- The Committee on Culture of the General Meetings of Gipuzkoa, with the votes in favour of the PNV, PSE and PP, agreed at the plenary session on 22 November to urge the Basque Government to study the possibilities of protecting the “very significant crossings in Basque culture” and the “customs” around them.
Debates of the European Parliament The people have asked the Basque Government to designate crossings as Goods of Cultural Interest. Five weeks after the unknown had caused the cruise on Mount Udalatx of Arrasate to disappear, the right-wing party has brought the matter to the General Meetings.
According to the calculations of pp, in the CAV there are 140 mountains with a cross on the top. The original text of the popular was rejected by the other parties and a new text has been put forward, with the support of jeltzales and socialistas.El text approved by the PNV, the
PSE and pp consists of two
points and is an essential part of the Basque cultural heritage. The first one says: "The General Boards of Gipuzkoa urge the Basque Government to analyse the possibilities of preserving the material integrity and meaning of crossings at the summits of our mountains and to take the necessary decisions to protect Basque culture and customs."The second, urges the Basque Government "to carry out an analysis of the state of the crossings and other elements of the summits of the mountains of the three historical territories with a vision of cultural heritage that allows to inventory and catalog their state of conservation,
contributing to preserve the integrity of these very significant elements of the Basque culture and its customs".Eh Bildu has shown himself against the two points, while
Elkarrekin supported the second point. The Jeltzale spokesperson at the General Meetings and Councillor of Arrasate, Ander Garay Zabaleta, has stated that the protection of the Catholic Cross is "an essential part of the Basque cultural heritage" and "essential to further strengthen our identity as a people".
The ecologist group
Eguzki has strongly criticised the decision of the Committee on Culture to protect mountains, not crossings, and has expressed its "surprise and indignation". - Protect the crossings? What about mountains? There are many high-speed energy projects that threaten the biodiversity, landscape and heritage of our mountains...".
Eguzki states that the role of religious symbols in public space is uncertain and that they are aware that the environment is not the only criterion to be taken into account in the debate on crossings, but that they are clear that summits should be reduced as much as possible, except for non-natural elements. They added, "pretending that mountain crossings are a significant component of Basque culture is an excuse."