Tuesday, 21 February 2012 01:58
39 Comments
By a Newsnet reporter
In a fun-filled day of protest on Saturday, a group of Basque activists have started a campaign for the Basque Country, Euskal Herria in Basque, to be annexed to Scotland to form "Euskotland" so that the Basques too can have a vote on self-determination.
The determination of Scotland to hold a referendum on independence has not gone unnoticed in the Basque Country, where the Spanish constitution prohibits any part of Spain holding a referendum on independence.
This year members of the Basque Nationalist Party decided on a Scottish theme to their annual carnival.
Dressed in kilts and tartan, the protestors took to the streets of Bilbao to celebrate the traditional annual Basque carnival, the Jaia. This time they christened it the Scottish Jaia. The group have also submitted a petition to the Basque government requesting that the kilt and tartan be adopted as the Basque national dress.
Andoni Ortuzar, the leader of the Euzko Alderdi Jeltzalea-Partido Nacionalista Vasco (EAJ/PNV Basque Nationalist Party) in the province of Bizkaia, wearing a Tam o Shanter and a kilt, kicked off the proceedings with a speech in which he claimed "Euskotland exists".
Mr Ortuzar said: "Scotland and the Basque country are identical twins. We appear today with a warm heart like Braveheart and with cold legs. We come to demand the annexation of the Basque Country to Scotland."
Mr Ortuzar highlighted the numerous parallels between Scotland and the Basque Country, we are both noted for our stubbornness, we both love football, rugby, whisky and a version of tossing the caber is a fixture of traditional Basque sport. He noted that we both also have leaders named after fish, Alex Salmón and Patxi Lo-Pez ('the fish').
Mr Ortuzar also pointed out that both countries have a centuries long dispute with their southern neighbours. He added: "We are like two drops of water, except that they are going to decide for themselves but we are told we can't."
Comments
#
2012-02-21 09:01
Haha, love it, see the sea of Tartan in the back ground ! Good on them.
A fight without violance will win the day for Scotland, and hopefully the Basques will do the same.
A fight without violance will win the day for Scotland, and hopefully the Basques will do the same.
#
2012-02-21 10:02
Accompanying video.
www.youtube.com/.../
I think the children in green are dressed as Loch Ness monsters.
www.youtube.com/.../
I think the children in green are dressed as Loch Ness monsters.
#
2012-02-21 10:37
Have watched the video and thought it was fantastic, they really got into the Scottish theme, even cabers!
#
2012-02-21 11:34
I've heard before about Spain's constitution not allowing any part to hold a referendum and that Spain is an indivisible unit, but do these actually hold any water in so-called international law?
Surely Spain are signatories to the various treaties and conventions on self-determination?
Just because something is the law, it doesn't make it actually legal in itself or enforceable. What would actually happen if the Basque Country held a referendum? What could Spain actually do to prevent it? And even if they did prevent it, surely it would just escalate to the international arena?
Surely Spain are signatories to the various treaties and conventions on self-determination?
Just because something is the law, it doesn't make it actually legal in itself or enforceable. What would actually happen if the Basque Country held a referendum? What could Spain actually do to prevent it? And even if they did prevent it, surely it would just escalate to the international arena?
#
2012-02-21 11:58
An explanation could be the fact 63% of the members of the Spanish Cortes (Parliament) which elaborated the Spanish 78 Constitution, had a degree in Law?
As they say in Spain: There is divorce and where there isn't...there is the "There you are, bye"
As they say in Spain: There is divorce and where there isn't...there is the "There you are, bye"
#
2012-02-21 14:59
A first proposal for a new constitution for the Basque Country, the "Ibarretxe Plan", was voted down by the Madrid parliament in 2003, on various grounds - as unconstitutiona l, as treason, and impossible since ETA was still killing people so the Basque society was in a state of emergency and not in a condition to make this decision.
Not forgetting that the Spanish Constitution defends the unity of Spain and makes the armed forces the guarantors of this unity. During Catalonia's attempt to re-write their Statute a little later, an army general threatened to bring out the tanks, but was quickly disciplined.
guardian.co.uk/.../...
There was an appeal to Europe against the Spanish government on grounds of refusing a referendum in 2004, it seems, but I can't see any resolution.
Not forgetting that the Spanish Constitution defends the unity of Spain and makes the armed forces the guarantors of this unity. During Catalonia's attempt to re-write their Statute a little later, an army general threatened to bring out the tanks, but was quickly disciplined.
guardian.co.uk/.../...
