BASQUE COUNTRY: ETA violence hinders Basque struggle
Green Left Weekly's SARAH PEART spoke to MIKEL ARAVA ETXEZARRETA from the United Left executive in the Basque Country about the state of the struggle for Basque self-determination.
Question: What are the key issues in the Basque Country?
We are fighting for the right of the Basque people to decide their relationship with the Spanish state.
At the moment, the Basque Country is recognised as an autonomous region. It has its own police force and government, although these have limited powers, and Basque is an official language in schools. However, there are still unresolved issues.
For example, the Basque Country is not recognised in international relations and there are police from the Spanish state present here. The Basque people have never had the right to determine whether they want to be part of Spain or not.
The other key issue is the question of political prisoners from the Basque Country. There are around 486 Basque political prisoners in prisons far from the Basque Country. By law, prisoners should be in prisons closest to their country.
Question: What is your opinion of ETA's recent actions?
There has been a definite increase in the level of violence. There have been two killings by ETA [Euskadi Ta Askatasura — Basque Homeland and Freedom] in the last 24 hours.
ETA was formed in 1956 under the Franco dictatorship and was supported by many people, even the Basque Nationalist Party (PNV). But today, ETA's activism and violence has increased support for the conservative People's Party. The number of People's Party representatives in government has increased four-fold in the last 10 years and the electoral support for [pro-independence mass party] Herri Batasuna has decreased because people are sick of the violence.
Herri Batasuna will not speak out against ETA's tactics. It will speak about the political prisoners and the violence of the Spanish state, but not say whether it thinks ETA's tactics are useful.
In September 1998, groups such as the PNV, Herri Batasuna, United Left and others signed the Lizarra agreement. The main points of the agreement were: that a solution was to be found by democratic means; that the Basque political prisoners be placed in the Basque Country; that the solution to the conflict come through dialogue; and that dialogue has no limits.
Three days after the signing of this agreement, ETA started a cease-fire. This lasted for about a year and during this period the government moved 105 prisoners and started some talks with the Basque nationalists. The direction was positive.
In February 1999, ETA broke the cease-fire claiming frustration with the PNV. Prior to this, Herri Batasuna and the PNV were getting good results in the elections, but this has now decreased dramatically. So, one can see ETA's tactics are very problematic.
The violence of ETA makes no sense. In the Basque Country it is politically useless and makes the struggle for self-determination harder. Some people inside Herri Batasuna agree with this position but will not comment in public.
After a period of open political discussion, during the cease-fire, we have now returned to a situation where people are afraid to speak about the political situation.
Question: What is the "Batasuna process" now under way in the Basque Country?
Two years ago, Herri Batasuna launched an electoral formation with other groups called Euskal Herritarrok. In 1998 this formation gained many votes [18%], but in March this year it did not run in the elections because its knew it had little support.
Now Herri Batasuna is trying to rebuild the project of Basque independence and that is what the "Batasuna process" is about. It involves a discussion principally between Herri Batasuna and associations involved in the campaign to free the political prisoners.
However, the process has been hampered by ETA's violence. People are afraid to say in the meetings what they think about the way forward for the Basque struggle. There are, therefore, many activists not involved in these discussions. The idea was good, but now with more violence it won't result in much.
Question: What is the likely outcome of the conflict in the Basque Country?
In the next five years, as a result of the ETA violence, the support for the conservative parties will grow even more.
The only real solution can come from all political parties in the Basque Country sitting down at the table and talking about the political problem. We need everyone to be able to say what they think openly, with no previous conditions.
We need a political solution to what is a political problem. We cannot impose a particular relationship with the Spanish state. What we need to fight for is the right of self-determination.