No one expected as all the polls showed PP as winners for the latest elections but the post-Francoists lost them. Joy? Absolutely! After their subtle but brutal repression in the Basque Country, after the Galician oil spill scandal (cahapapote), after their servilism with Bush in the Gulf war with the Madrid bombings as a consequence…. Totally deserved! Bt mainly because of their arrogance and pretentiousness: after 2 terms in government and consolidating from small majority to almost absolute majority, PP politicians developed this –as it’s called in Madrid- chulería.
our dead
This arrogance is not just evident in the actions that they pursue but in the way of treating other people from journalists to union representatives, etc. it’s a luck for us who live abroad not to have to see them. For an example last Thursday’s interviews in the BBC news of PP foreign minister Ana Palacio. It was then when she was asked about the possibilities of being an Islamist group the one behind the 11-3 bombings.
Before the presenter started the question and right till the end of the question, the lady put on a smile on her face like saying ‘how can you be such an idiot!’, ‘are you taking the pess or what’, ‘are you questioning my information? Are you questioning that it was ETA?’. No surprise that the attack had such an effect on them because apart from hiding information with an obvious purpose, these beaurocrats treat people as idiots.
As I said before, reasons to be cheerful, but we don’t expect much new from PSOE. Reasons to be cheerful because we imagine Mariano Rajoy sobbing, Michavilla, Acebes, Cascos, Oreja, Trillo punching the desks, swearing, Palacio, Botella, eating their hats, humiliated… at least something is something. But from PSOE what to expect? Myself I don’t expect anything from this system: we all know what happens to those who promised things in the elections, what happens when you hold power, what happens when you sit in a throne, … and nowadays in this world of globalisation when you meet the president of the USA, the president of the corporation X, etc. Easy top be in opposition and find something to be against the party in government such the Iraq War – to be distinguished from the Gulf War (1991). Wasn’t PSOe then the ones who backed the USA? Does anyone remember the outrage when they sent a ship with conscripts soldiers to he Gulf?
PSOE’s disgraceful early past
Watching the news last night, all those so-called ‘political analysts’ an I thought for myself: who gives you such title? Where have you been formed? The latest PSOE government failed in 1996 (when PP took over power) – not that long ago. And this is a country that for more than 20 years has been very relevant in European politics… However, no one of those analysts making previsions of what to expect from this new PSOE government made any allusions to the previous PSOE governments (4 terms!). What to expect from a PSOE government? More of the same.
And now, after the bombing, there’ll be a gesture to bring the Spanish soldiers back (perhaps) but if this happens, this will be totally symbolic: PSOE will continue being a faithful pet dog for the USAmerican imperialism. They don’t remember PSOE’s collaboration in the Gulf War, do they remember how PSOE sold out Spain to the USA? PSOE’s ‘progressist socialist’ policies included the refusal to be part of NATO (1982 electoral manifesto). Since the dictatorship, USA had had a great presence in Spain: bases, bombing training camps and nuclear power companies. A referendum took place in 1986. PSOE twisted the content of it to enter the Treaty and in 1996 passed a law to change it. the result was 52.6 % for and 39.8 % against. In the Basque Country the majority was against – an issue always used to reclaim independence. In 1996, Solana, the PSOE minister who wrote the 50 points not to enter NATO, was named NATO president, post that he’s still on! comprehensive article on the matter in the Emperor’s Clothes: 
http://www.emperors-clothes.com/articles/javier/solnato
By A. Burgos
You expect them to learn from mistakes and from their own experience but as soon as they’re there they start to find the most comfortable position in the throne and forget about what they said the day before. We expect Mr Zapatero remembers how PP lost the government, by manipulating and abusing their powers while in government. Obviously PP didn’t remember that that was how they got to power 7 years ago when they were voted in because of PSOE’s corruption scandals and their involvement with the para-militaries (talking of arrogants: do you remember Barrionuevo? Corcuera? As I said: ‘same dog different collars”).
What to expect from PSOE in the Basque Country? The radical separatists groups have already ask Rodriguez Zapatero to negotiate with ETA. It’s worth to try. However Zapatero was very close to PP in anti-terrorist policies and therefore in the means to solve the problem in the Basque Country: repression. PP’s policies of persecuting the Basque independentist scene has been a blatant violation of democratic rights, with a terrible toll of innocents detained, tortured and imprisoned, papers and other media close, parties illegalised and property seized – the levels of persecution have produced same effect in the Basque population: fear and anguish. However, as I said before, these policies are not but the alternative to the para-military program used by PSOE in previous government. This policy created a conflict between judicial and executive powers with the prosecution of some of those involved in the cases. PP collaborated with that kind of repression by not opposing it while in opposition. PSOE had already abandoned it when cases started to be investigated and people tried. PP’s new government just moved on. The laws passed by them (Parties law, Minor law, Squat Law, prisoners Law, Victims of Terrorism Law) will be there for PSOE to put them into practice too. See what is the change.
