Teachers Support Peace Process

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400 teachers sign statement in defence of Basque peace process

The statement brings together, according to Elkarbide, the conditions required for the Basque peace process to progress.

Elkarbide, an association that gathers 400 Basque university teachers, issued a statement Tuesday in defence of the Basque peace process and political normalisation in the Basque Country. The statement brings together four conditions required for the peace process to succeed.

In a press conference in the Basque city of Bilbao, some of the teachers pointed out that there is an excellent historic chance to solve the Basque conflict after ETA announced a permanent ceasefire in March.

The spokesman for Elkarbide, who said to have no news about the negotiation, said to be "worried" about the current situation as well as the holdup of the process, which could make it fail.

According to the 400 Basque university teachers, there are four conditions required for the Basque peace process to progress: the abolition of the Law of Political Parties, ETA's commitment to give up violence once and for all as well as the disappearance of street violence, the humanization of the conflict and an agreement among all the political parties to defend their ideas in democracy.

The signatories of the proposal remark these requirements depend on the people who state to be committed to the Basque peace process and not on the judiciary power or "the destructive strategy" of the conservative party PP, or the "malice of some media that only seek fight and never discussion.

Finally, they expressed their concern for the "police actions that violate human rights" and, especially, "that part of the judiciary power that targets to dynamite the process with the excuse that they are observing the law." They cited as examples the prosecution against the Basque premier Juan José Ibarretxe and the socialist politician Patxi López, the searches on the offices of the outlawed party Batasuna and the trial against the Basque left-wing youth associations.

Elkarbide was born aiming to promote dialogue and communication and to give a voice to different points of vie within the politics, social and cultural fields.

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