Spain's Basques form 202-km human chain to call for independence vote

 

People join hands to form a 202 km (125 miles) long, according to organisers, human chain linking the cities of San Sebastian, Vitoria and Bilbao to call for a right to vote on Basque independence, near Vitoria, Spain, June 10, 2018. REUTERS/Vincent West

 

MADRID (Reuters) - Tens of thousands of people from Spain's Basque Country joined hands to form a human chain running some 202 kilometres (125 miles) on Sunday to call for the right to hold a regional independence vote.

 

Spain's Constitution, created in 1978 after the end of dictator Francisco Franco's regime, states that the country is indivisible and last-year's attempt by Catalonia to hold a secession referendum was met with a harsh legal crackdown.

 

Former Prime Minister with the conservative People's Party (PP) Mariano Rajoy, who has been roundly criticised for his handling of the Catalan crisis, was ousted by Socialist leader Pedro Sanchez in a no confidence vote June 1.

 

Sanchez, who now heads the government following the vote, has called for renewed talks with the Catalan leadership.

 

While most from the Basque Country, which already has a high level of self-determination and, like Catalonia, has its own language and culture, do not support independence, many believe the population should be given the right to vote.

 

The human-chain protest was organised by Basque group Gure Esku Dago (In Our Own Hands) and ran from Donostia (also known as San Sebastian) to the Basque parliament in Gasteiz (Vitoria).

 

The Spanish government, backed by the constitutional court, maintains that any ballot on regional independence is illegal.

 

An Oct. 1 ballot on Catalonia's separation from Spain and consequent unilateral declaration of independence by the regional government prompted Madrid to take control of the region and arrest the civil servants involved in the vote.

 

(Reporting by Miguel Gutierrez; Writing by Paul Day; Editing by Alexandra Hudson)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2018-06-11

It is amazing to me that, while many regions and provinces all over the world want and sometimes vote for the right to govern themselves, the EU is trying to move in exactly the opposite direction, even eventually controlling all existing 27 members from a central point.  The Soviet Union eventually disintegrated and so will the EU if it insists on continuing down its current path.  Brexit and the difficulties being experienced with Poland, Hungary, Italy, Spain and Greece, to mention a few, are just the beginning.

1 hour ago, Retiredandhappyhere said:

It is amazing to me that, while many regions and provinces all over the world want and sometimes vote for the right to govern themselves, the EU is trying to move in exactly the opposite direction, even eventually controlling all existing 27 members from a central point.  The Soviet Union eventually disintegrated and so will the EU if it insists on continuing down its current path.  Brexit and the difficulties being experienced with Poland, Hungary, Italy, Spain and Greece, to mention a few, are just the beginning.

It doesn’t seem that odd, in Europe anyway; some regions seek greater independence from the national power while wanting to maintain close ties with the continent as a whole. Take the Scots -- they almost voted for independence from Britain, but voted overwhelmingly in favor of remaining in the EU. Perhaps they see London as the local tyrant and Brussels as the benevolent imperial power. Or something like that. I think many if not most Scots (and Basques and Catalans) prefer to represent themselves as Europeans, rather than be represented through their historical overlords.

 

Seems like a good model to me; I find the direction taken by Poland, Hungary, and others, plus the whole Brexit thing, to be a harmful backlash driven largely by xenophobia. By gradually coming together, Europe has been at peace for nearly eighty years; pulling apart again seems like a move toward a more violent past.

The Spanish Constitution says:

"The Constitution is based on the indissoluble unity of the Spanish Nation, the common and indivisible homeland of all Spaniards; it recognizes and guarantees the right to selfgovernment of the nationalities and regions of which it is composed and the solidarity among them all."

 

As there is demonstrably no solidarity among the nationalities, the Constitution is invalidated by its own terms.

 

Let the Basques and the Catalans vote on their independence.