Sir, - The Irish Times (Tuesday, December 7th) shows two quite different approaches to the conflict in the Basque country. Paddy Woodworth's piece is far from perfect but at least is well documented. I spotted only one major error. He says "ETA feels let down by Basque society". This was not said in ETA's statement, no matter how you read it.
I now draw your attention to the first paragraph of your nameless editorial comment which refers to the supposedly idyllic Spanish transition from dictatorship to democracy. It is an undisputed fact that Franco handpicked the King of Spain to reign and, furthermore, that all through the supposedly idyllic transition, the Spanish fascist army (the same one that overthrew the democratically elected government 40 years previously and supported the dictatorship all along) was watching over the shoulders of those who reached what the editorial refers to as "a remarkable consensus". Please, would your give your readers a break and stop being so naive?
It should not be necessary to remind the Irish media in general, and The Irish Times in particular, that this kind of uninformed coverage, mixed with historic revisionism is, to say the least, unhelpful. If you do not take my word for it, you only have to look at the recent past of your own country. - Yours, etc.,
I. Irigoien, Granby Row, Dublin 1.