Thursday, December 30, 2004

Shocking Victory Indeed

What a day, I'm not sure how to feel, I guess I'm shocked.

Arnaldo Otegi lent the strength needed for the plan by Basque Prime Minister Juan José Ibarretxe to be approved.

The zipayos from the PP and the PSOE are licking their wounds.

The message is clear, the future of the Basque Country will be decided by the Basques.

Here is the note from Yahoo News:

Basque Autonomous Plan Set For Shock Victory

VITORIA, Spain (Reuters) - A Basque proposal for virtual independence from Spain gained vital and unexpected support in the regional parliament on Thursday from Batasuna, a party banned as the political wing of armed separatists ETA.

The proposal by Basque premier Juan Jose Ibarretxe, a moderate nationalist, would enshrine the region's right to self-determination through a referendum and create a "status of free association" with Spain.

Ibarretxe presents his plan as a means to end ETA's campaign of bombings and shootings that has killed about 850 people since 1968, but Spain's ruling Socialists and main opposition Popular Party say it is unacceptable.

Batasuna, which was outlawed in 2003 but still fills the seats in the regional parliament it won before the ban, had originally rejected the scheme for not including the Spanish region of Navarre and three provinces of southwest France.

But Batasuna leader Arnaldo Otegi made a surprise announcement that three of his party's parliamentarians would vote in favor of the Ibarretxe plan later on Thursday -- thus giving it an absolute majority, crucial for its approval.

"When it comes to voting, we are going to say yes to self-determination ... and to a popular vote," Otegi told the assembly.

If approved, the plan would pass to the national parliament in Madrid where it is certain to be rejected, with the Socialists and Popular Party both set against it. However, even to get that far would be a symbolic victory for Ibarretxe.

The controversial proposal could cause trouble for the government of Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, which relies on small regional parties for its parliamentary majority.

Zapatero has relaunched dialogue with Ibarretxe that had been frozen under his predecessor Jose Maria Aznar, whose government was so angered by the Basque leader's plan it threatened to throw him in jail.

Yet like Aznar, Zapatero considers the Ibarretxe plan a breach of Spain's 1978 constitution and will not accept it in anything like its present form.

Earlier, Batasuna supporters clashed with police outside the Basque regional parliament in Vitoria while the Ibarretxe plan was being debated.

Several hundred protesters waving Basque flags and banners demanding complete independence from Madrid tried to stage a protest just outside the parliament building until the police charged. (Additional reporting by Inmaculada Sanz and Emma Pinedo in Madrid)

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Road to Sovereignty?


Ibarretxe Posted by Hello

Basque regional president Juan Jose Ibarretxe gestures as he proposes his Ibarretxe plan in the Basque regional parliament in Vitoria, Spain, Thursday, Dec. 30, 2004. Basque lawmakers gathered Thursday in the regional parliament to vote on the hotly contested plan that would turn their troubled region into a virtually sovereign state, the stiffest challenge to the Spanish government since the Basque country gained broad autonomy 25 years ago. (AP Photo/Alvaro Barrientos)

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Gazteiz II


Ertzaintza Posted by Hello

Basque riot police charge at demonstrators outside Vitoria's regional parliament, December 30, 2004. Several hundred protesters demanding complete independence from Madrid clashed with police on Thursday as the Basque Parliament debated a plan put forward by regional premier Juan Jose Ibarretxe that would create a status of free association with Spain. REUTERS/ Vincent West

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Gazteiz I


Gazteiz Posted by Hello

Basque riot police charge at demonstrators outside Vitoria's regional parliament, December 30, 2004. Several hundred protesters demanding complete independence from Madrid clashed with police on Thursday as the Basque Parliament debated a plan put forward by regional premier Juan Jose Ibarretxe that would create a status of free association with Spain. REUTERS/ Vincent West

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Fasting For Justice

I know that there is more than one fascist wannabe that thinks that someone that was arrested, prosecuted and sentenced for his or her involvement in activities that are branded as terrorism should not have any rights.

But since we are civilized nations and we believe that the penitentiary system is there to reform and re-insert people serving jail sentences back into society, then sorry to break the news to you, but the Basques in Spanish jails do have rights.

That Spain does not honor those rights is a different story, that Spain applies a double standard policy when it comes to the Basque prisoners only demonstrates that Spain has long way to go to be considered a full democracy.

The dispersion is just one of the many exceptions in the law applied to Basque prisoners.

Spain denies that there is a political conflict in Euskal Herria, what they gain by doing that is to remove the rights given to political prisoners by the UN charter. But then they ban a political party and they even make deals to make sure they remove all influence by that political party from the political life of the Basque Country. I would say there is a political conflict , no matter what Madrid says.

It is called the rapist strategy: It is not my fault, she was wearing a mini skirt, a red mini skirt.

Well, some Basques won't just accept the status quo, and they demand the rights of the Basque political prisoners to recognized and upheld, and they spring into action.

This note appeared today at Berria:

Hunger strike to draw attention to “political status” of Basque prisoners

Over a hundred people are on hunger strike in Arantzazu, Mutriku and Zaldibia in support of Basque prisoners

Estitxu Ugarte

This week more than a hundred people are on hunger strike in Arantzazu, Mutriku and Zaldibia in support of Basque prisoners’ rights. The hunger strikers are also demanding that the prisoners’ “political status” be recognised and “that they be allowed to participate” in the resolution of the conflict.

40 people gathered at the Shrine of Arantzazu (Gipuzkoa) last Sunday and are set to remain there until tomorrow. One of the people involved in the hunger strike told BERRIA yesterday what the three main aims of their initiative were. “First and foremost we want to denounce the policy to disperse the prisoners. As the dispersion is the result of a political decision, its consequences also have to be put in the context of the political conflict.”

“We are also aiming,” by means of this hunger strike, “to draw attention to the important, direct participation that Basque Political Prisoners, refugees and fugitives should be allowed to have in the resolution of the Basque Country’s political conflict,” explained the hunger striker. So the view held by the people who have gathered in Arantzazu is that “we have to work from the Basque Country so that we can have our prisoners here in the Basque Country, and we have to press the demand that their political status be recognised”.

The hunger strikers in Arantzazu are working on a number of plans; for this purpose they have been holding meetings with political and social players and with trade unionists. Representatives of the Herria 2000 Eliza Christian movement, the Bilgune Feminista feminist group, the Segi Basque nationalist left youth movement, EHNE and LAB, among others, have been to Arantzazu. The hunger strikers also took the Basque prisoners’ demands to the football match at the Anoeta Stadium (in Donostia-San Sebastian) last night when the Euskadi national team played, and today they will be taking up their positions in front of the Parliament of the Basque Autonomous Community.

Since Tuesday 25 people have been participating in a three-day hunger strike in Zaldibia (Gipuzkoa), and another 30 people have been taking it in turns to participate in a fast in Mutriku (Gipuzkoa). An event marked the end of their initiative yesterday.


