Basque Language on Trial

This entry was posted at the Irish Basque Solidarity Committees blog:

Trial against Basque language newspaper Egunkaria begins

On 3rd February 2003, the Spanish police ordered the definitive closure of Euskaldunon Egunkaria, the only daily newspaper published in the Basque language. This was followed by the arrest of ten people. All of them were well known and respected Basque language and culture activists, journalists and writers. One of them is a Jesuit brother.

They were held incommunicado for five days under the anti-terrorist law. Some of them were imprisoned and others later released. One of them, the newspaper’s director, told journalists at the prison gates he had been savagely tortured. His words and his shattered appearance shocked Basque society.

The operation was ordered by the Spanish National Court on the grounds that Egunkaria allegedly formed part of a wider group of businesses and organisations controlled by ETA – the old “all is ETA” motto.

Immediately after the closure hundreds of protests took place across the Basque Country, including what was probably the largest demonstration ever to take place in the country two days after the closure.

Nearly four years later on 15th December 2006, the National Court Prosecutor determined that there were no grounds for the case and requested a stay of proceedings.

Despite this, six months later a court hearing was officially announced.

In the hearing it was concluded that only five of those arrested would finally go to trial: Joan Mari Torrealdai, ex-President of the administrative council of Egunkaria; Iñaki Uria, ex-Managing Director; Txema Auzmendi, former Administrative Council Secretary; Martxelo Otamendi, ex-Director; and Xabier Oleaga, former deputy director.

The trial begun yesterday Tuesday 15th in Madrid, with the accused facing sentences of between 12 and 14 years in prison, in addition to a further 14 to 15-year ban from practicing journalism. For the last months many support events have been organised and the presence of the leaders of the majority of Basque political parties and trade unions and education, culture and language movements’ representatives at the gates of the Spanish National Court yesterday was proof of the broad support they have in Basque society.

The hearing began with the testimonies of the accused who stated the newspaper was created by the Basque language grass roots movement to fill the crucial vacuum of a newspaper written in the national language and without any intervention by ETA.

They also told the court how they had been subjected to torture while detained incommunicado but the judges ordered them not to talk about this.

Aside from the accusations that form the basis of Tuesday's trial, there are further charges of attempting to falsify accounts and defraud the Treasury, of which eight defendants stand accused.

They could face up to between 13 and 26 years in prison and possible fines of between 21 and 33 million euro. The date for this trial is yet to be announced.

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Boise and the Egunkaria Case

This article about how the trial against five Basque journalist has affected the Basque community in Boise has been published at The Idaho Statesman:

Terrorism trial hits home for Boise Basques

Katy Moeller

BOISE, Idaho — A terrorism trial on another continent is hitting close to home for some Boiseans.

A journalist familiar to many in the Treasure Valley's large Basque-American community is one of five former employees of a Basque-language daily newspaper scheduled to go on trial Tuesday in Spain.

Martxelo Otamendi and the others from the paper Euskaldunon Egunkaria will be tried in Spanish National Criminal Court, which is where cases of alleged terrorism are handled.

Some Boise-area Basques say they believe Otamendi's only crime is being a vocal Basque nationalist - not a member of the terrorist group Euskadi Ta Askatasuna - which means "Basque Homeland and Freedom" and is known as ETA.

Many thought the question had been resolved in Otamendi's favor.

The trial comes more than six years after Otamendi and the others were charged and after a major shift to the left in Spanish government.

"I have real concerns that it came out of a time that was known to be repressive," Boise Mayor Dave Bieter said. "Why are they prosecuting years away from any of the accusations? ... If the case were strong, he'd have been prosecuted a lot sooner than this."

The public prosecutor in Spain opted not to pursue the case. But in the Spanish legal system there is also a private prosecutor who takes part in criminal procedures as a victim. The private prosecutor is taking the case to trial.

Otamendi has developed friendships in Boise over the past two decades, during which he has visited three times.

His first visit came in 1989, when he came to work on a two-month project with a local TV station.

He returned to Boise in 2005 for Jaialdi, a national Basque festival that's held every five years and attracts Basques from all over the world.

In 2002, Otamendi stayed at Bieter's house while he was in Boise covering the Idaho Legislature's memorial supporting self-determination for the Basques of northern Spain and southern France.

"He stayed in a room over our garage, not exactly luxury accommodations. I can't really recall how it came about," said Bieter, who at that time was a state representative in the Legislature.

Bieter said he and others were surprised that a nonbinding joint memorial by the Idaho Legislature would become an international news event.

"Somehow (Otamendi) saw that as news before anybody else really did," Bieter said. "Then it really did become news. AP picked it up. The Spanish ambassador threw a fit."

It even attracted the attention of President George W. Bush's national security adviser, Condoleezza Rice.

Otamendi spent a week to 10 days interviewing members of the Idaho Legislature, including Bieter and Pete Cenarrusa, a Basque-American and former longtime Idaho secretary of state.

About 15,000 Basques live in Idaho, making it one of the largest Basque populations in the world outside the Basque Country.

Bieter's father was a professor at Boise State University. His family lived in the Basque Country for a time while dictator Francisco Franco was still in power. During a visit during early 2001 or 2002, Bieter was surprised by what he saw.

"It had become repressive again. I saw a lot of instances of that," Bieter said. "The Guardia Civil, an arm of the government, the submarine gun and jackboot guys were all around again. They came down real hard on demonstrations in the cities in the Basque Country. ... They were rounding up big groups of people."

