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Spain
is, and has been for a long time, a country in the middle of
nowhere. It is a member of key international organizations such as
the United Nations, the European Union and the North Atlantic
Treaty Organization (NATO), yet it is very much a follower. The
reason for that is the economy. The Spanish economy is merely a
copy of the American original. But the economy is always a broad
and ambiguous issue. A wealthy economy means development but at
the same time an exclusively economic point of view irrationally
narrows issues to one stream of thought. These paragraphs are a
brief account of Spain’s reaction to the crisis. Some points may
be key to understanding the Spanish public opinion in relation to
the American attack on Afghanistan.
People
do not feel, perhaps because of the physical distance, that this
attack could have domestic effects on any aspect of life, let
alone the national economy. But reality and ‘feeling’ are two
very different things. The Spanish liberal government, forgetting
the vulnerable position of the country in the international
system, has offered an unconditional help to the allies against
terrorism, showing a ‘distinguished’ image of Spain that is
inconsistent with the significance of the country in world
politics. The second party in the Parliament, the Spanish
Socialist Party (PSOE), declared its support to the government one
day after the first strike on Afghanistan (October 8th).
Further,
after a meeting of the Federal Executive Commission, it appears
that its reaction to the crisis was motivated by a strict
compliance with international law, adding only its concern over
humanitarian aid to the Afghans, considered to be the only victims
of such war. For this reason, they urged the European Union to
establish a specific plan for help in cooperation with the United
Nations. They also asked for the urgent appearing in the
Parliament of President Jose María Aznar to inform them about
Spain’s contribution in the fight against terrorism, and not
against the Islamic religion or culture. The third political
group, the United Left (IU), which is a coalition of several left
wing organizations, the communist party among them, organized
demonstrations on October 8th and 9th calling for an end to the
war.
But
despite its aims, the letter of convocation had a low answer among
Spanish citizens who were more concerned about possible terrorist
attacks on ancient buildings and Catholic Christian symbols like
the Santiago de Compostela Cathedral or the Cathedral and its
Giralda in Seville. Perhaps because we live now more than ever in
a global village, our fears are no longer confined to the nearest
things.
Nevertheless,
a large faction of Spaniards continues to be opposed to the war.
The first big demonstration against the war took place in Madrid,
on October 21st, organized by the platform "Stop
the war." There were other demonstrations that took
place on a smaller scale in the capital before it, but now they
are spread out all around the country.
Last
Sunday, in spite of the bad weather, a demonstration took place in
Murcia where 3000 people (1000 according to security officers)
participated. There have also been many Muslims appearing on
Spanish media arguing for the separation between Islam and
terrorism. Among them was Mahmoud El Sayed, head of the
Egyptian Institute for Islamic Studies who made an effort to
explain the true meaning of the concept of Jihad, clarifying that
there are different connotations to the word, not the least of
which is a person’s inner struggle for virtue. The war
meant by Jihad is not an offensive war, but as a moral just war
for certain values, and with a well defined ethical code.
And
because we live now in a global village, those who held the
demonstrations are an illustrative example that we should always
continue to discover the ‘other’ with more welcoming eyes.
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