When I read that the interview with Otegui implies a whitewashing of his person and his history, that the PSOE is participating in an act that further visualizes its positioning in favor of "those who want to break Spain", I am petrified by the attempts at censorship through demagoguery and the pain of others by those who quickly wrap themselves in the term democrat.
For example, Albert Rivera published a tweet in which he said: "What a humiliation to the victims these words on television that all Spaniards pay for." It must be that for Mr. Rivera, Otegui is not Spanish and his taxes do not go to RTVE. Another example is that of Pablo Casado, who tweeted the following: "It cannot be allowed that TVE gives a voice to a confessed terrorist like Otegi to try to whitewash the political arm of Batasuna-Bildu." In this case, Mr. Casado forgets two things: first, Bildu is a legal party, and as a legal party it has every right to have its political representative (not a public office) interviewed on RTVE; and, second, Otegui is and will always be a terrorist, but he is also the leader of a legal political party with representation in both houses and in the European Parliament. Therefore, the interview is not unreasonable. If anything, it is not morally acceptable, but that does not mean that freedom of expression should be censored, even if we do not like what is said.
Apparently, certain leaders need to be reminded of certain things. Radiotelevisión Española (RTVE) is a public entity, that is, of EVERYONE. According to article 3 of Law 17/2006, it has some functions, among them:
Guarantee objective, truthful and plural information.
Facilitate democratic debate and the free expression of opinions.
Offer access (?) to all sectors of the audience, paying attention to those issues of special public interest.
I think it is quite evident that, among these functions, the interview with Otegui fits completely.
I don't like Otegui, he is not a man I would define as a "man of peace", but the truth is that he is currently a transcendental public figure for national politics. Like it or not, this is the truth. And just as I don't like Otegui, I don't like that certain politicians are outraged and launch messages on social networks that, at a minimum, exclude a Spanish citizen from their free access to a public medium. Why? Because it is being decided who does and does not have rights in this country of equals and similar people.
And for those who do not understand it, I will explain it in a simpler way.
I am a soldier. I swore the Constitution and to defend all Spaniards equally, whether they vote for Podemos, the PP, the PSOE or Bildu. The army is a public good that has a function and duties towards ALL Spaniards. If we apply the same prerogative mentioned above in a hypothetical military conflict between Spain and a third country, I would have to protect only those who political leaders consider "good Spaniards". Or not? This simple hypothesis reflects very well the demagoguery that surrounds the Otegui interview. But the worst thing is that people applaud it. They applaud censorship, they applaud exclusion, they applaud ignorance. Besides, what has Otegui done other than reaffirming that he is a terrorist and that he does not regret his actions? It could be said that the interview has served to delegitimize that image of "man of peace" that some had painted about him.
On the other hand, this same hypothesis can be applied to VOX and the censorship it has been suffering from the left, both in public and private media. The left cannot defend the freedom of expression of a terrorist and decide that a party, also legal, should be censored in any medium just because it is considered "far right". What's going on? Is it that there are evils of different tones?
In short, Spanish politicians and their confrontational speeches do not solve any problem, they only increase them. They are hypocrites who, to top it off, vilify our democracy while using the people to achieve their own interests. The circus is democracy, the clowns are us and the politicians are the masters of ceremony managing everything from the ring.
We are left with a beautiful democracy.
Alejandro Pérez O'pray, Political Science and Administration from the UNED.
