Gary Snapper

Bilbao Bloggings

The rain in Spain is mainly in Bilbao

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City of Terror? Bilbao, ETA and the Basque Conflict

14/7/2013

6 Comments

 
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As Euskadi’s major metropolis, Bilbao has inevitably been at the heart of the Basque conflict and the activities of extreme left nationalist group ETA - Euskadi Ta Askatasuna (which means Basque Homeland (Euskadi) and Freedom (Askatasuna)). It’s hard to imagine that the city we’ve come to love so much was until recently the scene of such terrible atrocities.
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As Euskadi’s major metropolis, Bilbao has inevitably been at the heart of the Basque conflict and the activities of extreme left nationalist group ETA - Euskadi Ta Askatasuna (which means Basque Homeland (Euskadi) and Freedom (Askatasuna)). It’s hard to imagine that the city we’ve come to love so much was until recently the scene of such terrible atrocities.

Two years ago ETA announced a permanent end to its armed struggle, and there is no sense of any violent conflict here now – though there are many large political demonstrations. As yet, however, there have been no moves towards decommissioning of arms, as there was in Northern Ireland, and relationships between the Basque  ‘abertzale’ (nationalist) left and the Spanish government are nowhere near as positive as they were in Ireland between Sinn Fein, Ireland and the Blair government.

In part, this is because of the reactionary intransigence of the Spanish hard-line right wing government (although to be fair the left-wing government that preceded it was not much better in this respect). However, it’s also in part because ETA is in a far weaker position than Sinn Fein was, since the Basque Country already has pretty much everything that Northern Ireland achieved through its peace process – i.e. a very substantially devolved regional government giving the region a great deal of democratic autonomy. In fact, the Basque Country has more autonomy, since it (alone amongst the Spanish autonomous regions) has fiscal autonomy too.

There’s also a fair amount of scepticism about how permanent the ceasefire is, since ETA has announced permanent ceasefires before and they have not lasted (though this has lasted longer than others and seems more stable). A few weeks ago, ETA released a statement denouncing the lack of progress that has been made in negotiations with Spain following its ceasefire. This certainly reads as a genuine cry of frustration, but there’s no doubt that it has vaguely threatening overtones too.

Whatever one might feel about ETA, it does seem as though the Spanish government is not responding as open-mindedly as it might to ETA’s overtures – and that it has barely set a foot right in the Basque conflict since the end of the Franco regime nearly 40 years ago.

At the heart of the current conflict is the question of the Basque prisoners – a huge issue that has very substantial support across the Basque Country. Hundreds of people imprisoned because of their involvement in ETA are held in prisons in France and Spain, deliberately many hundreds of miles from the Basque Country, meaning that families have to travel long distances to visit them. The authorities, of course, want to keep the prisoners well away from local networks. Now that ETA has announced its ceasefire, there is huge public support for the campaign to bring them ‘back home’ (‘etxera’) to local prisons.

Flags hang from windows all over the Basque Country in protest at the situation, demanding that the prisoners return ‘etxera’ – and ‘etxera’ is the chant you hear at all manner of political and cultural events.
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The government refuses point blank to return the prisoners. Not only that, the situation has been inflamed by moves to keep many of the prisoners incarcerated for longer periods by means of the ‘Parot Doctrine’, which means that remission for work done in prison is deducted from their total sentence rather than from the shorter maximum period (30 years) they will actually spend in jail. The European Court of Human Rights decreed last year that this was illegal, and Spain is currently challenging that ruling, but it seems fairly clear that Spain’s actions here are unjust, almost certainly illegal, and certainly counter-productive.

There have been many massive demonstrations about this over the last few years, including three in Bilbao since we have been here (one happening today) – and many others throughout the Basque Country. This picture of the last major demonstration in Bilbao, in January, gives an indication of how massive it was:
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This video (at http://www.eitb.com/es/videos/detalle/1224506/video-manifestacion-u12--multitudinaria-manifestacion-bilbao) also shows how huge the demonstration in January was, as well as being an interesting insight into the popular nationalist appeal of the cause:

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And here's a nationalist video collage of the event  (www.youtube.com/watch?v=88qngm_qbjI) which gives a sense of how the issue about the prisoners stands as a symbol for Basque nationalism more generally:
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What do the Basques actually feel about ETA, given that a substantial majority of the population consider themselves Basque nationalists of one kind or another?