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Wednesday, December 29, 2004

Anoeta Stadium


Euskadi Posted by Hello

Honduras' player Gonzales, left, fights for the ball with Basque player L. Prieto, right, during a friendly soccer match between Euskadi and Honduras at Anoeta stadium in San Sebastian, Spain, Wednesday Dec. 29, 2004. (AP Photo/Ander Gillenea)

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Evidence

Someone in Naugatuck in Connecticut is searching for evidence that proves that Francisco Franco was behind the bombing of Guernica.

Good luck with that search dear web surfer.

But I wonder, does this person wants to prove that Francisco Franco was behind it?

Or does this person wants to prove that Francisco Franco was not behind the attack?

Now a days you never know, there is those who claim that Francisco Franco did not side with Hitler during WWII, yet it takes a quick search to find out about the Blue Brigade, a group of Spanish "volunteers" that fought side to side with the Wermacht in the siege of Stalingrad.

One thing I can tell that person in Naugatuck is this, until today none of the Spanish Governments have apologized to the Basques for what happened that day in Gernika, unlike the German Government that finally did so a few years ago.

Then again, Germany is not proud of its Nazi past, unlike many Spaniards that continue to support Francoist policies and Franco style politicians, and continue to honor their Caudillo at the "Valle de los Caídos" every year.

I am real curious about the reason why this Connecticut person is looking for that evidence.

Just one more thing, he was.

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Torture in Western Europe

Everytime one thinks Western Europe, one usually thinks of democratic states where the rule of law is upheld and the citizens live their lives without the fear of being repressed by the police.

Somehow Spain manages to get into that picture.

Yet, the evidence to the contrary keeps mounting.

A large percentage of the people that was arrested last couple of months accused of belonging to ETA are now free, there was no evidence to support a process.

They were guilty until proven innocent, a justice travesty quite common in Spain.

One after the other the detainees have logged complaints for mistreatment and torture during the five days they were held incommunicado, a practice that facilitates the torture of those arrested by the police forces.

Here is one more story of a young Basque woman that was tortured and raped for the sole crime of being Basque, it appeared at Berria.

Urizar says Spanish Civil Guard officers raped her with pistol

Her mother has brought to public attention the testimony of the brutal torture she endured while she was being held incommunicado

Aitziber Laskibar – BILBO

Blows, the bag, the bathtub, threats, insults, sexual assaults, fondling and rape. This is the list of everything that Bilbo-born Amaia Urizar, aged 22, suffered during the five days she was in the hands of the Spanish Civil Guard, according to what Urizar herself has written from prison and the testimony read out by her mother during a press conference. Her mother gave details of the brutal torture her daughter had endured. Although her mother, Rosa De Paz, tried to maintain her composure with dignity, her hands shook and she was unable to hold back the tears as he told of the spine-chilling ordeal her daughter had been put through during the five days she was held incommunicado.

Urizar, who is from Bilbo, was arrested at her parents’ home early on October 29 accused of helping ETA. It was the second arrest in the police operation that began with the detention of Haritz Totorika, and was followed by a further eight arrests. All the people arrested in that swoop by the Spanish Civil Guard denounced brutal torture.

Izaskun Gonzalez, a member of the anti-torture group TAT, pointed out that the brutality of the testimonies heard yesterday was similar to that endured by all the other detainees; the dreadful torture suffered by Urizar is not an isolated case. The rest of the people arrested in the same raid denounced the bag, electrodes, the bathtub, rape attempts, blows and threats, among other things.

The detainee alleges that she was raped by Spanish Civil Guards at the police station; a police officer climbed onto the 22-year-old girl and as he fondled his penis between his legs, he raped her with his pistol which, according to the officers, was loaded with bullets.


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Tuesday, December 28, 2004

Like the Phoenix

I said it before, no matter what people think about Michael Moore's documentary "Farenheit 911", its success in the theaters created a new born curiosity by movie goers to actually watch more and more documentaries.

Here is a an excerpt of a note appeared at Guardian Unlimited titled "The Muckrackers Clean Up", it is mainly about Moore but it does talk about other documentaries that helped change the way these films are perceived by the public.

It includes a mention to Julio Medem's "The Basque Ball: The Skin Against the Wall", a documentary about the Basque Conflict which the Spanish Government attempted to censor and even tried to prevent for the documentary to be screened at international film festivals.

Here you have it:

The serious documentaries have been the work of passionate movie-makers, independent spirits pursuing personal themes, often but not always political. Robert Greenwald for instance, a leading producer of feature films and TV mini-series, was so affected by the stealing of the 2000 election that since then he's devoted himself entirely to documentaries. His Uncovered: The War on Iraq is the most lucid account of the events leading up to the Iraq war. For Outfoxed , he built up a network of volunteers across America to mon itor the multiple mendacities of Murdoch's Fox News. These are urgent, well-researched polemics.

Altogether cooler is The Fog of War, a masterly cross-examination of Robert McNamara, President Kennedy's Defence Secretary, by the veteran documentarist Errol Morris, that throws light on American life from the Depression to the present. It's arguably the best movie of its kind this year and one of Morris's rare ventures into politics.

The political documentary, however, is not restricted to the US. From Brazil this year we've had Bus 174, which examines poverty and police brutality through the hijacking of a bus in Rio; from Spain The Basque Ball, a revealing look at the complex history of Basque separatism; from France The Wall, a powerful, deeply affecting report on the effects of the wall being built between Israel and Palestine; from Canada The Corporation, a film about the responsibilities of large companies.

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Euphemisms

So, now you will know how to say "We tortured him to death" in the jargon of the Guardia Civil.

You say: "He slipped away during the interrogations".

You see?

Is not as harsh that way.

Remember, this euphemism is to be applied only when the victim is either a Basque, a Catalan or an African immigrant.

Here is the note that appeared at Berria:

Gomez-Nieto: “He slipped away during the interrogations”

‘Zabalza Case’ inquest. Two journalists have handed the judge a recording in which the Spanish Civil Guard Gomez-Nieto tells the CESID agent Perote that they killed Mikel Zabalza in Intxaurrondo

I. Murua-Uria – DONOSTIA (San Sebastian)

Juan Alberto Perote, the former CESID (Spanish Secret Services) agent said previously that Pedro Gomez-Nieto, the former Spanish Civil Guard sergeant, had told him that they had tortured Mikel Zabalza to death at their headquarters in Intxaurrondo (near Donostia). Perote admitted this to the judge in 1997 but Gomez-Nieto denied it. Now two El Mundo Televisión journalists have got hold of a recording of the conversation between Perote and Gomez-Nieto. The recording is now in possession of Elena Rodriguez, the investigating judge of the Court of Donostia (San Sebastian), and shortly all the parties involved in the inquest will be given the opportunity to listen to it, including Iñigo Iruin, the lawyer representing the Zabalza family, and Jorge Argote, the lawyer acting for the Spanish Civil Guard. This proof gives the parties an opportunity to request that fresh proceedings be started to clarify where the responsibilities lie, because it supports the testimony which until now has lacked proof.

