The 5th World Congress of Basque Collectivities
Everything is ready in Donostia for the launch this Wednesday of the 5th World Congress of Basque Collectivities that will unite nearly 80 Basque club delegates from 22 different countries. Delegates will begin arriving on Saturday for this great gathering of Basques in the Diaspora that takes place every four years with sessions taking place on November 2-4. These three days are jam packed, not only with the congress meetings, but will also include the Euskal Herria Mugaz Gaindi seminar, a special session for scholars, as well as an exhibition of stands of various Basque entities in the Diaspora.[+]
The Basque armed group ETA issued a statement Thursday saying it is ending its 43-year armed campaign for independence and called on Spain and France to open talks.
The group made the announcement to Basque daily Gara, which it regularly uses as a mouthpiece. ETA declared a permanent cease-fire in January, but up to now had not renounced armed struggle as a tool for achieving an independent Basque state, a key demand by the Spanish government.[+]
A pro-independence political coalition can field candidates in May 22 local elections, Spain's Constitutional Court ruled on Friday, overturning a Supreme Court decision.[+]
This year's slogan was "Maitatu, ikasi, ari... euskala-kari" (Love, learn, use Basque, euskalakari!). AEK and Korrika named the people who love, learn and use the Basque language "Euskalakari".[+]
The Basque separatist group Eta has announced a permanent ceasefire in its fight for independence from Spain.
In a video statement sent to the media, the group said the truce would be "internationally verifiable".
But the Spanish government has rejected Eta's statement, saying it contained nothing new.
Eta's campaign for independence for the Basque region has cost more than 800 lives since 1968 but it called a halt to armed attacks last year.
As in previous filmed statements, the video showed three Eta militants in white hoods. They said it was "time to act with historical responsibility".
However, they made no mention of disarming or dissolving the organisation - key demands of the Spanish government.[+]
A clip shown by the British broadcaster shows three masked militants. The BBC says the video declares that ETA has decided not to carry out armed operations.[+]
The 5 members of the directing body of Basque-language newspaper Egunkaria faced sentences of between 12 and 14 years in prison, in addition to a further 14 or 15-year ban from practicing journalism.[+]
The Oinkari Basque dancers from Boise, one of the most visible parts of Idaho's Basque-American heritage, are planning their 50th anniversary celebrations.[+]
Regional MPs from the Basque socialist party PSE, the Basque conservative party PP and socialist breakaway party UpyD voted for Patxi López. Outgoing president Ibarretxes candidature was supported by Basque nationalist parties PNV, Aralar and EA. Local post-Communist left-wingers Ezker Batua abstained.[+]
Basque parliament
Basque nationalist party PNV won 30 seats, followed by PSE 24, PP 13, Aralar 4, EA 2, EB 1 and UPyD 1. There was a 34.12 percent rate of non-participation and 8,84 percent of the votes were not valid.[+]
| MO | TU | WE | TH | FR | SA | SU |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | ||
| 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 |
| 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 |
| 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 |
| 27 | 28 | 29 |
