E.T.A Campaign: Timeline 1937- March 2004

Under General Franco:

• 1937- General Franco denied to allow Basque Country to be independent in any way shape or form
• 1959- ETA founded to push for independence from Spain.
• 1961- Violence begins when an attempted train derailing by the ETA attacks a train transporting a few politicians.
• 1968- Meliton Manzanas, a  secret police chief in San Sebastian, was the first murder victim of the ETA.

More Violence

• 1973- In  Madrid, Prime Minister Admiral Luis Carrero Blanco is assassinated by Basque nationalist in response to the execution of Basque militants by the Spanish government.
• 1978- ETA steps into politics by founding a branch of the organisation called Herri Batasuna.
• 1980- ETA's bloodiest year. 118 killed.
• 1987- ETA apologizes for killing 21 shoppers in a Barcelona supermarket.
• 1995- A murder attempt is made on the life of Jose Maria Aznar.

New Government

• 1996- Election is one by the Popular Party (right-winged party). The ETA views this as an extension of General Franco's dictatorship..
• 1997- ETA begins campaigning against local Popular Party politicians.
• July- Miguel Angel Blanco is kidnapped and murdered by the ETA. This pushes 6 million Spaniards to the streets in rage.

Leaders Imprisoned

• December- 23 leaders from the political branch of the ETA, Herri Batasuna, sentenced seven years for their involvement in the organisation.
• 1998
• February- New provisional leader for Herri Batasuna elected.

Interactions Between Parties

• March- The main political Parties of Spain (no government involvement) come together to discuss an end to the violence in Basque Country.
• April- Peace agreement signed in Ireland. The Northern Ireland peace process has a strong effect on the ETA. Herri Batasuna branch mentored by Sinn Fein, an Irish strategist.
• June- Manuel Zamarreno, Popular Party Councillor, killed by car bomb.
• September- Announces an indefinite ceasefire set to apply on September 18th.
• 1999
• May- ETA and Spanish government meet in Zurich, Switzerland.
• August- Now Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar wants the ETA to prove its commitment to the cease fire.
• November- Announces an end to the ceasefire. Sparked by "lack of progress" with the Spanish government.

Violence

• 2000
• January & February- To mark the return of their campaign car bombs are set off in Madrid and Vitoria.
• Spring- The Spanish film, "Yoyes" is released. It a fictional production that is based on the life of Delores Gonzalez Catarian a real ETA operative.
• May- In protest of the killing of Jose Luis de la Calle, led by King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia, thousands of Spaniards held a silent vigil.
• August- Four ETA member die in an explosion do to explosives in the car they were driving. Thousands of people show their support in Bilbao.
• November- King Juan Carlos has reached his 25th year of accession to the throne. Two days prior, in Barcelona, a retired government minister was killed. In his speech he condemns the ETA.

Politicians are Targeted

• 2001
• March- During an ETA attack near San Sebastian, Socialist party politician Froilan Elexpe is shot and killed.
• May- A week before the elections for the Basque parliament, Manuel Jiminez Abad is shot in the city of Zaragoza. He was a Senior Popular Party member.
• November- Judge Jose Maria Lidon (who had put six ETA supporters in prison back in 1987) is shot to death in Bilbao just 24 hours after a car bombing in Madrid that injured 100 people.

The European Union Steps In

• December- ETA is declared a terrorist group by the EU. This is a victory for the Spanish government.
• 2002
• July- 18 million euros in Batasunanian assets are taken from Batasuna by order of  Judge Garzon.
• August- Batasuna is suspended for three years (parliament seeks an indefinite ban) for its involvement with the ETA. Judge Garzon declared them "guilty of crimes against humanity".
• September- Juan Antonio Olarra Guribi was arrested by French police after a joint mission with Spanish police. He is suspected to be the ETA's military leader.
• December- Three days after being captured the suspected logistics chief, Ibon Fernandez, escapes from French police custody.
• 2003
• February- Euskaldunon Egunkaria, the Basque newspapaper, is shut down by Spanish government for speculations on connections to the ETA. The very next day a new paper. Egunero "hits the stands" its headliner reading, "Shut but Not Silenced".
• March- Batasuna is permanently banned by the by Spain's supreme court.
• May- The U.S declare Batasuna a terrorist group (so does the EU a month later).
• A bomb in Sanguesa, northern Spain kills two policemen.
• July- "Trouble in Paradise". More like trouble in Alicante and Belidorm, two Spanish resorts. There bombs go off injuring 13. Five days following this attack a bomb is set off in the Santandor airport parking lot.
• November- Spanish raids are carried out and lead to the arrest of 12 suspected ETA leaders.
• December- Ibon Fernandez Iradi recaptured in Mont- de-Marsan, France.
• 2004
• March- ETA is blamed for the March 11 Madrid bombings. Later linked to Islamic groups.