There was an appeal to Europe against the Spanish government on grounds of refusing a referendum in 2004, it seems, but I can't see any resolution.
#
2012-02-22 09:13
"the Spanish constitution prohibits any part of Spain holding a referendum on independence"
The dangers of a NO vote in the referendum, perhaps. Would Westminster attempt to follow suit ?
The dangers of a NO vote in the referendum, perhaps. Would Westminster attempt to follow suit ?
#
2012-02-21 11:51
FREE EUSKOTLAND!
We love Euskotland!
Euskotland izan nahi dugu!
Queremos ser Euskotland!
(We want to be)
Watch the whole picture here: landa-larrazabal.blogspot.com/.../...
We love Euskotland!
Euskotland izan nahi dugu!
Queremos ser Euskotland!
(We want to be)
Watch the whole picture here: landa-larrazabal.blogspot.com/.../...
#
2012-02-21 12:05
We have friends in many places who are worth their weight in gold when they help to bring into focus what our wee country is trying to achieve.There is an audience out there who will be oblivious to the shenanigangs of Westminster and like many even in this country believe we have and will be dealt with fairly
More power to their elbow I say we are good at laughing at ourselves when it's done in a spirit of friendship
Haven't seen any other country bringing out their Morris Dancers yet in support of the union Maybe a treat in store?
More power to their elbow I say we are good at laughing at ourselves when it's done in a spirit of friendship
Haven't seen any other country bringing out their Morris Dancers yet in support of the union Maybe a treat in store?
#
2012-02-21 12:40
Excellent, I wish the Basque Country well and hope one day both Scotland and the Basque Conutry can sit as proud independent nations.
#
2012-02-21 14:51
Brilliant stuff! all I can say is well done to our fellow seekers of self-determination and exhort them with the old Scottish war-cry of 'Tongs ya Basques !!
#
2012-02-21 15:19
OT
There may be an ew tactic emerging from the Unionists regarding Shetland and Orkney.
What with the amendments added to the Scotland bill for immediate London control if they vote no in the referendum there also seems to be some scaremongering happening regarding saying that Scotland would take the Islanders wealth fund that they have built up over many years.
If anyone sees this as far as I am aware it is not true and probably needs nipped in the bud quickly.
There may be an ew tactic emerging from the Unionists regarding Shetland and Orkney.
What with the amendments added to the Scotland bill for immediate London control if they vote no in the referendum there also seems to be some scaremongering happening regarding saying that Scotland would take the Islanders wealth fund that they have built up over many years.
If anyone sees this as far as I am aware it is not true and probably needs nipped in the bud quickly.
#
2012-02-21 16:30
I find this very hard to believe, Sleekit. How can Shetland and Orkney have a "wealth fund" and yet Scotland doesn't. I find this one very weird.
Do the unionists really think we are so stupid?
Ach, what am I say of course they do after all we are "too wee, too poor and too stupid" aren't we?
Do the unionists really think we are so stupid?
Ach, what am I say of course they do after all we are "too wee, too poor and too stupid" aren't we?
#
2012-02-21 18:46
Shetland has an oil fund, which the county council negotiated with the oil companies,
shetlandtimes.co.uk/.../...
Orkney doesn't.
shetlandtimes.co.uk/.../...
Orkney doesn't.
#
2012-02-21 19:58
Actually there is good evidence that at least the west coast of Scotland has deep genetic links to the Basques please see Steven Oppenheimer's 'The Origins of the British' facinating read although in a fast moving scientific discipline I'm not sure how up to date it is!
#
2012-02-21 22:11
His genetics may be accurate, but what Oppenheimer says in his book about language is, to use a technical linguistics term, "a big pile of stinky poo-poo".
His central thesis is that an early form of English was already spoken in Britain before Roman times. This is utter nonsense. Oppenheimer just doesn't understand processes of language replacement.
His central thesis is that an early form of English was already spoken in Britain before Roman times. This is utter nonsense. Oppenheimer just doesn't understand processes of language replacement.
#
2012-02-22 22:08
Hi InfrequentAllel e, thanks for making a very pertenant point, Oppenheimer does admit though that he is a popular science writer. I am assuming that you are a linguist, if so can I ask for your views on Renfrew's hypothesis that Gaelic originated as a western Atlantic Seaboard lingua franca?
