For a long time now I have been pointing out that the Asociación de Víctimas del Terrorismo is not what it claims to be, a human rights organization.
Far from it, the AVT is actually a front group for the Francoist Partido Popular. The Partido Popular, heir to Franco's regime, has been using the association of victims as a tool to criminalize anything and everything Basque. To leave the Partido Popular on the lead of any victim's association is like leaving a liquor store in the hands of an alcoholic, let us remember here that the PP has refused again and again to recognize the victims of Franco's regime and that at one time José María Aznar threw a tantrum when the Basque village of Gernika-Lumo removed the name of the dictator from the main square.
Until today not a single murderer from the Franco regime has seen the inside of a prison cell, and who can deny that it was their genocidal violence against the Basque people what produced the conflict that the Basques and to certain degree Zapatero's PSOE want to resolve today.
So, the PP position against dialogue is simply adding insult to injury, and their usage of a victim's association for political gain is simply criminal.
And this goes to the nay-sayers and Basque-phobes out there. Tell me how many victims of the GAL have been accepted in AVT.
And as if being the dark operators behind AVT was not enough, the Partido Popular is also behind the actions by a victims' association from the Basque Country, known as the Foro de Ermua, which also carries out the PP's policies by disrupting any steps towards peace and political normalisation in Euskal Herria
Not a whole lot of people paid attention, but to prove my point, here you have this article appeared at the Gulf Times:
Far from it, the AVT is actually a front group for the Francoist Partido Popular. The Partido Popular, heir to Franco's regime, has been using the association of victims as a tool to criminalize anything and everything Basque. To leave the Partido Popular on the lead of any victim's association is like leaving a liquor store in the hands of an alcoholic, let us remember here that the PP has refused again and again to recognize the victims of Franco's regime and that at one time José María Aznar threw a tantrum when the Basque village of Gernika-Lumo removed the name of the dictator from the main square.
Until today not a single murderer from the Franco regime has seen the inside of a prison cell, and who can deny that it was their genocidal violence against the Basque people what produced the conflict that the Basques and to certain degree Zapatero's PSOE want to resolve today.
So, the PP position against dialogue is simply adding insult to injury, and their usage of a victim's association for political gain is simply criminal.
And this goes to the nay-sayers and Basque-phobes out there. Tell me how many victims of the GAL have been accepted in AVT.
And as if being the dark operators behind AVT was not enough, the Partido Popular is also behind the actions by a victims' association from the Basque Country, known as the Foro de Ermua, which also carries out the PP's policies by disrupting any steps towards peace and political normalisation in Euskal Herria
Not a whole lot of people paid attention, but to prove my point, here you have this article appeared at the Gulf Times:
Spain’s terror victims decry politicisation of their cause
Published: Saturday, 10 June, 2006, 10:28 AM Doha Time
MADRID: Victims of terrorism in Spain decried yesterday what they called the politicisation of their cause ahead of an opposition-backed march against planned government talks with the Basque separatist group ETA.
“From 1981 to 2003, we victims of terrorism never entered into party (political) problems of any kind,” groups representing victims of terrorism from several regions of Spain said in a joint statement released yesterday.
It added that “certain people” were wrongly claiming to represent terrorism victims, though it denied “categorically” that there was any division between the victims.
The statement was issued independently of another victims’ body, the conservative Association of Victims of Terrorism (AVT), which opposes the government’s plans to negotiate with ETA.
The AVT, which is closely allied with the right-wing opposition Popular Party (PP) and is a long-standing critic of Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero’s Socialist government, called for a march today at 6pm (1600 GMT) against the talks.
ETA is blamed for more than 800 deaths during a four-decade campaign for an independent Basque homeland. The government declared plans to hold talks with the armed group after ETA announced a ceasefire in March.
The PP has broken off co-operation with the government in protest at the planned talks and called on all its supporters to join the march.
In their statement the groups said they hoped ETA would surrender its arms and observe strict respect for the law before negotiations started.
They also rejected attempts to link the peace process with ETA to the issue of bomb attacks that struck trains in Madrid on March 11, 2004.
One of the slogans adopted for today’s march is “We want to know the truth”, referring to the train bombings which killed 191 people.
An investigation into the bombings has ruled out involvement of the armed Basque group, but the PP maintains that responsibility for the attacks – including the possibility of ETA involvement – has not been clarified.
Gerry Adams, the head of the political wing of Northern Ireland’s IRA separatist group, on Wednesday condemned Spain’s conservatives for jeopardising the peace process with ETA.
“The victims are the people who have most suffered... but not all victims respond in the same way,” he said, adding that no one should “exploit the suffering of victims for a narrow political agenda”. – AFP
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