Word: parliament
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When Patxi López began his investiture speech in the Basque regional parliament today, the first sentences out of his mouth were in euskera. Normally this wouldn't be a remarkable occurrence: the president of the Basque region routinely speaks the Basque language. But the swearing in of the Socialist López represents the first time in the three decades of Spain's democracy that the leader of the Basque region does not come from the pro-autonomy Basque Nationalist Party (PNV). As a result, every gesture - even the number of sentences he spoke in euskera - is being...
...much reflect Basque society as represent an attempt to squash it's hard-won autonomy. The party won more votes than any single party in the March 1 regional election, but failed to achieve the necessary majority. Today, outgoing president Juan José Ibarretxe told the Basque parliament that the Socialist-led government does "not represent the majority of society," and cast the new government as "a serious attempt to annul Basque identity...
...last term, Ibarretxe expended a good deal - some critics would say all - of his political capital in an ill-fated attempt to hold a referendum on independence for the Basque country. That effort was quashed by the Spanish parliament, which judged it unconstitutional. But the Socialist victory does not necessarily mean that Basque society as a whole is becoming less nationalist. According to polls conducted by Euskobarometro, the percentage of Basques who desire independence has hovered around 30% - sometimes rising a few points, sometimes falling - since...
Pakistan's generals got the message - the message being that Washington expected them to push back. On April 27, Pakistani security forces launched an offensive to "eliminate and expel the militants from Buner," as army spokesman Major General Athar Abbas noted. Two weeks ago, Pakistan's parliament had endorsed a peace agreement that involved the imposition of Islamic Shari'a law in the Malakand Division, which includes Swat and Buner. The Taliban insist that it allowed them to maintain an armed presence; the military rejects that claim and made clear its intention to limit the Taliban from further advances...
...hills - the same Maoists who were elected to power with the end of the monarchy the army had supported for decades. But the eventual integration of the enemies was an inescapable clause in the peace accord that brought the rebels down from the hills and into the halls of parliament...