The inquest into Zabalza’s death has been open since 1995, because there are a number of testimonies and pieces of evidence which cast doubt on the official version –the Spanish Civil Guards’ version is that Zabalza, in handcuffs, escaped from them, jumped into the Bidasoa river and drowned– but nobody has been charged yet; the Spanish Civil Guards Felipe Bayo and Enrique Dorado were accused but not indicted.

According to Sunday’s edition of El Mundo newspaper, the recording dates back to December 1985 –Zabalza was arrested on November 20th of that year and in December the Spanish Civil Guard discovered his body in the Bidasoa river– and Gomez-Nieto says in it that he reckons that the interrogators “overdid it” and that he [Zabalza] “slipped away” during the interrogations, “most likely of a heart attack, because a plastic bag had been put on his head”; besides “according to the doctors, he [Zabalza] was in poor health and needed three operations last year”.


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Ongi Etorri Honduras!


Honduras Posted by Hello

Honduras' coach Jose de la Paz Herrera, center left, gives instructions to the national team players during a training session in the Anoeta stadium in San Sebastian, Spain Tuesday, Dec. 28, 2004. Honduras will play the autonomous Basque regional team Wednesday in a friendly soccer match. (AP Photo/EFE, Javier Echezarreta)


Just a little note here, in the Euskadi team, technically, there is players from all the seven herrialdes (provinces), not only from the three that conform the Basque Autonomous Community.

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Friday, December 24, 2004

Eguberri On!

Merry Christmas!
May Olentzero and his helper Santa Clausette deliver all the peace, joy and health that Mother Earth can offer to you, your families and your loved ones.
Zorionak!
Besarkak!


Eguberrion Posted by Hello
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Tuesday, December 21, 2004

Balkanization?

Read the other post from today.

Seems like "El Mundo" is warning the world that Bilbo (or maybe Gazteiz) is the next Sarajevo, the next Dubrovnik.

Good thing Mariano Rajoy is not the Prime Minister of Spain today, he is closer to Slobodan Milosevic's credo than Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero will ever be.

Why do they have to compare it to Yugoslavia?

Why not to Czechoslovakia?

There was no bloodshed, no animosity on that one.

Why is Madrid always on the brink of unleashing violence?

Did they ever heard of Gandhi?

What are Catalonia and Galiza waiting for?

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Milosevic is Lurking

Check out this article:
Basque plan raises fear of break-up of Spain

By Anthony Ham
Age correspondent
Madrid

December 22, 2004

As the European Union expands its borders, one of its largest member states, Spain, may be beginning to unravel.

Under the 1978 constitution, Spain's 17 autonomous communities enjoy more powers of self-government than anywhere in Europe. The Basque Autonomous Community of Euskadi has the greatest autonomy, with its own premier, legislature, police force and Supreme Court and control over housing, education, health, social services and some taxation.

And yet the separatist impulse remains high.

On Monday, the Basque regional parliament's Institutional Commission approved a plan for even greater autonomy, which some analysts believe may lead to the Basque country's independence from Spain.

The plan still has to be passed by the Basque Parliament on December 30. However, the surprise decision by Sozialista Abertzaleak, widely acknowledged as the political wing of the militant separatist group ETA, to abstain from voting means the proposal's passage is all but certain.

As a result, an unprecedented political and constitutional crisis now looms.

The central pillar of the proposal, known as the Ibarretxe Plan after Basque Premier Juan Jose Ibarretxe, is a Basque Community "freely associated" with Spain on the basis of "shared sovereignty". As well as introducing joint Spanish and Basque citizenship, the plan provides for an independent Basque judiciary, diplomatic representation abroad, the right to call referendums on issues of self-determination and almost complete administrative control over the Basque country.

Critics of the plan condemn the Basque Government for adopting by stealth ETA's aims of independence. Indeed, Sozialista Abertzaleak leader Arnaldo Otegi has claimed that the "best bits of the plan are those that have been copied from us".

Mariano Rajoy, leader of the main Spanish opposition Popular Party, has denounced the Ibarretxe Plan as "secessionist" and "treason".

We are certainly willing to participate in a project together, but that project is called Spain.
- Jordi Sevilla, government minister

The centrist Madrid newspaper El Mundo likened it to "the unilateral declarations of Slovenia and Croatia, which ended with the disintegration of Yugoslavia".

For its part, the Socialist Government of Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero - which holds an 8.5 per cent lead in national opinion polls - has countered with promises of regional reforms. These include making the national Senate more representative of Spain's regions and reforming the arcane system of regional financing. But Mr Zapatero has also warned the autonomous regions that they have "very little margin to extend their authority".

Spain's Public Administrations Minister Jordi Sevilla said: "We are certainly willing to participate in a project together, but that project is called Spain."

Amid political claim and counter-claim, both sides have adopted the role of representative of the Basque people.

A survey by the Basque Government claims that 78 per cent of Basques want a referendum on the plan, 81 per cent believe Madrid must respect the decision of any such referendum and 67 per cent support the Ibarretxe Plan. An opinion poll quoted by the Spanish Government counters that 40 per cent of Basques oppose independence and a mere 30 per cent want it.

Mr Ibarretxe has promised to resolve the uncertainty by holding a referendum before Basque regional elections in May. But such a referendum would need approval by an unthinkable 60 per cent of Spain's Parliament.

A legal challenge in Spain's Constitutional Court is also a near certainty. Jurists on both sides of the debate acknowledge that the Ibarretxe Plan almost certainly contravenes the constitution, whose founding premise is "the indissoluble unity of the Spanish nation".

If a referendum succeeds, many Spaniards fear that Catalonia and possibly Galicia and other regions may follow.

Mr Ibarretxe has described the coming months as "the most important in the history of democracy in the Basque country". The same could be said for the future of Spain.

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Monday, December 20, 2004

Aznar's Worst Nightmare

And also Franco's.

The Basque Parliament has voted yes.

The "Ibarretxe Plan" obtained the green light after Batasuna decided to be political savvy and abstained from voting against it. The result, 9 votes is favor, 7 against and 2 abstentions.

The most important part, the Parliament representatives have voted yes in behalf of a referendum amongst Basques to decide if they want independence or not.

Of course, the representatives from the PP and the PSOE voted against it, lets hope they don't resort to lacing Ibarretxe's soup with cyanid.

Here you have the note that appeared today at the BBC:


Basques back 'independence' plan

By Danny Wood
BBC News, Madrid



Basque independence supporters at rally in December
Spanish leaders oppose the Basque independence plan













Members of the Basque parliament have voted in favour of proposals for more autonomy from Spain.

