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)
Tuesday, 20 September 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
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
Tuesday, 28 June 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)
(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)
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