Aznar = Zapatero - different faces, same bullshit
Madrid’s bombing and reasons to change the vote
What is interesting is to see how people reacted to the bombing interpretating as a consequence of PP’s foreign policies and punishing them, and how this won’t happen with the Basque conflict. PP (as PSOE did while in power) benefits from ETA’s attacks. We obviously have here the concept of ‘España’, its indivisibility and the incapacity for Spaniards to come to terms with any territorial lost, but: why people don’t think that the government’s attitude towards the Basque Conflict means a situation of insecurity and pain? Is it that part of the population realise that on Sunday’s vote? At less, this is not one of the causes presented by the ‘political analysts’. But I’m sure there’ll be part of it, because for first time and in a disproportional measure, Spanish citizens have witness how the Spanish government uses ETA’s ‘terrorism’ and how they manipulate the media launching campaigns, distorting information and bombing with their own versions (lies).
In the aftermath of 11st March this was blatant: despite information from many sources and countries (USA, UK) and the denial by Basque separatists Batasuna and ETA itself the day after, PP decided to ignore it for its own benefit –as it was proved before, bombing by Islamist would mean to be a consequence of their military collaboration in the Iraq war. They decided to play the ETA card and saturate the info about ETA. Even the demo for the day after and the government posters for the demo day had a un-confoundable message: ‘For the constitution’ and allusion to the attempts by Basque nationalists (and therefore ETA too) to challenge the Spanish unity that the Constitution is guarantor.
PP’s media intoxication
But how many debates Spanish people have witnessed calling all kinds of names to Basque separatists and Basques in general, how many intoxication campaigns, media manoeuvres to frame political activists, journalists, etc, not to realise of the degree of manipulation. As I said: perhaps this was the last straw which made Spanish react against it or realise that they live in a world of misinformation (like many other in this world!).
This manipulation has criticized by foreign journalists who perhaps weren’t used to the Spanish government habits of providing the content for the news (I guess they were there just to cover the bombings or the elections). the Foreign Journalists Circle made public its outrage trough their president Steven Adolf from (El País). He represented a total of 70 journalists who were phoned by the PP government advising them to declare ETA as the author of the bombings. They were given 3 reasons: that no one had claim them, that ETA never warns before its actions and that the explosive was the same one used by ETA (false). This phone call was already made after the police had evidence of Islamist involvement.
Our dead (Galego)
The Spanish media reported similar action from the PP government, with phonecalls made to radios and papers. The television news were controlled by their presenter Alfrero Urdaci (PP) with the version of ETA as only possible author. While the slogan most heard in the demos was ‘Who was it?’, TVE news just showed the anti- ETA banners. While all the TV emission was stopped to leave room for the bombing information, once the Islamists were arrested this stopped from happening.
Then there were the demos outside PP offices which were disperssed by anti-riot police – what a paradox: some demos are encouraged and even PP leaders attend them to hold the banner and others are dispersed with batons! Once again, PP manipulated the information accusing PSOE of being organising them. The private TVs and radios showed their nature too: all of them belong to the PP circle. From these media, in the night of the 12th March Radio Ser was attacked too for JUST informing about what was going on. From those TV’s, workers from Antena 3 came out to speak out about the manipulation taking place in this TV’s News. Of course, they had to hide their identities for fear of repression – the other side of the ‘terrorism’ some people have experienced under PP’s government.
Two Basques killed – the effect of the media intoxication in the Basque Country
Such intoxication campaign would have a terrible effect in the Basque Country where society is getting more and more polarised. On the Friday after the bombing, relatives of Basque prisoners where demonstrating for prisoners rights in the Txantrea housing state (Iruña/Pamplona). When the police turned up to disperse them. No need to say that in the last years of PP’s government even demands as independence or human rights have been met with the most brutal repression – the following days would bring more examples of this fuelled by the anti-ETA media bombardment. During the dispersion of that demo the police threatened to killed the attendants by gunshot.
The day after a baker Anjel Barrueta was killed in another area of the same city. The baker, a father of two teenagers imprisoned for participating in riots, had refused to put up an anti-ETA poster in his premises (perhaps due to his beliefs but also to the media intoxication campaign that like any other Basque he was victim too). His kids are victim of a PP new law too, passed in January 2000 to treat minors as adults and to apply the anti-terrorist law to them like members of ETA too. Following this, the woman’s husband, a policeman and bodyguard for one of the most anti-Basque Navarran politicians Del Burgo (UPN – PP Navarran branch) killed the baker with 3 gunshots. His son also took part and apparently he had stabbed the baker. They were arrested by –obviously- his own mates – in these circumstances in the Basque Country everyone expects they will have a different treatment.
