Catalan vote seen as boosting Basque peace chances in Spain

By Sinikka Tarvainen Jun 19, 2006, 14:36 GMT

Madrid - The approval of greater autonomy for the northeastern Spanish region of Catalonia was seen Monday as a victory for Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, boosting his chances of ending separatist violence in the nearby Basque region.

The opposition conservatives, however, threw down a vehement challenge to Zapatero, claiming that his decentralization policies were disempowering the state and pledging to take their case to the Constitutional Court.

Nearly 74 per cent of Catalan voters backed a reformed autonomy statute in Sunday's referendum.

The charter indirectly recognizes the wealthy region of 6.8 million people as a nation, increasing its powers especially in the financial and judicial areas.

Several commentators regarded the result as a victory for Zapatero, who described decentralization as bringing 'progress and well-being' to a Spain united by the constitution.

The conservative Popular Party (PP) sought to discredit the entire referendum because of the low voter turnout of just under 50 per cent.

PP leader Mariano Rajoy described the Catalan reform as Zapatero's 'personal project' which would 'liquidate constitutional Spain.'

'Spain is not breaking up, but it is shading off in a subtle way, little by little, until one day it will no longer exist as such,' commentator Casimiro Garcia-Abadillo wrote in the conservative daily El Mundo.

The Catalan reform was linked with the situation in the Basque region, which already has greater autonomy than Catalonia will now get.

Basque strivings for more self-government have nevertheless taken more extreme forms than in Catalonia, with the armed separatist group ETA killing more than 800 people since 1968.

Increasingly marginalized, the group has not staged fatal attacks since 2003 and declared a permanent ceasefire in March.

Zapatero is now preparing to launch peace talks with ETA amid strong criticism from the conservatives who fear that the government will pay a 'political price' for peace.

The government does not intend to discuss Basque self- determination directly with ETA, but has indicated willingness to extend Basque autonomy in an attempt to persuade nationalist parties to give up the dream of independence.

The easy passing of the Catalan reform was expected to help Zapatero gather support for the Basque peace process, which he was to announce later this month.

The Basques and Catalans were granted special status as 'historic nationalities' after the end of the dictatorship of General Francisco Franco in 1975.

Others among Spain's 17 semiautonomous regions are also seeking more self-government, including southern Andalusia, northwestern Galicia and the Balearic and Canary Islands.

A new autonomy statute has already been approved for the eastern Valencia region.

Conservative warnings that the state is breaking up have stirred unrest in the military, with several officers criticizing the Catalan reform.

Ground forces chief Jose Mena was sacked earlier this year for suggesting that the army could intervene to defend the constitution.

Such talk reminds the Basques and Catalans of Franco, who banned their regional languages and repressed all striving for autonomy.

The Catalan vote was seen by local analysts as indicating that fears of the state disintegrating were unfounded.

Two parties had called for a no-vote: the conservatives and the relatively small separatist party ERC, for which the new charter did not grant Catalonia enough self-government.

By backing a moderate increase in autonomy, voters rejected both extremes: the 'alarmism' of the PP and the radicalism of the ERC, commentators said.