Cn - Sessions 8 And 9 Basque Nationalism

Sessions 8 & 9: The Ideological Origins of Basque Nationalism and Violence in the Basque Country ► Catalan

Nationalism in Comparative Perspective ► IES

Barcelona ► FALL 2007 PROGRAM

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Instructor: Andrew Davis e-mail: [email protected]

The Basque Country

Orson Welles and the Basques ► http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3uR

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Who are the Basques I ► The

Basques were around long before Romanization of S. Europe & once covered a greater area ► The only language of W. Europe that is not Indo-European ► Linguistically isolated – no known relationship to any other language ► Little influenced by other languages

Who are the Basques II ► The

distinct language helped support a separate identity ► No significant medieval literary corpus ► Severe dialectal fragmentation due to mountainous terrain – many dialects are mutually incomprehensible, impeding both linguistic and political unity ► No single cultural center

► Gernikako

Arbola ("the Guernica tree" in Basque) is an oak tree that symbolizes traditional freedoms for the Biscayan people, and by extensions the Basque people. Lords of Biscay swore to respect the Biscayan liberties under it, and the modern Lehendakari (President) of the Basque Country swears his charge there.

► Fueros

enjoyed a long tradition in the Basque Country. Maintained a separate identity through isolation

The Context of Basque Nationalism Basque fueros abolished in 1876 at the end of the final Carlist war (1873-1876) ► This directly contributed to the massive growth of Basque industry, which until then had industrialized more slowly compared with Catalonia (opened up Basque Country to rest of Spain economically, no customs barriers). ► BUT, in Basque countryside, the removal of foral customs destroyed inefficient agricultural industry. It was the sudden, drastic shock to traditional life which created unease amongst the middle-class bourgeoisie Basques who felt squeezed from above by the centralista oligarchies ►

The Context of Basque Nationalism II ► If

you combine: ► The tradition of fueros, which is longer and deeper than any other territory of Spain… ► …with the strength and speed at which life changed after the fueros were abolished…. ► ….’Nationalism’

in the BC starts as ‘foralism’, the defense of the fueros.

The Context of Basque Nationalism III ►

The support of ‘foralism’ (and in some cases, Carlism) is linked directly back to the removal of the fueros.

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Thus, this was a defensive nationalism based on fears created by radical change.

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Rather than the inclusive Catalan nationalism, this was exclusive; it was a racial defense of the purity of the Basque people and their culture and extreme in its ties to the Vatican.

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Not based on a ‘renaixança’ as in Catalonia. There was a small ‘Renacimiento Euskerista’, but it was supported almost exclusively by

2 Linked Variables ►

Massive Economic Change – the brutal shock of industrialization transformed the pre-existing ethnocentric awareness of a common identity into a political ideology.  Basque industrialization dominated by a cohesive, small bourgeoisie. Connected with Madrid for economic benefits they received.  Iron ore exported in 1866 was 55,000 tons, in 1890 it was 4,272,000

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Immigration – suddenly, displaced local youth had to compete on many levels with new arrivals, mostly from Castile (‘the land of the

Sabina Arana y Goiri (18651903) ► Few

nationalisms can be said to be so exclusively identified with one person. ► Bizkaya por su indepencia (1892) ► Becomes the inspiration for independence for the Basque Country, which for nationalists includes the three provinces in Spain, three provinces in France, and Navarre (Spain).

Arana and Basque Nationalism ► Formulated

BC’s first political program ► Coined its name ► Defined its geographical extent ► Founded its first political organixation ► Wrote its anthem ► Designed its flag

Arana and Basque Nationalism II ► Sabina’s

‘divine intervention’ – his political conversion to independence for Basque Country comes on Easter Sunday 1882. ► Thus, the resurrection has special meaning in Euskadi, and pays tribute to the idea of the Basques as a ‘chosen’ people. ► Conversi describes Arana as a traditional man living in a non-traditional world. Thus, his nationalism was a neo-traditionalist route to nationalism.

Arana the Racialist ►

Rather than encouraging the spread of the Basque language, they chose to mark an ethnic boundary. Language was not widespread enough to use as cultural or nationalist marker. Instead, the idea is to preserve sense of unique Basque racial purity.

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Immigrants called Maketos – term of racist abuse meant to emphasize Basque purity as opposed to the irreligiosity and immorality of the Spanish.

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Studies purported to show an unusually high % of type O blood, distinctive cranial formations, hair and eye coloring.

Arana the Racialist II ► This

is fed by the fact that people thought Basque was unlearnable, ethnically specific.

► The

devil visited the Basque country to learn the language and make disciples. He tried for weeks, but was defeated and returned to hell after having learned no more of the language than bai (yes) and ez (no).

Arana the Believer ► Basque

civil society was far less secularized than in Catalonia ► He advocated non-violent methods to achieve his goal, according to Bible. ► Espoused Social Catholicism’s concern for the poor and needy. ► Resented the materialistic attitude of the bourgeoisie

Territorial question linked to Religion ► He

derived from Catholicism a large body of thought which is still instilled in the Basque Nationalist Party today. ► Religious basis of Arana’s program can be found in the motto ‘God and the Old Law’ ► So centralization meant a conspiracy to deprive the Church of its hold over society and dilute Catholic values of piety and justice in the name of materialism and avarice.