On the same day, funerals and homages were organised in the morgue, but the Spanish police demonstrated again the different treatment in this democracy: the attendants were dispersed by anti-riot police. This was someone who wasn’t a criminal! A victim, a killed person! These were people crying his death! How come such lack of respect, such hatred! Basque history is covered with similar situations: the funeral of Joseba Asensio killed in prison, the ones of German Rodriguez killed by the police, the ones of Lasa & Zabala killed by para-militaries in the very cemetery of their hometown Tolosa after years of unknowing their bodies’ whereabouts.
On the day after a woman Kontxi Sanchiz died in Hernani in a demonstration for Iruña/ Pamplona’s baker. The woman was terrorised when the beltzas (the feared Basque anti-riot police) charged against the demonstrators. The woman suffered a heart attack. Her daughter ask the police for help but both were ignored. ‘Bost axola’ (‘I don’t give a toss’) told the policeman in Basque to the women! This shows the role of the Hertzantza (Basque police) as forces supporting the Spanish government and with no mercy for other Basques. Which treatment is this when everyone demonstrates for people killed in a bombing and people are battered for doing the same thing for someone else? The double standards of Spanish ‘democracy’ in the Basque Country. In 1998 Rosa Zarra (58) was killed by –also- a Hertzantza rubber bullet.
On 15th march there were barricades raised in Iruña/Pamplona and the police charged against every attempt of demonstration. Four people were arrested. In the night a pub in the area of the killed baker was raided and people arrested too.
The elections in the Basque Country
PP had the same results that in the rest of the state loosing votes that PSOE gained. However, the Basque nationalist parties from the liberal PNV and EA to the radical Aralar and Zutik, gained similar percentage than in previous elections. However, it’s believed that Batasuna would increase its votes if they were considered: as in past regional elections, Batasuna’s supporters voted blank in order to figure out support levels. The blank votes increased by 7% past ones adding a total of 120.000. This is an interesting data as it was predicted that many of Batasuna’s votes would go to Aralar-Zutik as only way of making the votes being countable. This data is important too if we take in considering the level of intoxication and the bad press that ‘armed struggle’ gained due to the Madrid action.
Now we just have to wait and see if PSOE reconsiders Batasuna’s illegalisation and takes in consideration its proved solid backing in Euskal Herria to consider a negotiated solution for the conflict. As I stated before, I think it will be to much to expect, but lets be hopeful.
On the other hand, Aralar-Zutik gained 38319 votes, and the coalition they were part of with other Basque parties for Navarre 60645, which means one MP. ERC (Catalonian Republican Left) despite being victim of another PP and media campaign related to ETA’s decision to declare a cease-fire for Catalonia gained 649999 votes, turning it into a force to be taken in consideration.
ETA’s valuation
ETA sent a valuation on the day after the elections. In this communiqué the Basque organised criticized the interested way of dealing with the bombings by PP. ETA stated that PP’s eight year government didn’t achieved its goals against ETA. That PP’s government was ‘arrogant’ before the Basque conflict and the armed organization and from day one refused ETA’s proposals for negotiating (1 week ceasefire) plus a 15 months general ceasefire (September 1998 to December 1999). ETA said that PP’s legacy is a Spain in war: ‘PP chose to put the Basque conflict in the international arena. Among the benefits that Aznar expected in exchange to his faithful collaboration and submission to the USA, they expected to end with the ‘Basque
coup d'état attempt by PP
by ma
17 Mar 2004
(from EH Indymedia)
Spanish Radio Ser published information about a meeting of PP which took place on the day before Sunday’s electionsfor writing communiqués to be signed by Spanish king Juan Carlos de Borbón. In those communiqués PP proposed to declare an ‘emergency state’ (aka coup d'état) and to delay the electoral process. It would sound very crazy thing to say, but this is something PP has suggested once and again for the Basque Country – regarding the conflict to implement the illegalisation of Batasuna due to the Basque regional government to apply the Parties Law, with the presentation of the Ibarretxe Plan, after ETA’s actions, etc.
This is something tat is considered too in case Basques declare themselves independent as this would violate the article 2 of the Spanish Constitution (regarding the SWDW and the 8.1 which declares the army as the guarantor of this unity). And in the same Constitution the article 116 states the State of Exception as an option for ‘general alarm’ which it could be applied to this situation.
Within this proposal there were to plans, one to delay the elections until the autumn and another one for 2 months. This was taken to the Central Election Department. Acording to Radio Ser minister Acebes took the proposal to the king but he refused to sign it. On the other hand the national Police refuse to disperse the demos which were taken place round the country aiming at the PP. PP give up the plan. There was a media meeting as well where the different TVs, radios and papers decided not to disclose this information. This meeting was very polemical.
[article.homepage.prefix]: http://www.euskalinfo.org.uk