Basque question: Spain's pressing problem

By CNN Madrid Bureau Chief Al Goodman

Car bombs are a frequent weapon in ETA's violent fight for Basque independence

SAN SEBASTIAN, Spain (CNN) -- For Spaniards, hardly a day goes by when they are not confronted with the issue of Basque separatist violence.

From a car bomb that killed four people in Madrid last October -- an attack claimed by the separatist group ETA -- to last November's 900,000-strong peace march through Barcelona to protest ETA's assassination of former health minister Ernest Lluch, the problem of Basque violence is ever-present in Spanish society.

Polls show that about three-quarters of Spaniards believe Basque terrorism to be Spain's biggest problem.

"We are not going to allow them to impose terror on our country," insists Spanish Prime Minister José María Aznar . "We will fight them with all the moral and material force of the state of law."

VIDEO CNN's Al Goodman looks at efforts to contain the violence one year after ETA ended its cease-fire Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media) The Basque conflict is seen as Spain's biggest problem, as CNN's Al Goodman reports Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media) An interview with Carlos Iturgaiz of the Popular Party Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media) An interview with Loren Arkotxa of the Basque nationalist party Herri Batasuna Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media)

This uncompromising stance has born some fruit. Aznar's conservative Popular Party last month signed a pact with the Socialist Party, putting politics aside and agreeing to stand firm together against the violence. And Spanish law enforcement agencies have scored several notable victories against the terrorists.

In the early hours of January 11, for instance, two ETA suspects were arrested in Barcelona. According to police their wide-ranging arsenal included the gun used to kill Lluch.

Despite dozens of such arrests in recent months, however, the violence has continued to escalate.

The key issues

The two central issues in the separatist dispute are these: Who is a Basque, and what constitutes Basque territory?

"If you don't go to the roots of the problem, this problem is never going to be solved. And there's going to be more killings," says Loren Arkotxa, board member of the radical left Basque nationalist party Herri Batasuna.

Spain officially recognizes three provinces as "the Basque country." Separatists, however, want another Spanish province, Navarra, to be included, as well as part of southern France to create a homeland for 3 million Basques.

"Prime Minister Anzar denies there's a political problem," says Xabier Arzalluz, leader of the moderate Basque Nationalist Party, "which is notable in a country where, depending on who does the poll, 30 or 40 percent say they want an independent Basque country."

The conservative government in Madrid, however, is betting on the police crushing ETA's violent campaign, aided by widespread public outrage over terrorism.

"The government has said, and our party has said, that we are not to give anything to these terrorists," says Carlos Iturgaiz of the ruling Popular Party.

REFERENCE  San Sebastian •  Capital of the Basque province of Guipuzcoa •  Population 180,000 •  Famous resort city on Spain's Atlantic coast •  Became popular holiday destination with the Spanish aristocracy in late 19th century •  Widely regarded as the culinary capital of Basque country and Spain, with high concentration of tapas bars and Michelin stars •  Hosts international film festival every September

Several world leaders and human rights organizations have called on ETA, blamed for about 800 deaths since 1968, to stop the killing. But the bombs and violence have continued.

Basque identity

The Basques are an ancient people wedded to both the land and the sea. Their hilly country has traditionally isolated them from the rest of Europe, although in the Middles Ages they did embrace Roman Catholicism. Entire museums have been dedicated to defining their particular identity.

"I think that the most important thing for us is our language, because we are living here through the years," says Amaia Basterretxea, director of the Basque History Museum.

Modern Basque nationalism sprang up a century ago as immigrants came into the region in search of factory jobs. The violent faction, ETA, started killing 32 years ago during the regime of Gen. Francisco Franco, which ruthlessly suppressed the Basques and their language.

Much has changed since Franco's death in 1975. In modern, democratic Spain, many schools in the Basque region teach almost exclusively in Basque.

ETA arose during Franco's dictatorship

"Some students speak Spanish because their parents don't know Basque," says Ane Irurzun, who teaches second grade at Orixe Primary School in San Sebastian. "But the majority prefer to speak Basque because it's easier for them."

The Basque region now enjoys a broad degree of autonomy. As well as Basque-run schools there is a Basque parliament and a Basque police force.

The region has even attracted a famous museum, The Guggenheim in Bilbao, whose modern, dynamic image is precisely the image the Basque people want to project of themselves. None of this, however, is enough for ETA and the other Basque nationalist political parties, with the result that the region's streets continue to simmer with tension, fear and a lot of anger.

Basque grievances

Hopes for peace grew during a cease-fire called by ETA in September 1998.

They were shattered a year ago, however, by a car bomb in Madrid, with both the government and ETA blaming each other for wrecking the cease-fire. Now, hundreds of local officials who oppose ETA must go everywhere with bodyguards.

REFERENCE  Maria San Gil •  Member of the Popular Party since 1993 •  Town councillor since 1995 •  Deputy mayor of San Sebastian and councillor for economic development since 1999 •  January 23, 1995: Witnessed killing of San Sebastian deputy mayor Gregorio Ordonez in bar where they were having lunch •  Has used bodyguards since 1996 •  Age 36, married, two children "Killing politicians is like killing a little of the democracy of the nation, because the politicians are elected freely by the people and it's like killing a little of all who voted for them."

"The worst for me is the weekend, when I stop being a politician and I'm just a mother," says Maria San Gil, deputy mayor of San Sebastian. "I think it's terrible for my kids to grow up, as my son says, always with 'Mommy's friends.'"

Basque activists arrested by police are imprisoned in jails across Spain to prevent them collaborating behind bars. Some 430 ETA members are in Spanish prisons, and their relatives and at least one human rights organization say the dispersal is inhumane.

"Every prisoner has the right, according to international law, to be close to the families," says Esteban Beltran of Amnesty International Spain.

There is continued so-called low-level violence throughout the region, with pro-independence Basque youths attacking businesses, city buses, even homes on both sides of the border.

The Basque parliament is fundamentally divided, its membership fractured into seven parties split into two main camps. Nationalist parties hold the majority, and parties loyal to Spain hold the remaining seats.

Even the nationalists themselves are split, a state of affairs that has forced the Basque regional president to call early elections, due to be held sometime this year. Some people hope a clear-cut winner might bring some stability and reduce the violence. But early opinion polls predict little change in parliament.

Many leaders in the region accuse the Herri Batasuna radical left party of being the political wing of the armed separatists. Party board member Arkotxa denies this, but adds there is a war on: "I am born somehow in this war. My sons and daughters are still in the same war, and I have two grandchildren, (and) I don't want them to be involved in this war."

For some, however, the struggle is already over. At one cemetery in San Sebastian, people killed by ETA are buried not far from a member of ETA itself. In life, they stood at opposite poles. Now they are simply Basques.

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