Lehandakari

by iosaf - tending to the footnotes & grassroots of history. Fri Dec 05, 2003 15:43

Answer:
Probably not.

by ipsi Sat Dec 06, 2003 17:54

an ceann chomhairle eile is Ernest Benach a noted Left Catalan Republican whose election to the job of "an ceann chomhairle" of the Catalan Parliament yesterday is a certain sign of the changing nature of that curious mixture of:
"leftwing - nationalist - republican" politics which has entered Catalan, Basque, Spanish, and Irish politics "recently".

Now the ERC are presently "equidistant" between CiU (nationalist but unionist) and the PSC (social democratic and unionist).

THis means they are "negotiating" and haven't made their mind up who to get into legislative bed with since their 23 seat victory.
see :http://www.indymedia.ie/newswire.php?story_id=62218
Mr Benach began his new job with a speech, (they always do), which of course made reference to the "Republic" of Catalonia which was begun on the 6th of December 1932. Readers might know that the 2nd Republic of Spain was intrinsically linked to the Republic of Catalonia which was constituted as a federal component with a lot of "lee way" for change. And that this historical background is _really_ important to both Catalan and Basque people, and really offensive to "one state one nation" españoles like the ones that have given Spain such a bad reputation in the last few years and are led by Mr Aznar.

So it was to be expected that Mr Benach began his speech by making reference to Mr Lluís Companys the President of Catalonia whom readers might be remember was handed over by the Gestapo to Franco's secret police in the 1940s and tortured and executed. (Thus ending any hope the Catalans had to be "different"). This is "tradition". It is vital a tradition in this country, as the tradition of catholic nationalist authoritarian Spain.

He then finished his speech with a reference to the last "an ceann chomhairle" who got the job from ERC in 1980 Mr Heribert Barrera, when the ERC went into coalition with the CiU, (it then seemed natural to ally republican nationalists with non republican nationalists) (in the same way that it might now seem natural to ally republicans with socialists even if they are very "spanish unionist"). Mr Heribert Barrera had finished his speech by shouting "“Visca Catalunya lliure!”, which means "long live free catalonia" and puts the wind up some people just as much as "tiocfaidh ár lá" (which means our day will come) puts the wind up some in Ireland.

his speech is at:
http://www.lavanguardia.es/web/20031206/51148502659.html
and

So it is alltogether not too unsurprising to see Mr Josep LLuis Carod Riviera the leader of the ERC, and "key republican number one" after weeks of maintaining "equidistance" in the "difficult negotiations" have to come to say that he will _not be declaring_ independence in the next four years.

He will however be looking for a referendum to ask the Catalan people if they'd like him to declare "independence" or if they'd prefer to call it something else. This is putting the wind up lots of people some of them very loyal and patriotic spanish people and some of them very rich Catalan people and let's be honest some very poor and leftwing people presently in the Spanish State. It's also looks very interesting from the Basque region.

Because over there, the ceann chomhairle is facing the Spanish courts for his "contempt" in not illegalising "the formation". "The formation" is the continuing representation of what was HB. Now under the present Spanish Constitution they recieve money for being a political party and if they are not disallowed, the Basque parliament will go on giving them cash, and for this Mr Aznar wants to put the Basque an ceann chomhairle in jail. Mr Aznar also wants to put the Lehandakari in jail as well, because the Lehandakari wants to have a referendum
on whether or not the people who elected him want to support his plan for "independence" or "something else". The Lehandakari ought be happy with his job, thinks Mr Aznar, he leads a home rule parliament which is allowed raise tax, and gives him a nice job with a nice title in euskadi. So will the new Catalan an ceann chomhairle help out?

no.
in an interview with La Vanguardia yesterday Mr Benach made it clear that the Basque is not Catalonia.
http://www.lavanguardia.es/web/20031206/51148502687.html

and quite right too. That is the secret to these things, the basque is not ireland, and catalonia is not the basque and every situation is well "really different" and sometimes the best way to solve problems is to demonstrate "how flawed" the initial approach has been.

This must all cause a really big headache for Mr Aznar who we have observed likes things to be very simple.

So what might happen if the wind goes to far up them?

Well we might look to the past, in the 1980s when both Basques and Catalans were busy putting the wind up with their slogans and talk of independence, some right wing military officers attempted a coup d'etat on Feb 23. And _no-one_ liked that. So we may presume that this time, a nasty "coup d'etat" is not really an option either.

No instead, it seems like two traditions are going to _have to_ find a workable way forward.