The plan, drawn up by the leader of the Basque government, Juan Jose Ibarretxe, calls for a referendum on independence.

This vote in the Basque parliament's institutional commission is the first important step for the Ibarretxe plan.

The autonomy plan calls for a separate judiciary, police force, financial system and a distinct citizenship for those with Basque ancestry.

The commission voted to support the proposal after more than a year of heated debate.

The document needs the endorsement of the regional parliament before it can go to a referendum.

Next step

But the initiative is strongly opposed by Spain's major parties. The leader of the opposition conservative Popular Party, Mariano Rajoy, has called the independence plan a betrayal of the state.

Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero says he is open to talks about the future of the Basque region's relationship with the rest of the country.

But his Socialist party has always been against any fundamental changes to the constitution.

Mr Ibarretxe and his regional government deny they want complete independence from Spain.

The second step for the plan is expected to be a vote in the Basque regional parliament on 30 December.

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Sunday, December 19, 2004

Lets Take Their Word!

Yesterday during a demonstration against the dispersion that took place in the very heart of the beast, Madrid, people shouted at the protesters to "do this in your own country".

"Your own country" meaning the Basque Country, so, I say, lets take them on their word and make an internationally recognized Basque Country so Basques do not have to demonstrate in Madrid anymore nor be called murderers for demanding that a murderous policy stops once and for all.

A lot of people has come to this site looking for info about Karmele Solaguren, who was killed in an accident while on her way to visit her son, Ekain Gerra, who is a Basque political prisoner. Oddly enough, no comments are being made. Hopefully is not out of cowardice, the Basques do not need cowards to witness their struggle and do nothing about it, the Basques need courageous people willing to speak out against all the injustice dished out to them, people willing to do something to resolve the situation.

Here is the note that appeared today at Berria English:

Dispersion of Basque prisoners denounced in Madrid

Four members of the ‘Zuzen’ group and two brothers of the Basque prisoner Amaia Segurola were arrested after a spectacular protest to denounce the accidents caused by the dispersion policy; they were released in the afternoon

Eider Goenaga

A serious accident in Madrid resulted in two people injured; the relatives of a Basque prisoner were involved in an accident on their way to make a prison visit. These would have been the opening lines of yesterday’s news item, if what took place in Madrid’s Alcala street yesterday had actually happened and had not been a protest. And it would not have been the first news item of its kind.

Zuzen action group members organised a spectacular protest yesterday to denounce, once again, the dispersion that Basque prisoners are suffering and the accidents that happen as a result. And they remembered especially Karmele Solaguren, who died on December 5 on her way to visit her son Ekain Gerra in Alcala Meco prison.

They staged their protest outside the offices of the Directorate-General of the Spanish Government’s Prison Service in the Calle Alcala in the very heart of Madrid. At about 13.30 hours two members of the family of Amaia Segurola, who is currently in the Dueñas prison in Palencia with her six-month-old daughter, plus four Zuzen members staged a mock accident. A car was turned over in the middle of the road, two people got inside and lay down, and red paint was poured everywhere. Segurola’s relatives and two Zuzen members stood beside them. They held photos of Karmele Solaguren, the flag demanding the return of Basque prisoners to the Basque Country, the Zuzen action group’s anagram and a red, white and green Basque flag or ikurrina.

The street was crowded at that time of day and people surrounded the Zuzen members immediately. There were moments of tension, but the Zuzen members refused to give in; those on the ground and the ones with the flags next to them stayed where they were. The protest continued until the police and fire fighters arrived on the scene. The police approached those responsible for the protest and arrested them immediately; they were given rough treatment as they were made to stand facing a fence looking at the ground while they were being frisked. The people close by applauded the Spanish Police officers and shouted things like “murderers” and “do this in your own country” at the Zuzen members.

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Preserving Euskara

It should be quite telling that the Basques call themselves Euskaldunak, meaning Basque Speakers. It should also be understood that they call their country Euskal Herria, the Land of the Basque Speakers.

Dividing the Basque lands in three different political entities with different approaches to the significance and preservation of the language among linguistic giants like Spanish and French has become the task of titans, but is has not been up to titans to do so, but up to average citizens, people willing to speak the language of their forefathers, people willing to advance it despite the "democratic" governments bent on suffocating it.

Here is a very interesting note about the efforts by one of the many Basque groups engaged in making sure Basque remains the corner stone of Basque culture.

EHE: “Basque needs one single law for the whole of the Basque Country”

During an event held in Iruñea, Mikel Irastorza, a member of the pro-Basque association EHE, appealed to all sectors of society to give Basque priority, in order to achieve the total normalisation of the language; he called for the uniting of forces in this task

Editorial Staff – DONOSTIA (San Sebastian)

The Euskal Herrian Euskaraz-EHE association celebrated its 25th anniversary at the Anaitasuna sports centre in Iruñea (Pamplona) yesterday before a crowd of several hundred people. Just as it did in Durango 25 years ago, the association supporting the Basque language issued a statement yesterday, this time entitled 25 urte eta gero… Euskal Herrian Euskaraz! (25 years on… in Basque in the Basque Country!). In the statement, the EHE takes a look back at the course of the Basque language during the last 25 years, and outlines the keys to its future progress.

Mikel Irastorza read out the statement on the EHE’s behalf and said that the progress made by the language during this period was due to the work, determination and fight on the part of the popular movement and members of the public. He referred to some of the numerous initiatives taken: “As a result of our efforts in favour of the Basque language, we Basque speakers have exposed the infringement of our linguistic rights and the fact that we are prevented from living in Basque; the idea of overcoming legislation designed to kill off Basque is growing; the official status of Basque throughout Euskal Herria needs to be firmly instilled in people; despite the difficulties, we are creating and increasing the number of Basque language media; the movement in favour of the Basque language has moved from being something dispersed to something more united.”

Irastorza pointed out that the tools “to kill off Basque” came into effect 25 years ago. He said that because of the legal situation, the triple division of Basque reflected a language adrift in all parts of its territory. “Yet the Spanish and the French have not stamped out the attachment we Basques have to our language; they have failed, because 25 years on Basque is alive, just as the Basque Country is,” he stressed. He went to say that throughout these years the French and Spanish States had been constantly trying to destroy everything that we Basques had built. He said this was borne out by the closing down of Euskaldunon Egunkaria and the assault on popular movements.

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Saturday, December 18, 2004

Basque Sites Rule!

Kaixo!

Yes indeed, sites dedicated to the Basque Country rule.

They are the best, as simple as that.

That is why I just listed a bunch of them on the right bar.

If you know of any other sites that should be there, do not hesitate to let me know, I'll be glad to add them.

Mila esker!