First, it’s important to recognize that not all Basque nationalists are separatists: some are happy with autonomy rather than independence. Second, it’s important to recognize that most left-wing nationalists do not support the extreme-left terrorist tactics of ETA. Third, not all Basque nationalists are left-wing – far from it; the main nationalist party (PNV) is in fact centre-right, and Basque nationalism began in the 19th century as a xenophobic right-wing movement with a somewhat fascist philosophy (though it has moved a long way from that position in the last century.) Fourth, there has been a massive anti-ETA campaign amongst Basques of all political views.

It’s also very important, however, to recognize the widespread grievances that exist against Spain, many of which date back to the brutal suppression of the Basque Country during Franco’s time, pre-1976 – some aspects of which continued even after Franco’s death. The Spanish army and police attacked the Basques violently in the transitional period after Franco’s death, and even today are felt by many to be a potential threat. Furthermore, there have been and continue to be many reports of torture and maltreatment of Basque prisoners and suspects by the Spanish state, which have fed these grievances; the Spanish government’s banning of pro-independence left-wing parties (especially the popular Batasuna) which are suspected of being in sympathy with ETA has certainly not helped things and is again widely perceived as a breach of democratic rights.

Although there is little direct support for ETA, there is a great deal of support for many of ETA’s aims, and ETA is in some senses deeply embedded in the community throughout Euskadi: there is no ‘other side´ in the Basque country as there is in Northern Ireland, where the fight is between catholic and protestant extremists. Many Basque people will no doubt know or be related to someone who has been involved with ETA in some way, or will be involved socially and politically around the edges of the extreme left – drinking and socializing in the gritty working class nationalist bars called ‘Herriko Tabernas’ (‘Homeland Bars’) that are found all over the Basque Country – even if they actually have nothing to do with ETA.

And whatever one feels about nationalism, one has to recognise that nationalist sentiment of all kinds is VERY powerful and widespread here for all kinds of reasons. The strength of communal feeling for Basque identity and culture is palpable throughout Euskadi, and often very moving (I've written about this in previous posts). And socially progressive, left-wing nationalism is particularly powerful here because of the way the Basques, the gritty Northerners, have been oppressed by right-wing Madrid establishments over the last century and more. You can see here of course echoes of the relationship between England and N. Ireland, and between England and Scotland, and between London and the industrial north of England – but the Basque cause is distinguished by its severe oppression by fascism during the Franco years.

Everything has to be understood against a background of unresolved tensions following the Spanish Civil War and the long rule of the Franco regime. Many in Spain feel that the fascists who thrived under Franco have never had to pay the price for their crimes, nor has there ever been any truth or conciliation process. Many of the fascists continued, and still continue, to hold positions within the Spanish government and military. (See Giles Tremlett’s excellent book ‘The Ghosts of Spain’ for much more on this.)
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So, whether people actually support ETA’s terrorist actions or not (and most of course DON’T), there is still widespread support for bringing the prisoners back home, and a widespread sense of more general grievance against Spain, especially given the current right-wing regime.

And there is one other issue that has the potential to unite the different shades of Basque nationalism against the Spanish: the question of self-determination. Whether they believe that the Basque Country should be independent or not, whether they are left or right wing nationalists, many people believe that the Basques should at least be given the choice via a referendum, something the Spanish government refuses to allow, saying that it is against the Spanish Constitution – a constitution that the majority of Basques do not consider themselves to have ratified, since most abstained or voted against it in the 1978 referendum on it.  Only 35% of the electorate in the Basque Country supported the new constitution.

Why did the majority of Basques reject (or abstain in the vote on) the constitution when it offered them the substantial autonomy that they now have? Right-wingers, as I understand it, objected particularly to the proposal to make Navarra into a separate autonomous region rather than part of a united Basque region (see previous post on Pamplona for further detail on this). Left-wingers objected for a wide variety of reasons. Aiartza and Zabalo (2010) report that there were five main unresolved issues:

·      Amnesty for Basque prisoners (still unresolved)

·      Legalisation of pro-independence parties (still unresolved)

·      Withdrawal of Spanish police force (* There has since 1982 been an autonomous Basque police force, the Ertzaintza, but it is widely regarded by the left as a puppet of the Spanish state).

·      Acceptance of the right to self-determination, including Navarra as part of a Basque state (still unresolved)

·      Improvement of working class conditions in the Basque Country

but of course their political objections were far broader than this list indicates.

So where does this leave us? With limited access to the locals, we haven’t been able to have many in-depth discussions with them about these issues, but what we see around us is a region in which the Basques have a very large amount of autonomy, and freedom to express their culture, language, politics and identity, in a way similar to Wales and Scotland – and in some ways even more so, since they also have considerable fiscal independence (such as tax-gathering powers). We see what appears in many ways to be a well-balanced society in which nationalism is, at least in urban multicultural areas, inclusive and progressive. Many people we’ve spoken to are happy with this situation, and suspicious of more fundamentalist nationalism.

