Welcome to the tuSPAIN weekly review of the Spanish media. Cristina Marquez Arroyo de Camihort has selected a wide range of articles covering general news about Spain, politics, business and culture. We also invite you to view the latest news from Spain (in Spanish) at the web sites of El Pais, El Mundo, ABC and El Periodico
NEWS REVIEW
4 - 11 March, 1997
STRIKE IN BASQUE REGION
Herri Batasuna, the political arm of ETA, called a 24-hour strike to protest the imprisonment of most of its leaders and sent threatening letters to businesses, schools and workers urging them to observe the work stoppage. The police has tripled their numbers on the streets and called their riot units in anticipation of violent confrontations with possible demonstrators. The regional government has outlawed the strike, calling it a "political weapon." Workers have been asked to ignore the threats and show up to work as usual.
ETA WANTS TO TALK TO MADRID
Javier Arzallus, a nationalist leader of the Basque region and actual President of PNV (Basque Nationalist Party), has stated that the separatist group ETA wants to communicate with the Madrid government to end their 30 year violent campaign and request of a separate Basque state. Even when he acknowledged that ETA has twice in the past broken off talks, he also said that "at this time, I believe they really want to do it." He mentioned that having 600 of its members in Spanish prisons and 2,000 in exile, ETA is now in a position to negotiate because it's "hard to cope" with a situation like this. He also compared the people around Jose Maria Aznar, the President of the Government, to Jean Marie LePen, a radical rightist French politician, saying that in comparison, the French politician looks like a democrat.
SPAIN PROTEST IN PORTUGAL
The Government of Spain has officially protested a court's decision in Portugal which refused to hand over a suspected ETA militant. For that reason, the Foreign Ministry summoned Portuguese ambassador Leonardo Matheas to present formal complaints over the rebuff of Spain's extradition request for Jose Luis Telletxea, a member and supporter of ETA. Telletxea was arrested in Lisbon in 1996 when he boarded a flight to Venezuela with false documentation. He is wanted in Spain for smuggling ETA rebels and weapons across the border with France. Abel Matutes, the Spanish Foreign Minister, affirmed that the Portuguese courts should have respected the Spanish court which ruled that the actions perpetrated by Telletxea were crimes in Spain. He also added that border control could be re-established to prevent Telletxea crossing back into Spain with total impunity, which will be an incentive to commit similar crimes. A similar problem occurred last year between Madrid and Brussels, when a Belgian court ruled against the extradition of a couple suspected of collaborating in an ETA attack.
CELEBRITY TRIAL
Mario Conde, one of Spain's fallen financial heroes, accused of committing fraud, falsification and misappropriation during the 1993 collapse of the Banesto bank he was President of, walked into a Madrid court on Monday for the start of his trial The hearing on Monday was the beginning of what has become Spain's biggest case of financial crime. If convicted, Conde could face seven years in jail. But this is only peanuts when compared with the main Banesto case, in which Conde is accused of embezzling 300 million pesetas from Banesto accounts for his personal use. This trial is expected to begin in October and if convicted, Conde could face 35 to 44 years in prison.
EU TO CUT OFF SPANISH AID
The European Union has announced it could cut off the aid provided to Spain by FEOGA, the Federation of European Agricultural Organisations, after several irregularities were detected in the administration of the Andalusian Council. These actions were taken in the project "Leader Alpujarra", which involves different activities through Granada and Almeria. Also, the European Commission has warned the Government that they will eliminate the Leader II Community Program which includes a total of 22 Action Groups in Andanlusia. The Commission decided to halt the "Leader Alpujarra" project based on the divergence observed during the last year and has also ordered the refund of the 35 millions already bestowed on the communities.
GERMANY, SPAIN AND ARGENTINA
Carlos Menem, President of Argentina, ordered the opening of the Central Bank archives to help investigate if Nazi funds were deposited in Argentina during the Second World War. Carlos Corach, the Argentine Interior Minister, said that President Menem had "ordered to check a list of 334 personal accounts in an effort to clarify if some of the gold looted by the Nazis ever landed in Argentina". He did so at the request of several international Jewish organisations, Corach told journalists. The names of the accounts owners were not provided. Based on US documents revealed in January, these Jewish groups claim that the Swiss National Bank sent 280 truckloads of gold to Spain and Portugal in vehicles bearing Switzerland's flag, which was a neutral emblem. From there, and with the help of the governments of those countries, the gold was sent to Argentina. They are requesting a "detailed report on the banking accounts that could exist in Argentina connected to funds from Germany during World War II."
