatives.

~ ~ ~

Eusko Flickr : Haritz Bartzelona

2007-09-23_Kezka-Haritz_Bartzelona_IZ_2320
Originally uploaded by kezka