Arana and language ► First

and foremost – race was always above language in Arana’s nationalism. ► Learning the language was not ‘integration’ as in Catalonia. Because learning the language did not necessarily mean changing a state of mind and acquiring Basque ‘values’. ► Thus, a language revival could be a ‘threat’ to Basques, as an immigrant learning Basque threatened the natives with moral contamination.

From Nationalism to Politics ► Original

term in Basque for the Basque Country is ‘Euskal-Herria’. Refers to the land of the people who speak Basque.

► Arana

creates the new word ‘Euskadi’, which changes the meaning from the land of the Basque ‘speakers’ to the Land of the Basques.

Basque Nationalist Party ► ►

Eusko Alderdi Jeltzalea (EAJ) (in Basque) Partido Nacionalista Vasco (PNV) (in Spanish)

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One of the first Christian Democratic parties in Europe

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The party was created in 1895 by Sabino de Arana y Goiri as a Catholic conservative party. He pledged to restore self-government for the Basques.

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When it was formed, minimal bloodlines were established for members - they had to prove Basque ancestry by having a minimum number of Basque surnames.

Basque Nationalist Party II ►In

1910 it becomes the Comunión Nacionalista Vasca ("Basque Nationalist Communion"), meant to increase the party’s reach.

Intellectual rebellion ► First

Congress of Basque Studies meets in 1918 ► Authority over language reform had to be wrested away from zealous nationalists and handed over to language experts who would guide it according to the rigors of modern linguistic method

Basque Nationalist Party III ►In

1921, the party split into the moderate Comunión Nacionalista Vasca ("Basque Nationalist Communion") and the independentist PNV, whose mouthpiece was Aberri, a journal ("Homeland").

Arana’s legacy ► Arana

left a legacy of contradictions and ambivalences that sowed the seeds of future nationalist fragmentation. ► As a consequence, each of the opposing forces within the nationalist field claimed to be the true inheritor of his ideal ► no matter how moderate or radical, anti-capitalist or rapprochement with industrialists, or on language or

Primo Dictatorship ► Primo

dictatorship pushes Basque nationalism underground – the stronger the repression the stronger nationalism became ► Dictatorship creates rapprochement between PNV and CNV, under PNV banner ► Return to Aranism – old motto (God and Old Laws) is back, race and religion confirmed, only minus

The 2

nd

► Strength

Republic

of PNV shown in the return of democracy. Win significant support in the Spanish parliament. ► Increase their connections with Church, particularly with the Jesuits. Socialists worry of a ‘Vatican Gibraltar’. ► Finally receive a statute of autonomy December 1935. Three previous statutes failed because of lack of support for the Republic. Autonomy lasts only 9 months before Civil War starts.

Bombing of Guernica ► On

April 26, 1937, the German Condor Legion launched an aerial attack upon the Basque city of Guernica. ► Guernica was an important city to the Basque people. Due to the recent losses to the Republicans, the city had no air defences at the time of attack. ► The first time in history wherein a civilian population was aerially bombed with the intent of producing total destruction, as well as the first joint military operation between Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy.

Bombing of Guernica, cont. ►The

attacks created a firestorm and destroyed almost all of the city. An estimated 10 000 people died in the attacks, mostly seniors, women and children. ►Motivation behind the attack was to terrorize the civilian populating and demoralise the Republicans.

“Guernica” by Pablo Picasso

The attack upon Guernica became a worldrenowned symbol of the horrors of war, and the above painting was also a symbol for Basque nationalism.

Basque Nationalism under Franco ► Language

was the main target of Franco in Catalonia, because that is what unified the people. ► Not so in BC. Many suspect that is why security forces, repression was blind and unable to distinguish nuances. ► So you get imprisonment, police attacks, torture, even after 1942, where this is less used in Catalonia. ► State loses sense of legitimacy is particularly acute in BC

Basque Nationalism under Franco ► Basque

Nationalism took a new shape under Franco. ► Heroic people fighting against tyranny, and the West which supported this tyranny. ► The violence of ETA can be traced to the random repression of Franco security forces, linked to economic upheaval which had been caused by the removal of the fueros beforehand.

Basque Fatherland and Liberty (ETA) ► Founded

in 1959 with the aim of creating an independent Basque homeland in northwest Spain and southwest France. Its activities have been aimed primarily at Spanish government officials and security forces, but French interests have also been attacked. Many were former PNV members dissatisfied with the passivity of their party.

► Now

nationalist and weakly Marxist, it was originally formed as response to the massive influx of immigration which occurred during the early years of its formation.

