|
|
||
|
|
The Second World Basque Congress by Gorka Aulestia The World Basque Congress which took place in Euskal Herria in 1987 has been preceded by one important adjective; second. This leads us to reflect upon the desired association with the first congress of Paris despite the differences between them. Although the two congresses were organized by the Basque government, their historic context, the topics, the objectives and the site of their celebration were very different. A brief résumé of the first congress will enable us to compare the differences between them and to become better acquainted with the context of the second congress. The First World Basque Congress was announced in 1954 by José Antonio Aguirre, president of the Basque government-in-exile. Between the years 1951-1955 Basque nationalists were greatly disheartened, and not without reasons. The Allies, and especially the United States, who never looked with sympathy upon the government of Franco, abandoned their old Basque friends and their aspirations to recover democracy. It was not enough that the Basques had fought against Fascism for three years (1936-1939) or that the battalion "Gernika," composed of exiled Basque soldiers, had formed part of the liberation of Bordeau during the Second World War. In order to be able to establish American military bases on Spanish soil, the government of Eisenhower signed a treaty in 1953 with the dictator Franco, head of the Spanish state. One year before, Franquist Spain had been admitted into UNESCO. The deception of the Basque nationalists, who had hoped that the defeat of Hitler would be followed by the fall of his friend Franco, was very great. There also began to emerge considerable differences within Basque nationalism. One of the ministers of the Basque government, Telesforo Monzón, had abandoned Aguirre's government. Among some young Basque nationalists there also began to emerge a discontent which distanced them politically from their fathers and from the official nationalism of the Basque Nationalist Party (PNV). As a consequence, the group EKIN appeared, which later gave birth to the first group of ETA. Many problems deriving from abroad also threatened to cancel the celebration of the First Congress. For example, Rafael Leónidas Trujillo, the dictator of the Dominican Republic, attempted in vain to undermine the Basque assembly. Thanks to the assistance of the French socialist government, his threats could not be carried out. The First World Basque Congress was celebrated in the "Palais d'Orsay," of Paris, between September 23 and October 1,1956, with more than 400 participants, some of them having some clandestinely from Spain. President Aguirre inaugurated this congress with a solemn discourse in which he analyzed the 20 years (1936-1956) of his efforts as the head of the Basque government. He remembered the difficult moments of the war, the destruction of Guernica, the exile of the Basques, the labor situation, the sad state of Basque culture and the strikes of 1947 and 1951. The First World Basque Congress expounded upon four broad themes related to politics, socio-economics, culture and the presence of Basques in exile. Among the political topics studied were the Basque Statute of Autonomy (conceded by the Spanish Republic), the integration of Navarre into the Basque statutory community and the historic rights of the Basques. Among the socio-economic themes analyzed were the status of labor, health, commerce, industry and housing in the Basque Country. In the cultural section the topics highlighted were those of Euskera, or the Basque language, and the creation of "ikastolak," or Basque schools in the Basque Country. Finally, in the section regarding the Basque diaspora, the congress explored the possibility of creating a Federation of Basque Societies in America which might maintain the Basque culture, language and traditions, particularly among young emigrant Basques. Nearly thirty years later on May 7, 1985, another president of the Basque government, José Antonio Ardanza, announced the Second World Basque Congress at the old University of Oñate during the bicentennial commemoration of Xabier M. Munibe, Count of Peñaflorida (1723-1785). The official inauguration took place on the fifth of September, 1987 in the Hotel María Cristina of San Sebastián and was presided over by the "lehendakari," or president of the Basque government. The first session of this congress began on August 31 in San Sebastián, and its official closing session was held December 19 in Bilbao. According to secretary Luis Gurrutxaga, the objectives of the congress were two-fold. First, it was proposed to address current topics in Basque society from a scientific and universal perspective. Second, the sponsors wished to create ties between the Basque Country and the international cultural and scientific communities. In this fashion it was felt that the scientific and cultural patrimony of the Basque Country would be enhanced while at the same time an international perspective could be brought to bear in the analyses of the present reality of Euskal Herria. In other words, the organizers meant to offer the world, and especially Europe, an image of the Basque Country which differed from the violent and bloody one which the media showed with frequency. Although no one mentioned the name of ETA, the shadow of this armed organization palpitated in the minds of the organizers. The sad economic situation of the Basque Country was another of the great preoccupations which promoted the Basque governments to attempt to promote scientific activities in the search for economic solutions for Basque society. A few facts can serve to clarify the grave economic, social and political situation in which the Basques find themselves at present. The violence has caused foreign investment to flee, and many Basque industrialists prefer to invest outside of Euskadi due to the fear of threats by ETA and to avoid payment of a revolutionary tax. Twenty-two percent of the active population is unemployed. Since 1985, industrial reconversion of the Spanish economy has resulted in the disappearance of many outdated Basque industries. Taking into account the grave situation in which Euskal Herria found itself, the Basque government launched the preparation of the Second World Basque Congress. It assumed the ultimate responsibility for this great