On Feb. 20, 2003, Judge Juan del Olmo of the National Court of Spain shut down Egunkaria, the only daily newspaper published in the Basque language and dedicated to the lives, politics and culture of the Euskaldunak, or Basque people.

To Basques, journalists and human rights advocates around the world, the shutdown of the newspaper appeared heavy-handed.

"There is a freedom of the press issue that's really concerning," Bieter said.

Another Basque newspaper, Egin, was closed in 1998 under similar circumstances, with journalists accused of colluding with ETA. At least one journalist there was convicted, but earlier this year, more than 10 years after the "precautionary closure" of Egin, the case against the paper was dismissed.

"They could reopen it now, but the damage they have caused to the freedom of press cannot be healed at all," said Alberto Santana Ezkerra, director of Basque studies at Boise State University.

Paddy Woodworth, a former reporter for the Irish Times newspaper and author of "The Basque Country: A Cultural History," agrees.

"I believe that if there are serious charges against a medium of communication, sufficient to justify the precautionary measure of closing it down, they should be heard within weeks, not years," he said. "Otherwise the state is very open to charges of suppressing press freedom."

Last year, after Egunkaria had been closed five years, the group Reporters Without Borders called on Spain to drop the years-long prosecution.

"The alleged links between certain members of Egunkaria's staff and ETA have never been demonstrated, despite five years of judicial investigation," the press freedom group said. "The Spanish government's fight against terrorism is legitimate, but it must be done without violating free expression."

Spain's approach to that fight is an important part of the story, Woodworth and other experts said.

"The background is important," Woodworth said. "An anti-terrorist strategy from Madrid ... says that everything and everybody who shares any of ETA's aspirations is in reality a member of ETA, a very dangerous and undemocratic doctrine."

The policy begun under the conservative Partido Popular has been continued under the socialist worker's party, Partido Socialista Obrero Espanol, he said.

Journalists at Egunkaria were suspected by Spanish authorities of receiving both financing and direction from the armed Basque separatist group.

Otamendi vehemently denies the charge. After his arrest in 2003, he told the Idaho Statesman that he was tortured by the Spanish Guardia Civil during a five-day interrogation. He was released on $30,000 bond.

Basques angry about the loss of their paper pooled their money and opened the newspaper Egunero immediately after Egunkaria was closed. Four months later, the larger daily newspaper, Berria, was launched, with Otamendi serving as its editor.

Santana Ezkerra, the BSU professor, is among those in the Boise area who are keenly interested in the fate of Otamendi and his former co-workers at Egunkaria.

Santana is originally from the Basque Country. He said the terrorist group ETA turns 50 this year.

"They are weaker than ever, both in terms of popular support and in military terms," Santana said.

He said there are many reasons for the weakening of support for ETA among Basques, including a new generation that doesn't remember Franco and a population that is wealthier and less interested in conflicts with the Spanish government than in the past.

"ETA is dying," said Xabier Irujo Ametzaga, a professor of Basque politics at the University of Nevada, Reno. "The biggest part of Basque society is against the use of violence."

Santana has met Otamendi at cultural events, but doesn't know him personally. Still, he feels strongly that Otamendi is not a terrorist.

"I'm sure that he's not a member of ETA," Santana said. "He's a journalist. If he wanted to be a member of ETA, he could easily get a machine gun. His weapons are paper and printer."

"His editorials were not supporting ETA," said Santana, who was a regular reader of Egunkaria.

Santana and others say the shuttering of the only daily Basque-language newspaper was a huge blow. More than 3,000 people pitched in money to open Berria. It's available online.

"The Basque language is the main pillar of the Basque culture. It is a very important issue for everyone in the Basque Country," Irujo said.

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Police Used as Political Tool

On August 28th of 2008, fifteen people took part on a peaceful sit in with the goal of momentarily paralyzing the construction work for the TAV (Fast Speed Train) in the Bizkaian town on Zaratamo. At the same time, another group displayed a banner as a protest for the construction of the mentioned railroad. The act came to an end when the Ertzaintza (Basque autonomous police force) proceeded to card and identify the protesters. Up until this point the whole thing was business as usual for this kind of demonstrations. The big surprise would come soon after when the Ertzaintza decided to send the event's report to the Spanish Audiencia Nacional after labeling the peaceful sit in as an act of "terrorism".

Those involved received the news with a mix of indignation and concern, despite the outrageousness of the police decision, the political character of the Audiencia Nacional did not overruled the chance for the process not to be disregarded, as it happened in the end. Yesterday, an entire year later, the case was taken to court in Bizkaia. The district attorney requested a fine of 150 euros for a misdemeanor, that could even be disregarded due to the fact that those accused never refused to be identified by the police. Thus, the intentionality of using the Basque police force as a political tool was evidenced since the commanding officers decided to sent to prison citizens that were only exercising their freedom of speech.

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Defending Freedom of Speech in Euskal Herria

Bilbao's neighbors and festival organizers are calling out to demonstrate tomorrow at noon in defense of both freedom of speech and freedom of assembly. They also denounced the "repressive and authoritarian drunken rampage" by Lakua officials and several judges.

According to the organizers, the demonstration will take place tomorrow, the climatic day for the Aste Nagusia. The demonstration will be celebrated under the mott "Freedom of speech. Democracy", and its scheduled to depart at 13:00 hours from the Zabalburu Square with the finish line at Circular Square. The invitation to take part in the demonstration is to every single person that "is in favor of freedom and against the return of regimes from the past that represent censorship and terror".

