Korrika15, a 2150 km race for the Basque language

Donostia, Friday, 23 March 2007 by Edu Lartzanguren   

As snow still covers the roadsides, supporters of the Basque language (Euskara) have been running through the cold night on the mountain roads between Bizkaia and Araba provinces. The race will go on, non-stop, night and day, for ten days. It will pass through all provinces where Basque is spoken. In all runners will cover 2150 km.

The 15th edition of the Korrika, a popular relay-race in support of Euskara (Basque language), started yesterday in the western end of Bizkaia and will end on April 1st in the city of Iruñea (East).

According to some accounts, the Korrika originated following a dinner held by a group of teachers of AEK, the school organization that teaches Basque to adults. After some drinks, they started brainstorming on a way to promote the language and, at the same time, to raise funds to help to create more Euskara evening classes.

That was 26 years ago. The first Korrika took place in 1980. A small wooden sculpture was made as a baton for the front runners to pass from hand to hand  to show that the race does not stop until the finish-line is crossed. The race is now organized every other year. Thousands of people, young and old, have taken part every year since.

Three generations at the start line

Karlos Santisteban is an Euskara writer from the town of Karrantza. He was the second relay runner yesterday evening. He received the baton from his mother, ran a few metres and passed it on to his daughter.

The Korrika has a strong symbolic aspect, and for 2007 AEK wants to highlight this. The main theme of Korrika15 is the transmission of the language and, especially, the role that Basque women have had in language transmission to the young. "We wanted to recognize the strength and determination Basque women have shown over the years to overcome the obstacles", said Edurne Brouard, the chief coordinator of the race, yesterday.

As examples of those efforts AEK mentioned the women "that created Basque schools under Franco's dictatorship or today under the centralist French State".

The baton in the hands of the front runners is hollow. Inside there is a rolled up piece of paper where a message has been written for the 2007 Korrika. The message will be only unveiled at the end of the race. However, AEK has hinted at what the message may say: "The future of Euskara must be in the hands of the Basque people, over any imposed discriminatory law. But for that, commitment is necessary -personal and collective commitment".

But the Korrika also has an economic side. It's a fundraising effort where a lot of merchandising is sold: t-shirts, sweaters, CDs, books... But the main source of money comes from the sale of kilometres. People buy the "privilege" of carrying the wooden sculpture for a certain distance. One kilometre sells for 485 euros. They can be bought on an individual basis, but most are bought by groups, at the factory, school or in the neighborhood.

The Korrika is also an international event. Small scale races have been organized by the Basque diaspora all over the world.

A virtual Korrika is also running in the Internet. In this so-called Ziberkorrika virtual batons are sold at 50 euro each.

With the money raised by Korrika15, AEK has promised to open two new night-schools, one in Baiona and the other in Iruñea.

Critics of the Korrika argue that the race is too media-oriented and does not actually help the language. Coordinator Brouard answers that after every edition many people enrol on Basque courses. "If the race had no effect we would not organize it. I am sure that one day the Korrika will not be necessary, but for now it is". 

(Eurolang 2007)

Euskara to become the main school language

Donostia, Monday, 12 March 2007 by Edu Lartzanguren  

"It could be a great step forward for the language", said Koldo Tellitu, President of the Ikastolas, the Basque-medium schools confederation, on Friday. The day before the Government in the Basque Autonomous Community launched a plan to reform the education system. The new scheme will do away with the much criticised three tier system, A, B and D, and open the way for Euskara (Basque) to be the main language in education.

For the last 25 years, Basque parents have been offered three models for their children's education, both in state run schools and private schools that receive money from the Basque government.

Model A offered education entirely in Spanish, where Basque was taught as a subject with four hours a week of Basque from the age of six on. Under model B about half of the subjects are taught in Basque and the other half in Spanish. Under model D pupils are taught entirely in Basque with some Spanish and English or French.

90% of parents choose the Basque only model

However, the system came under increasingly strong criticism over the last decade. Surveys by the Government have shown that only Model D guaranteed that students were proficient in Euskara by the time they reached secondary school. Additionally, Model D was also chosen by the parents of more than 90% of three-year-old infants in the Basque Autonomous Community. The rest chose model B, leaving model A as marginal.

New system for 2008-9

Now, all parties in the Basque Parliament, except for the Popular Party, have decided to change the current system.

