Basque PM calls for referendum next Oct. 25, 2008

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Juan José Ibarretxe

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The president of the Basque country announced a referendum Friday on the region's future. The Spanish government quickly rejected the idea on grounds that under the constitution only Madrid, not a regional administration, can convene a referendum.

The Basque president, Juan Jose Ibarretxe, said the referendum on Oct. 25, 2008, would be based on two principles: rejection of violence by the armed Basque group ETA and what he called the right of the Basque people to choose their future. However, he did not specify the exact wording of the referendum question.

Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, speaking during a visit to Russia, said "nothing is going to be done without respect for the constitution." Zapatero said: "I will listen to the Basque president, but he is going to listen to me also."

Ibarretxe said that, if approved, the referendum would issue a mandate for the government to undertake new peace talks with ETA. He said he would seek support from Madrid for holding the vote, but go ahead with it no matter what the Spanish government decides.

The Spanish general elections are scheduled for March 2008, and Ibarretxe's announcement is certain to grab a large share of attention during the campaign.

Ibarretxe has been talking about such a referendum for years. In 2005 it was part of a blueprint he sponsored calling for much greater Basque autonomy from Spain, including separate representation at the European Union and other international bodies and the right to choose between independence and remaining part of Spain. The plan was approved by the Basque parliament, but shot down at the national legislature in Madrid on grounds it was a thinly veiled, unconstitutional bid to break away from Spain.

Opposition Popular Party leader Mariano Rajoy described Ibarretxe's idea as "illegal, and a blackmail attack on the constitution." He said it aimed to "take away the right of Spaniards to decide what Spain is." The Popular Party accuses Zapatero of having fomented separatist sentiments in Spain by encouraging reforms to give the country's 17 regions more autonomy.