Basque Country: Spreading the word with bonds

Mention the Basque Country, and most foreigners think of separatist violence. Until last year, attacks, murders and bombings by nationalist guerrillas consigned Euskadi, as locals call the region, to the same category as Northern Ireland and Corsica: the three remaining violent conflicts staining an otherwise peaceful half-century in western Europe. But influenced by the peace strategy of Northern Ireland's IRA, the militant nationalist group Eta abandoned violence and sought negotiations with the government in Madrid. On September 18 1998, Eta announced an "indefinite" ceasefire, ending 30 years of armed struggle.

The province's peace is only partial: sporadic street violence and terrorist intimidation continue. And the peace negotiations between nationalists and the Spanish government are stagnating. The mainstream, non-violent Basque Nationalist Party (PNV) supports independence. Its leader, Xabier Arzalluz, says that Basques "do not fit" under Spain's 1978 constitution, which granted them a high degree of self-government. In early February, Spain's...