#
2012-02-23 00:33
Colin Renfrew is best known for his theory that Indoeuropean (the family to which Celtic, Germanic, Italic, Slavic and northern Indian languages amongst others, belong) spread in Europe along with the spread of the first agriculture. This theory is not accepted by most historical linguists.
Renfrew and others, mainly the archaeologist Barry Cunliffe, hold that Proto-Celtic (not Gaelic - he was referring to the common ancestor of all Celtic languages) originated as a lingua franca along the Atlantic seaboard in the late neolithic or early bronze age. This hypothesis doesn't account for certain structural links between Celtic and eastern Indoeuropean language groups, neither does it account for the large number of similarities between Celtic and the Italic family - these links are substantial enough that it was once believed that Celtic and Italic form a single subfamily called Italo-Celtic. Italic is the family to which Latin and a number of extinct languages of Ancient Italy belong. There's also the fact that Celtic shares a significant amount of vocabulary with Germanic and Balto-Slavonic. Proto-Germanic was spoken in southern Scandinavia and the western part of the Baltic.
These links with decidedly non-Atlantic Indoeuropean groups would tend to suggest that the traditional view that Celtic originated amongst the Indoeuropean dialects of Central Europe is more likely to be the correct one.
When Celtic is first attested in the Classical period, it was well established deep in Central Europe and the Alps, and there's no reason to believe it had only recently arrived in the area, as the Atlantic theory would demand. Celtic certainly preceded any other known language family in the area of the modern Czech Republic.
Another difficulty with the "Atlantic theory" is that there doesn't seem to be much Basque or Aquitanian (an ancient language related to Basque) influence in Celtic, or early Celtic influence in Basque.
The late Larry Trask, recognised as the world's leading authority on the Basque language before his untimely death, dismissed Cunliffe's theory of Celtic origins as "utterly indefensible". Trask noted that Cunliffe's views on the origin of Celtic had been demolished by the respected scholar of ancient Indoeuropean languages, JP Mallory of Queens University Belfast. If you're interested in a readable and accessible account of the origins and spread of Indoeuropean languages, you could do a lot worse than Mallory's book "In Search of the Indoeuropeans".
I'm not a professional linguist, like Oppenheimer I write for a general readership. But I write about language so make sure I am familiar with linguistic research.
Renfrew and others, mainly the archaeologist Barry Cunliffe, hold that Proto-Celtic (not Gaelic - he was referring to the common ancestor of all Celtic languages) originated as a lingua franca along the Atlantic seaboard in the late neolithic or early bronze age. This hypothesis doesn't account for certain structural links between Celtic and eastern Indoeuropean language groups, neither does it account for the large number of similarities between Celtic and the Italic family - these links are substantial enough that it was once believed that Celtic and Italic form a single subfamily called Italo-Celtic. Italic is the family to which Latin and a number of extinct languages of Ancient Italy belong. There's also the fact that Celtic shares a significant amount of vocabulary with Germanic and Balto-Slavonic. Proto-Germanic was spoken in southern Scandinavia and the western part of the Baltic.
These links with decidedly non-Atlantic Indoeuropean groups would tend to suggest that the traditional view that Celtic originated amongst the Indoeuropean dialects of Central Europe is more likely to be the correct one.
When Celtic is first attested in the Classical period, it was well established deep in Central Europe and the Alps, and there's no reason to believe it had only recently arrived in the area, as the Atlantic theory would demand. Celtic certainly preceded any other known language family in the area of the modern Czech Republic.
Another difficulty with the "Atlantic theory" is that there doesn't seem to be much Basque or Aquitanian (an ancient language related to Basque) influence in Celtic, or early Celtic influence in Basque.
The late Larry Trask, recognised as the world's leading authority on the Basque language before his untimely death, dismissed Cunliffe's theory of Celtic origins as "utterly indefensible". Trask noted that Cunliffe's views on the origin of Celtic had been demolished by the respected scholar of ancient Indoeuropean languages, JP Mallory of Queens University Belfast. If you're interested in a readable and accessible account of the origins and spread of Indoeuropean languages, you could do a lot worse than Mallory's book "In Search of the Indoeuropeans".
I'm not a professional linguist, like Oppenheimer I write for a general readership. But I write about language so make sure I am familiar with linguistic research.
#
2012-02-24 20:42
Thanks Infrequent for such a fulsome answer, I am a professional archaeologist who unfortunately doesn't have enough time to keep up with developments (I'm not an academic), disgracefully I have Mallory but moved from the project I was working on and never finished it. Time to revisit the bookmark! Thanks again!
