Alwaght- Spain is among European Union states with the highest number of separatist movements demanding outright independence and thus shaking the increasingly fragile union.
Currently in Spain, there are calls for secession in Catalonia, Andalusia, the Balearic and Canary Islands, with the most famous being the violent separatist demands from the Basque Country, which have been led by ETA an acronym for Euskadi Ta Askatasuna (Basque Country and Freedom) which is also active in southwestern France.
Basque nationalism emerged in the late 19th century and its main proponent was Sabino Arana, who founded the Basque Nationalist Party (EAJ-PNV) in 1895 and was the father of Basque nationalism as a movement. This nationalism was based on an epic of the Basque people’s military victories and defeats, historic institutions, popular revolts, etc. The objective was to show a territorial unity in the past that must be continued into the future. Apart from a historical perspective, Basque nationalism is based on economic, linguistic, social, political or territorial reasons to justify its need for an independent future without the Spanish and French states. The region continues to witness unrest with protests being held on every opportune moment.
Basque masses prefer independence despite suppression
In the most recent incident of unrest, a massive demonstration took place on Saturday in the Basque city of Bilbao, with protestors calling for imprisoned members and sympathizers of the armed pro-Basque independence group ETA to be allowed serve their sentences closer to home in northern Spain. Currently ETA members, who were jailed for involvement in armed struggle for independence, are serving prison sentences all over Spain. An estimated 273 ETA prisoners are being incarcerated in Spain while another 78 are in French jails. However, Spain's Interior Ministry says there will be no change in its dispersion policy until the ETA fully disarms and its members ask for amnesty.
In addition to prisoners' families and pro-independence politicians, some relatives of ETA victims took part for the first time in the annual demonstration.
ETA members reportedly killed 829 people in its nearly four-decade struggle for an independent Basque republic in northern Spain and southwest France. The group announced a permanent cease-fire in 2011. While other parts of Spain have been experiencing an economic crisis, Basque has remained economically powerful and hence increased calls for full independence. During last September’s elections, the Basque Nationalist party (PNV) took the most votes in the Basque country pointing to popular preference for independence despite decades of suppression.
Separatist movements suppressed in Europe
While Europe claims to be a defender of freedom of expression and self-determination in other parts of the world, there have been disturbing incidents of suppression of separatist movements across the continent with Spain being a classic example.
European countries such as Spain, France, Britain and Italy were colonial powers in the past century and many regions in the world are embroiled in conflicts or remain volatile due to deliberate decision by colonial powers to maintain the conflicts for their own nefarious intensions. Now European powers are having a taste of their own medicine as multiple separatist movements are rising up to demand freedom thus putting the EU in peril.
Britain’s decision to leave the EU, dubbed Brexit, has served as a motivation to the already present call for independence in Scotland, with calls to secede from the UK also growing in Wales and Northern Ireland. France is also dealing with separatist demands from Occitania, Normandy and Brittany, alongside aspirations for autonomy in Alsace and Corsica. In Germany, the Bavarian Party wants Bavarian independence while Belgium is threatened by the historic conflict between Wallonia and Flanders. Italy is also facing Italy Sicilian and Sardinian calls for independence and demands for autonomy while South Tyrol seeks to reunify with Austria. With the rise of the far-right, the fragmentation of Europe is becoming a reality and puts the continent’s leaders in a quandary on whether to grant independence or suppress the masses.
