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Bilbao; the rhythm of terrorism
National Review, Dec 5, 1986
BILBAO
The Rhythm of Terrorism
Recent escalations of Basque terrorism may come to threaten the structure of the 11-year-old Spanish democracy. The Basques have for centuries inhabited this part of Spain and certain adjoining frontier districts of France over the Pyrenees. They speak their own language, whose origin is unknown. The Basques call their homeland Euskadi, and claim it comprises seven Spanish provinces, including Navarre. Three of these provinces were given an autonomous parliament by the central government seven years ago. But Basque nationalists say this is not enough. For a while, most Basque nationalists were willing to negotiate peacefully with Spanish premier Felipe Gonzalez. But with partial recognition of Basque claims, as the rhythm of terrorism works, the extreme wing of Basque nationalism has increasingly taken control. Its terrorist arm, the ETA, has been able to mount some impressive attacks of late, especially bombings of the armed forces and the police in Madrid, who, in turn, have reacted sharply to the rising level of violence. Basque political leadership has passed to the radical party Herri Batasuna ("A People United'), and its green, yellow, and white colors are splashed over public buildings and industrial structures throughout Basque territory. The party captured 200,000 votes in recent legislative elections in Navarre, but its five seats in the Cortes remain empty because it does not recognize the jurisdiction of the central government. Herri Batasuna's program calls for practical independence, including the withdrawal of all Spanish troops and police from the Basque provinces. The Spanish authorities' task of containment has been made easier of late by a change in the attitude of the French government, which now actively cooperates in combatting terrorist activity, arresting refugee Basques and returning them across the frontier. Basque nationalists, however, paraded ostentatiously in the smart seaside resort of St. Jean de Luz recently, reminding the French that there are also militant Basques among them.
COPYRIGHT 1986 National Review, Inc.
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