Basque Info April 2012
In this issue:
- General strike in the Basque Country a huge success but police act in repression
- Huge Basque demonstrations for self-determination and independence
- Basque society demonstrates in solidarity with political prisoners while Spanish state turns the screw on them
- International support for peace process in the Basque Country and for an end to Spanish state repression
- Basque pro-Spanish police fatally wound youth with rubber projectile
- Basque pro-independence broad front in the Northern Basque Country
- Nazi bombing of Gernika remembered in the Basque Country and in Ireland
- Basque victims of Spanish state association formed
General strike in the Basque Country a huge success but police act in repression
The Basque pro-independence trade unions, with the majority
representation in the Basque Country, organised for a general strike on
March 29
th against the new labour reform
introduced by the Spanish government and for sovereignty. Soon after,
the Galician joint trade unions called a general strike for the same day
and then it snowballed across the Spanish state so that even the
collaborationist unions of CCOO and UGT had to back the strike.
The strike was a spectacular success in the Basque Country with only
minimal emergency services running. Even the Cortes Ingles shopping
centres, often remaining open during strikes, closed and large
demonstrations filled southern Basque towns.
Police repression was evident however during the strike and afterwards
with arrests of activists. In Gasteiz/ Vitoria a young man was shot in
the head at close range with a rubber projectile by Basque police and
rushed to hospital – fortunately Xuban Nafarrate survived and is back
with his family.
Huge Basque demonstrations for self-determination and independence
Thousands celebrated Aberri Eguna, Basque National Day by calling for
national independence in a demonstration in Iruñea/ Pamplona. The
demonstration was led by the banner carried by members of
Independentistak (grassroots
network for the independence of the Basque Country), together with
representatives of various political groups. Behind them came thousands
and thousands of independentists with Basque flags, flags of Navarre
and the black eagle flag. Other internationalists also with their flags
came from other places: the Sahara, Palestine, Galicia, Castille, and
Catalonia.
The demonstrators remembered two specific moments in the history of the
Basque Country: that 500 years that have passed since Castilian troops
conquered the independent Basque Kingdom of Navarre, the and the
75thanniversary of when civilian urban centres were bombed by Francoist
planes, the worst tragedy being Guernica.
Another powerful demonstration of the Basque wish for independence was a
symbolic trek through bad weather by hundreds of young Basques from
Sara to Lesaka. The trek crossed the border dividing their country
between the Spanish and French state. The weekend also included
debates, games, dinner and concerts.
Basque society demonstrates in solidarity with political prisoners while Spanish state turns the screw on them
27,000 people, according to a count by the pro-Independence Left daily
newspaper Gara, marched again in Bilbao to support Basque political
prisoners and to demand a democratic solution to the political problem
in the Basque Country. Representatives of different political, trade
union and social agencies participated and shared the lead banner with
former prisoners. Relatives of prisoners who had their sentences
extended to virtual life imprisonment by the “Parot Doctrine” (their are
80 of these) also marched at the front. Part of the purpose of the
march was to protest the decision earlier this month of the Spanish
Constitutional Court to uphold the doctrine.
In a separate development, the prisoners’ collective has been reviewing
their organisation and representation and they gave interviews to both
Gara and Berria to explain their work and their objectives. Mikel
Albisu, Marixol Iparragirre, and Lorentxa Gimon will be the
representatives for the prisoners in French prisons and Jon Olarra,
Xabier Alegria and Anabel Egues in the Spanish ones.
They denounced the dispersion policy of both states and the burden that
places on relatives (there were three serious crashes this month on the
long journeys to visit prisoners). They denounced also the use of the
Parot Doctrine, the retention of seriously ill prisoners and in general
the use of prisoners as hostages by the states. They also stated that
they have been reviewing the political situation and, while they are
hopeful, called for caution.
International support for peace process in the Basque Country and for an end to Spanish state repression
During April the manifesto of Madrid-Donostia Peace and Democracy for
the Basque Country was launched. It has been signed by more than 500
academics, journalists, politicians, trade union members, lawyers,
artists and social movement activists throughout the Spanish state but
in particular who are based in Madrid.
The signatories of the manifesto approved of ETA’s declaration of an end
to armed activity and called on the Spanish government to take stop
reciprocal steps, including an end to the disperson of political
prisoners, the legalisation of the Abertzale Left political party Sortu
and to enter into dialogue with ETA.
