October 5, 2008 - Hi.

Hi. Today my Socials group and I will be meeting at Churchill, then walking over to Leo's place to film our movies. And I finally finished the script last night. Want to see it? Here it goes (Don't read it if you don't want to):

Today we will be telling you a bit about Basque’s campaign for independence.

First of all, does anybody know where Basque is located?
The Basque region is shown in red.

Let’s begin with what are the Basques. They are a Christian community that’s residing in the mountainous region between France and Spain. There are currently about 2 million to 3 million people living in the Basque region. As you can see, this is the Lauburu, or also known as the Basque cross.

This is a picture of the ETA

You’re probably wondering, well then, who is the ETA? Well ETA is the short form for Euskadi Ta Azkatasuna. They are an illegal armed Basque Nationalist separatist organization campaigning for the independence of Basque. ETA uses terrorist attacks to try and get the Spanish government to give up. It was founded in 1959.

This is the ETA symbol. Bietan Jarrai is their motto, meaning “Keep up on both.” The symbol itself, is a snake, for politics, and armed fighting, for axe.

Now onto the political side of Basque. The Batasuna is an illegal political party in Basque. As the non-democratic party they are, they refuse to stop any of the ETA terrorist attacks. A member of the ETA can also be a member of Batasuna. Or he/she can just be in ETA.

Now this is Francisco Franco. He was the first of a number of Head of States to face ETA. He was born on Dec. 4, 1892 and died on Nov. 20 1975. Franco was the Spanish Head of State from April 1, 1939 to Nov. 20, 1975. Franco led with great dictatorship that held Basque in strict control. He was also known as the 68th President of Spain from February 5, 1939 – June 9, 1973. Franco had reached the rank of general at the time. He was known for his focus on nationalism, imperial aspirations, centralism, and traditional values.

During Franco’s dictatorship, all non-government trade unions and political opponents were restricted. The Spanish cultural diversity was restrained by encouraging one simple national identity. Any customs that were not Spain related were suppressed – like the Basque language. Any civilian who had a different view of politics and culture were imprisoned and tortured.

Now, as for the perspectives of the two opposing sides, please sit back and enjoy a short video we’ve produced. You’re in for a real treat. J

[Perspectives: The Spanish government believes that ETA, once violent, will always stay violent. They believe that ETA is willing to do anything to reach its goals.

ETA itself, on the other hand, believes that they are fighting for the good of the Basque country, for the freedom and independence of Basque.]

Okay, we’ve put together a general timeline of only the main points because lucky for you, we don’t want to bore you to death like sooo many other people.
–cough cough-

In 1937, Franco held strict dictatorship over Basque.
ETA was founded in 1959. The purpose of ETA was to fight for the independence of Basque.
In 1961, ETA began the first of its series of terrorist attacks. They attempted to derail a train that was carrying politicians.
ETA’s first victim Meliton Manzanas, a secret police chief from San Sebastian, was killed in 1968.

As you know, every ruler needs a successor. So Carrero Blanco was chosen by Franco to be his successor. Blanco became the President of the Government. Little did he know that his days would end very quickly. Blanco was assassinated with a bomb that was placed in a sewer beneath a street that he passes by everyday. When the bomb went off, Blanco and his car was blown 3 floors high! It was said that the execution had been planned for months.

Here is a picture of the police clearing out the bombed remains.

So, you’re probably wondering, if ETA is the so-called “terrorists”, then what role does the Spanish government play in this? Well, you could say that the Spanish government is the “protagonist” of the conflict. The Spanish government had originally been ruling with dictatorship. Eventually, soon after Franco’s death in 1975, they made a transition to democracy. At that time, Don Juan Carlos de Borbón, Franco’s successor, had been in charge. The French authorities became close allies with the Spanish government against ETA. The main opposition was the Popular Party

Nowadays, Basque enjoys much more freedom than other areas in Spain. It has its own parliament, police force, education control, and can even collect its own tax. But despite all it has, ETA and its supporters are still determined to gain full independence.

I’m sure you’re all tired by now. So we’ll give you a little break with a short video that we’ve created. Please enjoy.
Okay, now back to the ppt.

In 1978, Batasuna, an ETA political party, was founded.
ETA’s bloodiest year was in 1980 where 118 people were killed.
In June 1987, 21 shoppers were killed in an attack in a Barcelonan supermarket. ETA apologizes for the so-called “mistake.”
The leader of the opposition Popular Party, Jose Maria Aznar, was almost assassinated by a car bomb.

In March 1996, the Popular Party wins the general election. There was a speculation that the change of the government would lead to onslaught against ETA, which later proves wrong. ETA sees the Popular Party as heir to Franco's dictatorship.
ETA starts a campaign against the local Popular Party Politicians.

In July 1997, Miguel Angel Blanco – the 29 year-old local councillor who rules the Popular party in the Basque region – was kidnapped by ETA. ETA insisted that in exchange for his release, the 460 prisoners held all over Spain must be freed. The Spanish government refused to follow the request. Miguel Angel Blanco was found shot twice in the head. It sparked national outrage.

This is a picture of a demonstration with over 6 million people protesting in just 4 days.

In April 1998, Northern Ireland a peace agreement was signed. It greatly affected ETA.
ETA announces the first of many indefinite ceasefires in September 1998.
In November 1999, ETA declares an end to its 14-month ceasefire in a Basque newspaper.
Car bombs were set in Madrid and the Basque capital, Vitoria indicates a return of terrorist attacks in January and February 2000.

ETA continued to launch car bombings. It targeted mainly the politicians.
The Popular party started a re-election campaign against the ETA.
In March 2003, the government requested the Spanish Supreme Court to ban Batasuna permanently.

Bombs were set in Madrid in March 11, 2004. The Popular Party blamed the attack on ETA. The blame was then soon pointed to Islamic groups. The electorate rejected the government and voted for the Socialist party instead.
It was said that the Popular party had deceived them.

ETA attack declined in the wake of Madrid bombings. In 22 March, 2006, ETA stated a permanent truce which was scheduled to begin two days later. A bomb brings down a car park at Madrid's Barajas airport in 30 December, 2006. Two people were missing, presumed dead. The government blames ETA and called off the ceasefire. The Spanish government held direct or indirect contact with ETA for a short period after the car bomb. ETA’s attacks declined gradually.

ETA had affected Spain in many different ways. It had changed the way people thought of the Spanish government. The Madrid bombing, in particular, had changed everybody’s POV of the politics. Democracy alone will not abolish the terrorism. There is no effective, coordinated international response to terrorism yet. ETA is currently existing and still active, but with probably only a few dozen active members and a few hundred more supporters.

ETA terrorism has held back Basque’s economic growth by 10%. Tourists are reluctant to travel to where they might be victims of terrorist attacks. As one of the biggest exporter on cars, irons and steel products, its exports suffered a 28% fall since the end of ETA’s truce in 1998. The cost of paying 2,500 bodyguards and public security by Spain and the Basque regional government could have been invested in supporting businesses or promoting the Basque Country overseas. There was also the compensation that is paid by the Spanish and Basque authorities.

The ETA terrorist attacks had not only affected its politics and economics, but the social life as well. Of the 210, 000 people in French Basque region, only 10% had voted for Basque parties. There was also a notable increase in street violence. Over 800 people had been killed, affecting the way people thought of street safety. Only 19% of the Spaniards said that ETA was their biggest worry since cease-fire in 2006. Polls show that many believe that negotiations should be held with ETA.

To conclude, we have one last video to be shown. Please sit back and enjoy our BEHIND-THE-SCENES clip.

Thank you for listening to our presentation. We hope you enjoyed it.