We are also strongly aware, however, of the very real grievances many of the Basques have against a Spanish state that still behaves reprehensibly, the pain of recent Basque history, and the powerful cultural, linguistic and historical arguments for an independent Basque state – more powerful in many ways than any of the British nations (or, at risk of being controversial, even than Catalunya).

It’s a complex state of affairs, and all we can do is keep trying to understand it. I’ve been reading a fair amount of general stuff on Basque history and culture, and in an effort to try to understand what we see around us, I’ve read the following academic reports on the Basque Conflict:

The Basque Country: the Long Walk to a Democratic Scenario by Urko Aiartza and Julen Zabalo (Berghof Conflict Research, Transitions Series No 7, Berlin 2010)

Keys to Understanding the ETA’s Permanent Ceasefire by Sandra Chapman (Lokarri, Bilbao 2012)

Basque Country Conflict Map (University of St Andrews, Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies 2010)

We’ve also watched a couple of really interesting films about it, both thoroughly recommended. La Pelota Vasca is a documentary which simply presents voices from all sides, taking the metaphor of the Basque game Pelota as a symbol of the conflict. It’s ten years old, now, so it is a bit out of date, but it nevertheless gives a very good overview of the situation. Gazta Zati Bat is a more recent (and more entertaining) film which focuses on the question of self-determination rather than the question of independence, and follows a grass-roots political movement in Euskadi which initiates a cultural and political exchange between Scottish and Basque nationalists – cue lots of amusing film of Scottish and Basque country sports, folk music and dancing, etc., as well as explorations of the shared politics of independence referenda….
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6 Comments
Simon
14/7/2013 08:58:31 pm

Very interesting and I'm glad you've written about this - though I realise it's a tricky one to tackle. I feel even more nervous replying; but in the spirit of discussion, here are some contentious thoughts on the wider topic of political nationalism, whether Basque, Spanish, or any other flavour....

It seems to me that all countries are to a large extent arbitrary. Norman Davies' Vanished Kingdoms is a great read on this. I've (genuinely) met a Pole who wanted a greater Poland including half of Germany, and a Lithuanian who argue passionately that the whole of Belorussia should belong to them. Of course, the Basques will have lots of arguments for why they're special, Europe's "oldest nation" and all that, but every country does. I grew up with a whole raft of unquestionable reasons for the status of England as a 'natural nation' until Norman Davies (again - The Isles) finally got me asking questions.

For what it's worth, my own view is that nationalism is a sideshow from the real issues of power - one often manipulated by those who themselves want to hold on to or gain power. I am English through and through, the "oppressor nation" in these isles; but my family, alongside many English, Scottish, Welsh and Irish (and Manx and Cornish etc etc) families, were sent off to be slaughtered and imprisoned in the trenches by the ruling classes of the day. It's not "nations" that abuse power, it's classes.

Political nationalists, I'd suggest, are people who believe that the abuse of power by those who hold it is a function of the "nation" or "ethnicity" or even just the geographical location of the people who hold it. "If only we had the power here, then things would be better." In my view, this is fundamentally wrong: power is about money. If the Basques get their independence one day, the benefiaries will probably be a new rich, powerful elite in a much smaller country; and bits of the Basque country will start complaining about the concentration of power and wealth in Bilbao. I suspect that's what the Scots will get if they go for indendence.

For clarity, I am NOT saying that there are no injustices to be tackled in the Basque country. I don't have the facts here. Many, perhaps all states embed racism and prejudice in their structures of power - and I'm sure the Spanish state is as bad or worse as any other. I'm just suggesting that political nationalism is invariably a false analysis of these injustices, a distraction from what's really going on.

I am also NOT arguing against self-determination or secession or whatever. For example, if the Scots want to secede I wish them well. I think they will be disappointed, but I hope I'll be proved wrong.

I just look at the record of political nationalism and ask: what has it given Europe? Wars, millions dead, and plenty of distraction for national populations while the rich and powerful do what they do best - amass money and power. Franco was, of course, a nationalist. The fact that Basque Political Nationalism is small and never been powerful enough to do evil things while Spanish Political Nationalism is big and has done lots of evil things does not kid me into thinking that the former is somehow noble and virtuous. I think political nationalism is evil, full stop: it caused many of the problems in the first place; I fail to see how it can fix them just because it's now attached to a new nation.

