MADRID, Jan 7 (AFP) - Spain's bishops on Friday firmly rejected plans by the moderate nationalist government of the northern Basque region to upgrade its existing autonomy to "free association" status with Madrid.
Amid fears that adding to the already widespread autonomy enjoyed by Spain's regions as laid down by the 1978 constitution could fracture the national fabric, the Spanish Episcopal Conference judged that the existing constitution was the watermark for Spanish democracy.
"The constitution is today the ineluctable legal byword for (national) coexistence. Unilaterally to try to alter this judicial framework ... is inadmissible," the bishops said in a statement.
On Tuesday, Basque government leader Juan Jose Ibarretxe, the author of a radical plan to upgrade regional autonomy, warned he would not let the Spanish parliament override the will of the Basque people if they back his project in a mooted referendum.
That has stirred up a hornets nest in Spain and prompted King Juan Carlos on Thursday to appeal for unity and respect for the constitution which he dubbed "invaluable to the extent that it allows Spain to progress united, in democracy and in freedom."
Under Ibarretxe's plan, the 2.1 million residents of the Basque region would in particular enjoy greater power regarding social, judicial and fiscal policy.
The bishops' statement stressed that they viewed the links between the different groups and regions which comprise modern Spain as legitimate and inalienable, while slamming any attempt to loosen them as "morally unacceptable."
"Spain is the fruit of a long and complex historical process," the Conference statement added.
01/07/2005 19:44 GMT - AFP