The World's View of Basque Country

This post was supposed to be research on the world view of Basque Country. But now, when we looked at that task we realized that it would be a large one. So instead this post will be collection of links to news and headlines that relate to Basque Country so that you can check them out and form your own idea of how this region is viewed.

This first link is to an online news cite generated by the EITB a Basque news publisher:
http://www.eitb.com/en/

The second is an assortment of relative headlines:
http://www.economist.com/topics/basque-country

Here you will find a link to "theguardian". This article talks about the 2012 Basque Country elections:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/oct/21/pro-independence-basque-elections-spain

And then of course you could also check out Mark Kurlansky's book:

The Basque History of the World: The Story of a Nation

Language Differences Between Spain and Basque Country

Iberiar Penintsulan bizirik dirauen erromatarren aurreko hizkuntza bakarra da euskara. Gutxitze prozesu gogorra jasan du, etenik gabe lurraldeak eta hiztunak galduz. Nafarroa Garaian bereziki, prozesu hori nabarmena da. XIX. mendearen bukaeran eta XX. mendearen hasieran, hainbat intelektual eta politikariren eraginez (Arturo Kanpion, Sabino Arana...) nolabait biziberritu zen, abertzaletasunari estuki loturik. Frankismoan (1936-1977) jazarpen latza pairatu ondoren, XX. mendearen erdialdetik aurrera hasi da indartzen, idatzizko estandarizazioari dagokionean, batez ere.

For those of you who do not read euskara, above is a very brief explanation of the Basque language. Euskara is a pre-Roman language meaning that it has been in existence since before 218 B.C. The language went through a period where it began to lose its speakers but then came a handful of people and politicians like: Mark Kurlansky, Arturo Kanpion and Sabino Arana, that helped to preserved the language. Also, Basque nationalism plays a role in allowing the language to see so many centuries. The language has courageously stood its ground especially in respects to standardizing the written language.

Spanish is derived from Latin brought to the Iberian Peninsula by the Romans. Here is the Spanish alphabet:

The book written by Mark Kurlansky that got him recognized in the Basque hall of fame.

Post Source:http://www.omniglot.com/writing/basque.htmhttp://linguistics.byu.edu/classes/ling450ch/reports/spanish.html

This is a link to the sound file of the first paragraph of this post:

http://www.omniglot.com/soundfiles/basque/smp_basque.mp3

A Thirty minute YouTube Clip

There are many more videos of the same nature on YouTube. Check it out!

Quote from Empire & Terror: Nationalism/Postnationalism in the New Millennium

“A text like I Rigoberta Menchú, similarly forces us to recognize that the participation of indigenous groups in the armed struggle in Guatemala was directed in part against, or to limit, their proletarianization and acculturation/transculturation. As Menchú herself has explained numerous occasions, this is not exactly the same thing as a rejection of modernity or science and technology, s it is sometimes made out to be by her critics; rather, it is an insistence that modernity come on terms that are acceptable to indigenous groups. Ideologically, therefore, their struggle required an affirmation of indigenous “identity”: values, languages, customs, dress, and territoriality (especially crucial in this regard is the defense of communal land rights)."

More History!

            The Basques are an old people with a long history.  The Basque people go so far back, that they are considered to have different genetic makeup than the Europeans that surround them, especially the Spanish.  The Basque people have been found to have different blood type percentages.  The Basques have the highest percentage of rhesus-negative blood in Europe at 25%.  Additionally, the Basques have a one of the highest percentages of type O blood.[1]  However, it does not seem correct to say that the Basques are of a different race.

