The Right to Self-determination and Basque Nationalism: A Polyvalent Debate

Abstract

Literature on the right of self-determination has very often focused on a scholarly and theoretical debate on the legality and appropriateness of the said right. This article, on the other hand, examines the reasons adduced by political agents in favour of self-determination in the Basque Country. Far from a scholarly discussion, the political parties can appreciate a powerful instrumental component in the right to self-determination: rather than a right, they prefer to speak of democracy, and underline its worth insofar that it can help resolve the Basque political conflict. Led by this practical spirit, the parties alter their discourse to adapt to new social needs and conditions, although it could result in certain theoretical and practical contradictions.

Acknowledgements

This article is the result of a research project (1/UPV 00018.230-H-1593/2003) subsidized by the University of the Basque Country, UPV/EHU.

Notes

To cite the example of an often used work, Pablo & Mees's book mentions interviews only with some nationalist leaders (e.g. PNV's Joseba Egibar), and they date from 1997 (Pablo & Mees, 2005).

This coming together in vindication was perfectly captured in press photograph reports on 11 April 1977, which covered a demonstration held in Bilbao the day before celebrations for the Aberri Eguna (the day of the Basque nation) were held. In the foreground, the photographs show the head of the demonstration, which brought together all the said organizations and parties behind a large banner that claimed the right to self-determination.

See Alternativa Democrática [Democratic Alternative], in Egin, 26 April 1995.

Much has been said on the impossibility of reaching a consensus on self-determination while ETA exists, given that this organization makes a claim to it. However, the reason for this failure would appear to reside in the non-negotiating stance of Spanish nationalism, as already pointed out. This would explain why Catalonia too has failed to reach a satisfactory agreement, and why the draft of a new autonomy statute, passed by the Catalan parliament, was watered down by the Spanish parliament, and it is still pending a final verdict by Spain's Constitutional Tribunal.

Surprisingly, there are very few data on people's view of the right to self-determination in Spain or France and in the Basque Country. An interesting, though not recent, article by Lopez-Aranguren explains that in ‘the Basque Country, Catalonia and Navarre … an absolute majority of the population considers self-determination a very important or quite important subject’ (1993, p. 253). The precise figure for the Basque Autonomous Community is 54% and that for the Community of Navarre, 52.4%, whereas the average for Spain is 41.7%. When asked in theoretical terms about the opportuneness of permitting the exercise of said right, 48.3% replied in the affirmative in the Autonomous Community of the Basque Country, and 42.6% in the Community of Navarre, the average for Spain being 34%. However, when other options regarding the organization of the state (such as a federal state, autonomous communities, etc.) were proposed, the option of self-determination offering the possibility of forming a state of their own was supported by, on average, 8.1% in Spain and 20% in the Basque communities (Lopez-Aranguren, 1993, pp. 253–256). More recently, though only in reference to the Autonomous Community of the Basque Country, the research team Euskobarometro, from the University of the Basque Country, which publishes its findings on a periodic basis, concluded that 71% of the people interviewed call for an agreement among politicians on this right. Moreover, 64% responded that they do not believe that a referendum on self-determination would lead to a split in the population (Euskobarometro, 2006; since then they have stopped providing data on the subject of self-determination, although they still release their reports).

The seven provinces that historically and culturally have been considered Basque are divided up into several administrations, between two states (Spain and France) and into three different political structures (Atlantic Pyrenees Department, Foral Community of Navarre and the Basque Autonomous Community). To the west, the Basque Autonomous Community (BAC) is one of the autonomous communities of the decentralized Spanish state consisting of the three Basque provinces of Araba, Bizkaia and Gipuzkoa. It has fairly wide powers in some areas, such as health care and education. It is the most populated region, and the one in which Basque nationalism is strongest. To the east, within the Spanish state, the Basque province of Navarre constitutes a separate autonomous community. It is also the largest. The influence of Basque nationalism is apparent in the north but to a far lesser extent in the south. To the north-east, and within the French state, are the provinces of Lapurdi, Nafarroa Beherea and Zuberoa, included in the Atlantic Pyrenees department, together with other regions. They form the smallest and least populated area of the Basque country. Basque nationalism is weak but growing. In this article, when we speak of the Basque Country, we are referring to the whole of these seven territories.

Surveys on national sentiment are carried out regularly. We would like to mention an attempt to carry out a more in-depth study of this sentiment, in Baxok et al. (2006).

In any case, to illustrate the good relations between these political groups, it is worth mentioning that in the term of office that lasted from 2005 to 2009 EAJ/PNV, Eusko Alkartasuna and Ezker Batua-Berdeak were partners in the government of the Autonomous Community of the Basque Country.

LAB (the second trade union in importance in Basque nationalism and widely established) was not interviewed for this study as we felt that their discourse on this issue would not differ from that of Batasuna, given that both form part of the Nationalist Left. Subsequent to the interviews, and during 2009, two new parties were founded: Alternatiba is a split from Ezker Batua; and Hamaikabat, a split from EA.

Seven in-depth interviews were held with relevant people in the aforementioned organizations from the end of 2007 and throughout the following year. The interviews were held in Basque, and were recorded in Bilbao (two), San Sebastian (two), Vitoria-Gasteiz, Pamplona and Bayonne. The cities were chosen for convenience, not because we thought that the location (Basque Autonomous Community or Navarre, for example) would make a difference to the discourse. The fact that all the organizations fall within Basque nationalism, except for Ezker Batua, led us to believe that their theoretical discourse would be similar, which is what we sought to investigate, irrespective of the fact that, for all practical purposes, the different locations can have a certain importance. The interviews, of approximately 1 hour, followed a semistructured script with which the people interviewed were not familar, although they had been given a brief idea of the subject to be treated. In only one case was the script requested beforehand, although the person interviewed did not use any notes during the interview. We can thus conclude that the opinions were spontaneous, though it must not be forgotten that the people interviewed clearly had a well-formed opinion on the issue. The people interviewed were highly qualified leaders within their respective organizations and, in most cases, the organization itself designated its representative. Only in the case of the PNV was this not the case. The party was asked to name a representative, but different processes of internal organization prevented this from occurring, and it was therefore decided to contact a leader within the party. In any case, we did not actively seek out an opinion that reflected point by point the opinion of the organization represented. The objective was rather to get an idea of the general trend as regards the understanding of the right of self-determination of the different organizations interviewed, not a detailed position. We would like to thank all the people who took part for their kind cooperation.

We were unable to obtain any specific document from Abertzaleen Batasuna on this matter. The reason could be the different trajectory of Basque nationalism in the Basque Country included in France, and the different demands it has made in this territory.

Jenne (2006, p. 28) likewise pointed out the instrumental nature that minorities afford the claim to the right of self-determination.

On several occasions, ETA has stated that it would accept the results of a hypothetical referendum on this subject. In an interview held with Gara newspaper in 2009, the ETA spokesperson first of all said that ‘actually implementing the fact that all Basque citizens have the right to decide their future would close the door on the conflict forever’ and, second, that ‘ETA is willing to consider the armed struggle over when the States (Spain and France) remove the limits set so that Basque citizens can decide their future’ (always in reference to the right of self-determination) (Gara, 25 May 2009, p. 4). The last ETA communiqué at our diposal upholds the argument. To be precise, ETA proposes ‘a political process whose central theme is the procedure for reflecting the people's voice, reaching an agreement on the formulation of the right to self-determination and respecting the political will of the citizens’ (Gara, 17 January 2010, p. 3).