None of this, it seems to me, has anything to do with cultural nationalism. Having grown up on the Welsh border, and spending weekends in Wales now, I wish people would talk about Wales more. The Welsh have one of the great cultures of Europe. Among the non-English peoples of these islands, they were the first conquered and the most comprehensively oppressed. Their laws - ancient like those of the Basques - were snuffed out by Henry VIII, a tyrant of Franco-esque proportions. Active measures were being taken (by mine-owners - money again) to supress the speaking of Welsh well into the 20th Century. Thatcher did as much harm in South Wales as she did anywhere - the valleys have never recovered. This is a wonderful, wonderful country. Cultural nationalism there seems to me to be vibrant and flourishing. A good measure of autonomy has been an important part of that: but full-blown political nationalism seems to me a bit of a spent force now.

Cultural nationalism seems to me to be vital for modern Europe; and the enthusiasm of the Basques for their culture - nicely mediated through your blogs and experienced over Easter - is a great example of this positive force in practice.

Anyway - my one suggestion is: when you offer examples from the UK, don't just look at the media-agenda places with the blustering self-publicists (Scotland) or the terrorists (Northern Ireland) for comparisons from the UK. Look at the place where political nationalism has never been so strong, but where cultural nationalism is a growing force for good: Wales.

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9/3/2020 05:59:57 am

Conflict is the reason why people are having all sorts of bad things. I know that people need to understand this, but that is fine. If we can change the way that we can make conflict a little bit easier to handle. In my opinion, as long as conflict is a huge part of life, then we are not going to progress as a society. We have to become better at handling conflicts in our lives, that is what we talk to.

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Gary
14/7/2013 09:54:58 pm

Thanks Simon. As you noted, it took me along time to write about this, because it is such a complex and sensitive topic and I wanted to write about it in a balanced way. And I was concerned rather to explain what the Basques feel and think, rather than what I think (though no doubt my biases come through!).

In essence, I don’t disagree with anything you say – and as I tried to suggest in the piece I don’t think the Basques have anything very substantial to gain from separatism, since they already have a massive amount of autonomy and are pretty much completely free to express their culture and language as they wish. As I said, many of the culturally nationalist Basques are suspicious of the fundamentalism of political nationalism.

In the end, if there is an argument for Basque independence, as again I tried to suggest, I think it is to do with the specific political conditions that pertain in Spain – the failures of the Spanish state to deal justly with the Basques even now – rather than any historical claim to be an independent state. But of course independence is not necessary for that to happen. If Spain would just negotiate more helpfully and deal more justly with the Basques, that conflict could be overcome whilst retaining the national status quo, as it has been in many other places.

I suppose I would hesitate before dismissing all political nationalism as ‘evil’. After all, the opposite of nationalism is not a world without nations. There do have to be nations (unless one is thinking of utopia). And under certain circumstances it seems to me that it might conceivably be better for nations to reconfigure themselves to take into account the inevitable political conflicts and tensions which arise.

And some nations are better than others, though of course I understand your arguments about concentrations of power and class, etc. It’s interesting in that regard to consider – if it’s class rather than nation which causes the problems – why the main contemporary impulse for Basque independence (and to some extent Scottish independence) is a socialist impulse….

I really want to read the book you mentioned before, the Norman Davies – so thanks for reminding me of it.

Anyway, back to work – and thanks for picking this discussion up as it is one that I have wrestled with….

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Simon
14/7/2013 11:29:35 pm

It's such a hard one. But such an important one.

Thanks for replying. Very good points all of them. Your point about socialist impulses for modern nationalism (also applies in Wales) is very thought-provoking.

Just re-reading my post, I think it comes across as being rather critical, which was not my intention. The intention was to expand and, frankly, go off on my own tangent prompted by reading your post!

A provocation in return for when you stop working (which I should be doing now): "There do have to be nations..." I wonder... There clearly have to be states, political entities. There also are, as a matter of fact, nations, which are matters of identity and so more fluid, more debatable, more hazy, more overlapping. Cultural nationalism can be a celebration of the latter. My beef with what I call political nationalism is that it seeks to identify the former with the latter - an identity which I think is neither factual nor necessary.

Rewrite your paragraph using the word 'state', and acknowledging that 'the political conflicts and tensions which arise' will to some extent be the product of national identities, and I agree. Maybe nitpicking, but very important I think.

Also back to work....

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Gary
15/7/2013 04:26:24 am

No it didn't sound critical at all. I was just trying to make sense of your comments in relation to mine. I have often during the year tried to think about the overlap between the words 'nation', 'state' and 'people', and I do see your point about the difference between a nation (cultural) and a state (political), though I'm not sure that really solves any problems... And what about the difference between a region and a nation, where both can be geographical, cultural and political entities?!

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Flying Anne link
20/12/2020 02:55:38 am

Thankks great post

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