The scheme presented last week by Tontxu Campos, the Secretary of Education of the Basque Autonomous Government, will make Euskara the main language and will set up minimum linguistic requirements for both official languages for every student and will give freedom to school boards to decide their own policy.

"Basque and Spanish both have the same legal status, so when students finish their education they must be equally proficient in both", said Campos on Saturday.

Students’ language skills will be put to test twice under the new scheme. At age 9-10 they will require the European B1 standard in both Basque and Spanish, where they will have to show that they are able to understand simple texts or speeches on familiar subjects and to be able to write and talk on the same level. By the age of 13, they will pass an exam for the B2 standard with complex tests and ideas on a variety of subjects. They will also have to pass a B1 test for English or French by the time they finish secondary education (age 15-16).

Schools will be free to make their own schemes and change the proportion of time they give to each language. For instance, in mainly Spanish-speaking areas they will be able to increase the number of subjects to be taught in Basque, in order to intensify the exposure to the lesser used language. In mainly Basque-speaking areas, where it is easier for students to learn both official languages, schools will be able to increase the time for English or French.

"We would like to see the new scheme implemented by 2008-9", said Campos. He added that students already learning in the three-tier system would continue in the chosen model until they finish school.

All-party support for the move, except for the PP

All Parliamentary parties expressed agreement and high hopes for the new scheme. The groups that form the three party government, nationalist EAJ-PNV, EA and the non-nationalist left Izquierda Unida-Ezker Batua, stressed that the majority backs the plan. Socialist Party PSE-EE, the Basque branch of the Spanish PSOE, said that the scheme was based on their own views. The pro-independence left group in the Parliament, EAB, said that the B2 standard was not "ambitious enough" and pointed to the C1 standard as the "proper objective" for 15-16 year olds.  Meanwhile, the Popular Party strongly condemned the proposal as "fundamentalist", and accused the government of giving "false data about the collapse of Model A so as to put it into question".

While President Tellitu of the Ikastola confederation welcomed the scheme, he warned that more hours in Basque will be "of no use" if the education of those Basque speakers is not based on a Basque curriculum. "If we want to educate the Basques of the 21st century, we will have to adapt the contents to new needs and challenges. For that a Basque school will need its own curriculum, and that will be the determining factor in strengthening and normalizing the language.” 

(Eurolang 2007)

Spanish prosecutors drop all charges against Basque newspaper, Egunkaria

(Tuesday, 19 December 2006) - by Edu Lartzanguren

"There is not a single piece of proof to connect Egunkaria with ETA", were the words of Miguel Angel Carballo prosecutor at the Spanish Audiencia Nacional, the tribunal that ordered in 2003 the closure of the only Basque language daily newspaper. The prosecutors made their conclusions last Thursday, and have recommended that no trial should be conducted against Egunkaria's board of directors.

Seven of those arrested in 2003 reported having been tortured by the Guardia Civil, among them the director of the newspaper, Martxelo Otamendi. The daily has been closed since, it's assets seized and sold off, and 180 workers lost their jobs.


"The prosecutor thinks that there is not enough evidence to go ahead with the case, and no basis to prove that ETA hid behind a legal newspaper", says Carballo. He adds that after four years of investigation he has found out that "in its 13 year lifetime Egunkaria did not publish a single article, or editorial, in which a desire to bring support to ETA was to be seen."

As a result the prosecutor is demanding that the Audiencia Nacional's first criminal court drop the case and lift all charges taken against the accused.

Egunkaria was closed on February 20th 2003. In the middle of the night, the Spanish Guardia Civil broke into the houses of ten members and ex-members of the newspaper's board. They were taken to Egunkaria's premises in Andoain, 16 kilometres from Donostia-San Sebastian. The Guardia Civil closed the newsroom, and took the arrested to Madrid. They were held incommunicado for several days. Seven of the arrested reported that they were subjected to several types of torture. They said they were beaten and forced to do physical exercise until exhaustion. The director of the newspaper, Otamendi, told the judges that the police placed a gun against his temple, and simulated his execution. His head was wrapped in plastic bags several times to suffocate him. Another of the arrested, Pello Zubiria, had to be taken to hospital, because he could not withstand the treatment and tried to commit suicide.