#
2012-03-13 12:57
There is another possibility and one that might explain the origin of the Picts and Basques and that is, that they arrived not from the east but from the west....from an unstable mid-Atlantic land mass. Consider the distribution of the great stone circles and constructions like Carnac and Callanish....all coastal. Their purpose? Navigation and time-keeping, essential to a sea-going people.
Recently, Easter islanders have been found to have Caucasian genes in them, similar to the old Caucasian genes of the Basques,and we have Caucasians present in S. America circa 30-25000BC.
If whites were in S America then they would naturally go on to explore the Pacific....and that would explain the enigma of Easter island. With its massive stone work....something Polynesians never turned their hand to anywhere else.
Whatever,we've got to take a second look at the possibility of mid-Atlantic landmasses. Cedric Leonard, an American academic has collected all the evidence, linguistic , mythological, geological and biological on the subject of Atlantis.
Just a myth? I thought so myself, but visit his website "Quest for Atlantis" and I think you will quickly lose the ability to dismiss the idea with a sneer.
My own instinct says that the Basques, the Picts and even the people of Britain are part of this story and that the Celts, Goths etc came from the east, forced into Europe by the more prolific and warlike Asiatics.
My theory explains the links between the Indo-European languages and the separateness of Basque and maybe Pictish from them.
Recently, Easter islanders have been found to have Caucasian genes in them, similar to the old Caucasian genes of the Basques,and we have Caucasians present in S. America circa 30-25000BC.
If whites were in S America then they would naturally go on to explore the Pacific....and that would explain the enigma of Easter island. With its massive stone work....something Polynesians never turned their hand to anywhere else.
Whatever,we've got to take a second look at the possibility of mid-Atlantic landmasses. Cedric Leonard, an American academic has collected all the evidence, linguistic , mythological, geological and biological on the subject of Atlantis.
Just a myth? I thought so myself, but visit his website "Quest for Atlantis" and I think you will quickly lose the ability to dismiss the idea with a sneer.
My own instinct says that the Basques, the Picts and even the people of Britain are part of this story and that the Celts, Goths etc came from the east, forced into Europe by the more prolific and warlike Asiatics.
My theory explains the links between the Indo-European languages and the separateness of Basque and maybe Pictish from them.
#
2012-02-21 21:38
Not sure about the Basques but certainly their next door neighbours the Galicians are Celts.
Basques have a language totally unique to themselves and with no connection to anything around them.
I really don't know where their origins are but I know they are the industrial motor of Spain. Take Cataland and Euskadi out of Spain and it is game over for Spain.
Banco di Bilbao and Santander are serious banks.
In many ways they are culturally like the Scots but are completely nuts driving, seriously lunaticly mad.
Basques have a language totally unique to themselves and with no connection to anything around them.
I really don't know where their origins are but I know they are the industrial motor of Spain. Take Cataland and Euskadi out of Spain and it is game over for Spain.
Banco di Bilbao and Santander are serious banks.
In many ways they are culturally like the Scots but are completely nuts driving, seriously lunaticly mad.
#
2012-02-21 22:09
I've heard it said that you have only truly come to terms with Basque culture when you feel no shame in double-parking.
#
2012-02-21 23:48
What wonderful friends to have. If they make this annual I would go over and join in.
#
2012-02-22 04:07
That's fantastic to see. As a newly free nation we're going to have friends all over the world already. Allot more than you could say for UK or USA. I lived in Barcelona for a bit and the reception we got when we said we were Scottish was always amazing, free drinks and a great sense of common ties between our wee nations.
#
2012-02-24 02:18
Even more so now, KM, Catalans are watching the Scots' every move with great envy and excitement, not to mention despair at their own lot (of politicians).
#
2012-02-22 10:33
I just returned from the Basque Country last Wednesday, how I wish I could have been in Bilbao last Saturday. I imagine it was great fun. I was there for the birth of my niece's first baby, but sadly that was overshadowed by the untimely death of my brother after a short illness. He lived just outside Bilbao for 32years and would have loved to have been there as well. He lived for the day Scotland became independent.
#
2012-02-24 22:11
Firstly indy girl you have my deepest sympathy for you at this time. My daughter was born on the same day as my mum died and I was a bit turbulent for a while. I know my mum would have been excited at the current situation and I will campaign on her behalf for Scottish Independence
As for the Basque country I would love to visit and wonder now if I should take my kilt.
As for the Basque country I would love to visit and wonder now if I should take my kilt.
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