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Julia Carabias Lillo

Julia Carabias Lillo, a Mexican of Basque background receives accolades from a Japanese newspaper for being awarder the Cosmos International Prize by the Commemorative Foundation.

Here is the note from The Japan Times:

By VIVIENNE KENRICK

The Osaka 1990 International Exposition prominently proclaimed as its theme "The Harmonious Coexistence of Nature and Mankind." Since 1993 the Commemorative Foundation of that exposition has awarded its Cosmos International Prize to 11 scientists from different countries, recognizing them as important contributors to the exposition's principles. This year's recipient is professor Julia Carabias Lillo of Mexico.

In 2002, Ochanomizu University, Tokyo, established an honorary doctorate "to commend and honor individuals who have made great contributions to academic research and international cultural exchange." The first recipient of this honor was Sadako Ogata, Japan's renowned former U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees. This year, believing that Carabias' career was an inspiration to its female students, the university conferred the honorary degree on Carabias, Mexico's leading environmentalist.

The child of Basque immigrants from Spain, Carabias was born exactly 50 years ago in Mexico City. She said, "I grew up witnessing the living conditions of people in Mexico, a developing country." Those childhood observations led her, later on, when she was a qualified scientist, to formulate her basic research policy: "always to view issues and envisage the future from the perspective of developing nations." She faced a dual task that she regards as a single, indivisible issue: the alleviation of poverty and the preservation of natural resources.

Carabias studied biology at the National Autonomous University (UNAM) of Mexico. After graduation, as a lecturer she stayed on at the university teaching courses in environmental science. At the same time, she continued her research into the regeneration of tropical forests, the management of natural resources and the conservation of the environment.

In 1982, Carabias received a message from the governor of Guerrero. This state, thought to be Mexico's poorest, already suffered from severe environmental destruction. At the governor's request, Carabias joined a team that included economists and ecologists. Both an academic and a field worker, she drew up a plan aimed at improving local standards of living whilst not exhausting natural resources. She instructed and enrolled local residents to guarantee informed continuity.

The four-year program, under the leadership of Carabias, received international recognition as a model for other developing countries to follow.

Within Mexico, the president acclaimed the Guerrero program. He called upon Carabias to develop similar programs for four other states. Each program could be similar only in principle. In practice each one was individual, as Carabias was asked to deal with different climatic conditions ranging over dry tropical, tropical rain forest, temperate forest and desert.

In 1994 the Mexican government appointed Carabias minister for the environment, natural resources and fisheries. Several achievements marked her six-year term. She restored a region devastated by forest fires. She doubled Mexico's protected areas. She brought together Mexican and American officials to begin restoring the natural course of river flow along the boundary between the two countries.

In 2000 Carabias returned to professorship at UNAM and to the presidency of the National Institute of Ecology. In the following year, the World Wildlife Fund awarded her its 23rd annual J. Paul Getty Wildlife Conservation Prize.

In Japan to receive the Cosmos 2004 International Prize, Carabias commented, "Most environmental damage in the world has been caused in the last 50 years, and we should recognize with shame and humility that it is these generations, those who are still living, which have caused this serious damage to our Earth. . . . Carbon dioxide emissions have quadrupled annually from 1950; there is annual deforestation of 13 million hectares; 20 percent of the world population does not have access to drinkable water; there are 1,900 million hectares of degraded soil in the world; the majority of main lakes and rivers are contaminated; more than 2,700 million persons have incomes of less than $2 per day."

She repeats the warning that, without action now, by the end of this century the diversity of the world's species will be halved. She said, "Receiving the Cosmos Prize is not only an honor. It also commits me to continuing my work."

The Japan Times: Dec. 18, 2004
(C) All rights reserved

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Friday, December 17, 2004

"Humiliation Never Works"

As simple as that.

Lets get the record straight, I am no fan of England, that I can tell you here and now.

But to be honest, their approach to delicate issues is a lot more sensitive and intelligent that the approach that Spain takes to similar issues.

Prime example is their commitment to negotiate with Sinn Fein, even with the knowledge that the group is the political arm of the IRA. And not only Ireland is an independent country today, seems like the IRA is considering to give up their violent campaign in the portion of Ireland still under English rule.

Now lets see, no part of the Basque Country is independent today, count that one against Spain and France.

But the worst part is, Spain refuses to negotiate with the broad spectrum of pro self-determination Basque groups using ETA's violence as an all encompassing excuse not to negotiate with people working peacefully and within the frame of the law, people that denounces and reviles ETA's ways.

Spain goes a step further, their now infamous former Prime Ministe José María Aznar shoved a Law of Political Parties designed to ban Batasuna, the leftist Basque political party. Why was Anzar so obsessed with banning a political party that represents 11% of the Basque electorate? After all, the Basque population is but 2% of Spain. Is not like Batasuna was taking away votes from Aznar or any other Franco like Spanish politico.

He did so because he and his puppets like Baltasar Garzón insist that Batasuna is the political arm of ETA. Batasuna never made such a claim, but an accusation was enough to get them banned and of course, there was no negotiating with them.

That is where England and Spain go different ways, England negotiates with Sinn Fein, the IRA's political side, Spain bans Batasuna on grounds of a possible link to ETA. The ghosts of Fascism rear their ugly heads in Spain even today.

Obviously, the difference is that England wants peace.

There is one more difference, as exposed yesterday by a couple of Irish visitors in Barcelona, here is the note that appeared today at Berria:

Gadd: “Keeping the prisoners together facilitated the Irish process”


Imanol Murua-Uria, Special Correspondent, BARCELONA

Irish political prisoners were, on the whole, in prisons close to home during the years leading up to the peace process; most of them were in the same prison –the Maze, close to Belfast–, they organised their own way of life inside and they appointed interlocutors to speak to the Government. Having the Loyalists in the same conditions as the Republican prisoners greatly facilitated the peace process, to the extent that the prisoners on both sides became one of the main players in the process. A seminar, which began in Barcelona yesterday and which is due to finish today, examined the prisons policy and the peace proposal in Ireland and in the Basque Country. Breidge Gadd, a probation officer, and Christine Bell, a lecturer, spoke during the seminar about how the prisons policy and the issue of prisoners affected the Irish peace process.

The two round-table discussions held in the Parliament of Catalonia yesterday morning could not have been more different from each other. The two Irish representatives, Bell and Gadd, first explained the extent to which the Northern Irish political process was facilitated by having all the prisoners together during the period leading up to the peace process, and by releasing the prisoners once the process had started; the discussion that followed was on the dispersion of prisoners and the absence of any peace process and it was attended by Antoni Asuncion, a former Spanish Interior Minister and former head of the Prison Service, Ruth Alonso, a judge in the Provincial Court of Bizkaia, and Gorka Espiau, a representative of Elkarri.

