Daavon's Blog

The End is Near

daavon — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 14:24:50 +0000

As this will be my last post, I have a lot to reflect on. I have learned entirely too much on the subject of ETA, but there truly is a lot to learn about the topic. I came to this blog only with the knowledge I’d acquired in High School and with the little bit I’d learned in Spain (Viva España!). My first impressions were that it was just a petty group without my reasoning for their cause but to wage war and terrorize. But behind every terrorist group, it seems, there is an underlying meaning that they don’t believe can be solved in any other manner but to terrorize a country’s citizens and fight against a country’ government. So what is ETA’s main reasoning for this battle that in the beginning seemed completely unable to be one? The simple truth of it all is supremacism.

In the beginning it was a way to rebel and say, “Hey, we’re not part of Spain. We are vascos.” But what is a vasco? According to a statistic I found on Wikipedia, 60 percent of the population of the Basque Region understand and speak well Euskera, the language of indigenous Basque people. It is a language with no relation to any other language, completely original to them, so of course they should take pride in it, but what is the legacy worth? Terrorizing thousands—maybe even hundreds of thousands—of people, killing over 800 in their forty years of terror… What will appease their hunger for recognition?

They have actually already successfully gotten most of what they wanted. The Basque Region is the most independent of all the autonomies of the Central Government in Spain. They have their own governing body and are affected almost minimally by some of the legislation passed for the country. They say they want to insure that their Race and language will live on, and, in order to do so, they need to be fully independent, making the other 40% of the Basque region without any concrete knowledge of this language only spoken in one true geographical region alienated: left to the dogs. Supremacy in our day and age has no true place. We have been able to see through the centuries that the degradation of people who are not an elite race is not a good thing: slavery, the Holocaust, Holy wars. Where and when will it end?

I understand the importance of maintaining a legacy, but as the Basque people, the true Basque people do have most of what they requested already, why continue fighting against the government that has already given you so much? Is it because the terror industry, and yes I say industry, is a very lucrative one and they are afraid of stopping because they make so much money from it? I’m sure that has something to do with it. I will give them that it is honorable to fight for something you strongly believe in, but if it is at the price of the welfare of others, how can it be worth it?

Things are changing. Luckily with the new leadership of lehendakari Patxi López, there is hope for a more peaceful Spain. A Spain without violence from ETA. His leadership is taking the steps needed to end this reign of terror. For, although it is not reported in the United States to thoroughly, this group has a pretty powerful grip on the autonomous government of the Basque region, and a pretty big influence in national government for a terrorist group. There are other autonomies in Spain that request the same independence or semi-independence: Catalonia and Andalusia; but they don’t have such a stigma for complete terrorist violence!

World, I leave you with this.
“You must be the change you want to see in the world.”
-Mohandas Gandhi
What will you choose? To make the lives of others work to keep on your tradition that isn’t even impeded by a nation that is actually trying to help you? There is great progress in the war against ETA, but will it ever end? It is up to them and to the citizens and leaders of Spain. Only time will tell, but we must all wish for the best.

Comments on Other’s Blogs

daavon — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 19:51:01 +0000

I was just looking through a few of the blogs of the other GVers and left comments on three, whose links are posted below. It seems like most people are tackling some pretty serious issues that don’t always seem to put one in the best of moods, but it is really important to think about them and try to do something about them.

http://claireronner.wordpress.com/2009/10/10/25/

http://scwager.wordpress.com/2009/09/23/the-copenhagen-protocol/

http://dannigoesgreen.wordpress.com/breaking-news-2/

The Movie “Futuro: 48 Horas” (Future: 48 Hours)

daavon — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 07:43:02 +0000

Unfortunately the website I will be using as a source for this post is only in Spanish, but it can easily be translated on google if you are interested. When I was in Spain two summers ago, I was able to watch some of this greatly emotional film. It’s about a man arrested and later killed by ETA. This story continues on the negative portrayal of this organization in the Spanish media and has aided in the developing unpopularity of this group. I found this movie completely enthralling in an emotionally distressing manner, but if you have the chance, I really urge you to watch it. It is quite informative and worth the depression felt afterward.

http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Futuro:_48_horas

The Intended “Golpe del Estado” of 1981

daavon — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 07:29:30 +0000

Although this film is very old, I wanted to give a little more of a background on the violent past of ETA. In this clip a members of ETA stormed into the “Congreso de los Diputados,” the equivalent of our senate, and attempted to prevent the voting of presidential candidate Leopoldo Calvo-Sotelo, a member of the conservative party, UCD. This attempt was halted by the valiant members of the Spanish police, whose leader was Antonio Tejero. This was a major event in the history of Spain and ETA in its own right.

