One film conspicuous by its absence at this year's San Sebastián festival was Ángel Amigo's 80-minute documentary, Memorias de un conspirador (or ‘Memoirs of a Conspirator’), about incumbent Basque Socialist Party President Jesús Eguiguren. In the film, due for release this autumn, the leader of the Basque Socialist Party (PSE) offers a personal perspective on his more than 30-year career in politics, in particular his dealings with ETA. It was talks instigated “off the record” by Eguiguren and former Batasuna spokesman, Arnaldo Otegi in 2002 that eventually paved the way for the 2006 negotiations between ETA and Zapatero's government. Memorias director Amigo was nonchalant about the … [Read more...] about Jesús Eguiguren: the last negotiator
basque elections
Basque Country enters an era of uncertainty
The announcement on Tuesday by the Basque premier, Patxi López, that the region will hold early elections on October 21 was a reminder of how much things have changed since he took power in 2009. Since López entered a governing partnership with the conservative Partido Popular, the terrorist group ETA has been increasingly weakened, culminating in last autumn’s announcement by the group that it was laying down its arms for good. The date of the scheduled elections – a year and a day after ETA’s announcement – is no coincidence. López himself was not coy about underscoring his government’s part in the new atmosphere of peace that the northern region is enjoying. “We have done what we … [Read more...] about Basque Country enters an era of uncertainty
With Sortu banned, what now for radical Basque nationalists?
The Basque nationalists who once went under the name of Batasuna have been thwarted in their attempt to be registered as a legal party ahead of the May 22 municipal elections. Their new party, Sortu, was their latest attempt to get back into the political mainstream and give radical nationalists a voice at the ballot box. After a 10-hour deliberation, the Supreme Court on Wednesday backed the government’s argument that this is simply a continuation of Batasuna, and therefore by association ETA. Sortu can appeal to the Constitutional Court, but by the time that ruling is issued, the elections will almost certainly have come and gone. The government insists it has handled this by the … [Read more...] about With Sortu banned, what now for radical Basque nationalists?