Without going into deeper reasons, one of the main reasons for this distribution is zoning, which makes Navarros dependent on the existence or not of rights according to their place of birth. The institutions continue to measure the level of Euskaldunity; if the Basques are minorities in a municipality, they become universal languages in the name of coexistence.
A few years after the organization of the first Korrika, in 1986 the Basque Law divided Navarre into three areas: the Basque, the non-Basque and the mixed. Following the Law on Foral Improvement adopted by the Parliament of Navarra in 1982, the exclusionary rule was established and is still in place.
Since Euskalgintza have been fighting zoning for years, and in the Korrika this altar has also been present. The request has reached the Parliament of Navarra, in Pamplona: Agent Euskal Herrian Euskaraz has carried out the kilometer 495 with the banner that said ‘Official throughout the Basque Country’ and has sent a letter to the Parliament of Navarra that he has witnessed in kilometer 496. Sugoi Etxarri, EHE member, along with the witness, has given a letter to the president of the parliament of Geroa Bai, Unai Hualde, and asks him to read the text in parliament. The members of EHE have acknowledged that passing the Korrika witness is “painful”: “The Basque people are fed up with the basquewashing that they do from the main public institutions, that is, that you are in favour of the Basque people and that in events such as the Korrika, in which many people gather, they appear in the photo, but then, on a daily basis, they make public policies against the Basque people.
This is the time when, together with the Korrika witness, we handed a letter to the Parliament of Navarra yesterday.
In order to live in Basque, it is essential that the Basque country be official, we have once again asked them to be recognized by the Basque Country as an official by law. pic.twitter.com/MZWvG1vptr
— Euskal Herrian Euskaraz (@EHEbizi) March 17, 2024
Without forgetting that for AEK the financial contribution of all the individuals, associations and agents who buy the kilometer is essential, it is clear that for many it is easy to donate a quantity of money and continue with their policies. They are comfortable being in favor of the Basque Country only 11 days (or even for the duration of their kilometre). And comfort doesn't mean change. The EHE reminded the Parliament of Navarra that it “is in its hands” to take decisions to formalize the Basque country throughout the territory. Also GKS and Ikasle Abertzaleak have tried kilometer 496 to denounce that the parliament is “the enemy of the Basque Country”. Parliamentarians run ahead of the motto “Your little, the misery of the Basque Country”, perhaps on the Sarasate promenade that has become too long and uncomfortable for them.
On the contrary, the reception of the mayor of Pamplona, Joseba Asiro, has been very different. In the 500 kilometer Asiron takes the witness of the Basque Country, in the same Plaza Municipal where he took the witness of the mayor. The square has remained small and the citizens’ shouts have expressed their enthusiasm and gratitude. At home, the politicians of the City of Pamplona ran comfortably and passed the Casco Viejo between applause and smiles. Who takes the witness now?
Not more than a year living in Vitoria when I first saw Korrika. It was daylight, I was carrying my daughter in a backpack, and a bunch of speakers around me, and among those friends, Rosa, who is still beside me. About her daughter, what to say, is almost 14 years old, and in... [+]
For eleven days, from 14 to 24 March, the corners of Euskal Herria will run 23 March. Running. Photographs sent by AEK are being collected in this gallery.