FREEDOM FOR OTEGI
Miguel Otegi, the 23 year old Basque man who shot two police officers to death in 1995 was acquitted of murder in a San Sebastian court on the basis that he was temporarily insane and, therefore, was not responsible for his actions. The shooting took place in Itsasondo, a small town in the north of Spain. He is a suspected member of JARRAI, the radical extremist youth group of ETA. The verdict shook the whole Spanish society, and the government has stated they will do everything they can to reverse it. Jaime Mayor Oreja, the Interior Minister, stated that "we will achieve a different result, we can't let this nonsense we have here happen." Some potential jurors have expressed their fear to become ETA targets if their names remain in the records. This case flags a serious concern regarding the validity of trials by jury, a new approach in Spain's judicial system. Meanwhile, Joaquin Molins endorsed the proposal from the Populist Party to reform the law for trials by jury in order to avoid the repetition of cases like this one, where it's "obvious that justice has not been served." He recommended "to do this on reflection and after serious consideration of the problem."
POLITICALLY ABUSED LORCA
The family of Federico Garcia Lorca has accused the Junta de Andalusia of the politically misuse of the name of the poet as a weapon against the Populist Party. According to Manuel Fernandez Montesinos, Director of the Garcia Lorca Foundation and one of the surviving poet's nephews, "it really upsets our family to see that Federico is used as a weapon between parties." Both the family and the foundation had a quick and hard response to Carmen Calvo, the Cultural Advisor for the Government of Andalusia, who affirmed last week that the people from the Populist Party could not pose with dignity for a picture next to the poet. Yesterday Montesinos stated that the attitude of the Government is shameful and also represents an absolute lack of respect towards a Commission that is presided by Their Majesties, the King and Queen of Spain. He added that his uncle would certainly have disliked this fact also. Finally, he expressed that the relations with the actual Corporation after the Populist Party "are excellent, something that did not happen with the previous ones."
FIREBOMB ATTACK
Hooded attackers in Navarra, the capital of Pamplona, threw 10 oil bombs at the windows of the family home of Asuncion Apesteguia, a Socialist member of the Basque parliament. She and three family members were inside the house, but none were hurt despite the serious damage to the house. Ms. Apesteguia, who was also the target of graffiti attacks in the past, usually takes part in silent demonstrations to protest against Basque separatist violence in the region.
CEOE LABOUR REFORMS AND UNIONS
The Spanish employers' association CEOE stated that they will not soften any proposal or bend to political pressure to reach an agreement with the Unions. Juan Maria Cuevas, the President of the Association, expressed clearly that they will not "sign just anything, we will assume all the costs of a disagreement, as we need a deal which proves effective." Both the Spanish unions and employers have been negotiating during this year for ways to reform the labour market, with more than 20 percent unemployment, a figure that doubles the European Union average. The government of Jose Maria Aznar has vowed to step in and impose new regulations if the two organisations fail to reach an agreement.
DUAL RESPONSE TO STRIKE
The business representatives in the Basque region were divided in their response to the strike called by Herri Batasuna, the political arm of the terrorist group ETA. Larger companies defied the strike but the small shops closed for fear of violent retaliation. Jesus Maria Gabirondo, the representative of the AEG (Guipuzcoa Entrepreneurs Association), stated that the strike was followed mainly in small business and commerce, especially in the streets, "as they are afraid of riots." Several Basque businessmen denounced that they had received threats warning them to comply with the strike. But the official estimate of industries operating normally was 95 percent, which means that no significant harm to the regional economy has been inflicted by this strike.
RUSSIA, SOLANA AND NATO
Javier Solana, NATO Secretary-General, stated that his last talks with Russian authorities have been "positive"; however, there are still some differences which have not been solved. Yevgeny Primakov, Russian Foreign Minister, also expressed that the work already accomplished was "positive," but "several differences remain on a wide range of issues." Solana left Moscow on his way to Central Asia, but Gebhardt von Moltke, NATO Assistant Secretary-General, remained in Russia to hold a further round of talks with Nikolai Afanasievsky, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister and NATO's representative from Moscow.
RELIGION IN SCHOOLS
The Government has been forced to immediately accept the majority decision in favour of Religion as part of the curriculum in Schools, after 93 percent of the students in public and private institutions choose Religion as one of their elective courses. The first statistics on the actual semester also reveal a similar trend. The Archdioceses of Madrid, which represents 40 percent of the school population in the country, shows that 77 percent of students enrolled in Religion as an elective course, even when the range of options for students who don't want Religion has been widely increased. Several Parents Associations along the country are now requesting a State regulation to include, without delay, the teaching of Religion as part of the official curriculum based on public interest.
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