Caminante,

I didn't see anything in what CaliBasco said that indicated he was in favor of the tactics employed by ETA. I did see where he said he can understand why a group like ETA could come to exist. I aqree with him fully, and to re-iterate something he indicated, the Franco regime intentionally moved non-Basques into Basque Country to invalidate the votes that the Basques had in voicing their political view. This was done by denying Basques jobs, and bringing in outsiders to take key positions which would then lead to the hiring of non-Basques within the work place.

At no time did Cali indicate that the killings were justifiable. In fact he indicated he was against the violence, but also indicated that the policies of the Spanish government has never swayed from making the Basque region subservient to the whims of the Madrid government, even since the death of Franco.

What irks me most is when people automatically accuse anyone who supports the Basque issue of sovreignty as being a communist because they don't agree with the views of the PP. If that's the case, anyone who supports the existing government must be a Fascist, because that was really the enemy of the Basques in the first place.

Spain will never rule the hearts and minds of the Basques. As long as she continues to deny what the people believe is their rights, there will be bloodshed, and it won't stop as long as the government doesn't honor what they consider their rights.

I wonder what I would do if I was in that same position. Would I opt for trying to find a peaceful way of gaining independence, even though I knew that the governing body would never allow me independence, or would I lash out violently to demonstrate my beliefs. I'm not certain, but I sure as hell wouldn't want to test the average American's resolve if it happened here. I think the bloodshed in Spain would be just a drop in the bucket compared to the uprising you'd see in America.

Wolf (Non-violent by nature, but I don't turn the other cheek either. You just end up getting slapped twice.)