Basque Terrorists
Re “Spain Says No to Separatists,” editorial, July 15:
The brutal slaying of Miguel Angel Blanco by ETA [Basque separatist] fanatics hands still another defeat to the people that work to preserve the Basque language and culture by legitimate means. The ETA is a terrorist extension of an underground resistance that formed during the highly repressive Franco years. The Basque language and culture are among Europe’s oldest, far predating the French and Spanish cultures that dominate the Basque homeland today.
Basques have had a major impact on the development of the Western U.S. and Los Angeles. The list of civic-minded Basques includes former senator and governor of Nevada Paul Laxalt and our own former L.A. County Sheriff Eugene Biscailuz.
The ETA brush splatters innocent, proud Basques. This is a serious matter in civil law in Spain and France where, though they are democracies, ordinary people do not enjoy the protection of a bill of rights. In the rush to capture and punish the perpetrators, we can only hope that Spain and France will protect the innocent.
FRANK LaHORGUE
Pasadena
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