After the two round-table discussions, all the participants sat down at the same table and opened up the debate. The Irish representatives were asked first of all what they thought about what they had heard about the dispersion of Basque prisoners. Breidge Gadd said: “Humiliation never works.”

She stressed that she did not have enough information to give a complete view, but she highlighted this fact three times: “Every country is different, every struggle is different, but I can say on the basis of my experience with prisoners: humiliation does not work, full stop.” And she went on to refer to what she had heard about the dispersion a few minutes before: “If you hamper their contacts with their families, if you make visits difficult, you are creating the conditions for more terrorists to emerge, you are creating the prisoners of the future.” Gadd has been working with prisoners on parole as head of the Probation Service for many years.


Gadd Bell Posted by Hello

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Athletic Obliterates Standard

With the name Euskadi on the front and the Ikurriña on the arm of their captain, seems like Athletic of Bilbao had everything going to outscore the Standard of Liege 7 to 1.


Etxeberria Posted by Hello
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Wednesday, December 15, 2004

Advancing Euskera in Nafarroa

It is about time a law that prevents Basques from developing spaces for Euskara in parts of Nafarroa, a Basque province, because of a law that allegedly was established to help protect and promote the language.

Is it possible that the European Community can be so blind as to allow some backwards politicians to endanger one of Europe's (and the entire world for that case) most unique languages?

Basque language activity representatives demand new law


Maitane Burusko – IRUÑEA (Pamplona)

Today it is 18 years since the Government of Navarre's charter law 15/1986, or law governing the Basque language was passed. However, it is no cause for celebration for the players in the field of Basque language activity. They have denounced “the division and the continual violation of linguistic rights,” which have resulted from cutting Navarre up into three linguistic zones.

This was why a number of players involved in Basque language activity were keen to give a joint assessment yesterday to demand that, “on the basis of the conditions laid down in the Universal Declaration of Linguistic Rights, Basque should be given official status, that it should be treated as something that belongs to Navarre and that it should be given priority”. So the following bodies made a call for the repeal of the current Basque Language Law: Administrazioan Euskaraz (Organisation promoting Basque in the Administration), AEK, Behatokia, Euskal Herria Euskaraz, IKA (Association of centres teaching Basque and literacy in Basque to adults), Kontseilua, Oinarriak (Association of 15 organisations working for the standardisation of Basque in Navarre) and Sortzen-Ikasbatuaz (Association of Basque-speaking public schools).

The representatives of organisations working in the field of Basque language activity who met together are basically saying that the Basque Language Law in Navarre lacks “the necessary foundations” to bring about the normalisation of the Basque language. On December 15, 1986 the Government of Navarre implemented the law, which governs the linguistic rights of Basque speakers in Navarre, according to where they live.

Behatokia’s chairman Paul Bilbao explained that it was “a decision devoid of logic, “because it is inconceivable that the law itself should recognise that the language belongs to Navarre, while at the same time it divides up its official status on the basis of zones”. Bilbao added that over the last two decades people have not enjoyed any rights in the non-Basque speaking zone established by the law. As far as the mixed zone laid down by the law was concerned, the Behatokia chairman stressed that the law had contributed to the decline of the language in the institutions over the last few years.

The Government of Navarre has in fact passed a number of decrees to reduce the use of Basque, for example decrees 37/2000 and 29/2003, which were blocked by the courts. Paul Bilbao said that even in the Basque-speaking zone the Government of Navarre had flouted the law; he pointed out that linguistic rights are systematically being infringed today. On behalf of the players involved in Basque language activity he added: “At the end of the day the Basque Language Law has contributed towards discrimination among the citizens of Navarre and towards making the language disappear.”

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Tuesday, December 14, 2004

World's Dumbest Former Prime Minister

I hope I'm not the only one that sees the humor on this one.

But besides being an unrepentant liar, José María Aznar has to be the World's Dumbest Politician of the last decade.

I mean, he orders all the files from his office deleted and then he leaves the receipt for the little sabotage operation to the next government?

He did not have 12,000 Euros to pay the bill?

Couldn't he call one of his rabid Francoist followers to do the job without charging a penny?

I can see the media and the usual suspects scrambling to come up with how to justify Aznar's dark train of thought and how to disguise his idiocy to make him look like a perfect recipient of the Congressional Medal.

Read this note that appeared today at Berria English:

Zapatero accuses Aznar of lying and having files deleted

During a session of the Commission of Inquiry into the March 11 train bombs the Spanish Prime Minister accused the PP of a string of lies and said the attacks had not influenced the elections

Kristina Berasain

Before the commission of enquiry into the March 11 attacks yesterday the Spanish Prime Minister, Jose Luis Rodriguez-Zapatero, accused the PP Populart Party of telling “huge lies” and denied that the attacks had influenced the outcome of the elections. The Chairman of the PSOE - Spanish Socialist Party took two thirty-minute breaks during his marathon appearance in the Congress or lower chamber of the Spanish Parliament. Eduardo Zaplana, the PP spokesman, grilled Zapatero for nearly five hours. Zapatero lamented the fact that the PP members had not “come to terms with” losing the elections and had deleted all the files during their period in office. He proposed to all the parties that a pact should be struck to confront “international terrorism”.

The head of the Spanish Government said during his appearance that the PP-Popular Party had had all the files relating to its two periods in office deleted. “There are no papers nor a single computer document.” An invoice for 12,000 euros had been received indicating that a company had deleted all the hard discs and backup copies relating to the presidency. He complained that the documents deleted included the ones on matters dealt with between March 11 and 14, so it was not possible to know anything about that. “They deleted everything and there is nothing but the invoice.”

Zapatero told Aznar’s team they had not yet come to terms with losing the elections: “We still have not heard an ounce of self-criticism from them and while they fail to acknowledge their mistakes, they won’t get over the trauma.” He reiterated again and again that the attacks had not affected the outcome of the elections: “It is a mistake to stick to that theory; in fact, it is wrong to acknowledge that terrorists are capable of bringing about political change.”

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Monday, December 13, 2004

12,000 Euros

Nice one.

The Neo-Francoist drones have been accusing Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero of profiting politically from the attacks in Madrid last March.

Then earlier today, Rodriguez Zapatero retaliated disclosing a quite juicy piece of information.

José María Aznar actually deleted all the files from the three days after the attacks, leaving the office of the Prime Minister to foot the bill: 12,000 Euros which is roughly 15,000 Dollars.

Seems like this professional liar wanted to cover his tracks. What else does he know that we don't know?

Time to call The Hague?