The reaction of the Secretary of State for Security of the PP government, has been to say that
“to ask the Executive to open a dialogue with ETA must also be understood as coercion on the part of the signers.”
Basque pro-Spanish police fatally wound youth with rubber projectile
Not long after the case of the young man shot in the head with a rubber
projectile by Basque police during the general strike, another was shot
in the same way and died. According to witnesses, the Bilbao Athletic
fan Iñigo Cabacas was watching his team play Schalke in a cul-de-sac
leisure area in Bilbao, where there is an herriko taberna (People’s Bar)
and others. Then three van loads of the Ertzaintza (Basque Autonomous
Region police) arrived and, at a maximum distance of 20 metres, fired
rubber projectiles at people watching the game on TV screens. According
to operational procedures, the minimum distance for firing these
projectiles at people should be fifty metres.
Almost immediately afterwards, the pro-Spanish media began to
manufacture a narrative, sometimes based on the police version of events
and sometimes of their own concoction: that there had been a fight and
the police were called; that bottles had been thrown and could have hit
Inigo on the head ..... All these versions have been vigorously refuted
by witnesses. Rodolfo Ares, Justice Minister of the Basque Government
repeated some of these lies, criticised the Abertzale Left and announced
an investigation of the incident no sooner than three days afterwards.
Young people organised impromptu gatherings of grief and solidarity
immediately and afterwards there were some demonstrations, calling for
the resignation of the Justice Minister and the removal of the
projectile launchers from the Ertzaintza. At Athletic games in Bilbao,
large banners were displayed and as they lined up on the pitch before
the game, the Athletic players all wore T-shirts bearing the legend
“Inigo -- gogoan zaitugu” (Inigo – we remember you).
Basque pro-independence broad front for representation and organisation in the Northern Basque Country
Euskal Herria Bai (Basque Country Yes), a coalition made up of AB,
Batasuna and leftist abertzales without party affiliation presented
their electoral program for the legislative elections that will take
place after the presidential elections in the French State.
Also, the Abertzale Left, EA, Aralar, AB and Alternatiba took a new step
last Saturday towards unity in national and strategic activity with the
signing of the agreement, “Commitment for a National Strategy.”
Overcoming years of differences and discussions the five leftist and
Abertzale forces signed a
political agreement that unites abertzales from both sides of the frontier.
75th Anniversary of Nazi bombing of Gernika commemorated in the Basque Country and in Ireland
Many events were held in the Basque Country to commemorate the bombing
of the Basque town of Gernika by the Nazi Condor Legion, fighting on the
side of the Spanish fascist forces on 26
th
April 1937. The mayor of Gernika, who took part in several of these
acts, called on the Spanish state “to restore honor to the Basques by
telling the truth, as Germany did 15 years ago and recognize that the
order for the bombardment came from Franco.” They also demanded that
“Guernica” by Pablo Picasso be transferred to this town from the Queen
Sofia Museum where it is exhibited.
Among the events organised outside the Basque Country were two in
Ireland. In Belfast the Belfast Basque Solidarity Committee organised
an event including a reception hosted by the Mayor of the city in the
City Hall, while the Dublin Basque Solidarity Committee organised a
seminar followed by a social event. In Dublin on the 27
th,
around 200 people heard Harry Owens and Enda McGarry give talks on the
atrocity. After questions and answers, a DJ from Dublin Antifascist
Action played for the attendance and Basque snacks were sold.
Basque victims of Spanish state association formed
Relatives who have been killed by the state or who died as a result of
state repression set up this month an association called “Egiari Zor”
(“Duty to Truth”). Two hundred poeple with first-hand experience of the
violence of the state and of its consequences participated in the
founding ceremony.
For years the Association of the Victims of Terrorism, most of them
relatives of Guardia Civil, have functioned as a right-wing group
against all manifestations of Basque independence or self-determination.
That assocation has often taken court cases under criminal law against
activists of the Abertzale Left, demanded banning of organisations and
demonstrations, etc.
The founding document of Egiari Zor however recognises the pain of
others and seeks parity in recognition and in reparation and lays out
some of the basic requirements, including a Truth Commission and
compliance with jusice and democratic norms by the state.
