Basque Info 16/12/09 from Belfast

-Trial against Basque language newspaper Egunkaria begins.

On 3rd February 2003, the Spanish police ordered the definitive closure of Euskaldunon Egunkaria, the only daily newspaper published in the Basque language. This was followed by the arrest of ten people. All of them were well known and respected Basque language and culture activists, journalists and writers. One of them is a Jesuit brother. 

They were held incommunicado for five days under the anti-terrorist law. Some of them were imprisoned and others later released. One of them, the newspaper’s director, told journalists at the prison gates he had been savagely tortured. His words and his shattered appearance shocked Basque society.

The operation was ordered by the Spanish National Court on the grounds that Egunkaria allegedly formed part of a wider group of businesses and organisations controlled by ETA – the old “all is ETA” motto.

Immediately after the closure hundreds of protests took place across the Basque Country, including what was probably the largest demonstration ever to take place in the country two days after the closure.

Nearly four years later on 15th December 2006, the National Court Prosecutor determined that there were no grounds for the case and requested a stay of proceedings.

Despite this, six months later a court hearing was officially announced.

In the hearing it was concluded that only five of those arrested would finally go to trial: Joan Mari Torrealdai, ex-President of the administrative council of Egunkaria; Iñaki Uria, ex-Managing Director; Txema Auzmendi, former Administrative Council Secretary; Martxelo Otamendi, ex-Director; and Xabier Oleaga, former deputy director.

The trial begun yesterday Tuesday 15th in Madrid, with the accused facing sentences of between 12 and 14 years in prison, in addition to a further 14 to 15-year ban from practicing journalism. For the last months many support events have been organised and the presence of the leaders of the majority of Basque political parties and trade unions and education, culture and language movements’ representatives at the gates of the Spanish National Court yesterday was proof of the broad support they have in Basque society.

The hearing began with the testimonies of the accused who stated the newspaper was created by the Basque language grass roots movement to fill the crucial vacuum of a newspaper written in the national language and without any intervention by ETA. They also told the court how they had been subjected to torture while detained incommunicado but the judges ordered them not to talk about this.

Aside from the accusations that form the basis of Tuesday's trial, there are further charges of attempting to falsify accounts and defraud the Treasury, of which eight defendants stand accused.

They could face up to between 13 and 26 years in prison and possible fines of between 21 and 33 million euro. The date for this trial is yet to be announced.

-Thousands against repression and political trials.

Following the same policies imposed by George W. Bush around the world with his “preventive wars”, from 2003 to 2005 116 Basque pro-independence citizens were arrested and most of them tortured and imprisoned in the so-called “preventive” police operations. They were accused of being potential members of ETA.

2,500 people took part in a demonstration in Iruñea/Pamplona last Saturday to show support for two local youths who are being judged along with another 11 people in one of the first trials for the preventive arrests.

The march was organised with the slogan “Yes to the possible development of all political projects”. Other banners carried slogans like “No to political trials” and “Stop torture”.

2,500 people took part in another demonstration the same day in Donostia/San Sebastian to show support for the many local youth who will stand trial over the next months for their political work within the youth movement. They are accused of being members of the banned pro-independence organization Segi. Around 150 young people have been arrested for the same reason over the last two years across the Basque Country. They face sentences of eight years in jail.

The first trial against Segi activists took place in 2005 and 23 were sentenced to six years in jail. Ten of those youth activists were released last week after doing their six-year sentences to the full. Others were released during 2009, five more were arrested while on the run and sentenced last month and another one, Arturo “Benat” Villanueva, is fighting an extradition warrant in Belfast. Despite the extradition being declared invalid by a Belfast judge the prosecution appealed. Last Monday a hearing was held at the High Court and a decision will be made in the next few weeks.

-Strength of Basque culture and political commitment showed at the Improvisers Final.

Last Sunday 15,000 people filled the Barakaldo Exhibition Centre near Bilbao for the four-yearly Basque language Improvisers Final and dozens of thousands followed the show on TV, radio and internet.

The seven-hour-long event ended with victory for the 33-year-old Maialen Lujanbio, the first woman ever to win the championship. Bertsolaritza or the practice of improvised singing is hugely popular in the Basque Country and it’s a great example of the old Basque traditions that have survived for centuries despite repression.

During this historical and highly emotional final some subjects appeared repeatedly: solidarity with the Basque political prisoners, against torture, support for those indicted in the Egunkaria case and calls for unity in favour of independence.