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Unpredictable ETA smashes peace hopes in Basque region
By Sinikka Tarvainen Jan 3, 2007, 14:16 GMT
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Older Talkback
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Why nobody points how little the spanish government is doing to help to a peaceful resolution of the conflict?
There is no political way out, all basque political parties that could serve as a presure valve for independentists get banned one after the other, the only way for the spanish is to introduce more police, army, guardia civil. Have they not learnt that that's not the way?, is 38 years not enough?
ETA started a peace time unilaterally, for the politicians in Madrid ETA is too much of a political ball to let it go, so nobody put their weight on it, they'll never support a peace process.
And, the bottom line is, ETA is claiming the right of the Basque people to decide its future and have a referendum where basque people can vote if they want to be with Spain or not, is that a terrorist threat? or just a democratic right?
There is a peaceful way out but Spain doesn't like that option.
I lived with a Basque family a few years ago while learning Spanish in San Sebastian. The people everywhere were wonderful to an old if not ancient American. La Senora was very 'Basque' but her husband, a retired accountant, was more pragmatic about the political situation. It certainly saddens all of us who love the people and the country-Basque and Spain-that this conflict can endure as it has in Ireland until enough people must die. God bless up every one
ETA has been a plague on spanish society for decades now. Their concept of independence will never happen, nor should it. If there is anything to know about Spain, it is that each province is unique. Almost every province has their own language, heritage, and culture. Each one claims to be somewhat superior. But the only real difference between the Basque country and the rest of the provinces is that it has gotten greedy with its own autonomy. No other province in Spain gets the benefits that Bilbao recieves. Do not get me wrong, I love Bilbao, but this bull has gone on too long. Spain can't afford to loose the Basque area. If it did, the domino affect would hit Catalonia next...then Valencia...then Galicia. The only thing Madrid would be able to hold on to would be Real, Castilla, and Aragon.
I say no more sympathy for ETA and more for the PSOE. Unite Spain, do not divide.
Carlos
http://www.myspace.com/mrbaki
Actually It is likely that an early form of the Basque language was already present in Western Europe before the arrival of the Indo-European languages, which means that in a sense the Basque culture can claim one of the longest unbroken traditions on the continent. Most scholars see Basque as a language isolate. Consequently, its prehistory cannot be reconstructed by means of the comparative method, and little is known of its origins.
Latin inscriptions in Aquitania preserve a number of words with cognates in proto-Basque, for instance the personal names Nescato and Cison (neskato and gizon mean 'girl' and 'man' respectively in modern Basque[1]). This proposed language is called 'Aquitanian' and was presumably spoken before the Romans brought Latin to the western Pyrenees. Roman neglect of this hinterland allowed Aquitanian Basque to survive while the Iberian and Tartessian languages died out. Basque did come to acquire some Latin vocabulary, both before and after the Latin of the area developed into Gascon (a branch of Occitan) and Navarrese Romance.
Given that the genetic border between Basque and Gascon country is more diffuse than that of Basque and Castilian country, it is commonly assumed that the Basques' origin was in Aquitaine and that they migrated southward. [citation needed]
In June 2006, archaeologists at the site of Iruńa-Veleia discovered an epigraphic set with a series of 270 Basque inscriptions and drawings from the third century. [1] Some of the words and phrases found were 'urdin' (blue), 'zuri' (white), 'gori' (red), 'edan' (drink) 'ian' (eat), 'lo' (sleep), 'Iesus, Iose ata ta Mirian ama' (Jesus, the father Joseph and the mother Mary), and 'Geure ata zutan' (Our father in you). Further analysis of this discovery could show that the Basque language is more stable than previously thought.
Leo I read your post and its good to see you know how to copy and paste. I have heard this nonsense before and I am sure I will read it again soon. I stated earlier that each province in Spain is unique. Just because their language has no influence of Latin doesn’t mean they are not Spanish. For hundreds of years have the Basque been under the rule of Spain. Each province has locals who believe that their province should be sovereign. My argument is that ETA has become a problem that needs to stop. The Basque people already experience more independence than any other province. This is causing hostility and jealously from other provinces. There is no reason to destroy Spain because their language was not affected by Latin. Should Indian people in the USA regain independence because their language was not affected by Anglo-Europeans? What nonsense. The idea of a Basque Country is not only a dangerous idea, it should be considered criminal. This is from someone who has family there. And by the way, being the Bilbao and surrounding cities are heavy industry areas; the population comes largely from other parts of Spain...because it is Spain.
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