They were all freed in the following days, except for Inaki Uria and Xabier Alegria. Mr Uria spent 17 months in prison, Mr Alegria almost two years. All had to pay bail, amounting to 700,000 euros. The operation was ordered by judge Juan del Olmo, from the Audiencia Nacional.

"As it has not been proved that Egunkaria helped finance ETA or laundered its money; as it has been seen that neither Egunkaria, nor the accused, have ever helped ETA or justified terrorist actions [...]: it is unfair to proceed with the trial," concluded prosecutor Carballo.

The defendants in the Egunkaria case were happy with the prosecutor's demand, but cautioned against any euphoria. In spite of the recommendations the tribunal might well go ahead with the case. "You have to realize that this step is not definitive," said Joan Mari Torrealdai, former member of Egunkaria's board and one of the prosecuted. Torrealdai explains that here are still two private parties that are asking for the trial to proceed. "The prosecutor can't close the case, only the Audiencia Nacional can do that, and we do not have much confidence."
Mr Torrealdai continued, "The case against us was politically motivated by the Government of Jose Maria Aznar, as were many others in Euskal Herria".

(Eurolang 2006)

For the first time over 50% of schoolchildren study exclusively in Basque, in the Basque Autonomous Community

Donostia, Friday, 16 September 2005 Contributed by Edu Lartzanguren
Basque children are back at school this week, and, for the first time, more than half of them will be studying exclusively in Euskara, the Basque language, in the Basque Autonomous Community.

It is, indeed, an achievement. Twenty five years ago 78% of the children were studying only in Spanish. But things are not so bright for Euskara as they seem: the Basque Autonomous Government is keeping the three tier system, A, B and D, even if its own surveys show that only Model D (all subjects are taught in Basque, except Spanish and English) guarantees that the students are proficient in Euskara when they reach secondary.

In Nafarroa (Navarre) and the three provinces under French administration, Basque teaching is between 20% and 40%, and teachers have accused their administrations of hindering Basque education, in spite of the fact that the number of students wanting to go to Basque-medium schools increases every year.

Model D has been chosen by the parents of more than 90% of three year old infants in the Basque Autonomous Community. The rest chose Model B, where some of the subjects are taught in Basque and some in Spanish. Model A, teaching in Spanish with Euskara only as a subject, has become marginal.

“Only 53% of the students in Model D seems very few to us, we expected more”, a representative of the ikastola (Basque schools) organization Partaide told Eurolang. Partaide explained why there are just 53% studying in Basque: even if Model D is being chosen for almost every three year old child, when the girls and boys finish primary education at 13-14, some parents transfer them to religious schools seeking tighter discipline for under-performing teenagers. Schools run by the Catholic Church use Model A entirely. In addition, there is very little (10%) teaching in Euskara in professional training.

The model system has come under increasingly strong criticism, and many voices are calling for it to be changed. “It was set up following political criteria, not social or linguistic criteria”, says a Partaide spokesperson.

Keeping Model B and A will mean “that thousands of students will not be Basque-speaking”, says Juankar Aritxabaleta, speaker for Sortzen-Ikasbatuaz, another ikastola organization.

Nafarroa - no classroom, no teachers

Only one of the students at the Patxi Larrainzar public school in Nafarroa crossed the gates of the public school on the first school day. The other 600 attended a protest in front of the Government of Navarre buildings in Iruñea (Pamplona). More than 30% of the parents in Nafarroa have chosen Model D for their 3 year olds. It is 0.2% more than last year, but parents groups say that the executive, governed by the UPN (the Popular Party’s branch in Navarre), keeps limiting the resources assigned to Basque teaching. 27% have started learning in the equivalent of Model A. In Navarre, 42% of children will not be taught Euskara at all.

“There is no classroom and no teacher for 200 students in Patxi Larrainzar School, because the government has refused to accept that more and more parents are choosing Euskara”, said Aritxabaleta. The parents group point out that at nearby Cardenal Ilundain School there were 10 empty classrooms, and three times more space for students. Cardenal Ilundain is part of an experiment of the Government of Navarre: students are taught in Spanish and English, and no Euskara is taught, even as a subject. The parents asked the Government to let them use the empty rooms, but the executive turned down the request and declared that there was “plenty of room, and no problem” at the Patxi Larrainzar school.

