09/08/2008
‘Lehendakari’-Basque President Juan Jose Ibarretxe affirmed on Monday that consulting is the future for all European regions while “forbidding is the past”. He wondered which kind of ”participating democracy” is being created is Spain, a place where “first, the right to decide was denied. Then, the right to ask and now, the right to appeal against”.
Lehendakari made that statement at the official inauguration of the University of Basque Country Summer Course ‘Citizen Participation: new political culture in a context of shared leadership’ at Miramar Palace in Donostia - San Sebastian, accompanied by Gipuzkoa’s County Council Markel Olano.
Juan Jose Ibarretxe reminded that citizens must defend pacifically the right to decide “in Spain, in Europe and everywhere”, because that gesture does not mean something “dramatic” but “democratic.” While it is said that “democratic participation sets the way in Europe, Spain denies that way”, he dennounced.
In spite of the fact that the consultation is now seen as “exceptional”, future times “will not have limits” because “letting the citizens take part in the decisions” is “the way,” he added.
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