Basque separatists

[Kukulofori]

is there anywhere to read about their ideology, etc in English?

[The Douche]

is there anywhere to read about their ideology, etc in English?

They're much the same as other national liberation movements, they have a culture which is distinct from the state they're tied to, and desire national autonomy. There are of course multiple facets to their movement from extremely reactionary ones to quite revolutionary ones.

[Stranger Than Paradise]

All I could find is this:

Guardian article on ETA: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2007/jun/05/spain.qanda

I found a really interesting page outlining the ETA's ideology and strategy but it was all in Spanish.

[Comrade Gwydion]

I know most Catalan seperatist (peacefull seperatists, but they exist in quite large numbers) are on the leftist side of the spectrum.

[bcbm]

http://www.talfanzine.com/matxinada.htm

[Raúl Duke]

In Puerto Rico allegedly some guy who was part of the Basque seperatist movement or supported it visited and talked about the situation. Obviously he was invited by independentistas in PR. One of the topics was on economics and the Basque region has strong economic centers (something that PR lacks though). This is what I know besides what most people already know.

I can read and give a bit of an overview in English anything related to the subject in Spanish; so provide links and ask me.

[Stalin 2]

i think baque region was seperate before the spanish civil war but franco took it when he seized power.

[ls]

I know most Catalan seperatist (peacefull seperatists, but they exist in quite large numbers) are on the leftist side of the spectrum.

This has nothing to do with basque separatism, please don't confuse the two.

Also: http://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euskadi_Ta_Askatasuna

They have a lot of similarities to the IRA and the PKK tbh, key point being that they want some territories in northern Spain and southern France to secede and become their independent nation state.


The arrest of Eta's suspected military head, Garikoitz Aspiazu Rubina, in November 2008, followed the detention of its political commander, Javier Lopez Pena, six months earlier. Both arrests took place in France, long used as a base by Eta. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/3500728.stm

I don't think they are really particularly active, the latest articles like this: http://in.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idINIndia-43139220091014 pretty much seem to point to the truth, they could be active but they are certainly for the most part, militantly incapacitated.

[McCroskey]

Hello, everyone! First post.

To clarify something about the separatists in Spain: Catalan nationalism, as well as Basque nationalism, is mostly centre-right wing. PNV (Basque nationalist party) and CIU (Catalan Nationalist Party) are the biggest nationalist parties in both regions, and they have been in power until a few years ago (Catalonia) and this year (Basque country), ever since the end of Franco´s regime. They are both demo-christian centre-right parties. The left wing nationalist parties in Catalonia are mostly centre-left social democrats (like ERC), whose politics are a mixture of patriotism and social policies, but rather distant from the workers´struggle. In the Basque Country is the same, but they have this Abertzale (meaning "patriot" in Basque) parties, a number of them supporting ETA´s armed struggle.

ETA was seen as an anti-Franco armed movement in the 60s, and it had the support of a significant number of anti-fascist organizations in Spain. ETA on the other hand, made clear that they fought Spanish occupation of the Basque land, regardless of who was in power (be it Franco, democracy or whoever). After Franco´s death, ETA kept using what they called "armed struggle", which in fact was a number of assassinations of politicians, journalists and intellectuals, as well as policemen and army personnel, which had nothing to do with the anti-fascist struggle that the Spanish revolutionary left imagined it represented. Some ETA massacres, as the Guardia Civil Barracks in Vic (in which ETA killed several children, later declaring having no remorse, as they were children of the Guardia Civil), or the Hipercor shopping centre in Barcelona (lots of innocent civilians killed and maimed), showed that ETA had lost whatever political and social interest it may have had in the past. ETA has always claimed being socialist, and their supposed target is a socialist independent Basque country, but this is not true in practice or in their political statements. Nowadays ETA is seen as a bunch of idealistic and patriotic youngs whose ideology reminds of nazi tactics. The fact that the Basque Country has one of the highest living standards in Spain and the highest degree of autonomy from the central state than any other region in Europe, as well as having their traditions and language protected by law, makes their struggle somewhat redundant and surreal. It is seen by the majority of the revolutionary organisations in Spain as a group of professional killers who are stuck with a patriotic anti-revolutionary ideology, if not trying to make a living out of it. Nowadays, ETA and the workers´movement are extremely dissasociated and most of their members and supporters see spanish workers´associations and revolutionaries as just another group among the Spanish opressors. For them, there is no difference between a spanish fascist, a spanish liberal or a spanish communist, they are all "spanish", and therefore, the enemy.