Worse situation in Iparralde

Examples show an even worse situation in the three provinces under French administration. Numbers of students who choose Euskara increase every year, but representatives of the ikastolas state that the French government “denies the resources that Basque needs in the name of egalité”.

“French authorities do not take into account neither the organization of the ikastolas nor the special needs of the language”, said Ixabel Xarriton, president of Seaska (‘cradle’), a Basque language organization. Paradoxically enough it is teachers of French that Basque schools need, but these are being denied by the government. Seaska had demanded part-time teacher posts for six schools but got none. As a consequence, students of different ages have to be mixed in the same class. In Aiherra (Nafarroa Beherea, Low Navarre), a single teacher will have to cope with 24 students between 3 and 7 years old.

The French government argues that teacher posts are assigned following a model for “equality between regions”, and that model does not take into account any other language except French. France has signed the European Charter of Regional or Minority Languages but refuses to ratify it.

Just 22% of the 45,579 students in the three northern provinces are taught Euskara. Of them, 6.7% have Euskara as a subject, 11.7% have half of the subjects taught in Basque and the other half in French. Just 4.3% are taught only in Euskara, with French as a subject. In primary school Basque is stronger: 35.5% are taught Euskara, and the “bilingual” model reaches to 24.1%. (Eurolang © 2005)

Basque minister explains Ibarretxe plan to Bretons

Brignogan, Monday, 05 September 2005 by Edu Lartzanguren
Esther Larrañaga, the Environment Secretary of the Basque Government, spoke of a “Basque republic in the European Union” in front of 200-300 people representing stateless nations in Europe.

The speech was part of an event held August 23 in the town of Brignogan in France’s Finistère region (Pen ar-Bed or “the world’s end” to the Bretons). The event was organised by the Toulouse-based Régions et Peuples Solidaires and financed by the European Parliament through the European Free Alliance group.

Larrañaga, a member of the social democratic party Eusko Alkartasuna (EA), defined her party as “pro-independence” and declared its main objective to be “a Basque republic in the European Union.”

It is not clear if Larrañaga’s pro-independence views are shared by her party’s coalition partner, the Christian democrat PNV (Basque Nationalist Party). PNV’s president, Josu Jon Imaz, declared earlier in August that the idea of Basque independence should be substituted by the concept of “co-sovereignty with Spain”. Imaz’s statement aroused dissent in his own party.

[Stateless] nations must take part in the building of Europe, said Larrañaga, “but for that, their own political awareness must be recognised though the right to self-determination”. Besides the Breton, the audience included representatives of almost every stateless nation in Europe. Larrañaga elaborated on the current political status of the Basque Autonomous Community, which only includes three of the seven Basque Provinces, and declared it “worn out” after 30 years. She explained that the successive governments in Madrid have failed to fulfil the so-called Gernika Statute. “The time is ripe to renew it,” she said.

After the speech, Bretons in the audience asked Larrañaga how the Basques had managed to safeguard their language since the end of the Franco dictatorship. Larrañaga answered that there is still a lot to be done to strengthen the Basque language, Euskara. However, she explained how political autonomy directly impacts the amount of money available for implementing language policy, since the Basque government collects tax directly from the population and negotiates the amount to be transferred each year to Madrid. Members of the audience from other stateless nations expressed frustration that in their countries many projects to promote their languages come to a halt due to lack of funds.

But the main theme was the Statute of Free Association, the so-called “Ibarretxe plan” — the proposal of Basque Prime Minister Juan Jose Ibarretxe to grant the Basque region free association status with Spain. The audience was excited by the idea that it might mean de facto independence, as suggested by international media. Ibarretxe’s plan, explained Larrañaga, has two main points: “territoriality”, refering to the seven Basque provinces, with Navarre and the provinces in Iparralde deciding their degree of collaboration, and the right of the Basques to self-determination.

Larrañaga´s representatives told Eurolang that they pleased with the Breton's response to the speech. They felt that there was an urge in the international audience to get first hand information about Euskal Herria (Basque country). And the information came, ironically, from the Breton Pen ar-Bed — the world’s end.(Eurolang © 2005

“Time to turn the tide” for Euskara as Ibarretxe is re-elected Basque President

Bilbo 6/24/2005 , by Edu Lartzanguren

(This article was first published in Eurolang , an independent Brussels-based news agency)

Basque Nationalist Party (EAJ-PNV) candidate Juan Jose Ibarretxe won his third term as Lehendakari (President) of the Basque Autonomous Community yesterday (Thursday) by a narrow vote in the Parliament.