ETA violence increases after democracy, why? ► Between

1968 and 1977, ETA killed on average 7 people a year. ► Between 1978 and 1980 it was 81 ► Between 1981 and 1990 it was 34 ► Between 1991 and 2000 it was 16

Nature of Spanish Transition ► Spanish

transition to democracy was ‘pacted’. ► It was peaceful, negotiated between elites. ► For the most part, the fear of another civil war or increased violence meant that Spanish populace supported this ► In BC, however, the nature of transition meant that many reforms took place too slowly, meaning that continued indiscriminate repression and misapplication of new legislation by police forces was taking place under ‘democracy’.

Nature of Spanish Transition II ► This

gave ETA measure of legitimacy. Half of all Basques considered ETA patriots or idealists in 1978, only 7 percent considered them terrorists. ► 2004, that had changed – 69% considered them terrorists, 17% criminals and murderers and 13% fanatics.

The end result of ETA’s actions ► This

created an action/repression/action cycle which never allowed normalization of political life in the BC. ► This does NOT mean that violence is an innate characteristic of the Basques. It emerged due to specific circumstances.

Mistakes made by Spanish governments I Both big Spanish parties, the governing Socialists and opposition Popular party, have behaved irresponsibly in the past. Grupos Antiterroristas de Liberación (GAL, Antiterrorist Liberation Groups) were death squads illegally set up by officials within the Spanish (then Socialist) government to fight ETA. They were active from 1983 until 1987, under PSOE's cabinets. It was proven in a judicial trial that they were financed and backed by key officials within the Spanish Home Office Ministry. The Spanish daily El Mundo played a key role revealing the plot with its series on the matter.

Mistakes made by Spanish governments II ► Under

Jose Maria Aznar's government (the Conservative PP), the right saw electoral profit in deliberately polarizing Basque politics in order to boost votes elsewhere in Spain. Such tactics gave a morally bankrupt terrorist rump a new lease of life and a fig-leaf of legitimacy.

Contemporary Basque Politics ► Polls

and interviews are less reliable in

BC ► People are still afraid to participate in politics ► Most Basque politicians (particularly from the ‘Spanish’ parties, PSOE and PP), have 24 hour protection ► kale borroka – left-wing inspired street violence perpetrated generally by Basque nationalist youth

Basque Political parties ► ►

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PNV has been the dominating party since the return to democracy. Batasuna is the political wing of ETA, outlawed in 2002 (more to follow). A new force, ANV (Basque National Action Party, is believed to be their surrogate. Both the Socialists (PSE) and the PP (PPE) have strong following in the Basque Country. To give you an idea, in the 2005 Basque elections, the Basque Nationalist party took 29 seats, the Socialists 18 seats, the PP 15 seats, and a splinter group which many saw as the secret Batasuna won 9 seats.

Political Parties Law 2002 ► PP

government bans Batasuna, the political wing of ETA. ► Highly controversial in the Basque Country – do you allow the political wing of a terrorist organization to operate, like Sinn Fein or not? What do you think?

Plan Ibarretxe, October 2003 ► President

of the autonomous government, Juan José Ibarretxe, presented his proposal to make the Basque Country a “freely associated state” with Spain, having a separate court system and separate representation in the E.U.

Ibarretxe speech to Spanish Parliament ►

"I have come to the Spanish parliament to defend the right of the Basque people to decide their future"

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"The future of self-government in the Basque Country is not going to be decided in meetings between you, Mr Zapatero, and you, Mr Rajoy. You cannot replace the will of the Basques"

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"The Basque Country is a modern, supportive and reliable country. More than eight out of 10 Basques believe that it is up to us to define and decide our future ... and that is how it will be"

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"We are facing a historic chance to find the solution to the Basque conflict"

Proposal Rejected The Plan Ibarretxe proposed:

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   

The recognition of Basque Identity and the right to selfdetermination. Freedom to form relations with Autonomous Community of Navarre and with Iparralde (French-Basque Country). Autonomous Judiciary, which with together with the Basque Parliament and the Basque Government would complete self-government of the Basque Country. A voice in the European Union and in the world.

The plan was overwhelmingly rejected in the Spanish parliament

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

(Feb 2005, 313 to 29) by both PP and PSOE, barely debated.

Zapatero announces talks with ETA June 2006 ►

Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, Spain's prime minister, offered Eta talks if they laid down their arms.

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This has been bitterly opposed by the opposition still unreconciled to losing the 2004 elections – and is conjuring up the specter of Spain's disintegration, especially as this government is open to more home rule for both Catalans and Basques.

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Negotiations have been suspended since the December 2006 bombing at Madrid’s Barajas airport.

Plan Ibarretxe, Take 2 ► September

2007 – Ibarrexte announces that he will hold a referendum on the Basque Country’s future on October 25th 2008. ► The referendum would be non-binding (and potentially illegal). ► It is not clear what the wording of the referendum would be.

Status of Basque Language ►A

standardized Basque Grammar was published in 1968. ► Schools began using Basque as the primary language of instruction. ► In 1982 Basque became one of the official languages of the region. ► There are approximately 600,000 speakers, primarily in Spain and France. ► Basque is protected under the European Charter for Regional and Minority Languages.