During the public meeting that took place in front of the Arriaga Theater, they made clear "how worried" they are "on the face of a widest crackdown on civil liberties".

They explained how basic rights like the freedom of assembly and the freedom for mass public demonstrations "are violated every single day, often with brutality and violence". "Only this month, dozens of people have been injured, some seriously wounded, for wanting to express their ideas on the street on a peaceful fashion" they added.

Neighbors and festivity organizers expressed that the "repressive and authoritarian drunken rampage" by Spain's Interior Department and by "organizations that hold extremist positions, satellite groups of an specific political party" has gone to the extreme of having them deciding "what is legal", along with judges "holed up in their offices hundreds of miles away from the Basque Country".

In that sense, they criticized that social demands as "legitimated and rooted" as the repatriation of the Basque political prisoners, "assumed even by the Gasteiz Parliament, the Basque Autonomous Community legislative bodies and the totality of the Basque municipalities", the right of assembly, the right to mass public demonstrations, the demand for independence and even the defense of the Basque flag "have been outlawed by edict" all the way from Madrid.

The neighbors and festivity organizers also explained how "the persecution" has gone "to the extreme of criminalizing" some individuals "for their condition of being family members". They firmly stated that also, this "mobbing attitude" has derived "in grave death threats in the case of the txupinera".

Due to the extent of the repression, the speakers decried the "silence by many Basque social, political and union leaders, with honorable exceptions, like the major of Gernika".

The speaker concluded the act stating that the defense of the fundamental right to assembly, "just like the right to have your own opinions and ideas, and the right to uphold them in equal conditions", is becoming "a top priority" necessity.

This call to defend the freedom of speech comes preceded by a ban impossed by the Spanish Audiencia Nacional and Lakua's Interior Department against a demonstration organized under the motto «Independentziaren bidean, aldaketa politiko eta soziala» for that very same day in the Bizkaian capital city. There is no answer yet to the legal counter-draft presented before the TSJPV.

Before the demonstration organized by neighbors and festivity organizers was announed, the PSE stated that it would be "desirable" that "the pro-independence left would tone down its position" and refrain from celebrating any mass public demonstrations. On the other hand, the PP, directly demanded that the demonstration would be outlawed.

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The Reign of Silence

The nightmare goes on. The Spanish Audiencia Nacional has decided to go ahead with the process open against the Basque newspaper "Euskaldunon Egunkaria", despite the request to drop the case by the defendants' defense team and the district attorney's office. As a direct result from this decision, five Basque citizens with professional ties to the Euskara printed newspaper that was shot down on orders by Spanish judge Juan del Olmo will now be forced to seat at the bench, accused of "integration" to ETA. They will have to face the indictments made by the extreme-right groups called Dignidad y Justica and Asociación de Víctimas del Terrorismo, both groups are resorting to a civil lawsuit, since the district attorney will not present any federal charges. The district attorney's office is not pressing any charges due to a powerful reason, after seven years of police investigation and the exhaustive analysis of thousands of documents no one has been able to find one single piece of evidence to sustain the slightest connection between ETA and the newspaper.

Powerful but insufficient reason obviously, given the decision by the judges, for this exception tribunal to declare desert a case that should have never been opened in the first place. A case that started covered by the cloak of secrecy in an obscure Guardia Civil office, that developed as a result of the internal disputes within the Audiencia Nacional, that flourished in full force with the arbitrary and traumatic clamp down on Egunkaria, and that, despite being destined to succumb due to the lack of solid evidence is being kept alive due exclusively to the dark political impulse that moves the Spanish justice system when it comes to the Basque Country.

And when it comes to the Basque Country, there is no boundaries for the Spanish democracy, that even in the XXI century allows itself to shut down Basque media outlets over one single justification: suspicion. They did it with Egin, and satisfied about the result, they did it again with Egunkaria. ¿Solid evidence?¿No room for reasonable doubt? tiny technicalities with no consequence, easily disregarded by the importance of the mission: to silence the dissidence, gag those who dare to expose and denounce the official discourse. And next to the forced silence, the chosen silence, the option by the majority of the media outlets (both Basque and Spanish) that prefer to bow before the official discourse and hide so much injustice from the public.

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Spain's Clumsy Censorship

As you may know by now, the Basque and Catalonian fans that were present at the Mestalla stadium in Valencia to witness the final of the Copa del Rey tournament between Basque team Athletic de Bilbao and Catalonian team Barcelona decided to express what Basques and Catalans feel regarding the anthem and king of an expansionist state that has impossed those foreign symbols on them.

Knowing that something like this could happen, the government lead by Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero decided to skip the opening ceremony and in doing so try to ensure that the entire world would learn that Basques and Catalonians do not feel Spaniards, they did it in such a clumsy way that now the Spanish government is the laughing stock around the world. Of course, when something like this happens in a totalitarian state with a king that was selected to the charge by the worst fascist dictator in Europe then someone has to take the blame and in this case, the scape goat is the Sports Director at the state television according to this article published at Soccer365:

Spanish TV station in hot water

While showing the game between Athletic Bilbao and Barcelona, Television Espanola (TVE) cut to reporters in Bilbao - the largest city in the Basque country - and Catalonian capital Barcelona instead of showing live footage of the Spanish national anthem being drowned out by whistles and boos from the two sets of fans at the Mestalla stadium in Valencia.

The station then aired the playing of the national anthem during half-time in the game, but with the jeers of the supporters edited out while also showing images of some of the supporters, who hail from two of Spain's most separatist regions, holding their hands to their hearts.

