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Banning Batasuna, and parties in general

18:35 / 26.08.02

Spanish Parliament approves ban on Basque radical party

On the one hand, I must admit I am a bit ignorant of the politics of the region. I'm not sure exactly of Batasuna's actions. In fact I'd love to be educated on the issues here.

On the other hand, I'm automatically distrustful of any group of ruling parties that decides to ban another party. Furthermore, they have some support, and telling a group of voters that their political allegiance is invalid and they can't choose that is not good democracy.

I don't like dragging NI into any situation involving terrorism, but there seem to be parallels here. Where would we be if Sinn Fein, or many of the other parties, were banned?

Are there any situations where parties should be prevented from participating in the political process?

14:54 / 27.08.02

Apparently (they say on the news) they found a bomb in a party building. One that they were planning to put elsewhere, I'd assume.

It's certainly not going to make the Basque feel any more at home in Spain....

15:57 / 27.08.02

Hmm, I hadn't heard about that - I heard that a bomb was defused in a court building but nothing about ones in Batasuna buildings. Can't see it around... links?

19:22 / 27.08.02

Maybe I misheard the morning news - quite likely given my sensitive state en route to work.

If so, then Spain is really looking not very nice, is it? Justification kind of goes away. Then again, there's a worldwide War on Terra going on, and them derned terrorists is interfering with our jai alai games, so let's just get 'em to setttle down and head back to the fronton so we can get back to betting.

Question for the Canadians: How analogous is this move to stuff that was going on in Quebec in the 70s?

Our Lady of The Two Towers

16:48 / 28.08.02

Well, best not to visit Spain I think, as there is now no political incentive to find a way to stop the terror. Perhaps Spain should give them their own homeland, then they'll have some idea of where to bomb...

11:58 / 29.08.02

They never outlawed the Patri Quebeqois (PQ) back in 1970, although they did enact martial law in Canada at 3am, dragging thousands of francophones out of bed and throwing them in jail. ETA has a longer record of violence and asassinations. The Front de Liberation de Quebec (FLQ) only managed to be around for a few years back in the 60s, and killed two people, I think.

It is similar in the effect of a federal government using a pretext to try and squash the seperatist movement through arresting any possible sympathisers. From reading the article, it just seems like this will raise their support, and support for sovereignty in general. After the whole FLQ scare was over, support for the PQ rose, and by 1976 they were forming the provincial government.

(I read a book on the one assassination the FLQ carried out, written by a member of the FLQ. He claims that they never killed the guy, and that it was a conspiracy by the federal government to discredit and destroy the seperatist movement.)