And that is just like Ireland.

by iosaf Wed Dec 10, 2003 12:07

the leader of the ERC (republicans) chose to enter coalition with the PSC (catalan new labour) and ICV EUa (marxist greens).
His words were : "Catalonia is not Ireland, nor is it Quebec nor is it Euskadi".
Several hours before, Les Naus the arts centre of the okupe and alternative movement in BCN was closed.

Today 23 years of centre right nationalism led by Jordi Pujol give way to a "pluralist" and catalan government which unites Spanish federalists with marxist greens and republican catalanists. Zapatero, leader of the Spanish PSOE (new labour) who wishes to replace Aznar as President of the Spanish Government in next year's elections, chose to speak out against the Lehandakari's proposals declaring them to be "impossible" within a European Union that only recognises _"states"_ or _"regions"_.

IN the last week, French authorities have arrested and detained numerous presumed top ranking ETA members. The lehandakari's proposals for a Basque referendum detail "an end to violence". Meanwhile the promoters of "Ya Basta" the mass mobilisers against ETA violence in the Basque region prepare their stickers: "Basque-Spanish-European" for their next really big march.

Euskadi is not Ireland. Quebec which celebrates it's next referendum on independence in 2005 is not Ireland. And Catalonia we know is not Ireland.

Ireland is more than any of them.
Ireland is regions, nations, states, countries, provinces, islands, madzers, stony grey soil, fields, little corners of foreign places and pretty girlies.

& they are mostly very jealous of that out there on the €uropean Mainland.

We ought as a people work to keep them jealous.

Erin go Bragh!

by © Iosaf the ipsiphi O as if. Mon Jan 12, 2004 13:25

Aznar made the announcement in the Basque country to assembled activists of the PP with the words "of all the places I may say goodbye in, this is the hardest". Whereupon he began to cry like a big girly or an experienced politician (which is the more sincere?).

The official figures released last week suggest that on the basis of succesful attacks, ETA is now at it's operational weakest since the 1970s. A whole new generation of it's activists being swooped up by increased security cooperation between the French and Spanish states. It is worth commenting that Spain is yet to avail of suppòsed increased help from the USA, Bush has not yet delivered one blow against ETA.

The usual characters have continued as before, the PP and PSOE are now more often working together in the Basque regional parliament "against" the Lehendakari's plans which appear to move slowly somewhere, somewhere as of yet "undefined". (The EU recognises only states or regions), as as such has now room for any other arrangement, were De Valera trying out his "external association Eire" in today's Europe, he would fail, (did he ever succeed?).

So the "ethnic" conflict remains, more large marches from those who support "the union" many of whom have served in the Guardia Civil or Basque Police Force, calling for an end to all "seperatism". Meanwhile, the political prisoner support groups have met with "an cheann chomhairle" of Catalonia, (the ERC deputy mentioned in previous comments above) to ask for repatriation of political prisoners. You may get an indication of the dispersal of political prisoners at the comment attached to this article:
http://www.indymedia.ie/newswire.php?story_id=60888
which is a graphic map:
http://barcelona.indymedia.org/newswire/display_any/53342.

Of course the rightwing foamed at the mouth, but it has generally been observed that when political prisoners are released back to their communities, levels of conflict go down. And we all ought remember that.

Meanwhile, the "name-changing" game goes on, and Aznar's ambition to "lock up" all opposition continues. And yes it is surreal.

So, today's update for the Surreal world of Basque politics is:

THE MANIFESTO OF THE SURREALIST PARTY of EUSKAL HERRIA.
(EH)
being the proposals for changing the maps, putting in borders, changing flags, and ultimately deciding whose grandchildren will be the urban redeveloper millionaires of a pluralist and truly democratic and meritocratic Euskal Herria of tomorrow.

which you may read in Euskadi (two dialects) or Spanish (the imperial tongue) at
www.surrealistak.tk
catalan and english translations will follow.

:-Coz art attracts that type of interest.

http://www.surrealistak.tk/
http://barcelona.indymedia.org/newswire/display/66218/index.php

by Phuq Hedd Mon Jan 12, 2004 16:23

I remember you writing on the significance of the #23 a year or so ago, could you reprise your thoughts on this?

by the ipsiphi Mon Jan 12, 2004 19:25

my dear Phuqhead,
w/out sparking another materialist determinist anarchist versus dischordian post materialist anarchist debate which sort of happened around the more stoned thoughts last year on "xxiii", suffice it to say the number of chromosomes essential for making a human are 23.
it is also numerical value for the letter "psi" in the Greek alphabet.

my current favourite instances of 23 in Spanish related politics:
there are 23 ERC reps in Catalan Gov.
they gave the tripartite alliance it's current government thus ending 23 yrs of CiU rule in Catalonia, who incidently had seen
23 new CiU representatives elected.
There really isn't enough xxiii in Basque politics yet, so we must work through other the primes.

