Archbishop defends Basque letter

by John Carey
THE SPANISH government reacted angrily last week to a warning by four bishops about the dangers of giving too much power to the military in the Basque region. In a pastoral letter the bishops criticised the government's deci sion to call on army and navy units to help combat terrorism in the region. They said it could encourage "backward-looking" elements in Spanish society which have not accepted democratic reforms.
The Interior Minister, Juan Roson, described the fetter as "inopportune and going beyond the responsibilities of the bishops." And the papal nuncio in Madrid was summoned to the Prime Minister's office, apparently so that he could be made offi,cially aware of the government's annoyance.
The four bishops all come from the Basque region. They are Bishops Jose Maria Larrauri of Vitoria. Luis Maria Larrea of Bilbao and his auxiliary, and Jose Maria Setien of San Sebastian.
They warned the government to apply the new anti-terrorist measures "with the greatest care" and said that the people had the right to resist attempts to coerce them.
The government is particularly sensitive to criticism which implies that it is over-reacting to the terrorist threat and making
too many concessions to the military in the aftermath of the .attempted coup on February 23. The bishops said: "The mission of the armed forces in every state. based on the rule of law, consists in serving the institutions the people have given themselves. It is not their mission to pronounce on the legitimacy of the democratic process. "When the armed forces make themselves into the judges of that process and feel themselves tempted to intervene, this constitutes a serious danger rather than an authentic defence of the people." They condemned the "provocative activities" of the ETA separatist movement" but said that the "real temptation of our time" was the fear of liberty.
"Backward looking sectors of Spanish society have not accepted the reform of the political regime nor resigned themselves to the definitive loss of their hegemony. This social group finds a favourable echo among important sectors of the armed forces, which under attack from ETA are not insensible to repeated invitations to intervene to control the political process — and the reality and gravity of this temptation was shown by the February coup attempt."
Asked to comment on the letter • Archbishop Gabino Diaz Merchan, president of the Bishops' conference, said: "In a democracy we have to get used to hearing people speak their minds." It was the duty or every bishop to comment on local circumstances as he saw them, he said.