Basque Info 26/05/09

Info from the Belfast basque comittee.

-Extensive interview with ETA.

-Dirty war behind Jon Anza’s disappearence.

-Successful general strike.

-Internationalist Iniciative will stand in elections.

-End of prisoners protest.

-Protest against torture.

-Spanish spies expeled.

-Extensive interview with ETA.

During an interview published by the Basque newspaper Gara on Monday ETA says that “our weapons will be laid down when all political projects will have the opportunity to become reality, including independence.”

According to ETA, the Spanish and French states attack the Basque pro-independence movement in order to stop the engine for political change and sovereignty.

ETA says that a new negotiation process depends on the will of the states to respect equal opportunities and civil and political rights in the Basque Country. Before sitting at the negotiation table ETA believes that all those who are in favour of the Basque Country’s democratic rights should reach a basic agreement.

ETA calls once again upon these forces to come together and put in practice an efficient strategy to achieve a democratic scenario. ETA goes on to state that the current standstill situation can only be overcome in this way.

-Dirty war behind Jon Anza’s disappearence.

Basque political refugee and former prisoner Jon Anza remains missing since the 18^th of April. In a statement released last week ETA claims Jon Anza is a member of the armed organization and accuses the Spanish and French police of being involved in his disappearance. ETA says he was on his way to a meeting with other militants but he never arrived. According to ETA the police knew he was an ETA member after they discovered his finger prints on some computers seized in January.

Last Saturday 1,300 people took to the streets in the northern town of Baiona/Bayonne to protest against Jon’s kidnapping and asking for his release.

-Successful general strike.

Despite the bosses and governments’ threats, police repression and media boycott thousands upon thousands of workers took part in the general strike in the southern Basque Country last Thursday. The general strike had been called by the mayority of Basque trade unions. These trade unions are working-class minded, against social partnership and for self-determination.

Large demonstrations were held in the main cities at mid-day and in dozens of towns across the country in the evening. The day’s main slogans were in favour of a fair social and economic model and against the bosses blackmailing. According to the trade unions the capitalist crisis should be paid by those who created it and not by the workers, unemployed, pensioners, women, students, inmigrants...

The general strike was branded as a success by the trade unions and as a first step in a series of fights for different economy policies.

-Internationalist Iniciative will stand in elections.

Despite the Spanish government’s bids to ban the left wing electoral platform Internationalist Initiative late on Thursday night the Constitutional Court ruled against the previous Supreme Court decission and allowed them to take part in the next European elections.

The latter decission came as a surprise move although many pointed out at the lack of evidence against the platform and the possibility the first decission being rejected by the European Court.

The pro-independence left called upon those who want a democratic resolution to the Basque conflict and a socialist Europe to vote for Internationalist Initiative-The solidarity of the peoples.

-End of prisoners protest.

The Basque political prisoners held in the southern Spanish jail of Algeciras ended the dirty protest they started at the end of April. The protests started with a 2-day hunger strike to protest against beatings and isolation and escalated to a dirty protest and locking up in their cells. The prison director responded by transfering some of the prisoners to other jails.

In a statement the Algeciras Basque political prisoners said: “What does a person have to loose when imprisoned at 1,200 kilometres from home, kept in solitary confinment and denied his dignity?”

Now they’ve finished their protests they’ll think over the new situation and take decissions upon it.

-Protest against torture.

Hundreds of people protested against torture in Gasteiz/Vitoria last Saturday. They also showed support for the twelve local youth who are being tried by the Spanish National Court in Madrid this week. All of them were brutally tortured while incommunicado. The pictures of one of the arrested, Unai Romano, were published and pasted on walls all over the Basque Country shocking Basque society.

-Spanish spies expeled.

Last week Cuba expeled 3 Spanish agents who had been doing surveillance work on Basque political refugees in the island for the last few years. News about more activities of this kind being held by the Spanish secret services in Venezuela were also reported.