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Bravo for Rosa DÃez

By: psr | 2007-09-02

Rosa DÃez, a politician in the Spanish Socialist Party (PSOE), shares the opinion that terrorism must be defeated, and negotiation with criminals is not acceptable. This was also the official position of PSOE until recently. Some PSOE politicians, like other parties’ politicians, have been killed by ETA (the criminals band called “basque separatists” by the BBC calls, otherwise denominated as “terrorist” by the Spanish Government, the UN, the USA, and the EU).

This woman, Ms. DÃez, has been the target of an assassination attempt as well, but was luckily uninjured. She has fought from and with the PSOE to end the lack of freedom in the Basque Country, imposed by ETA terrorists and their friends (Batasuna and others). That task requires that the source of terror is defeated and eliminated, by means of strong social rejection, financial exhaustion, and police activity against ETA and its supporting environment. This is the absolute opposite to the ill-conceived tactic of negotiation with a criminal.

However, since Mr. RodrÃguez Zapatero became the PSOE secretary general, all efforts in the PSOE to defeat ETA have been progressively waning. They have taken the road of negotiation with criminals in the hope they would voluntarily end their criminals acts of extortion, killings, kidnapping, destruction, and most importantly, restraining freedom of those they disagree with. On the path to implementing this strategy, RodrÃguez Zapatero has replaced key, valued politicians in his party, who disagreed with the negotiation strategy, and who backed the strategy of defeating ETA. As Spanish prime minister, he has also forced key figures of the judicial system out of their positions, for their hard stand in favour of the strategy to defeat ETA.

Rosa DÃez, however, is one socialist who was still in the PSOE, and still defending that there is nothing to negotiate with ETA. She has been an outspoken critic of the current strategy followed by the PSOE and the Government of RodrÃguez Zapatero.

For doing so, she has been insulted by her own party colleagues. The PSOE has accused her of changing sides, to stand along the opposition on the issue of ETA.

The PSOE are proving to be nothing but a load of cynics for treating Rosa DÃez like that: It is the majority of the PSOE who has changed their stance on ETA in the last few years. Ever since ETA has existed and prior to RodrÃguez Zapatero’s Government, all regimes and parties in office, including a 12-year rule by the PSOE, have tried to defeat ETA, never initiating a “dialogue” or negotiation with ETA, as RodrÃguez Zapatero prefers to do. Brief negotiations between Government and ETA took place under SuÃ¡rez, GonzÃ¡lez and Aznar. These prime ministers broke off talks once ETA’s unwillingness to surrender was obvious. On the other hand, RodrÃguez Zapatero initiated talks without a cease-fire or any other sign from ETA, and continued talks while the criminals continued to kill.

Therefore, it is not Rosa DÃez who has changed, but the rest of the PSOE.

Now, (end of August 2007), Rosa DÃez has decided to abandon the PSOE, for it is no longer a party interested in defending the freedom of people and defeating ETA, but has rather turned to talking with ETA, while ETA continues to arm itself, to extort people in the Basque Country and outside, and to kill (ETA killed three people since Prime Minister RodrÃguez Zapatero came in office and while he supported talks with the criminals).

The PSOE has only had words of disdain and insult for their ex-colleague. As always. when confronted with differing opinions, the PSOE is only able to attack their opponent, but never able to defend their own ideals. Nice proof of their pompous 2004 announcement that they’d bring “tolerance” and “understanding” to Spanish politics.

Rosa DÃez deserves a great deal of respect from everyone, for her efforts towards establishing a proper anti-terrorism policy and strategy in the Government. She has announced she will run with a new party in the upcoming general election. Let us hope voters choose Rosa DÃez among the socialist alternatives (the new party and the PSOE).