Antonio Gutierrez, PP representative for the Spanish autonomous region of Melilla, accused Luis Fernandez, president of the company which owns the channel, of "deciding which images or sounds may or may not be harmful for audiences".

TVE 1 presenter Juan Carlos Rivero apologised to viewers at half-time, explaining the decision to cut away from the stadium while the anthem was being played had been due to "human error".

The company which owns the channel, RTVE, then issued a statement at the end of the broadcast which again put the incident down to human error.

This morning TVE director Javier Pons held a press conference at which he announced that the station's director for sport, Julian Reyes, had left the broadcaster as a result of the incident, and that "an investigation had been begun to seek out others who may have been responsible".

On the pitch Barcelona overcame the surprise of conceding an early goal to Gaizka Toquero by romping to a comfortable 4-1 win thanks to strikes from Yaya Toure, Lionel Messi, Bojan Krkic and Xavi.

Barca are one point away from clinching the Primera Division title while Manchester United lie await in the Champions League final in Rome on May 27.

There you have it, more evidence that Spain has not yet evolved since the time when Francisco Franco ruled with iron fist.

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A Pseudo-Democracy Against Freedom

This interview was published at World War 4 Report:

COUNTER-TERRORISM THREATENS SPANISH DEMOCRACY

An Interview with Martin Scheinin, UN Human Rights Rapporteur

by Xan Harriague, Berria, Bilbao

Last spring, Martin Scheinin, the UN's Special Rapporteur on the protection of human rights while countering terrorism, spent a whole week in Spain and the Basque Country. He analysed Spain's legislation, its justice system and its tribunals. On March 9, 2009 the results of his analysis were made public before the UN Human Rights Commission in Geneva. He showed concern about several issues, including Spain's definition of "terrorism," freedom of speech, the practice of holding detainees incommunicado and the methods of the country's highest court, the Audiencia Nacional. He recommended to the Spanish government changes and specifications to improve laws.

Scheinin, born 1954 in Helsinki, was named Special Rapporteur in 2005. He is also a professor of international law at the European University in Italy, and vice-president of the International Association of Constitutional Treaties. He was also a member of the UN Human Rights Committee during the years of 1997 and 2004 and President of Finland's Abo Akademi Human Rights Institute from 1998 to 2008.

The Spanish government has nevertheless attempted to discredit the conclusions presented by Scheinin. Javier Garrigues, the Spanish government delegate, spoke in these terms about Scheinin and his report when it was his turn to enter the opposition: "He does not know the reality of the fight against terrorism, or the opinion of the majority of the Spanish population or the basis of the Spanish Constitution... He has made his critiques and complaints that are baseless and that are not tested. He has doubted the impartiality of the judges and the division of powers."

The Bilbao Basque-language newspaper Berria spoke with Scheinin on March 18. This English translation was provided to World War 4 Report.

The Spanish government says that your definition of terrorism is too limited. What do you think about that?

I believe that the definition of terrorism is well defined in Spanish legislation, but then there are many other derivative crimes. The definition extends itself more and more, and in the end engulfs crimes that have nothing to do with terrorism. I believe that the use of the anti-terrorist legislation is too broad in Spain. Some of the issues treated in the Audiencia Nacional should not be there, such as for example, the kale borroka [violent street protests].

Then, should the government better define the legislation?

Yes, I propose the use of anti-terrorist legislation against the real terrorism. The criminal court is enough to take care of the other crimes, without having to mention terrorism. Kale borroka is a violent act, but not terrorism. They are not the same.

What is your opinion of the politicians imprisoned for being members or collaborators in a "terrorist group"?

It is very difficult for me to know if there is [sufficient] evidence. It is very difficult to know if someone receives orders from ETA, or, as the government says, is part of ETA. I have received more information in the case of political parties and electoral platforms. I believe that the point of view of the government is too broad. It acts against groups that have nothing to do with violence. To have the same political objectives as ETA should not be considered a crime, not a reason to have a political party made illegal, as long as there is no relation with violence.

The Spanish government has answered your report by stating that the terrorism is in the objective, not in the behavior. What is your opinion of this logic?

I am in complete disagreement with that definition... In my opinion the definition of terrorism is always in the behavior. It is a strategy defined by the use of violence against innocent people... If we start defining violence by its political objectives, then any organization opposing the government could be defined as terrorist.

Do you believe that there is freedom of speech in Spain and in the Basque Country?

It is a confusing picture. Spain is an insecure democracy, that does accept many criticisms and points of view. At the same time it is true that the banning of political parties and the closing of newspapers limit freedom of speech. Then it is the judges who decide if these limitations are acceptable or constitute a violation. As far as I'm concerned, the Spanish government has gone too far in some cases.

In your opinion, is the Law of Parties [electoral law] a guarantee of freedom of speech?

It is too broad. It is too open to interpretation and in the end, it is confusing. The Law of Parties can be used against freedom of speech, but I would not say that this is specifically its objective. That would be going too far. Although in my opinion as it is too broad, it causes problems.

What would the Spanish government need to change to guarantee freedom of speech?

I proposed an examination by an expert on Penal Code, in order to improve and clarify the Law of Parties. This expert would analyze how to make it not so weak and to leave less open to interpretation.

The Spanish government has made it clear that they will continue to hold detainees incommunicado, ignoring your recommendations. What do you think of this?

I am not the first one who asks for such a measure. Many experts on human rights have said similar things before me. Most countries don't have similar measures. Spain is hanging itself with this practice. As long as it is being used, it is debilitating itself in order to defend against complaints and false accusations of torture. I asked for it to be discontinued and, as long as it is being maintained, to improve measures to guarantee the rights of the detainees.