People of the Basque Country have come to witness and experience many exciting times in history, yet are rarely incorporated into textbooks.  For example, in the time of exploration, one of the 17 men who survived Magellan’s first trip around the world was a Basque man named Juan Sebastian Elcano.[2]  Similarly, when Europe started to employ the printing press, so did the Basques, printing books in their own language as early as 1545.[3]  Speaking of language, the fact that Basque cannot be related to any other language that is still spoken on the planet, further supports the ancientness of the Basque people and culture. 

The Basque people were around at critical times in Spain’s history, including the marriage of Isabella and Ferdinand in 1469 which united the country,[4] and the Civil War in the late 1930’s which tore the country apart.[5]  They, in fact, have been around for longer than Spain itself. 

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[1] Trask, Larry. "FAQs About Basque and the Basquesby Larry Trask." FAQs About Basque and the Basques by Larry Trask. Ontario Basque Club, 23 Aug. 1996. Web. 27 Feb. 2013.

[2] Juanma62. "Famous Basque People Throughout History." Timetoast. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Feb. 2013.

[3] Juanma62

[4] "Isabella I of Castile." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 24 Feb. 2013. Web. 27 Feb. 2013.

[5] "Spanish Civil War." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 27 Feb. 2013. Web. 27 Feb. 2013.

¡En Una Nota Más Sabrosa!

Cangrejo Cacerola Vasco: Basque Crab Casserole

una receta de tienda.com

"This delicious dish could be made with any crab meat, though on the Basque coasts, the spider crab is used. The crab meat and sauce are then returned to the crab shell for a final pass under the flame. Because a single crab yields so little meat, it is not unusual to augment it with another kind of fish."

Raciones/Servings: 4

Tiempo de Preparación/Prep Time: 20 minutos/ minutes

Tiempo de cocción/Cook Time: 1 hora/ hour

Ingredientes/Ingredients

• 4 cangrejo o una libra fresca o carne de cangrejo en conserva/ 4 spider crabs or 1 lb. fresh or canned crab meat
• 11 onzas de pescado blanco cocido y desmenuzado/ 11 oz. of white fish cooked and flaked
• 4 cucharadas de aceite de oliva/ 4 tbs. of olive oil
• Una cebolla picada finamente/ 1 onion finely chopped
• La mitad de una taza de Brandy de Jerez/ 1/2 cup pf Brandy de Jerez
• Una taza de sofrito o salsa de tomate/ 1 cup of sofrito or tomato sauce
• 5 onzas de vino blanco/ 5 fluid ounces of white wine
• una pizca de cayena/ A pinch of cayenne
• sal y pimienta/ salt and pepper
• una taza de perejil picado/ 1 cup chopped parsley
• 4 cucharadas de pan rallado/ 4 tbs. of fine bread crumbs
• Una cucharada de mantequilla / 1 tbs. of butter

Preparación/ Preparation

Poner  los cangrejos vivos en agua salada tibia. Llevarlos lentamente a ebullición y dejar hervir por 15 minutos. Escurrir y dejar hasta que esté lo suficientemente frío. Hacer palanca en las conchas y reservarlas, limpiadas y engrasadas, para usarlas como cacerolas. Descartar las gaviotas esponjosas y el estómago de los cangrejos, pero guardar el líquido de la cáscara. Sacar la suave, carne oscura y carne blanca escamosa. Romper las piernas con un mazo y extraer la carne. En una sartén o cazuela calentar el aceite y saltear la cebolla hasta que se ablande. Agregar la carne de cangrejo y el pescado desmenuzado cocido a la sartén. Calentar el brandy en un cazo de sopa encender y verter sobre el cangrejo. Cuando las llamas se apagan, añadir la salsa de tomate, vino, cayena, sal, pimienta y perejil. Cocinar por 15 minutos añadiendo líquido reservado poco, si es necesario para diluir la salsa. Verter la mezcla en las cáscaras de cangrejo o en 4 moldes engrasados. Espolvorear el pan rallado en las puntas, untar con mantequilla y poner en la parrilla caliente o en un horno precalentado hasta que las tapas estén doradas; por cinco minutos.

