Basques form 123km chain for independence vote

Tens of thousands of Basques held hands yesterday to form a 123km chain stretching across the northern Spanish region calling for the right to hold a vote on independence.

Organising group “It’s in Our Hands” estimated some 100,000 people joined the chain, which echoed a similar demonstration on Sept 11 last year in Catalonia, another Spanish region with a big independence movement.

Demonstrators draped in red-white-and-green Basque flags raised their linked hands as helicopters flew over the line stretching from the city of Durango to Pamplona some 76 miles away, which is not in Basque Country but is in the neighbouring Navarra region considered part of Basque cultural and linguistic territory.

A long economic crisis and political corruption scandals have triggered broad public disenchantment with key institutions that anchor Spain’s democracy. Support for the once-dominant Socialists and centre-right People’s Party has fallen dramatically; independence movements are surging in Catalonia and the Basque Country — and on Saturday, thousands marched in Madrid and other cities calling for the abolition of the monarchy that was reinstated in 1975.

In recent years, Basque leaders have negotiated more tax independence from Spain while separatist demonstrations have been muted. Separatist group ETA, weakened by arrests and dwindling popular support, declared an end to its armed struggle in 2011.

But a democratic independence movement has gained force in recent months. Catalan President Artur Mas told Reuters last week he was forging ahead with plans for a Nov 9 vote that the central government vows to block on constitutional grounds.