Basque separatist coalition Bildu submit bill for citizens to have freedom to decide the “future”

As the independence movement continues in Catalonia a Basque separatist coalition has submitted a bill to the local parliament focused on letting citizens decide on the “future” of the Basque Country which is thought to include independence for the region.

“The aim is to be able to legally ask citizens” in the Basque Country “what political, economic and social future they want,” Bildu spokesman Hasier Arraiz said in a statement on Tuesday November 3.

Bildu did not actually mention independence or a referendum but they referenced the situation in Catalonia a number of times.

“It’s time to confront (the Spanish state) democratically, they are doing it in Catalonia and we want to do it in Euskal Herria (Basque Country),” said Arraiz.

The bill would need approval for debate before having any impact and if actually introduced would give the leader of the Basque government and local mayors the power to consult the public over the region´s future.

Bildu has 21 of the 75 seats in the Basque parliament and has sought the backing of lawmakers on the side of the moderate Basque Nationalist Party to make up the numbers for the bill.

In 2007 proposals by the regional government for a referendum on the Basque´s right to “self-determination” were declared illegal by the Constitutional Court.