assembly, delegating to the academic and cultural institutions the actual organizations of the scientific and technical committees. These committees planned the programs of the various congresses, selected the themes, issued invitations to the speakers, etc. The Basque government named José Ramón Uriarte as the secretary general who, after his voluntary resignation, was placed by Luis Gurrutxaga. As a center of operations, the organization chose a building close to "Ajuria Enea," the residence of the president of the Basque government, and began to develop the preliminary phase of the congress. The congress was assigned a budget of 600 million pesetas (some $5 million) to pay general expenses, such as the rental of locales, the travel expenses, meals and hotel costs of participants, honoraria, simultaneous translators, the printing of publicity materials, etc. It was desired that this great gathering be a congress of congresses, each one different and with its own personality, embracing most of the academic concerns of modern life. From the beginning, the organizing committee urged that the papers be specialized, original and of high intellectual merit. In order to meet this objective, selection committees were established to analyze the papers of the total of 839 speakers from around the world who had been invited to participate. The disciplines covered by the congress were classified into nine large groups: Euskera, humanities, sciences, history, law, medicine, economics, technology and education. All 35 congresses were celebrated in one of the three capitals of the Autonomous Basque Community (San Sebastián, Vitoria and Bilbao), with the topics and dates arranged in the following order: 1. San Sebastián, August 31-October 22. Nine Congresses Basque Language; Polymer Materials; Advances in Pediatrics; Artificial Intelligence; Drug Dependencies; Current Problems in the Economic Sciences; Philosophy; Ethics and Religion; Nutritional Problems of Underdeveloped Societies; Biotechnical Applications of the Study of Membranes. 2. Vitoria, September 21-October 30. Twelve Congresses Anthropology; Geography; Rural and Urban Spaces in Industrial Areas; The Sociology of Nationalism; Land Management, Urbanism and Environment; Economic Public Law; Filiation; Basque Enterprise Faced with the Future; Literature; Basque Rights; The Crisis of the State and of Europe; World Population; Women and Social Reality. 3. Bilbao, October 13-December 10. Fourteen Congresses Education; Cooperativism and Social Economy in the World; Pediatric Oncology; Geology; The Primary Basque Sector in the 21st Century; diagnosis in Psychiatry; Environmental Biology; Evolution and Differentiation of the Universities; History of the Basque Country; Coronary Arteriosclerosis; New Structural Materials; Energy; Telecommunications; Advanced Technologies of Design and Manufacturing. Comparing the first congress of Paris and the second celebrated in the Basque Country, the differences are very great and obvious. The first one was completely political and the second has been essentially cultural and scientific. The number of participants and spectators has been much greater in the Second Congress. It is estimated that some 10,000 persons attended, though with unequal distribution. Some congresses, like that of the "History of the Basque Country" and "Euskera," had 700 and 500 in attendance, while others, like that of "Basque Literature," did not exceed 150. As an exceptional case, we should point out that the "Sociology of Nationalism" had a reduced number of 40 in attendance because it was a closed session. Before concluding this brief article, I would like to give a few details in order to better understand this great assembly. The registration fee of those attending was 22,000 pesetas, less for students. The official languages chosen by the organization were English, Basque, Spanish and French, with preference given to the first. In actual practice, the most utilized languages were Spanish and Basque, in that order. The speakers invited by the organization were provided with travel, lodging and food in good hotels, as well as an honorarium of $500. I participated in the week of "Basque Literature." Among the 27 speakers, the majority were (in declining order) of Basque, Spanish and U.S. origins. Four French scholars canceled, possibly due to the anti-French atmosphere which reigns in Euskal Herria for political reasons. A Portuguese and German also failed to arrive. The daily public attendance was around 150, dominated by young people, and particularly students, who followed the conferences during the entire week with considerable interest. As might be expected, there was no lack of criticism of the organization of the congress in general, and some of the sessions in particular. Especially criticized was the economic expense incurred for this grand assembly. Comparing it with similar congresses celebrated in other countries where each participant assumes his own expenses, I was much surprised by the high cost which the Second World Basque Congress supposed for the government of Euskadi. There were also criticisms of another kind. In the week of "Euskera" and in that of "Basque Literature," the absence of Basque writers was evident; some of them because they were not invited and others for other reasons. Many demonstrated their discontent by boycotting these two congresses. One of the most common complaints referred to the reduced number of specifically Basque topics and of native speakers. J.M. Lasagabaster, president of the congress on "Basque Literature," justified himself by stating that this congress was not about Basque literature, but rather toward Basque literature. My personal impression of this Second World Basque Congress is very positive, despite all of the deficiencies which should be corrected in the future. With it the Basque people have demonstrated to Europe that Euskadi has invested seriously in its culture, and in a better future within the community of European nations. In the face of many media reports, which persist in equating Euskal Herria to the Libya of Kadaffi while confirming the anti-Basque posture of the Spanish press (and particularly that of Madrid which practically ignored the Second World Basque Congress), this magna assembly will go down in the annals of Euskadi as possibly the most ambitious cultural project in its history. |
|
|
|
|