In its defense, Spain has mentioned the legislatures of England and France...

There is a huge difference. Other countries limit the choice of a lawyer, but they can still choose one of confidence... They have some special measures for the first days of detention, but not a system of incommunicado detention. Here lies the biggest difference in respect to Spain. The majority of countries allow for the choosing of a trusted lawyer from the very beginning of the detention, which is one of the most useful measures to avoid police mishandling. That is why Spain's attitude is much more dangerous than the majority of European countries.

What is your opinion on the return to incommunicado detention by the Ertzaintza [Basque police]?

As I have said before I am against the practice, which should be replaced with other measures. Therefore the news is not good in my opinion.

What do you think about the many torture complaints that are not investigated?

I believe that when there is a torture complaint, the criminal case should be postponed until the complaint gets clarified. I don't think it is good, the way Spain deals with this issue, investigating the crime in one court and the torture complaint in another. Besides, there are very few cases of torture complaints that are actually investigated.

Is that why you say the Audiencia Nacional can be a problem?

Yes, among other reasons, but there are many more reasons. First of all, only one tribunal deals with too many offenses. They should be better distributed. Second, it has too much power from the very beginning of the investigation, and finally, too much control... The appeal process is limited, as the higher court is the one in charge from the beginning of the investigation... Therefore, the Spanish government should think again about dealing with terrorist crimes through the ordinary judicial means.

How do you reply to the Spanish government's statement that when you mention the Audiencia Nacional you are entering territory that does not concern you?

What can I say...? The Spanish Government says it is its concern to establish its institutions and legislations, that this is part of its sovereignty. In my opinion, it is mistaken. Speaking as a UN Special Rapporteur, I can give recommendations to any country to modify any law or to install a new institution or to depose another one. I am an expert in international legislation, above all concerning those human rights, and therefore I am in full capacity to do so. I do it in many countries, and Spain is not the exception. In any case, yes, it is clear that Spain is sovereign and I am not reforming the law. I am simply giving some recommendations.

Do you think the Spanish government's position goes far enough in the improvement of human rights?

It is a position with a double facet: Spain is a reference on many levels, above all, on an international level, in the promoting of dialogue among civilizations. In this field it is doing a good job. But I find problems in regard to the anti-terrorist legislation; it utilizes too many restrictive measures and besides, Spain has institutions that have no place in a democracy.

What is your response to the Spanish government claim that your report is a personal opinion and that it is based on unproved facts?

It is not true. I am an independent expert dedicated to analyze the bases of human rights international legislations. I analyze the current law. In regards to method, I am completely free to obtain information from any source. I should point out that in my report there is nothing that the Spanish government has not previously seen. I have presented my report to them and they have had months to comment on it. Consequently, I am the one who decides what to include or not in the final report.

Is it common that the governments act this way?

Yes, I always receive criticism. From there, it is a question of intensity and style...

In the future, do you believe that Spain will move towards an improvement of human rights?

In general, I perceive a good attitude. Especially since the change in the Government of the USA, many countries have admitted to making mistakes. I hope Spain will move in that direction, too.

What will the UN do after the answer that Spain has given to your report?

I don't think that the Human Rights Commission will take special measures. In regards to me personally, I will keep a vigilant eye on the case.

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This story first appeared March 18 in Berria. It is archived in Spanish translation at www.escuela.net.

RESOURCES

UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights while countering terrorism

You can also read this interview in Spanish at Eusko Blog : Gazteleraz.

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Criminalizing Solidarity

Officers from the Ertzaintza (Basque police force), have today removed photographs from the railings outside a bank in Arrasate-Mondragón, after receiving an order from the Public Prosecutor of the country's High Court.

The officers went to the bank in Calle Maalako Errabala, where the photos were on show, and unscrewed the aluminium board being used to display the pictures, which included Basque political prisoners like Unai Parot, José Ignacio Gaztañaga, José Gabriel Urizar, María Asunción Arana and Eugenio Barrutiabengoa, amongst others.

The court order came from Public Prosecutor, Vicente González Mota, who had reacted to information provided by members of parliament for the Basque Country about the existence of the photographs.

The Public Prosecutor's office acted on direct orders from Francisco Javier Lopez, a member of the PSOE who decided that Spain should criminalize displaying the photos that are placed in public spots to show solidarity towards the Basque political prisoners and therefore ordered them to be removed. The order is part of an strategy by the fascist Spanish government aimed at increasing the repressive measures against the Basque political prisoners and their families. Let us remember that the very same Spanish government has refused to remove the Francisco Franco's regime memorabilia still in place on streets, town squares, churches, schools and military installations, memorabilia which includes the present flag and the national anthem.

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Letter From Iñaki Uria

We received this letter from Basque political prisoner Iñaki Uria:

Letter from Aranjuez jail

Iñaki Uria

I have been imprisoned in the Aranjuez jail for more than a year for editing Euskaldunon Egunkaria, then the only daily newspaper written entirely in Basque. My name is Iñaki Uria. I’m 43 years old, and I’ve spent 25 working in the Basque press. Basque is the oldest living language in Europe. It has about 800,000 speakers, about 30 per cent of all inhabitants of the Basque Country. Three wars in the 19th century, the loss to Franco in the 20th, the 40 years of Franco’s dictatorship, and the waves of massive immigration worsened the health of Basque language. It would be dead by now, save for the efforts of many Basque people in the 1960’s. They created Basque primary schools, unified the language, and made it useful for all aspects modern society, from art to science, from religion to business, and, of course, including the press. Until then, the only publications written in Basque were some Catholic journals, with religious content, directed at rural folk.

