With the appointment of political positions, the Government of Navarra has begun a new legislature. As for the axis of the Basque Country, the programmatic government agreement is absolutely inadequate and banal. At the end of the last legislature, nationalist parties and With You Navarra reproached Chivite’s lack of courage. We do not agree. In fact, Chivit and the PSN reacted courageously against the rights of the Basques. However, in view of the new legislature, some of us wanted to understand that the nationalist parties and With You Navarra also wanted to impose some basis in favour of the rights of the Basques, but not. The convention has acted with weakness and laziness. The PSN has the red lines as clear as the PP and the UPN, which have prevailed, so the agreement is nothing more than a set of inaccurate and worthless words.

The Basque language is the original language of Navarre, a heritage of all Navarros and with roots throughout Navarre. We are thousands of Navarros who have decided to live in Basque, because we are Navarros and Basques.

Some give up the Basque. Regrettable! Although it is 40 years since the Basque Law was passed, they do not study. Thus, if Euskera is valued in public services, it is said that the “privileged” Euskaldunes. The Basques are denied our right to speak in Basque with the administration. For them, Spanish is hegemonic. They establish the linguistic hierarchy and violate the rights of the Basques. Among these SNPs is the PP and the UPN to perpetuate this discrimination. It has a totally politicized and uniformizing ideology, closer to the PP-VOX than to the PSOE of Valencia or the Balearic Islands. Renouncing the Basque language, it rejects the Basques. It obstructs the places where it governs, cuts and represses the rights of the Basques without making any mistake. Thus, the words used by Chivit at the investiture conference “plurality, equality and coexistence” for many Basques are false and demagogic, a rather sarcastic joke.

It was a harsh crusade against the Basques during Francoism. Then, after a florist, we suffered restrictive and rigorous measures from the UPN-PSN governments. Now, in the third legislature, supposedly the Vascophiles are giving their support to the responsible governments, we have not made any progress in implementing and guaranteeing the rights of the Basques, quite the contrary. Really, incomprehensible! Apparently, for the Abertzale Party and With You in Navarra the Basque Country stays in the folklore, in marketing to get votes. But for thousands of Navarros the Basque Country is a sign of identity.

In this respect, the democratic violation of the language suffered by the Basque Navarros is not acceptable, so in the first hundred days of newly constituted government we should see the instructions to overcome this unfortunate and discriminatory situation. If the Basque parties and With You Navarre want to act with respect and correctness in the Basque area, they must demand the following urgent measures:

• New Law of the Basque Country, which determines the official status throughout Navarre.
• Basque plans to guarantee basic Basque care to Basques in the departments of the Government of Navarra. To do so, bilingual circuits will be established and profiles in Basque will be expanded and concretized in the organic template.
• In jobs where it is not a requirement for Euskera, the assessment of the language of origin should always be higher than that of foreign languages.
• Promote and consolidate Euskaldunization plans in the public service.
• The rights of the Basques must be legally shielded to avoid the restrictive and discriminatory sentences that have become common.
• Plan to promote the Basque country throughout Navarre, the heritage of all Navarros.

These are basic measures for the Government of Navarre to begin to respect the rights of the Navarros Basques. If the SNP refuses them, we call on the nationalist parties and you Navarre to act with dignity and consistency.

Erkuden Barandiaran Goñi and Aingeru Mikeo Azpirotz, members of the Basque network Altxa Burua of Sakana