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The referendum organized by Batera with the help of most municipalities in the Northern Basque Country on whether the region must be a distinct territorial collectivity 78% of votes in favor and 19% against and 3% issued blank votes.
However, being an unofficial poll, the participation was relatively low, fluctuating between 10 and 48% of citizens, depending on the canton. The results by canton are:
- Baiona: 81.7% in favor, 15.7% against (participation: 10%)
- Garazi: 75.6% in favor, 19.5% against (participation: 28.4%)
- Iholdi: 85.1% in favor, 10% against (participation: 47.9%)
- Hazparne: 89% in favor, 10% against (participation: 16.6%)
- Beskoitze: 79% in favor, 17.7% against (participation: 29.6%)
Source: Kazeta.
The eight communes affected by the high speed train will have this ballot, disdained by Paris, next Sunday because yesterday they voted on this environmental issue, with all villages voting massively against (between 86 and 96%).
Democracy in the Basque Country: people votes, the government ignores.
Source: Kazeta.
In the (almost meaningless but official) regional elections for the artificial Aquitaine region, the participation was of 48% (low but above the French average), with the Socialist (PSF), Gaullist (UMP) and Christian-Democrats (Forces Aquitaine) being first, second and third force. The Basque nationalist list Euskadi Europan, with 6.7% of votes, was fifth, after Europe Ecologie (also participated by Basque nationalists) which got 11.85% of the vote. Overall the vote to Basque nationalist lists keeps growing, reaching now almost 18%. The communes affected by the high speed train punished severely the large officialist lists.
Source: Kazeta.
The eight communes affected by the high speed train will have this ballot, disdained by Paris, next Sunday because yesterday they voted on this environmental issue, with all villages voting massively against (between 86 and 96%).
Democracy in the Basque Country: people votes, the government ignores.
Source: Kazeta.
In the (almost meaningless but official) regional elections for the artificial Aquitaine region, the participation was of 48% (low but above the French average), with the Socialist (PSF), Gaullist (UMP) and Christian-Democrats (Forces Aquitaine) being first, second and third force. The Basque nationalist list Euskadi Europan, with 6.7% of votes, was fifth, after Europe Ecologie (also participated by Basque nationalists) which got 11.85% of the vote. Overall the vote to Basque nationalist lists keeps growing, reaching now almost 18%. The communes affected by the high speed train punished severely the large officialist lists.
Source: Kazeta.
2 comments:
Only those really in favour of a Basque territorial collectivity went to vote in that unofficial votation. IMO, even though one can sympathize with those wishing a Basque département (I come from a Béarnaise family which have always sympathized with the Basque cause), it's all but representative. BTW I believe that these days, there are battles that are more important than a Basque département for Basque culture : quite frankly, there are harsher fates than sharing an administrative division with Béarnais people. How could the Béarnais oppress the Basques when both "nations" suffer from the very same "frenchification" ? Let's add that not much separates the Basques from their neighbours except language.
The harsh truth is that unfortunately enough, nobody in France cares about these issues anymore. Actually, people are quite opposed to these thematics in the name of French unity. There are many projects that aim at making départements disappear within the years to come in favour of regions which are investing much in communication to forge new local identities. IMO the whole idea of vernacular local identities is at stake. I do not disagree with devolution but at least devolution must be based on traditional borders, not administrative monsters such as Midi-Pyrénées or Rhône-Alpes. But it's too late : except in some tiny Corsican and Basque sectors, the whole of France identifies as French.
About "LGV" ("ligne à grande vitesse") : it will be built because Europe wants so. And because the Basque Government in Vitoria wants so. There'll be a great tunnel in the Pyrenees as well in the years to come for the same reasons (except here it's Aragon pushing in favour of this project). Since it cannot be avoided (indeed, it'd be more clever to adapt current railways) as it's part of a greater scheme to unite SW Europe/Maghreb and northern Europe, and even though I'm opposed to it, let's try to see the advantages which will be for the Basques the possibility to travel across Euskal Herria more freely and quicker.
It's clear that some of those against it also participated. Votes against: 10-20%, there were even those who issued the hyper-civic blank vote, meaning "I am in favor of this vote but have no preference".
I understand that it was an important vote and that those who did not participate, relinquished their right. However I'm sure there will be more votes of this kind, legal or not.
"There are many projects that aim at making départements disappear within the years to come in favour of regions which are investing much in communication to forge new local identities".
That's essentially wrong: all or most of such regions are false, unreal. If at least they would resurrect (more or less) the pre-revolutionary provinces... but they are mostly artificial nonsense regions.
These debates anyhow are not just "French" debates but local ethnic debates very specially. France, if democratic, should bow to what the nations and natural regions decide.
I know that this is totally anti-Jacobine but, to be honest, the only thing cool about Jacobines was once the guillotine and the beheading of the oligarchs, which does not happen anymore.
"Actually, people are quite opposed to these thematics in the name of French unity".
Maybe in France but it's clearly not the case in the annexed nations.
"... let's try to see the advantages which will be for the Basques the possibility to travel across Euskal Herria more freely and quicker".
It doesn't take you more than 2 hrs to get anywhere in EH from anywhere else. Unless there's no rural path whatsoever, like a mountain summit maybe. This is a small country. The HST won't stop in the villages or towns but will only connect the cities: Euskal Herria will become Euskal Hiria (herri=people, village, hiri=city) and the Basque Country will cease to exist altogether.
There is a legend that says that the end of the world will come where everything is full of crossroads. This time has already happened at the Basque Country.
But I'm not going to be alienated from my ethnos to become Spanish or French. I will "betray" both and join the Anglosaxons... and the Chinese or whichever in my next incarnation maybe... if there's anything left at all.
And many others will as well, because as you erase the identity, you make everyone less rooted, less committed and more susceptible to identity swap.
There's absolutely no need for the HST and there absolute need for democratic self-rule. We may lose but we won't surrender.
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