Signatories of the gernika agreement to European Union

The signatories of the gernika (different basque political parties, basque political prisoners, trade unions and organizations) agreement have sent to the European Union the next letter to ask for their involvement in the resolution of basque conflict.

Mr. Herman Van Rompuy
President of the European Council
BRUSSELS
Mr. José Manuel Durão Barroso
President of the European Commission
BRUSSELS
Mr. Martin Schulz
President of the European Parliament
BRUSSELS
Iruña- Pamplona, 7 December 2012

Dear Mr. President of the European Council; Dear Mr. President of the
European Commission; Dear Mr. President of the European Parliament,
We are writing to you about the recent Nobel Peace Prize awarded to the
European Union. As Basque and European citizens we are delighted, and we
congratulate you as heads of the European Union.
Naturally each citizen and organization has their own views on the specific
policies implemented by the European Union in the various fields in which it is
active; having said that, it is an undeniable fact that, in a steady trend, the
European Common Project has furthered the cause of peace and of civil and
human rights.

In this place in Europe – the Basque Country – the last political conflict within
the Union is still going on. However, recent developments have given us fresh
hope that normalization and peace are possible, and we would like you to know
that:
Firstly.- The conflict we are going through in this European enclave called the
Basque Country has causes of a political nature, and at the bottom of them is
the denial of our national rights as a People. One aspect of this political conflict
has been decades-long violent confrontation. Over the past 50 years there have
been acts of violence in both States (France, Spain) that have led to a total of
over 1400 deaths, thousands of people injured, a number of missing persons,
some 10,000 people tortured and tens of thousands of detainees. Of the latter,
there are currently about 800 people in prison, most of them serving time
hundreds or even thousands of kilometres from their places of origin. However,
in recent years steps have been taken to lead this conflict out of the
confrontation phase and into a phase of resolution.

Secondly.- The Aiete International Conference, held a year ago now, agreed on
five points. In Point One the Conference called upon ETA to publicly declare a
permanent end to armed activity. In Point Two it urged the governments of
Spain and France, if such a declaration were forthcoming, to welcome it and
agree to engage in discussions on the consequences of the armed conflict. In
response to that demand by the International Observers, ETA announced a
permanent end to armed struggle. In contrast, not only have the Governments
of Spain and France not engaged in discussions on the consequences of the
conflict, they have also acted contrary to good sense and to international
dispute-resolution standards by continuing with the arrests, torture and acts of
police brutality and by continuing to resort to emergency measures and
legislation, even ignoring the steady stream of rulings that have come from the
ECHR. Thus they have squandered the opportunity to set aside emergency
justice and repression and to move forward towards peace and resolution.
Thirdly.- The vast majority of Basque citizens are of one mind that the time has
come to peacefully settle this conflict that has caused so much suffering. Since
the European Union is a leader in peace-making – witness the award of the
Nobel Peace Prize and the Union's active participation in dispute resolution
both within and without its own territory – and since the Basque conflict is a
European conflict, both because it has affected European citizens and because
it has arisen within two member states, we, the Gernika Agreement signatories,
wish to ask of you:

1. That the European Union invite Member States France and Spain to deal
with the consequences of the Basque conflict by applying international disputeresolution
standards.

2. Should they not do so, that the European Union lead that phase of the peace
process which consists of settling the conflict, as a party involved in it.

3. That the Union call upon the States to undertake to respect human rights, to
desist from resorting to emergency legislation, and to comply with and
implement the ECHR's rulings.

Looking forward to hearing from you, we thank you in advance. Yours,
The political, trade union and social organizations who are signatories to
the Gernika Agreement