The pro-independence left group in the chamber gave him the two votes he needed to have the simple majority required on the second round, but the parliament members of EHAK (Communist Party of the Basque Lands) made clear that their vote, just two out of their nine representatives, was not to be taken as an endorsement for Ibarretxe’s candidacy. The vote reflected what is to be expected for the new political period: a government depending on EHAK votes, that is, the group that is seen as taking the political place, and presumably many votes, of Batasuna - the party banned by the Spanish Government.

“We are ready to help this government, but we demand specific measures for the Basque language”, said Xabier Mendiguren, head of Kontseilua, to Eurolang on Thursday.

Kontseilua is an umbrella organisation for groups working for the advancement of the Basque language. Kontseilua is afraid that Ibarretxe’s new government will just follow on the tracks of previous EAJ-PNV governments, and fail to raise to the challenges faced by the language in this “very important time”.

Ibarretxe got 34 votes, 32 from his own party, Eusko Alkartasuna (EA) and Ezker Batua (EB). The three parties formed a coalition that held the previous Basque Autonomous Community government. In addition, he got two votes from EHAK, the votes that made the difference.

Ibarretxe failed to become Lehendakari in the first vote on Wednesday as an absolute majority was needed. In the second vote, on Thursday, a simple majority was required, and EHAK’s two votes gave him the advantage over Francisco (Patxi) Lopez, the pro-Spanish PSE-EE candidate. Lopez gained the support of the Popular Party (PP) representatives.

Previous to the vote, EHAK had announced that no agreement had been made with Ibarretxe and that they would wait to listen to the nationalist candidate’s speech to decide whether to support him or not. Ibarretxe promised the Parliament that he will be launching all-party talks at the start of his legislative period, aiming to boost the peace process in the Basque Country. If it reaches consensus he would hold a referendum in this term. That was one of the main demands made by Batasuna and EHAK leaders.

The Ezker Abertzalea group (EHAK) in the parliament meanwhile applied a tactic already used by Batasuna on December 30th: dividing their votes. Two members of EHAK voted for Ibarretxe, and the other seven cast invalid votes as they wrote “demokrazia eta bakea” (democracy and peace) on their voting papers. “We wanted to open up a new opportunity”, said Nekane Erauskin spokeswoman of EHAK. She made it clear that those two votes did not mean that they were supporting Ibarretxe.

“We were really disappointed by the speeches of both candidates”, Mendiguren told Eurolang. The head of Kontseilua was in the Parliament to witness the vote. For Mendiguren, the speeches were “far too vague” and implied “no advancement” in regard to the policies that are being implemented today. Lopez’s speech even suggested that he would take a step backwards in the process of normalisation of the language. “We saw that future prospects were gloomy with both candidates”, said Mendiguren.

Mendiguren was happy to see that in the afternoon EAJ-PNV, EHAK and Aralar representatives backed the language explicitly. The EAJ-PNV spokesman, Joseba Egibar, made his whole speech in Basque. EHAK even mentioned the pact for the language that Kontseilua has been working on with parties and trade unions. “The pact is now on the Parliament’s agenda”, said Mendiguren.

The government coalition is dependent on EHAK votes, so observers think that the legislative period will be short. Mendiguren is, anyway, willing to help the new government, but demands specific measures to settle the language in the professional world, and fill the gaps in university and professional education. “Up to now all the emphasis has been put on the peace process and the language question has been somewhat neglected. It is time to turn the tide”.

Ibarretxe made no direct reference to the Plan bearing his name for greater autonomy but he has hinted at two points. His plan consists of some chief principles such as “territoriality” . This refers to the Basque Country’s seven provinces, with Navarre and the provinces in Iparralde deciding their degree of collaboration, the right of the Basques to self determination, as well as a series of articles developing those principles.

After the polls, in which he did not get the absolute majority he expected, political commentators speculate that he may be ready to drop the articles, but not the principles. There will be no discussion about his text, so in that sense the Plan is dead. But the alternative will have to be based in those principles, and in this sense the ideas that inspired Ibarretxe's Plan are very much alive. (Eurolang © 2005)