Dos cuestiones me
han llamado la atención del tratamiento de la prensa británica de la reunión
Blair-Zapatero. De un lado que se han tragado el supuesto apoyo al mal llamado
“proceso de paz”, o han bebido únicamente en fuentes españolas o no
se entiende demasiado bien. En cualquier caso el dato más importante es lo
reducido del espacio dedicado a esta cuestión llegado a límites sorprendentes
como en el caso de THE INDEPENDENT que dedica un párrafo de 79 apalabras. THE
DAILY TELEGRAPH comenta “Según fuentes oficiales españolas, Zapatero
estima que la reunión con Blair es una oportunidad para recalcar a la nación
que el proceso de paz vasco será ’largo, duro y difícil’. Nuestro
‘Presidente Accidental’ quiere convencer, es decir: sabe que no
estamos convencidos. Finalmente THE TIMES narra: “El apoyo de Blair
contribuirá también a que Zapatero desvíe los ataques de la oposición que dice
que las conversaciones equivaldrían a una rendición”. Claro como el agua,
ZP pretende usar a Blair, el de las Azores, como tarjeta de presentación, pero
no le ha salido demasiado bien. Por cierto la prensa americana ha ignorado por
completo la cuestión.
Blair
apoya el proceso de paz vasco
A visit by Tony Blair
to Madrid yesterday gave a boost to the
foundering peace process in the Basque country as the Prime Minister shared his
experiences tackling the Northern
Ireland situation with his Spanish counterpart.
Jose Luis Rodriguez
Zapatero was keen to discuss Mr Blair's Northern Ireland experiences, as he
seeks to broker an end to a campaign by the Basque separatist group Eta that
has claimed more than 800 lives over almost four decades.
Mr Blair applauded the
Spanish prime minister's efforts to find a solution to the Basque problem and
urged him not to be disheartened. "It takes patient determination to
succeed in such things,'' he told Mr Zapatero when they met at a palace in the
outskirts of Madrid
last night. "There may be ups and downs along the way and I wish you every
success.''
But Mr Blair warned:
"Resolving these very long-standing issues is difficult work. It doesn't
happen overnight and there will be constant obstacles that appear on the path
to progress. Sometimes there appear to be blockages and this is a natural part
of the process.''
He said that at every
stage of the Northern Ireland
peace process he was beset by negativity much in the same way that Mr Zapatero
is struggling to gain outright support in Spain. "People tell us that
it's not going to happen, that we are being nave, but if you believe enough,
you continue.''
Mr Blair added that
things had "come together'' in Northern Ireland. "There was
leadership prepared to take risks for peace, there was a sense among the people
that they were tired of conflict. Then there was something else - a feeling
that in the modern world this type of conflict in which innocent people got
killed was just something alien to the 21st century.''
Mr Zapatero thanked Mr
Blair for his advice and support. "His expertise has been extremely
useful,'' he said.
Una información
de Fiona Govan publicada por el diario THE
DAILY TELEGRAPH el miércoles 4 de octubre de 2006. Por su interés
informativo reproducimos íntegramente su contenido.
World
News IN BRIEF - Blair habla sobre el proceso de paz vasco
MADRID
Spain
ho pesto draw on Tony Blair's experience in dealing with the IRA to help settle
the Basque conflict. Mr Blair arrived in the Spanish capital yesterday for
talks on the conflict. He and Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero had
been exchanging ideas throughout Spain's nascent peace process with
the armed Basque separatist group Eta. Mr Blair arrived in the early evening
and went to talks with Mr Zapatero at a mansion near the residence of King Juan
Carlos.
Una información
publicada por el diario THE INDEPENDENT el
miércoles 4 de octubre de 2006. Por su interés informativo reproducimos
íntegramente su contenido.
Blair
fomenta las conversaciones de paz en el País Vasco
Tony Blair was expected
last night to back Spain's
talks with the separatist group Eta, bolstering the fledgeling Basque peace
process and aiding the country's leader, Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero.
The Spanish Prime
Minister believes that Mr Blair's experience of negotiating a peace deal in Northern Ireland
is of "immense value" as his Government begins talks with Eta,
according to Spanish officials.
Mr Blair's backing will
also help Senor Zapatero to deflect attacks by Spain's right-wing Opposition,
which said that the talks amounted to surrender. The two leaders were due to
discuss other topics, including the Middle East and Afghanistan.
But it was Mr Blair's
role in the Basque peace process that was generating the most interest in Spain
yesterday.
Six months after Eta
declared a "permanent ceasefire" in its 38- year violent campaign for
Basque independence, the peace process has stalled. Some fear that the group
could return to violence.
Hooded gunmen appeared
recently at a separatist rally. Others have set alight buses and cash machines
in the Basque country.
Eta has killed more
than 800 people over four decades in its violent campaign for a Basque homeland
straddling the border between Spain
and France.
In recent years,
however, it has been greatly weakened by arrests in both countries, and has not
killed anyone in more than three years.
Public revulsion at the
March 2004 Madrid
train bombs, the work of Islamic extremists, is also thought to have
contributed to Eta's decision to end its campaign of terror.
While Mr Blair enjoyed
the support of the Conservative Party during the negotiations in Northern Ireland, the Basque peace process is a
politically charged issue in Spain.
Jose Maria Aznar, the former Prime Minister and a close friend of Mr Blair, is
opposed to the negotiations.
Mr Blair visited Spain 10 times during the government of Senor
Aznar, who sent troops to Iraq
as part of the US-led "coalition of the willing". Mr Blair's
relationship with Senor Zapatero got off to a rockier start when the Socialist
leader pulled Spanish troops out of Iraq, fulfilling a campaign pledge.
Despite their
disagreements over Iraq,
the two centre-left politicians have much in common and diplomats say that they
get on well. The two spoke often last year during the British presidency of the
European Union, especially during the tough EU budget negotiations.
They have discussed the
best tactics to use in their respective efforts to end two of Europe's
longest-running conflicts.
In an interview in July
with The Times, Senor Zapatero said that he would be approaching the talks with
Eta "very cautiously and discreetly", adding that "they are two
pieces of advice that Tony Blair gave me".
The Spanish Government
has been highlighting what it claims is the key behind-the-scenes role played
by Mr Blair in getting the Basque peace process to this point.
Mr Blair will also meet
with 16 leading Spanish and British business executives tomorrow. Spanish
companies including Telefonica and Ferrovial have recently bought British
companies including O2 and BAA.
Una información
de Thomas Catan publicada por el diario THE
TIMES el miércoles 4 de octubre de 2006. Por su interés informativo
reproducimos íntegramente su contenido.
