Terror in Spain

Basque folklore has it that Satan once tried to hustle the Basques but finally gave up, frustrated by his inability to learn their difficult language. As the recent Madrid attacks demonstrate, the Basques, and particularly the terrorist gang ETA, are hoping that the Spanish government will similarly pack up and go away. It isn’t likely to, nor is the bitter, bloody feud.

Basque nationalism antedates Spanish democracy--indeed, Spain itself. The Basques, ethnically and linguistically distinct from the Spanish, bore the brunt of Francisco Franco’s atrocities and were the vanguard against fascism. Since 1975, when Franco and his police state died, Basque nationalists have pushed harder for autonomy. Most Basques view the national police and civil guard as foreign armies, and most want more self-government. Most will use the ballot box to get it.

The ETA (Basque for “Basque Homeland and Liberty”) wants independence, and will kill to get it. Since 1968 the ETA has killed more than 600 members of the civil guard, police or military. Some in the ETA want to destroy Spanish democracy; all want to make the costs of maintaining Madrid’s rule unacceptable, or to provoke a right-wing backlash like 1981’s attempted coup.

The danger of another 1981-style coup is remote. To Prime Minister Felipe Gonzalez’s credit, he has managed to placate the military and at the same time avoid decreeing martial law in the Basque areas. Gonzalez has rightly refused to negotiate with the ETA until it lays down its arms, and has carried through on a number of reforms that have undercut its support. The Basques now have their own Parliament, collect and invest their own taxes, and run their own schools and courts.

Whatever the merits of Basque nationhood, it is surely a recipe for disorder. Most inhabitants of the region probably do not want it; ethnic Spanish make up half its population. Economically, it would be a disaster. Granting self-rule to the Basques in Spain, moreover, would encourage the French Basques just across the Pyrenees. And it could stoke the secessionist fires that burn in Catalonia and other parts of Spain.

For all his efforts at conciliation, Gonzalez has shown little sympathy for greater Basque autonomy. He has given the civil guard a long leash in order to combat terrorism. Human-rights abuses by the civil guard--detentions without charge, and beatings--are not uncommon. The ETA has fed on the resentment and gained a good deal of unwarranted credibility. Madrid’s neglect has strengthened the extremist political parties, which picked up 24% of the Basque vote in last June’s national elections.

As the election returns show, nationalism dies hard. And as last week’s bombings show, fanaticism dies even harder. For these reasons, Spain’s siege with its secessionists will likely go on.