Word: madrid
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...that some of the people requested by the Spanish might be political dissidents, not terrorists. Last week French officials continued to be wary. Gaston Defferre, the Interior Minister, has gone so far as to declare that the war against the ETA in Spain is "political." Despite continuing pressure from Madrid, the French have still not agreed to the extradition proposal...
Despite the oppression of Madrid, the Basques have flourished economically. Although stereotyped as dark-bereted shepherds who perfected the stunningly fast game of jai alai, they are in fact among Spain's successful businessmen. The dingy but bustling Basque industrial center of Bilbao (pop. about 450,000) is heavily oriented toward steelmaking and shipbuilding. The three Basque provinces are among the richest in Spain on a per capita basis...
...after a decade of bloodshed, Madrid tried to buy peace by granting amnesty to many ETA prisoners and giving the Basques a good deal of independence. The autonomy law, which did not actually go into effect until last year, established a regional parliament in the provinces with limited power over local administration, social services and commercial regulation, plus the promise of eventual control over a Basque police force...
...Madrid's refusal to reform the police in the Basque country can only deepen the sense of alienation. Indeed, some conspiratorially minded Basques already believe that the ETA terrorists and the Spanish police have developed an almost symbiotic relationship, each helping the other to hold back the further progress of democracy in Spain. Says Arzallus: "I am convinced that some sectors in Madrid find ETA's existence convenient...
From time to time, frustrated Spaniards have wondered about a possible Soviet hand behind ETA. In May, Prime Minister Calvo-Sotelo spoke vaguely of the "international" dimensions of the terrorist problem. But he has not repeated that statement. The question asked more frequently by moderate politicians in Madrid is why ETA keeps trying to provoke a right-wing coup that would take back everything the Basques have gained since Franco's death. Answers a Basque nationalist in exile in France: "It would only demonstrate what they already believe, that Spain is basically fascist, that they were right all along...