Oleguer Sparks Debate Over Political Position

The Catalan futbolista Oleguer Presas Renom, known simply as Oleguer, has sparked debate and including the loss of one of his sponsers for his outspoken political views. Oleguer is a starting defender for one of the world's top club teams, FC Barcelona. FC Barcelona is also a Catalan team which remains as a symbol of nationalist and seperatist pride for all Catalonians, which ever their political position might be.

Oleguer, supporter of the EZLN ("Zapatistas")
movement in southern Mexico.

Oleguer wrote an article that was published in a Basque magazine, Berria, criticizing Spain's Estado de Derecho (Rights of the State) which he feels violates autonomy rights. He condemned the imprisonment of the etarra Iñaki de Juana Chaos (member of ETA), who begun a hunger strike upon his recent arrest. De Juana had served a 12 year sentence for taking part in placing a bomb in a Spanish military barrack and armed confrontation with Spanish troops. ETA, an armed-political organization, which stands for "Basque Homeland and Freedom" is outlawed in Spain. De Juana was arrested recently for writting an article criticizing the Estado de Drecho and also questioning the political autonomy of the judicial power.

Pero Salva es un "caca de perro"...
But Salva is a "piece of dog shit"...
After Oleguer's article was published, Salva Bellasta, the forward for the Spanish team Levante said in regards to Oleguer, "I have more respect for a piece of dog turd." If Salva believes that the state has the right to arrest an individual for writting a political opinion, then he is the only "caca de perro". By no means has Oleguer ever supported any of the armed attacks in which ETA has openly taken credit for. But he is taking a position that he feels is connected to his own views of Catalonia independence. The Spanish courts gave De Juana a 12 year prison sentence for something he wrote. The court recently reduced that sentence to 3 years after much protest. Even thoush the Spanish press said the sentence was reduced due to bomb threats--but fails to mention the marches in the streets.


After Oleguer made his opinion public, one of him sponsors, Kelme, broke his contract. Oleguer was shortly after seen practicing at Camp Nou with soccer cleats that which he painted over the sponsors name with a marker. At the same time, Catalonian fans that admire his pro-independence stance, have come out in support, including calling a boycott on Kelme. Another Spanish sports brand, Munich, has mentioned interest in sponsoring "el jugador catalan".

Oleguer is also an open supporter of the Zapatista movement in Chiapas, and took part in a soccer-fundraising tournament. He also is oppossed to Spain's involvment in the Iraq war. All these views were made public after the release of his biographical book Camí d'Itaca (Roade to Itaca).

ETA, Batasuna and the Basque Independence Movement
Upon his arrest, De Juana began a hunger strike that led him to his near death. The Basque people have held protests condemning his arrest. While the majority of Basques do not support terror as a tactic for independence, they hold their right of seperatist views. Most people know very little of the Basque movement for independence and only hear about it when ETA commits a violent act.

In 2002, the Spanish courts passed a bill entitled the Ley de Partidos Políticos (Law of Political Parties) in which bars political parties which may be based on a "hatred ideology" or which refuse to condemn political violence. This meant that the Basque independence party, Batasuna, was outlawed because of the their open support of independence. Batasuna is not ETA, like Sinn Féin is not the IRA.
Did you know or repeated what you where told?
Did you know that there are hundreds of Basque political prisoners? They are in jail for a range of reasons. Did you know that the Basque language has no connection to any other? It is actually rather strange (that is that there is no connection to Spanish or French). Did you know the Basque, as well as Catalonians, have been severly repressed throughout Spanish history, including that speaking their language was outlawed? Before you get into a deep political discussion with someone condeming Basque independence, or saying they are silly, ask yourself: What do you really know?

"For Peace and Dialogue" was the slogan that unified this march. Thousand of Basque marched through Bilboa, Basque in November 2006 opposing act by ETA of placing a bomb in a Spanish airport that led to death of Ecuadorian workers. At the same time, hundreds of family members of political prisoners, demand their release.























For other news regarding soccer and politics read article on Samuel Eto'o.
Also the blog Fútbol Intelectual.

ABU-GHRAIB: NEVER FORGOTTEN

Fernando Botero Immortalizes What Is Not Discussed

I had the wonderful opportunity to see one of Latin America’s most gifted painters at UC Berkeley. The Center for Latin American Studies organized for the poet Robert Haas to interview Mr. Botero in front of an audience. An eager and excited audience, I must add. I had some girlfriends that drove up from Fresno early for the event. Since they were holding onto two tickets for a friend and I, we ran across several hundred people waiting outside. After the chat, Botero opened the exposition of his new collection of Abu-Ghraib paintings at Doe Library in UC Berkeley.

Young And Wild And Inspired…
Fernando Botero was born in Medellin, Colombia in 1932. Like many young men and women who discover a passion, they follow where their inspiration leads them. Through his journey in doing what he loved to then acquiring world recognition, he has never forgotten he is human, but with a particular talent. He expressed how honored he feels that replicas of his paintings are found in the homes of working people in Colombia and is proud that he is a symbol of pride for his people.

As a teenager, he was inspired by the Mexican Muralist Movement like Diego Rivera and Jose Clemente Orosco, that led him to travel to Mexico. Botero said what moved him is that traditionally painters catered to wealthy and the church. The Mexican Movement rebelled against the traditional and used the working man as their subject. They also represented a sense of national pride for their culture and their history.

Why This?
“Why choose this as a subject”, asked Robert Hass. Botero answered, “Yes, many people have asked me this.” Botero went on to explain that he has received a lot of criticism from the press and others for choosing the tortures at Abu Ghraib as his subject. He said that when the pictures were released, they consumed him and immediately began sketching, and then painting non-stop for 14 months. What moved him was that the pictures depicted brutal acts by a military occupying a country that claimed to be fighting for “freedom and democracy”. It is not the first time that he has chosen a political issue as a subject. What makes it political is that it is controversial, because from an artists' point of view it is just being conscious of their surroundings.

In the 1960s he did a series depicting the brutal dictatorships that began to sweep Latin America. In the 1980s he did a collection about the civil war in homeland, Colombia. He donated his paintings that are of an estimated value of $2.2 million dollars to the National Colombian Museum. Botero explained why he donated these paintings by saying, “I hope when the youth of Colombia walk through and see these paintings, they realize how ridiculous is the brutality taking place. Or better yet, that they are amazed that this took place in our country.”

Is This A Free Country Or Censored One?
When Botero finalized his collection close to two years ago, he began looking for public and private galleries to display them. While he had no problem in many countries, he was rejected by multiple institutions across the United States. A small private gallery in New York City had them there for a month. UC Berkeley is the first institution that will have the Abu-Ghraib paintings up that coincided with a talk with the artist and university program connected with it.

It is interesting that no major gallery in New York City grabbed the opportunity to display the latest work of one of the greatest living artists. Whether controversial or not--is it not his artistic freedom and the viewers freedom to make that choice. A few years ago, a debate took place in New York City when Mayor Rudolph Giuliani attempted to censor the work of an artist at the Brooklyn Museum. The Museum put up a fight and New York City went up in a roar defending the First Amendment.

So guess criticizing various Gods and religious ideas is okay, but you cannot criticize the acts of the great U.S. of A.

I salute Botero and every artist, whether a singer, painter or street performer who uses their work to give a message.

A Permanent Accusation

A Permanent Accusation