So in the 1970’s Basque journalists did not begin from scratch, but nearly so. We were volunteers, without salaries, driven by day-to-day necessities. Our young vocations as journalists and writers were wholly involved in the effort to start Basque publications, even if we had to work on something else —often during weekends— to earn a living. We managed to inititate Argia, a weekly magazine, Susa, first a literature magazine, then a publishing company, and Larrun, a journal of political essays.

By the 1980’s, we saw our projects becoming solid realities. We realized that creating a daily newspaper was the next decisive step on the way to normalizing our language—that is, enabling Basque speakers to communicate in Basque in the normal ways people use their language. We were young and brave —or crazy— enough to embark in a new and difficult project. To begin with, who was going to finance it? In the Basque Country there are no big Maecenas or patrons for cultural projects. No big businessman or political institution volunteered to support the project. They saw no future in a Basque newspaper.

Apparently, all the principles of the market ran against it. But we made it. We begged for money. And we got the support of hundreds of citizens. It is these hundreds of individual stakeholders that constitute the financial basis of Euskaldunon Egunkaria. After a difficult birth, it was a success. The potential market of Basque readers was small, but Egunkaria gained a significant part of it and, slowly, came to occupy an important place among the papers in the Basque Country. It gained prestige, credibility and influence. The Basque autonomous institutions came to acknowledge its value and began to contribute to its financing. One of its latest projects was the edition of a series of local newspapers, initially distributed for free, which hopefully would attract new readers to the Basque language. And then, unexpectedly, one year ago, judge Juan del Olmo from the Spanish special court called Audiencia Nacional decided to close down Egunkaria.

Yes, it is as easy as that. In Spain, at the beginning of the 21 st century, a judge closed a daily newspaper with 50,000 readers. He sent 200 troops of the Guardia Civil (a paramilitary police force) to close down Egunkaria’s offices in five towns. They arrested 10 people, both current and former staff members. Those arrested included the editor-in-chief, Martxelo Otamendi and myself, the managing editor. I can tell you what happened to me.

February 20, 2003; about 1:15 a.m. I am alone at home; sleeping. The bell rings; someone bangs on the door. I open it. Members of the Guardia Civil enter with assault guns. There is also a judicial secretary, or so I think. They handcuff me, arms on the back. They search the house. They take all they want. There is no witness. 3 hours and a half later, now blindfolded, they take me to Egunkaria’s headquarters. After searching these premises, they drive me —still handcuffed and blindfolded— to Madrid —500 kilometers— to the Guardia Civil’s headquarters. They ask me questions, silly questions. “Do you know who we are? The Guardia Civil!” they proudly say. I have strong reasons to be scared, for I am, after all, a Basque. Basque people know that lots of people have been tortured by the Guardia Civil. Some of them have been killed by torture: Joseba Arregi, Mikel Zabaltza and Gurutze Yantzi are just three famous cases.

I have reasons to be frightened. I am not frightened because I have done anything wrong. My ‘crime’ was just editing a newspaper. I am frightened because I am being held incommunicado in the hands of Guardia Civil.

They take my jacket away, and leave me just my T-shirt and shirt. I have only one blanket. I am freezing, I cannot sleep. I cannot see either. I am blindfolded most of the time. When it is removed, I still can’t see much with my myopic eyes: they have also taken my glasses away. I spend five long days and nights incommunicado. I endure I don’t know how many interrogatory sessions. I suffer techniques for physical exhaustion and psychological humiliation: they beat me, they put a plastic bag over my head, they put a gun against my head and pull the trigger, they aim at me with some red laser light in the dark of the punishment cell… they do with me whatever they want. But, what for? What do they seek from me? A confession. They want a connection between ETA and Egunkaria: they want me to serve as the intellectual and economic link and, therefore, as the justification for the closure of Egunkaria.

There has never been any tie, not the smallest tie, not economic nor of any other kind, between Egunkaria and ETA. Regarding this, I am not worried. I am suffering a lot, but surely, after those five hard days, the truth will be clear. After the isolation and torture, I am led to the judge in the Audiencia Nacional. I am not allowed to be assisted by, or appear with, or even talk to my attorney. The judge’s questions are all incriminatory. No evidence. He will not listen to the truth. I decide not to declare. Everybody knows that Audiencia Nacional is a special court reserved for Basques and big drug dealers as well. Thus, he sends me to jail—a jail which is more than 500 kilometers from my town.

Here in jail as far as the wardens are concerned I am another ETA prisoner—a dangerous fellow. I, who have devoted myself to journalism and other media, am a dangerous prisoner for Spain. This has direct consequences for my quality of life. Basque political prisoners live in a jail within the jail. To discourage visits we are moved at least 500 kms. away from our hometowns and relatives —many to more than 1,000 kms. Cell inspections, naked body inspections, and isolation cells are the rule for Basques. Had our skin been black we could talk of a racist regime, an apartheid within the jail.

It is a year since I was sent here. There has been no trial. But this is not surprising in Spain: you could spend up to four years in prison without a trial—even if you are innocent! I’ve met people here with two and three years of ‘pre-emptive’ prison for being members of organizations that work for prisoners’ rights, or members of a juvenile political organization, or an association of town councilors. We are Basque political prisoners. We are accused of being dangerous terrorists—with no evidence, and no trial!

