POLITICS-SPAIN: Murder Puts Basque Nationalists on Defensive

By Tito Drago Reprint | | Print |

Commentary Tito Drago

MADRID, May 8 2000 (IPS) - The moderate nationalist parties governing Spain’s Basque Country have reached a moment of truth as they take an ambiguous stance on the assassination of a journalist known as an outspoken critic of Basque separatist violence.

Jaime Mayor Oreja, Spain’s Interior minister and mentor for the centre-right Popular Party (PP) in the Basque Country, one of 17 autonomous communities in Spain, announced Monday that his nationally governing party would not take part in any public demonstration alongside the moderate Basque nationalist parties.

The reason behind this refusal is that the Basque Nationalist Party (PNV) and Eusko Alkartasuna (EA, a PNV spin-off) – which together govern the Basque region – have been vague in their position on the attacks orchestrated by the illegal separatist organisation Euskadi Ta Askatasuna (ETA, Basque Freedom and Homeland).

Authorities blame ETA for the shooting death of José Luis López de la Calle on the doorstep to his home in the Basque town of Andoáin, Sunday. The victim, a columnist for ‘El Mundo’ newspaper, was deeply committed to the issues of freedom and justice.

As a young man, López de la Calle was a member of the Spanish Communist Party’s (PCE) Central Committee. As a result of his activism against the dictatorship of Gen. Francisco Franco, he was imprisoned for five years and lived in hiding for several more.

Former PCE secretary general Santiago Carrillo said Monday that López de la Calle was “one of the heroes who fought against Franco and now, ironically, is assassinated by people who say they are from the Left.”

ETA, blamed for at least 800 deaths since it took up arms in 1968, reinitiated attacks last December following nearly 16 months of a unilateral cease-fire. Three people have been killed in ETA bomb attacks since then, and government security forces have intercepted at least two package bombs addressed to journalists.

In February 1998, López de la Calle, philosopher Fernando Savagery and sculptor Austin Barolo, among others, co-founded the Ermua Forum, a non-governmental organisation that works for peace in the Basque Country.

The forum’s president, Vidal de Nicolás, stated Monday that “(Xavier) Arzallus was the mastermind behind the assassination.” In the last few weeks, Arzallus, president of the PNV, launched several verbal attacks against journalists from various media outlets.

Calling certain journalists enemies of the Basque people and naming their names “is to make them the bull’s-eye (target)” for attacks by ETA, added De Nicolás.

Just three weeks ago, an ETA leader was arrested and found to be carrying a list of 42 journalists, which authorities presumed was an ETA hit-list.

The outcry against ETA and the condemnation of López de la Calle’s murder have been practically unanimous throughout Spain, though with some nuances. The most controversial take on the tragedy came from the PNV and the autonomous government it heads.

Juan José Ibarretxe, PNV member and president of the autonomous government, said that “ETA cannot continue turning a deaf ear to the clamour of society, which demands respect for life and the laying down of weapons.”

“But we cannot let the indignation that this loathsome ETA action produces in us to deepen divisions or stir up political tensions,” Ibarretxe stated.

His words were – indirectly – a negative response to the PP and the opposition Spanish Socialist Workers Party (PSOE) and United Left, which demand that the PNV and EA break of their political agreement with Euskal Herritarrok (EH), the political coalition supported by ETA.

EH issued statements “lamenting” the death of López de la Calle, but placed the blame on “the entire political class and especially those who refuse to recognise the political nature of the Basque conflict.”

EH spokesman Arnaldo Otegui stated Monday that, with the assassination, ETA is attempting to underscore “the communications media’s informational strategy of manipulation.”

The PNV, however, offered no response to the PP’s demand that it back down from the Estella Pact, also signed by the EA and EH, which did so in consultation with ETA.

Meanwhile, throughout Spain, including the Basque Country, people took to the streets Monday to express their sadness and their condemnation of the murder of columnist López de la Calle.

Public institutions, such as Parliament and city halls, declared five minutes of silence at noon, while in many cities political parties, unions and student and non-governmental organisations organised demonstrations to protest the assassination.

Media organisations, including the Federation of Press Associations, Journalists without Borders and the International Press Club, condemned the attack and called for greater protection of freedoms of expression.

Many journalists especially remember the words of López de la Calle when he said:

“I participated in the anti-Franco resistance and I was aware of the risks I faced, and indeed I was detained and spent five years in prison, but at no time did I think that they could kill me and, in fact, they did not kill me.”

“My family, while I was in prison, was not at risk. The fascists of today (referring to ETA and EH) are no less fascist than the others. In fact, the safest place I ever lived was in (Franco’s) prison.”