The Infamous Video

daavon — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 07:20:28 +0000

In this infamous video presented by a group of three members of ETA in 2006, declared the cessation of military activities. In hindsight we know that this cessation was not carried out, which makes the determination shown in this very curious. It did discuss all of the injustices that have gone on throughout the years. This video along with the one I will post next will show the irony and change from a completely violent ETA, to a false peaceful one, and then again back to a violent one who uses war to get what they want politically.

A Delightful Retraction of the Former Post

daavon — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 07:09:09 +0000

Upon investigating more articles, now using the name of Patxi López, I have been delighted in finding his great role in the whole process of taking down ETA. His proposal of a joint effort between the Basque police and those of areas affected in France, seems to be making great strides in the effort. A great example of this are the 12 people who have been arrested in the past week in those areas—even though the last two arrests went as far north as Brittany. Things are finally looking up for the movement against ETA though.

Initially in writing this blog, I didn’t know how to feel about ETA. It initially seemed like a lost cause to fight against it, but with the recent successes of the past few months, this formerly unattainable goal seem within reach. Whether it takes a matter of a few more months or years the end seems near.

New Leader of Basque Region Isn’t Often in the News

daavon — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 02:12:47 +0000

In retrospect of the little bit of connection I used to have with the events and acts of the Basque region, I have realized that the new leader Paxti López isn’t really ever mentioned in the news. I remember reading article after article about Ibarrexte and the controversy of many things he said or did, but luckily no such “scandle” has been encountered with this new leader. I am hoping that means that there just aren’t any problems to report, but only time will tell.

The Great Travel in Small Numbers

daavon — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 02:09:58 +0000

As I was reading through a few of my breaking news stories, I found it apparent that in order for ETA to be strong, divided it must stand. And by divided I do not mean each at odds with the others in the group, but more that they don’t stick together locationally. The former leader being found with only two other men, 220 pounds of explosives found with 3 men, and I’m sure there are many other accounts represented in my Breaking News section, that show they travel in small numbers. This is important because it represents a tactic of the organization: to divide and conquer and make sure that when someone important is taken down, the entire organization doesn’t go down with him or her.

Political Involvement with ETA

daavon — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 00:40:45 +0000

Another thing I uncovered in the Council on Foreign Relations website was that the Spanish government has recently tried to make negotiations with ETA. It states that in 2005 the government said they would try to start negotiating with them as soon as they agreed to a ceasefire. There was soon after a riot of over 250,000 against the idea of negotiations. In 2006 ETA released a somewhat unofficial ceasefire in March through the Basque media, and, although the disarming was not official, president Juan Luis Rodríguez Zapatero decided to begin negotiations with ETA. The conservative party, el Partido Popular, and many protesters decided not to support this act. ETA ended there ceasefire in 2007 and ever since there have been sporadic attacks throughout Spain with many casualties in their path. It makes me wonder if the problem will ever be solved.

ETA has ties with al-Qaeda?

daavon — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 00:29:51 +0000

As I was searching for sources for this web blog, I stumbled upon one whose link is in my blog roll, but I will also place it in this post here(http://www.cfr.org/publication/9271/). It brings up the interesting idea, which I never came up with myself, that ETA, as a terrorist organization, is somehow connected to al-Qaeda. To many this argument may sound completely preposterous, but seeing as they are both fairly active terrorist organizations in the 21st century, the correlation makes some sense, but, according to the Council on Foreign Relations, ETA has no direct connection to al-Qaeda, seeing as ETA is purely secular and not Islamic, as is al-Qaeda. There is a minor connection in that a Spanish member of al-Qaeda, who played a part in planning some of the September 11 attacks in Spain, was connected to Batasuna, an unofficial separatist political branch in the Basque Country, but a direct connect is non-existent according to them.