The daily newspaper we worked so hard to create, Euskaldunon Egunkaria, remains closed down. Its five sites are sealed, its bank accounts closed, and the publishing company in process of liquidation, following orders of the judge. Of the ten people arrested on February 20, 2003, I am the only one in prison. On October 20, 2003, nine people more were arrested. They all have been freed.

The judge has turned down two requests by my attorney for my freedom. My appeal is now in the hands of a higher court. The judge says that “there is risk of flight”. I tell him no. I do not intend to run away, and I dare say he knows it. I suspect his real motives are others. How could he keep the paper closed down if no one is incriminated? If nobody had committed any crime, what would be his justification for the closure?

What are the real reasons for this attack on freedom of speech, freedom of the press, and the right for information? To understand this we must consider it in the context of the Basque issue, the conflict of the Basque Country with Spain.

Spain has been particularly skilful to take the big wave against terrorism generated after the September 11 attack on America. Spanish president Aznar, good servant of president Bush, began his own attack against Basque nationalism after he won the elections in Spain by an absolute majority. The attack intensified after 9/11 exploiting the international atmosphere the attack created. Aznar equated Basque nationalism with terrorism, banned a political party, almost 300 electors’ associations, an association of town councilors, and closed down a daily newspaper. This is, sad to say, all within Spanish law, that’s true. In 1996 he promised that his policy against terrorism would always be within the law, that he would not create his own terrorist group to make the war to Basques, like former president Felipe González, from the Spanish Socialist Party, did, and the so-called GAL group (27 people were killed in “selective murders” from 1983 to 1989).

President Aznar has taught everybody a clear lesson: “you can do a lot of things within the law. If you meet a limit, you just change the law. That’s the use of absolute majority.” But we all know that acting legally does not mean acting fairly or morally. Having majority in parliament is never a guarantee for justice. Remember Hitler. Many of his acts were legal within the framework of laws he created.

During the last years, using ETA as an excuse, Spain has committed big injustices against Basque people. Political, social, and cultural organizations and media have been attacked, under the umbrella of made-to-order laws. The Supreme Court, the Constitutional Court, the Attorney General and the National Court of Spain have all subordinated to the executive. I’m not alone denouncing it. All Basque political parties and the Spanish parties not in office have made the same claim. But mass media are highly controlled, no less in Spain than in Berlusconi’s Italy. In a nutshell, the health of democracy in Spain is in very bad condition.

In these circumstances, the rights of the Basque minority (2.6 million people) are ignored by the government of Spain (43 million people). Most Basque people want ETA, the armed separatist organization created during Franco’s dictatorship, to end its violent activities once and for all. But we also want the Spanish government to stop the war against the Basque Country and its people it conducts with its media, its police, its judiciary, and its control of political and economic forces.

The conflict of the Basque Country is not new. Leave aside the wars of the 19th century, and focus on the 20 th . On April 26, 1937, the fascist —German, Italian, and Spanish— air force killed 2,800 people in three hours, in Guernica. It was the first experimental air bombing against civil population. These are the sad figures of that war against Franco in the Basque Country:

• 10,800 soldiers killed in the front; 3,000 disappeared

• 4,700 soldiers and 10,500 civilians killed by air raids

• 17,500 soldiers disabled in the front

• 12,500 soldiers and 19,500 civilians injured by air raids

• 21,780 executed in the rearguard

• 34,550 prisoners

• 52,000 in work fields and concentration camps

• 150,000 refugees


This makes a total of 336,830 direct victims out of a total Basque population of 1.5 million.1

Today there are more than 700 Basque prisoners distributed in jails of Spain and France; there are more than 3,000 refugees. From 1968 there have been 1,150 people killed; almost 6,000 injured; 5,300 reported cases of torture; 30,000 detentions —10,000 of them for demonstrations—, thousands of fines, billions of euros in losses.2

What’s the relevance of these figures when compared to those corresponding to the conflict between Israel and Palestine, or between Russia and Chechnya? What if compared to those of Ireland? Nothing spectacular. That’s true. Moreover, unlike most of them, we have no important lobby to work for our case in the U.S.A. Where can we look for help?

After the end of the Spanish War, the Basque president José Antonio de Agirre collaborated with the U.S.A., putting at its service important men from his government in exile and his party —the Basque Nationalist Party, PNV. In the war against communism Basque Catholics were loyal allies. Neither president Agirre nor the PNV expected that the U.S.A. would afterwards support Franco’s dictatorship. But Eisenhower and Dulles did so in 1953. Today Bush and Aznar are friends. In the context of their “war against terrorism” they don’t distinguish among Basques, Algerians or Iraqis— all are the same. The Spanish government doesn’t distinguish among Basque nationalists. Town councilors, journalists, businessmen, and members of the parliament are basically assumed to be in league with terrorists. Dialogue is banned as a means of resolving the conflict. In Spain the war on Basques, portrayed as a brave battle against terrorists, gains votes. The Basque Country is for Aznar’s government what Iraq is for the U.S.A.’s or Chechnya is for Russia’s. With a difference: in the Basque Country there are almost no terrorist attacks in the last years. Why? Because the Basque people do not support it.