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Sunday, December 12, 2004

Remember, Speak Basque

This is a quite interesting note regarding the defense of Euskara:


3,000 voices backing Basque

Masses of people gathered in the streets of Baiona for a demo organised by the Seaska, Biga Bai and Euskal Haziak associations under the auspices of the Hiru Sareta pressure group to call for the development of education in Basque and the official recognition of the language

Eneko Bidegain – BAIONA (Bayonne)

Joaldunak were supposed to frighten away evil spirits. That is what an Ikastola parent told his or her son. Joaldunak led the Hiru Sareta pressure group march, which set off at 15.40 hours. 3,000 people gathered in Baiona (Bayonne) yesterday afternoon in support of education in the Basque language. t remains to be seen whether or not the joaldunak have performed their function. Along the route there was something only rarely seen in demonstrations in favour of the Basque language and education in Basque: police, masses of CRS police officers and vans protected by nets, as if it were a dangerous protest.

Members of the Seaska, Biga Bai and Euskal Haziak education networks are unhappy with the attitude shown by Dominique de Villepin, the French Interior Minister, during his visit. During the speech to mark the end of the march they complained: “You have shown us that speaking the same language is not enough to enable us to understand each other, we need to speak on the same wavelength. And we in the Basque Country and you haven’t reached that point yet.” They went on to criticise the justification for limiting the number of posts in Basque language education, and less funding than originally announced for the IPE body.

The organisers were also unhappy that an announcement was made during the Minister’s visit to measure the demand for education in Basque. “We mustn’t waste time measuring the demand for Basque for the umpteenth time. The social demand has already been measured. We know it exists. We know that the offer creates demand. In our daily lives we realise that Basque is declining, so there’s no point in measuring the demand yet again,” they stressed. In this context it is clear that France is sticking to the same tune when it sends in so many police officers.

But little attention was paid to the officers in black uniforms. The music and friendly atmosphere took over. Eight pipers and four drum players raised the spirits of the marchers, or at least of those who were close by. On one side the sounds of the Otsagi dances, on the other of the Larrain dances helped one forget the grey sky and the cold. The sound of Basque accordion music could also be heard.

Slogans were shouted from other parts of the march supporting the Basque language, and calling for unity, for example. The first part of the slogan came out of loudspeakers on a van while children carrying red, white and green Basque flags or ikurriñak enthusiastically responded by shouting out the second part. Another time songs came from the loudspeakers. People sang Euskara jalgi hadi plazara (Basque, go out into the square), followed by Guk euskaraz, zuk zergatik ez? (We speak in Basque, so why don’t you?).


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End the Dispersion

An important note regarding human rights:

Thousands of people call for end to dispersion of Basque prisoners

Masses of people turned out yesterday for the demo to denounce Karmele Solaguren’s death

Editorial Staff

There were mass demonstrations yesterday in the four capitals of the Southern Basque Country to denounce the death of Karmele Solaguren. Thousands of people condemned the death of the mother of the Basque prisoner, Ekain Gerra, and called for a stop to the dispersion of Basque prisoners.

Four thousand people turned out in Iruñea (Pamplona) yesterday. The demo set out from the Golem cinemas with the slogan Karmele gogoan zaitugu. Dispertsioa hiltzailea (We will remember you, Karmele. Dispersion kills). The protest was led by a photo of Solaguren and dancers carrying a red, white and green Basque flag or ikurrina. The march headed for Barañain amid a round of applause and shouts of “Karmele, we will remember you!” and “The people won’t forgive!”


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Saturday, December 11, 2004

A Farewell to Karmele

Add this one to the 1,600 killed in Gernika, add this one to the thousands tortured and killed during the reign of terror of Francisco Franco, add this one to the hundreds tortured and killed by the "democratic" governments of Spain.

But hey, no one is keeping count of our dead.


Karmele Posted by Hello


Thousands of people publicly denounce Solaguren’s death


Irene Arrizurieta – BARAÑAIN (Navarre)

Over fifteen hundred people gathered in Barañain, near Iruñea (Pamplona), yesterday to denounce Karmele Solaguren’s death. The protesters said the dispersion of Basque prisoners was responsible for “killing” people. Last night thousands of people protested and voiced their condemnation in many towns in the Basque Country, as they did in the hometown of Karmele Solaguren, who died while she was on her way to visit her son, Ekain Gerra, in prison.

The march in Barañain set off carrying a single ikurriña (the red, white and green Basque flag) and a photo of Karmele Solaguren. That was followed by friends of the deceased carrying a banner bearing the slogan Karmele sakabanaketak eraila. Konpromisoak orain (Dispersion responsible for Karmele’s murder. Commitments now). Then came the rest of the demonstrators. Some carried ikurriñas and others held photos of local Basque prisoners currently behind bars. The slogans heard were mainly “The people won’t forgive!” “Dispersion kills!” and “Get out of here, leave us alone!”

Before the demo began even, three Spanish Civil Guard patrols had already been stationed at the entrance to the town, even though there was less police presence than in the morning. At the entrance to the Town Hall square, where the march was scheduled to set out there were two patrol vehicles and a large van. The demo nevertheless took place peacefully and there was no trouble.

The marchers went to the house where Karmele Solaguren used to live and stood clapping outside for a minute. They returned to the Town Hall square on the way back. A Basque dancer performed an aurresku (Basque dance of honour) before a photograph of Solaguren and a young person praised the work the woman had done for the town of Barañain. “She was well-known and loved in the town for her work in favour of Basque prisoners, the Basque language and young people.” The rally ended with a message sent by Jose Luis Gerra, the father of the Basque prisoner Ekain Gerra, and widower of Karmele Solaguren. He was discharged from Soria hospital yesterday and was on his way from Madrid to Barañain while the demonstration was going on. The organisers said he had expressed his gratitude for the support they had received but had asked to be left alone during the next few days.

Batasuna representatives also joined yesterday’s rally. Arnaldo Otegi referred to International Human Rights Day; he called for the political dispersion to be ended “once and for all” and for a solution to be found to the Basque conflict. “We call on all social players and governments to build a Basque Country based on respect for all human rights, and to work for peace through a democratic process that will resolve the conflict,” he said.

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Zorionak Txema!

Certainly he deserves it.

He works hard to ensure that Euskara and Basque Culture find new spaces where to take root and flourish, making him a prime target for the repression and the hate by mental midgets like Baltasar Garzón and Juan del Olmo.

With the power of the pen as a weapon, many Basques fight for self determination every single day, it is time we start ackowledging their peaceful efforts.

Txema Auzmendi receives Gipuzkoa Human Rights Award


Editorial Staff – DONOSTIA (San Sebastian)

Txema Auzmendi, the journalist, Jesuit and one of the indictees in the Egunkaria case, will receive the Gipuzkoa Human Rights Award for 2004. The department for Human Rights, Employment and Social Integration of the Provincial Government of Gipuzkoa is awarding this prize for the first time this year; it has gone to Auzmendi for, among other things, his work “carried out anonymously and on a day-to-day basis in favour of all rights for all human beings”. Auzmendi will receive his award on December 15 at 19.00 hours during a ceremony to be held at the Kursaal Concert Hall in Donostia (San Sebastian).