Put the live crabs into tepid salted water. Bring them slowly to a boil and boil for 15 minutes. Drain and leave till cool enough to handle. Pry off the shells and reserve them, cleaned and oiled, for use as casseroles. From the crabs, discard the spongy gills and stomach, but save any liquid from the shell. Scoop out the soft, dark meat and flaky white meat. Crack the legs with a mallet and extract the meat. In a frying pan or cazuela heat the oil and saute the onion until softened. Add the crab meat and flaked cooked fish to the pan. Heat the brandy in a soup ladle, ignite it and pour over the crab. When the flames die down, add the tomato sauce, wine, cayenne, salt, pepper, and parsley. Cook for 15 minutes, adding a little reserved liquid if needed to thin the sauce. Spoon the mixture into the crab shells or into 4 oiled ramekins. Sprinkle the tops with the bread crumbs, dot them with butter, and put under a hot grill or into a preheated hot oven until the tops are browned, about 5 minutes.

http://www.tienda.com/recipes/crabcasserole.html

Recipe courtesy of Spain GourmeTour magazine.

ETA and Basque Nationalism

            The ETA is the main group that is fighting for Basque independence.  ETA stands for Euzkadi/Euskadi ta Askatasuna, which means Basque Homeland and Freedom in the language of Basque.  They are “an organization employing armed struggle in the name of the Basque nationalism” movement.[1]  The group was founded in 1959, and is seen today as a leftist terrorist group.  The main goal of the ETA is to liberate the Basque people from both Spain and France.  Based on their history of bombings and kidnappings, it seems as though the group is willing to be extreme in their fight for freedom.  The group has been held responsible for nearly 1000 deaths in the past several decades.  Additionally, the ETA has used kidnapping, especially of important political figures, as a way to intimidate and send their message.  One of the less violent tools that the ETA uses to further separate the Basque people from the surrounding cultures is to encourage people to practice the Basque culture and to value it.  This way, they can empower their culture.

            In October of 2010, a ceasefire was declared by the ETA, which was made permanent in January of 2011.  The countries that consider the ETA to be a terrorist group (which includes a few European countries as well as the United States) are hopeful that this ceasefire will lead to dissolution of the ETA and eventually to an end of problems surrounding the Basque people. 

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[1]  Watson, Cameron. Basque Nationalism and Political Violence: The Ideological and Intellectual Origins of ETA. Reno, NV: Center for Basque Studies, University of Nevada, Reno, 2007. Print.  Page 15.

"ETA." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 26 Feb. 2013. Web. 27 Feb. 2013.

Spanish Laws Regarding the Basque People

            Although the Basque Country formally is in both Spain and France, for the sake of simplicity, we here will only be focusing on the laws that the Spanish have regarding the Basque people.  The Basque Country has existed in Spain even before Spain itself was an official country.  One of the most detrimental laws to the Basque people as a whole was the Spanish Supreme Court decision to ban the creation of a Basque political party.  This was done due to fear of the extremist ETA group taking power in the government.[1] 

            One of the peaceful attempts that the Basque people made to develop their own laws was the “Plan Ibarretxe,” which would allow the Basque people to govern themselves.  They would gain control of their judicial, economic, labor and social systems.  The Spanish government would be left to control defense and national security.  Obviously, the Basque Parliament passed the plan, but the Spanish Parliament did not.  There is currently work being done to have the Plan Ibarretxe passed through the Spanish Parliament at a later time.[2]

            There have been many attempts made to create peace between the Basque and the Spanish.  These attempts include the Madrid Pact, the Lizarra Agreement, and the Antiterrorist Pact.  These agreements were created with the goal of fighting terrorism, especially that of the ETA.  Although each individual pact may not have been effective, they have become more effective together, as time has passed.[3]

            It seems as though the Spanish government has no plans in the future to free the Basque people and to make them independent.  Regardless, the people of the Basque Country will continue to fight for their freedom, probably employing both peace and violence tactics.    

