Basque Info 2009/XI/04

International mediator commends Batasuna’s new political initiative.

Last Wednesday South African attorney and international mediator Brian Currin addressed a conference in Donostia/San Sebastian. Expectations were high due to the work Brian Currin has carried out in conflict resolution in South Africa, Rwanda, Ireland and the Basque Country.

Mr. Currin said he knew the Basque pro-independence left was involved in a strategic debate and that he had been given details about a new political initiative. He revealed that in July last year, Batasuna had asked him to write a report on the anti-aparthied United Democratic Front experience in South Africa. Then that strategy was discussed between September and December.

During the conference he said he trusted the Basque pro-independence left and he encouraged others to support the new political initiative.

He went on to say that he thought the initiative was praiseworthy and that it has the potential to have a deep impact in the political situation in the Basque Country. According to Mr. Currin, a democratic process based on the new political initiative would receive international support.

He began his speech by talking about the recent arrests of prominent Basque pro-independence activists such as Batasuna spokesperson Arnaldo Otegi. He said he was sure the Spanish government knew about the new proposal and that with the arrests they wanted to prevent it from being launched.

Mr. Currin said that the Basque pro-independence left should be legalised and its members released from jail and that the democratic process should be carried without violence.

The conference is available on line at:

http://www.irishbasquecommittees.blogspot.com/

During the same week veteran pro-independence leader Rufi Etxeberria was extensively interviewed by the Basque newpaper Gara. He was recently released on bail after two years in jail for his Batasuna membership and then arrested the following week along with Arnaldo Otegi and another eight prominent left nationalist activists just to be released on bail once again.

In the interview he says “it’s time to collect the fruits of long years of struggle and not to let them go.” Mr. Etxeberria thinks that there are appropriate existing political and social conditions to promote a democratic process and to achive a new democratic framework in the Basque Country.

For that he considers that the pro-independence left has to reorganise and strengthen and that it has to become legal. He also thinks a new broad political and social pro-independence movement has to be created to promote a democratic framework and at the same time to develop a pro-independence strategy.

As a third step Mr. Etxeberria speaks of the need to build a popular wall to stop all the repressive attacks and to demand the release of all political prisoners.

Finally he says that the negotiation process has to be rebuilt taking into account the experiences and contents of the last process and that a Forum for a Democratic Solution should be put in place.

On Monday the pro-independence left decided to make the debate document available online.  In a statement it said that they wanted everybody to be able to know about it from the original source in a way to defeat the Spanish authorities' efforts to prevent the new political initiative and to overcome the ongoing media hysteria and criminalisation campaign.

Last weekend the National Forum of Debate met at its annual conference. More than 200 delegates of different organisations took part and evaluated the work done during the past year. The Forum was created in 2003 to make a national analysis of the Basque Country’s political, economic, social and cultural situation and to promote national building strategies. This year’s conference decided to establish a commission to promote a common and plural pro-independence space for citizens to be active in the process of political change.

Youth activists judged for their political work.

Last week five young activists were judged in the Spanish National Court accused of being members of the Basque pro-independence youth organisations Jarrai, Haika and Segi. Two of them were transfered from jail. The other three had been previously released on bail.

Nevertheless they were imprisoned at the end of the trial while awaiting sentence. All of them had been on the run when another 31 activists were tried in 2005, 23 of whom were sentenced to six years in prison in 2007. The Spanish authorities sought the extradition of four more but French authorities rejected three of them on the basis of political persecution and lack of evidence. The fourth is Arturo “Benat” Villanueva who is currently fighting extradition from Ireland.

Eight young activists were sentence to six years in prison last week for being members of the outlawed youth political organisation Segi. 115 more are awaiting trial. During the trials all of them defended their right to do political work in favour of independence and stated that the trials were political.

Arrests and releases.

Basque solicitor Joseba Agudo was arrested last week by French police after the Spanish police searched his offices. He works mainly with Basque political refugees and has been accused of working for ETA.

South American solicitors protested the arrest and accused Spain of being an inquisitorial state.

An alleged ETA member was arrested in France and later imprisoned last week.

Basque political prisoner Amaia Urizar was released after doing 5 years in jail. She was arrested when she was 22 years old and her testimonies of torture shocked Basque society. She explained how she was raped by the Spanish police with a gun and how she had to endure long sessions of questioning while being suffocated in a bath.

Five people were arrested and three of them imprisoned last week accused of being members of a Spanish fascist group in Irunea/Pamplona and were accused of different attacks on pro-indepdendence properties and activists over the last six months. Basque pro-independence left activists and organisations exposed the hypocritical attitude of the pro-Spanish establishment as the fascists weren’t treated the way pro-independence activists are treated when arrested under the anti-terrorist law. They said the police operation followed a previously writen script and that it doesn’t intend to resolve or stop the dirty war.


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Irish Basque Solidarity Committees
irishbsc@gmail.com
www.irishbasquecommittees.blogspot.com