Among Txema Auzmendi’s merits the Provincial Government of Gipuzkoa has highlighted his work in support of people who are marginalized by society and who, as a result, suffer restrictions in their civil rights. The panel of judges says Auzmendi’s nomination fully coincides with the philosophy of the Gipuzkoa Human Rights Award. “Through his unobtrusive social work Auzmendi has supported economic, social and cultural rights.”

The panel of judges has five members: Mari Carmen Marin, member of the Provincial Government responsible for Human Rights, Employment and Social Integration; Txema Urkijo, head of the Human Rights Department of the Basque Autonomous Community Government; Francisco Javier Caballero, Philosophy of Law Professor; Carmen Etxaniz, head of the School for Social Work of the University of Deusto; and Jose Antonio Mendikute, dean of the Humanities and Education Faculty of the Mondragon University.

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Friday, December 10, 2004

He Should Stay In Spain

Today at Berria:

Widespread protests against King of Spain’s visit

1,500 people attended yesterday’s demonstration at midday and 800 the rally in the afternoon

Estitxu Ugarte – ARRASATE (Mondragon)

About fifteen hundred people met in front of the town hall in Arrasate (Mondragon) in Gipuzkoa at midday yesterday to take part in the demonstration to oppose the visit of the King and Queen of Spain. The protesters, most of whom were carrying ikurrinas (red, white and green Basque flags), took up their places behind a banner bearing the slogan Errege espainiarra kanpora! (Spanish King out!). Eight hundred people supported the afternoon demonstration.

Organisers of the midday demo said the inhabitants of Arrasate were “furious” that the MCC (Mondragon Co-operative Corporation) had invited the King of Spain to officially open some new installations. They pointed out that there was no justification whatsoever for bringing “the main representative of Spanish oppressors” to Arrasate when there was talk of peace and resolution [of the Basque conflict].

Although the King and Queen of Spain did not arrive until midday, there was a strong Ertzaintza presence starting early in the morning, particularly in the Uribe neighbourhood, the location of the first installation the Spanish King was due to open. Supporting the Ertzaintza was a helicopter flying to and fro throughout the day. According to the testimonies of some of the inhabitants, the Spanish Army had been deployed in the surrounding mountains.

It was clear from the town’s appearance that it was going to be a special day. Ikurrinas had been hung from many balconies in response to a request made by the organisers of the protest. The walls of the town were plastered with posters announcing the events to protest against the visit. All over the place was graffiti like Kolonoei kaña!, Hau ez da Espainia ezta Frantzia ere (Clobber the colonisers! This isn’t Spain or France, either).

By 12.30 the main square in Arrasate was overflowing with people. Before the demo began, the organisers of the march denounced the “police harassment” that had taken place during the day. They said: “The residents in the Uribe neighbourhood have borne the brunt of the Ertzaintza assault; for example, officers have been continually making them provide proof of identification and some young people have been pursued all the way to their front doors.” Moreover, the Ertzaintza changed the protesters’ original route “for security reasons” and did not allow them to march through the Uribe neighbourhood. As a result, the march had to set out from the main streets without getting close to the neighbourhood where the King of Spain was.


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Wednesday, December 08, 2004

They Have a Point

Death does not discriminate, the Spanish State that burdens the families and loved ones of Basque prisoners does discriminate.

It's up to the international community's human rights watchdogs to realize how devastating this practice of "the dispersion" is and create mechanisms to put an end to it.

Here is part of a note appeared at Berria English:

Solaguren’s death is “state murder” says Etxerat

Basque prisoners’ families and friends say the dispersion is a “carefully calculated policy” and have appealed for a uniting of forces to oppose this prisons policy

Irene Arrizurieta – IRUÑEA (Pamplona)

Etxerat yesterday blamed the dispersion of Basque prisoners for killing people. This support group pointed out that the dispersion was “a very carefully calculated policy by the [Spanish] State” and that was why Karmele Solaguren’s death constituted “state murder”.

Etxerat members spoke of their profound anger and hurt during a crowded press conference in Iruñea (Pamplona) yesterday. They denounced the death of Karmele Solaguren, the mother of the Basque prisoner Ekain Gerra. Etxerat’s spokesman Imanol Haranburu pointed out that the dispersion policy killed people. Haranburu was accompanied at the press conference by over 50 friends and relatives of Basque prisoners; each held a poster bearing the words Hurrengoa ni izan naiteke (I could be the next). “Each one of us here is saying ‘I could be the next’, because the dispersion policy does not discriminate between people.

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Tuesday, December 07, 2004

Victims of the Dispersion

When a Basque is found guilty whether he is or not, is not only him the one that has to pay his debt to society, his whole family and loved ones get the bill.

Spain has a law lost somewhere which dictates that those serving time must do so at penitentiaries close to their towns.

The Basques are victims of a tool used by the Spanish justice system to tighten the repression against Basque society just one more notch, it is called "the dispersion".

Meaning, the Basques are put in jails as far away from the Basque Country as possible, as a result, their families and friends have to travel long distances in order to visit them. It is not only an economic burden, often, it is a matter of life and death.

The chances of being involved in an accident increase in relation with the distance you travel, if you travel 100 miles your chances of being in an accident are ten times larger than if you travel only 10. Yes I know, there is no scientific data to prove me right. But go ahead, see how fresh you are after driving for 1 hour, see how tired you are after driving 10.

The more tired you are, the more prone you are to be distracted, the more chances there is you could make one mistake, and one mistake is all it takes to get in a car accident.

And that is what just happened, and that is why the practice of the "dispersion" most come to an end.

For more information go to the Presoak and the Etxerat web sites.

Mother of Basque prisoner Ekain Gerra dies in road accident on route to prison visit


Editorial Staff – IRUÑEA (Pamplona)

The parents of Ekain Gerra of Barañain (close to Iruñea-Pamplona) were involved in a road accident yesterday while on their way to visit their son. The prisoner’s 57-year-old mother, Karmele Solaguren, died in the accident that took place in the morning in the town of Noviercas in Soria (Spain). His father, Jose Luis Gerra, is in a very serious condition at the Intensive Care Unit of the Santa Barbara Hospital in Soria. The prisoners’ relatives support group Etxerat blamed the death on the policy of dispersion [of Basque prisoners].

According to the information provided by the Spanish Civil Guard headquarters in Soria, the accident happened at about 08.15 hours. The car in which Ekain Gerra’s parents, Karmele Solaguren and Jose Luis Gerra, were travelling stopped on the road. Karmele Solaguren got out of the car and was run over by a vehicle travelling in the same direction while she was speaking on her mobile phone. The woman died instantly. The vehicle crashed into the stationary car belonging to Ekain Gerra’s parents, seriously injuring his father. Jose Luis Gerra was taken to the Santa Barbara Hospital in Soria and is in the Intensive Care Unit “in a very serious condition”.

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