Moderation is the message

The Basque voters have made it plain: they do not favour ETA's terror campaign nor do they approve of the Spanish Government's no-dialogue stand, writes VAIJU NARAVANE.

THE MODERATE nationalist Basque party, PNV, emerged triumphant in last week's crucial regional elections in Spain's troubled Basque provinces. The Partido Nacionalista Vasco which has been in power for the last 22 years and stands for Basque independence from Spain through peaceful means won 33 out of 78 seats - over 42 per cent of the popular vote.

Spain's Prime Minister, Mr. Jose Maria Aznar's conservative Popular Party (PP) was trounced, proving that even moderate Basques disapprove of his tough policy towards the nationalists. The PP had urged voters to throw out the Basque nationalists and seize what it called ``a historic opportunity for the future of Spanish democracy''. This is the most serious strategic reversal Mr. Aznar has suffered since his re-election a year ago.

Also on the losers' dais were Euskal Herritarok or EH, political wing of ETA, the Basque terrorist organisation, and the Basque socialist party. EH lost seven of the 14 seats it held in the outgoing Parliament; the socialists, like the PP, won 19 seats. With turnout as high as 80 per cent, Basque voters made their desires plain: they do not favour the terror campaign launched by ETA. Neither do they approve of the tough, no-dialogue stand adopted by Mr. Aznar.

ETA (Euzkadi Ta Askatasuna) did not wait long to make its displeasure felt. On May 15, a journalist, Mr. Gorka Landaburu, who has long campaigned against ETA's violent tactics, was the victim of a letter bomb attack. He lost an eye and two fingers and suffered extensive burns. For over 30 years, ETA has been waging a relentless separatist war against the Spanish Government. Over 800 people have been killed and hundreds injured in terrorist attacks in the name of Basque self-determination and unification. ETA describes the three million Basques as ``a nation divided''.

The Basque country lies in the northeast of Spain, in a region running from the Bay of Biscay to the foothills of the western Pyrenees in France. On the Spanish side, it is made up of the highly industrialised provinces of Navarre, Guipuzcoa, Alava and Biscay. On the French side, the Basques live in the lower Pyrenees region. In December 1999, ETA decided to interrupt a self-decreed, 14-month-long ceasefire and revived its terror campaign. Some 30 persons have been killed this year alone. Not a week seems to go by without an attack, mainly in the Basque country, but also in the capital, Madrid - proof that ETA can strike when it wants, where it wants. Worse, it has now widened its net, aiming not just for policemen or ``agents of the state'' but targeting journalists, businessmen, politicians and employees of the state.

Carmen Guruchaga a well-known commentator on Basque politics says: ``The nationalists have a huge following in the Basque country. Their funds come from contributions sent in by supporters. All the polls indicate that the people from the Basque provinces think of themselves as Basque first and Spanish afterwards.''

The Basques are one of the most ancient peoples of Europe, identified even in Roman times as unconquerable. Their language is unique, resembling no other in Europe. Their desire for political independence was formally expressed by Sabino de Arana Goiri with the founding of the PNV in 1894.

ETA was born in 1959 as a result of schism within the PNV. The old party disapproves of armed struggle and is willing to settle for a high degree of autonomy within the Spanish state. ETA, on the other hand, has been demanding the right to self- determination as a pre-condition for talks.

Mr. Eusebio Lasa Altuna, who heads the economic section of EH, says the Basques have never been properly consulted about what they want. ``We did not ratify Spain's new Constitution. We did not vote for the European Union. We must be consulted. That is a key issue,'' he says. Mr. Arnaldo Otegi, EH spokesman, presses home this point. ``We are three million people who are being kept artificially apart. We live in a rich, industrialised part of the world with incomes of over $ 16,000 dollars a year. East Timor can win independence, but not us. What sort of hypocrisy is this?''

In September 1998, ETA and EH declared a unilateral ceasefire. They said they had the Irish agreements in mind and invited the Government to make a gesture in return. Only one meeting between representatives of the Government and the various Basque parties was held, in Switzerland in May 1999. It lasted four hours at the end of which the two sides agreed to disagree. Like the Irish Republican Army, which is their model, the ETA guerrillas refused to disarm at the start of the peace process, a condition rejected by Madrid. The Basques wanted all their political prisoners to be transferred to jails in their region, not scattered in the various corners of Spain. The Government flatly refused.

Many political commentators, like Carmen Guruchaga, blame the Government for failing to establish a constructive dialogue with the terrorists. Others argue that ETA never intended to make any concessions and used the ceasefire to buy itself time, re-arm and re-group. Mr. Aznar's conservative Government has sworn it will take a tough line on ETA terrorism. ``Their campaign is bestial and brutal. But we will not submit. We shall fight harder than ever. They can still kill a lot more people but they cannot kill freedom, neither in Spain nor in the Basque country,'' Mr. Aznar said. The Prime Minister himself has been an ETA target and narrowly escaped an assassination attempt in 1995. The former Interior Minister, Mr. Jaime Mayor Oreja, who comes from the Basque country was handpicked by Mr. Aznar to lead the PP's campaign in the Basque elections. He failed miserably.

Mr. Aznar is going to have to re-think his policy towards the Basques. The highly popular and charismatic leader of the PNV, Mr. Xabier Arzalluz, said: ``We have called for talks with all concerned, even those close to ETA. Madrid has been punished for its warrior mentality and for its reliance on police methods.''

The PNV has yet to decide whether it will lead a minority Government or seek a larger consensus by approaching the socialists and communists. It has also not disclosed whether it will be happy with autonomy or pursue an irredentist agenda.

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