wander around this link for fun 23 stuff, "fusion anomaly" has been twisting it's vortex for years now, and is a sort of receptacle for cyber punk anarchic counter culture, which has seen the number "23" take on a certain folkloric resonance. Warning: If you're using a slow modem don't go near it, far too much graphics too upload quickly, but if you're in an internet café or if your mammy really took your christmas wish list to afford you the tippytoppiest plasma screen and pentium5 "to help the global revolution Ma!".
goto http://fusionanomaly.net/
or go straight to the 23 section:
http://fusionanomaly.net/23.html

actually come to think about it, it was 2002!
my 2002 irl.imc stuff was much more "cyberpunkyanarchiccounterculture" in style, (the ending influences of a tribe now dispersed) but a lot of people didn't get it, they were still looking for a "virtual newspaper" approach to current affairs and reality.

note: my interest in xxiii is not necessarily based on any curiousity presented in the fusion anomaly node, but like it's a good place to start wondering.
****************************
Meanwhile on the other side of reality, the Basque people have serious problems, and they aren't as unfamiliar as many politicians in both Spain and Ireland would like to present them, nor are they solely related to any "armed struggle" be it by seperatists against the Spanish State or ultra-nationalists in the Spanish Security forces against the traditional foe. To fully understand the limitations of our national state in it's previous and present forms is to move to shape a future which will benefit and include more people in the "Irish nation".
We thus ought make direct comparisons not just of present events elsewhere in Europe but also of their causes.

by iosaf (aka as jedi of the sith moonlighting wizard and - really very weird dude) Wed Apr 21, 2004 12:20

The legendary tree of Gurnika, which has grown in the garden of the Lehandakari's castle has mysteriously died. The cuase of death is attributed to the exceptionally hot weather endured by endusers of dodgy technology last year, and really is a psychic blow to an administration thought of by many readers of the Catalan book "Lehendakari fraud?" to be well less than completely sincere, true and proud.

Meanwhile, I am happy to report that the three white trees planted thoughtfully long ago, in my local "parc cuitadella" are flourishing, and that amongst the new birds arriving have been counted this last week a squadron of Herons, and representatives of both swallows and sparrows.

Now is of course the time for Lehandakari, a centre right nationalist and promoter of socially non cohesive policies and more of a tinker tinker man with those damned economic indicators to show "the peer review council" what's he made of, and really capable of...

To which end, the spanish and Basque media today are beginning a complete revisiting of his proposals for a freely associated to Spain, Basque region and they're going to go through it all with a fine comb as the banshee says. Aznar, the representative of the bull worshipping wicked witch of the East, spent fifteen minutes on the phone to Bush yesterday "har de har", to remind everyone that he doesn't havea job anymore, and ahem "Lost his political reputation for ever". Oh dear, politicians work so hard all those years for the kudos and along comes a representative of higher intelligence and bimbam thankyu mam, all done.

Irish people of all political philosophies could help out in the Basque thing, as I have long tried to tell you. The right wing types could help the unionist and guardia civil section and the left wing types could learn about their ancient nieghbours and cousins to the south.
Actually you all could learn from each other.
Great isn't it?

*Caveat*
Romani Prodi, has made it quite clear, that no state will unilaterally declare independence in the EU, so no Italian break-up. You want out of the deal, you lose the whole deal. Tough Shitty as they say.

by count duckula Tue Dec 21, 2004 10:33

the Hon. Ibarretxe, prime minister of the Basque autonomous community (one of 17 autonomous communities of the Spanish state) has long outlined his "moderate", "centre", "pacifist" solutions to the "Basque question".
The PP have said "no"
the PSOE have said "no"
ETA said "no"
the EU said "no".
The Spanish King gave him a hug.
Yesterday, as the footballer Ronaldhino collected in Zurich his recognition for being a really exceptional human being, who has dedicated his "freaky" nature to fair play, Mr Ibarretxe finally got (despite it all) his "plan" through the vote when those deputies of uncertain "name" who still (despite it all) sit in the parliament abstained.

What can I say?

Well, he's not "extreme" enough for many, and not "loyal enough" for many others, and somehow, he's trundling on with it under the most horrible pressure from all sides bringing his tribes to a peaceful solution, which he hopes will include some type of recognition of the "nation" of the Basques, the "association" with Spain, and the "right" for Basques to a Basque judicial process from start to finish and the "dignity" of Basques in Europe to be seen as who and what they are, a European people with a very complex and mixed history, good sport, beautiful language, much pain, many memories.