What we can learn from the Basque Department of Peace

Posted on May 26, 2015 by Sonoma Valley Sun

Exclusive to the Sun by Georgia Kelly

Our Praxis Peace Institute group now studying at the Mondragón Cooperatives in Spain had a special session with Jonan Fernandez, the Director of the Basque Department of Peace. Fernandez was one of the principle negotiators in forging peace with the ETA (Basque terrorist organization). In 2011, the ETA announced a ceasefire after five decades of terrorist activities and the killing of 1,100 people.

Because of the successful negotiations by the El Carre Group, created by Fernandez, a permanent ceasefire has been enacted. The Basque Department of Peace was created by the Basque government as an acknowledgement of this extraordinary accomplishment.

In early 2013, The Basque Department of Peace issued a call for suggestions and ideas for inclusion in their Peace Plan. Citizens of the Basque region had three months to send in ideas. Ideas were also sought and received from Amnesty International, Baketik, Gernika Peace Museum, the Basque Youth Council, the Forum of Associations in Human Rights Education, and several others.

The Basque Department of Peace has identified four main areas that give rise to conflicts and the breakdown of co-existence. They are the following:

Dogmatism – When one considers him or herself in possession of the whole truth.

Fatalism – This is a victimist viewpoint that doesn’t acknowledge other options.

Manichaeism – This viewpoint reduces all problems to a preset dichotomy that inhibits the responsibility of making choices. It turns the adversary into “the enemy” and operates in a black and white world.

Sectarianism – This viewpoint represents an uncompromising defense of an idea, which allows us to give greater value to the idea than to human rights.

The Basque Government’s plan for peace and co-existence is based on education in four areas:

Education in Limitation – To accept the fact that our perspectives are always incomplete. No one is in possession of the whole truth.

Education in Positive Values – To learn how to promote opportunities amidst the difficulties.

Education in Ethical Conscience – To assume ethical responsibility in all circumstances.

Education in Human Dignity – To co-exist is to understand the superior value of respect for human dignity.

The value of human dignity becomes the key that structures present day policies. It comes before any ethnic, political, cultural or religious label. The 18-Point Plan issued by the Basque Government calls for, among other things, a collaborative relationship with the local media to promote these ideas and to work with local police in order to educate and promote human rights and human dignity.

As one can see, this is not a punitive sensibility. It is both empathic and practical. The prevailing U.S. attitude, “We don’t negotiate with terrorists,” has not resulted in peace. Instead, it has been a growth factor in recruiting new militants and inadvertently helped in the formation of ISIS. Learning from successful peace negotiators, who humbly seek the input of others and who respect human dignity before ideology, could be inspiring to our legislators. Can we hold them and ourselves to these standards?

As the Basque Peace Plan notes, we cannot create peace if we cannot communicate clearly, and we cannot create peace if we are unable to hold ourselves accountable for our actions. Whether we speak of nations or individuals, the plan seems equally applicable. The Basque Department of Peace has much to teach the world. Will we listen?

Georgia Kelly is the founder and director of Sonoma’s Praxis Peace Institute