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[1] Hedgecoe, Guy. "Sortu and ETA: Basque Politics, Spanish Law | OpenDemocracy."Sortu and ETA: Basque Politics, Spanish Law | OpenDemocracy. OpenDemocracy, 8 Apr. 2011. Web. 27 Feb. 2013.

[2] "Http://www.globalmajority.org." Http://www.globalmajority.org. Global Majority, n.d. Web. 27 Feb. 2013.

[3]Global Majority

Cultural Differances

The Basque people do not consider themselves to be a part of Spanish culture.  They are seen as separate and mysterious, with an entirely different language and culture. 

Some of the most prominent differences between Spanish and Basque culture are in arts and music, language, sports, and food.  Music in the Basque Country involves singing as a choir, playing of the tambourine, drums, tixistu (flute) and txalaparta (xylophone.)  When it comes to art, working with metals, especially gold and silver, has been practiced for a long time.  Additionally, work with leather and fabric is valued.  Basque sports focus on demonstrating strength ability through exercises such as stone lifting and dragging as well as log cutting.  Because of the Basque’s long history will boat constuction, longboat regatta races are also popular for sport.  Basque cuisine is heavy with seafood, including cod, bream, hake and squid.  Besides seafood, the Basque people prepare a lot of stews, especially with lamb, steak, mushrooms and beans.  There is a tradition in the Basque County called “txikiteos,” which involves eating pintxos (similar to hors d’oevres) and drinking tixikitos (wine) at different locations throughout the night.  However, the most obvious difference between the Spanish people and the Basque people is their language.  While Castilian Spanish is spoken throughout the rest of the country, the Basque language is extremely dissimilar.  

Spain's View of Basque Country

The Basque Country is located in northern Spain, and the views of the Basque people held by those who live in Spain can vary greatly.   Some Spaniards tend to view the Basque people as “’hot-headed…extremists [who] turn to bullets, bombs, and grenades.[1]’”  This belief is understandable, considering the violence experienced by some Spaniards as a result of Basque nationalism.  Many see no benefit in keeping the Basque country as a part of Spain, while others wish to keep the country as it is.  A Spanish nationalist, for example, might believe that Spain is “’better off’ without the Basques.[2]”  In this case, however dreaded the word “nationalist” may be, they are considered to be anyone who supports unity in Spain.  There is no doubt that the country of Spain would be changed if the Basque Country were to become independent.  Some nationalists believe that no matter what happens, even the defeat of the ETA, that there is no way that the Basque nationalists will ever stop fighting for autonomy.  The views of the Basque people by the Spanish vary, especially considering how the situation should be dealt with.  Will it be better off for everyone if the Basque are allowed to become independent, or will that make the already fragile Spanish economy even more shaky?  Is the conflict between the two groups as a result of cultural differences or political? 

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[1] Watson, Cameron. Basque Nationalism and Political Violence: The Ideological and Intellectual Origins of ETA. Reno, NV: Center for Basque Studies, University of Nevada, Reno, 2007. Print. Page 16.

[2] Aretxaga, Begoña. Empire & Terror: Nationalism/postnationalism in the New Millennium. Reno: Center for Basque Studies, University of Nevada, 2004. Print. Page 138.

Proposal

This first post is just some background information on the region itself. Basque Country is region in the North eastern part of Spain and a bit of Southwestern France.

This next picture is a photo of Bilbao with is a city within Basque Country. I found this picture on insidersabroad.com within their article entitled "Basque Country (Bilbao)".

Politically, this region is divided into three chambers: the Basque Autonomous Community and the other two residing in Spain. The Basque Autonomous Community and Navarre (a province within the community) have created separate administrative systems where as the third province of Basque Country, Aquitaine the portion within France, does not. For non-states, the Basque Autonomous Community and Navarre, have the highest of self-governance in the European Union. 

Basque Country has a population of 3 million people. It spans 7,970,656 square miles and due to the clashing of political differences between Basque Country and Spain much violence has occurred in the region. "This history of violent confrontation has left a lasting impression of resentment in the collective memory of many 

Basques" (USIP.org).