Some foreign people see ETA in line with other national liberation movements, like the Palestinians. For Spanish and the majority of the Basque population this is something shocking, as there is no real repression in the basque country. It´s got its own regional goverment, language and traditions protected and encouraged, and rather that blocking or difficulting the economy, it is one of the most industrialised spots in Spain, enjoying a quite high living standard. For ETA, though, the oppression means that they still belong to the Spanish state, all other considerations don´t matter, like working class liberation.



i think baque region was seperate before the spanish civil war but franco took it when he seized power.


The Basque country has been a spanish region ever since the unification of the iberian kingdoms back in the 15th century. It has never dissasociated from it and Basque separatism is a quite recent (end o 19th century and beggining o the 20th century) phenomenon, based on cultural heritage to demand a separation from Spain and France, it is not a desire to go back to a previous status quo. Basque independence would be something completely new, that never happened before.

Hope it will help, this is the view of the spanish revolutionary left. For a history of the organisation in English, the Wikipedia entry is quite accurate historically.

Take care!

[Red Dreadnought]

I can speak a little about that, cause I'm living in Spain, visit Basc Country, live and working in Catalonia; in fact I'm living now in my hometown (Valencia) that catalonian nationalist reclame as a part of "Catalonian Countries" (but the big amount of population doesn't feel that way).

Marx considered some "national liberations fights" as progresive at XIX century (Ireland or Poland for instance). Like Rosa L. said this have no sense nowadays. But Basc nationalism was strictly reactionary at its origins (see Sabino Arana at wikipedia) and naturally now. At Spanish Republic, they were'nt independent but they were "autonomous" community; and its reactionary leader (Lehendakari )Aguirre of PNV, after lose war against Franco, intended to propose Hitler to create a Basc State, in the basis of "racial superiority".

One fraction of young PNV crew, influenced by argelian FLN of Indochina fights: at Franco's dictatorship "evolved" to a suposed "marxism" (really national-estalinism) and "armed struggle" (thus terrorism) against Franco state. They were ETA (Euskadi Ta Askatasuna).

Some lefties supported ETA like antí-franquist, and in fact, some people left "armed struggle" and create trots or mao parties (LCR and MC), even one section ETA (pm), transformed in Euskadiko Eskerra, finally joined to Socialist Party!!!! (see Mario Oniandia).

[Red Dreadnought]

After Franquism, the core of strict nationalists, militarists continue with ETA militar, and created a political platform Herri Batasuna, and other organizations and social movements. They have support of 15 per cent of population in Basc Autonomous Community (lesser if you consider all the Territories they reclame (Nafarroa, or French). They had deputies, local councilors but now are ilegal; only their labour union (LAB) remains legal. They defend an STALINIST MODEL: revolutionary vanguard that leads "people", mass organizations (that depend on "vanguard" at last), tactical cooperation with "national burgueois" (thus PNV), street conflicts with police (Kale Borroka), menace to "spanish-rule-suppoters",etc.

[Red Dreadnought]

They really at some moments have obtained support of young rebel people, even working people at inmigrants populations, at 70's or 80's; cause they appear to be anti-sistem movement. But they have used this probably honest people to their stalinist reactionary cause. On the other hand. they contribute to divide working class in terms of basc or spanish nationalism.

And its political reference: Cuba, DDR, Chavez, Evo, NLF of Algeria, and so on.

[Red Dreadnought]

On the other hand, we have to recognise the objective repression of State: there are suspictions of torture denounced by IA (well evidences more than suspictions), that could affect not only to ETAs simpa, even every rebel young or worker; there have been state terrorism (see GAL), supported by "socialist goverment" in 80's. Euskadi, has had a very combative working class (beyond the nationalistic criteria) and strikes here have been represed with "anti-terrorist" methods or justifying (see Alava, 1977). And at franco's rule there where a real represion to basc homeland culture (that's not the thing now)

But, in definitive abertzale (basc patriot) politics only lead to hell, to the people that suffer it as a victim (included workers, children or even real internationalist revolutionaties) and to the people who honestly believe in them (prison, isolation of the large part of population, a based hate and militarist culture, etc):confused:.

Working class methods, program objectives and ethics aren't those of this crew.

Osasuna (in basc language Health)and internationalism.

PD: Another day I'll speak about pathetical Catalonian nationalism.:confused: