Basque Country's human "shadows" begin to fade along with ETA threat

The human "shadows," which for years have guarded those who have been threatened by ETA, are less visible on the streets of the Basque Country these days. But the reduction in the numbers of personal bodyguards has become a major concern for both Socialist and Popular Party (PP) councilors - a move that could also leave hundreds of people unemployed. At the same time it is also being construed by some as a sign that the end of ETA is ever closer.

The Interior Ministry and its Basque regional equivalent have begun implementing cuts that would leave just one bodyguard assigned to elected councilors of the Basque Socialist Party (PSE) and the PP, who until now had two, and eliminate bodyguards for all former councilors of both parties who are no longer in office.

On May 22, the Socialists and the PP won in 398 municipalities, 119 fewer than in 2007. A little more than 700 bodyguards will be without jobs in the Basque Country. A similar number will also be unemployed in Navarre. "You are marked for life working in this job, and if you become unemployed there is really no chance someone will be there to help you find another position," says one of the security workers who stands to lose his job.

Interior Minister Alfredo Pérez Rubalcaba has been explicit in stating that "if the risk diminishes, so will the protection." But last week, in towns governed by the Bildu separatist coalition, mayors issued orders to municipal employees not to allow bodyguards to enter any public buildings. In Andoain, municipal police carried out those orders on Monday and prevented two councilors from the PP and the PSE from entering town hall with their escorts.

The Spanish Bodyguards Association (ASES) has asked Rubalcaba to give them legal protection from the Bildu mayors.

Nevertheless, the elimination of the bodyguards has become a double headache for those who for years have learned to live with their special guardian angels. Beyond the "uncertainty" that it entails, it also comes with a now-mandatory change of habit. "First we were forced to live with bodyguards, and adapt to everything that came with it, and now they are taking them away without even consulting us," said one mayor, who adds that personal protection is a guarantee for a "full democratic life."

"Not only do they [the bodyguards] protect us from attacks, which fortunately have not occurred in a long time, but also from the harassment, assaults and insults that seem to have been ignited once again," he explains.

Political opinions are diverse among the politicians who lived under threats, but most agree there is widespread euphoria about the prospects for peace since Bildu's electoral success. There are many who agree that the security situation - although still far from normal - has improved in recent years. Others are less optimistic, arguing that in some ways the situation has reverted to mimic that of an earlier time. "Eusko Alkartasuna was not afraid to condemn any ETA attacks three years ago but now they are not so outspoken," says one PP councilor of another pro-independence party.

For the family of late policeman Eduardo Puelles, who was killed in an ETA attack two years ago, Bildu is helping erase the memory of the victims of terrorism. "The legalization of Bildu is leading us to a type of peace that is based on forgetting and covering up the past," said Josu Puelles, the late inspector's brother, during a ceremony marking the second anniversary of his death. Eduardo Puelles died when a bomb went off in a parking lot in Arrigorriaga in Vizcaya on June 19, 2009.

Although less given to issuing public statements - perhaps because of the decline in escorts among their own party - the Socialists are also concerned.

This was reflected by party spokesman in Andoain, Estanis Amutxastegi, who had insisted on going to town hall with his bodyguards despite the ban by Mayor Ane Carrere of Bildu. Amutxastegi says he won't risk being killed. This fear is shared by many other councilors, especially those who have been left as part of a minority in municipalities governed by the coalition.

For other Socialist councilors, the decision to readjust bodyguard services could be considered a "reasonable" measure if the political and economic situation in the Basque Country is taken into account. Some are even seeing it as a new type of "personal freedom."

The councilors only represent the cornerstone of a plan that has already been introduced in several previous stages. In recent months, bodyguards have been quietly eliminated among some Basque government officials and professionals from other sectors subject to ETA threats, such as journalists, university professors and judges.

The members of the judiciary have been the only ones who have spoken out to show their displeasure about the cutbacks. And in the coming weeks the Socialists and the PP, including members of the regional parliament, could also follow suit.