ETA: We want to follow Kosovo’s example
Basque separatist organization ETA is citing the example of Kosovo in its demand for separation of Basque from Spain, the Basque daily Gara has reported.
(KosovoCompromise Staff) Tuesday, January 08, 2008
ETA, which the EU considers to be a terrorist organization, stresses that its struggle is "no utopia," and cites the examples of Kosovo and Scotland, says the daily's website, which ETA often uses to present its opinions.
"This people has the right to develop on its own," says ETA, a group responsible for 819 murders in the past 40 years in Spain, all in a bid to win independence for the Basque region.
Basque leaders also want to hold a referendum on independence by 2010.
Russia and Serbia keep warning that Kosovo's independence, declared without the U.N. Security Council's approval, would be a dangerous precedent that would bolster numerous separatist regions in the world.
Abkhasian President Sergei Bagapsh has recently said that the West's potential decision to recognize the independence of Kosovo will certainly serve as a precedent for other regions of the world, including Abkhasia, a republic within Georgia.
"If the West does that, it is certain that Russia, Belarus and other members of the Union of Independent States will recognize Abkhasia as a sovereign state," Bagapsh said.
In that case, the independence of Transdniestria, a region aiming to separate from Moldova, will also be recognized soon, he added.