There is no solution for this conflict without the commitment of international organizations. The Spanish powers have closed down two daily newspapers and a radio station in the Basque Country, with absolute impunity. Attacks on free speech should be decried throughout the European Union. But who does so? The Basque Autonomous Region can do nothing except complain about these measures. The Basque Autonomous Parliament itself has been considered “law breakers” by the Spanish government. The president of this Parliament is ‘lynched’ everyday by the government and mass media in Madrid. Spanish President Aznar has never officially met Basque President Ibarretxe in the last four years. What Ibarretxe presents as a proposal to normalize the relations between Spain and the Basque Country, Aznar sees as a way to break relations between them. Most Basque people want a new political status for the Basque Country within Europe. We know that concepts like sovereignty, nation, and state are subject to change, especially in a Europe in the process of re-inventing itself. But we are a European country and we want to be recognized as such, without the obstacles posed by Spain and France. We don’t want terrorism, that’s clear. Neither ETA’s nor anyone else’s. But our country needs new ways. Ways of peace and self-determination. Our country needs its voice. It needs and it has the right to be listened to, to be respected, whatever it democratically decides. But Spain wants hear nothing about that: “There is no conflict with the Basque Country. In fact, there is no Basque Country. All people are Spanish. Anything else is terrorism.”

I've been in prison a year for having worked for 13 years in Euskaldunon Egunkaria. This is my only crime: being the managing editor of the daily newspaper entirely written in the oldest living language in Europe, an endangered language, according to UNESCO. I’m proud of having been part of Euskaldunon Egunkaria. Fourteen years ago our aim was to create a paper that would be in Basque language, national, open, plural, independent, militant, professional and modern. In thirteen years of seeking the truth, we made those aims reality, and we gained our readers’ trust. The Basque autonomous government partially supported the paper. The Spanish government did not. Eventual support from the Spanish government seems like a conceptual impossibility to Basque people. The Spanish Government likes to say that it “loves the old Basque language”. They love it only as a dead language. They don’t like to see its use promoted, its vocabulary standardized and updated, and the necessary infrastructure developed to keep it a live language. Linguistic diversity is a treasure… but one to be kept in a museum. If Basque is used in everyday life, or in mass media or posed as a qualification for a job, that is called discrimination.

The Spanish linguistic policy towards Basque can be dubbed just “extreme neo-liberalism”. The policy of laissez faire. To leave the language seriously wounded by Franco’s regime to its natural death. And when they see the Basques, against the tide, are making small steps forward, as they have for the last fifteen years, they attack through the press, the police, and the judiciary as we are clearly witnessing in the Egunkaria case.

The party that has been in office in Spain for the last 8 years, the Partido Popular, Franco’s right wing heirs, now directly or indirectly controls almost all TV channels, radio stations and newspapers. In the Basque Country it has closed down two newspapers and a radio station that it did not control. Recently the heads of the Basque public TV were called to the Audiencia Nacional to explain their coverage of an ETA interview.

This is the state of Liberty among us. Even this letter, I’m sure, would not be published by any Spanish paper or journal whatsoever. Not even by those few nearer to the opposition. I don’t know whether it may be published in an American one without annoying the ‘Spanish friend’. When the Parliament of Idaho approved a memorial stating the right of the Basque Country for self-determination, the Spanish ambassador hurried up to look for the intervention of the White House.

We know that the international community has a lot of urgent injustices to deal with; we know that every day millions of people have their rights as humans violated. Given this, how will you remember a small daily newspaper that was closed down in a small country that is between Spain and France, or its managing editor that is in prison for more than a year? Perhaps we are too small.

In the end, the Basque issue is just an issue about democracy; an issue of respecting the civil and political rights of Basque people. If we are a country, why can’t we decide about our own future? Why should anyone force us to be what we don’t want to be? Why don’t they just ask Basque people what they want?

This was the context in which Euskaldunon Egunkaria survived for 13 years. We had an open mind. We thought we enjoyed a free press. We thought we had the right to inform and being informed. We thought we were free to think and to express what we thought. But we were wrong. Spain has proven us wrong. Being Basque and supporter of the Basque language is “to share the goals of terrorism” (judge Del Olmo, Egunkaria closure decree). Calling the paper “national” referring to the Basque nation, not to the Spanish one, is also “to share the goals of terrorism”. Being militant, that is, to work under compromise and with low salaries, is “to share the goals of terrorism” too.

The powerful don’t usually apologize for the injustices they commit. The U.S.A. didn’t apologize for the victims of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. France and the United Kingdom didn’t apologize for the disasters in Africa and India. Spain didn’t apologize for the genocide in South and Central America… I don’t expect the Spanish Audiencia Nacional tell me “sorry, we have committed an injustice with you; please, go on editing Egunkaria.” No. Unfortunately, in our world thinks don’t work that way. I know that the path to truth and justice is difficult and silent. It could take years and a lot of work in the Basque Country and also out of it. But there is no other way. If most people in the Basque Country believe they constitute a nation and want to live their future as a nation in Europe, speaking their own language, they have the right to do so. If they want to have newspapers, TV channels or whatever in Basque they have the right to do so.

One day, Spain and France will have to accept a new status for the Basque Country, with the exercise of self-determination for Basque people. In Slovenia, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia, for instance, this has been possible. In Flanders and Walloonia too, they seek their way. Why not in the Basque Country? Why shouldn’t the Basque people constitute a free nation in Europe, if that’s what they want? Wouldn’t Europe be more democratic if the forms of organization wished by their citizens were respected?

Aranjuez (Spain), February 2004

1 Ugalde, Martin (2003), Idazlan politikoak. Periodismo politico. Edited by J. M. Torrealdai, p. 72.

2 Ormazabal, Sabino (2003), Sufrimenduaren mapa (osatu gabea). Bilbao: Robles-Arangiz.

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