IBO Protests Extradition

Kaixo!

Next you will find a Press Release by the International Basque Organization for Human Rights.

If you find this information useful and you think there is people out there that you know that could benefit from it or help any human rights group on their quest to improve conditions of those who are persecuted around the world, please copy the release and send it out.

Eskerrik asko!

IBO Protests the Extradition of the Mexico Six

The International Basque Organization for Human Rights (IBO), is an organization based in Corte Madera (USA), formed by people from numerous countries dedicated to educating the international community about the abuses against the human rights of the Basques in Euskal Herria (the Basque Country) within Spain and France.

On the face of the situation of the six Basque citizens (or Mexicans of Basque background) residing in Mexico for several years, Ernesto ALBERDI, Jon ARTOLA, Axun GORROTXATEGI, Asier ARRONATEGI, Felix GARTZIA and Joseba URKIJO, we wish to make public our opposition to their extradition to the Spanish State, based on the reports of torture in Spain by Amnesty International and the dossier on the same issue by the UN’s Special Rapporteur Theo Van Boven.

If the extradition takes place, Mexico would be placing the physical and psychological integrity of these citizens in harms way, until today their participation on any criminal activity that they are accused of has not been proven, we can even say that the presumption of innocence has been completely disregarded.

During the length of the process, numerous irregularities have been identified, such irregularities blemish the image of the Mexican Government, a government that has been unable to upheld the human rights and civil liberties of the six prisoners that have been jailed at the Reclusorio Norte of Mexico city for over a year.

IBO’s campaign is aimed at reaching out to the international media to make everyone aware of the situation, a situation in which the rights of the Basque citizens are trampled, very similar to the opression that the Basque society is experiencing on an every day basis in Euskal Herria (the Basque Country), where in the last few years we have seen the banning of political parties, the shutting down of media outlets, the arbitrary arrest of common citizens that entail long periods of incommunicado detention which facilitate the practice of torture.

In behalf of the dignified respect of human rights, we issue a call to the Mexican officials to grant the freedom of the six Basque citizens and to deny their extradition request.


International Basque Organization for Human Rights
PO Box 225
Corte Madera, CA 94976
www.euskojustice.org

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Freedom to the Six!

If you wish to show your solidarity to the six Basque political prisoners in Mexico, here is a couple of options:

First you can sign the Petition on Line here.

Second, you can use the banner at the bottom, hang it at your own site and link it to this page.

We appreciate your efforts and your support.

Freedom 6 Mexico

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Oak of Gernika

I know there is a lot more issues going on, but this photo today just broke my heart.

Here is the explanation to it:

Tree surgeons cut the main trunk of the Oak of Gernika, the symbol of Basque liberties and rights which died last May, in the Basque town of Gernika, August 2 2004. The 146 year-old tree, seriously weakened by the fungus Armillaria Mellea, is thought to have finally been killed by last summer's record temperatures. A replacement, grown from a sapling of the tree, will be planted early next year. Successive Spanish monarchs have traditionally sworn to guarantee ancient Basque laws next to the tree.

It also survived Hitler and Franco's savage bombing of the city, in which almost 2,000 Basques lost their lives.

Oak of Gernika

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Say What?!?!

You can imagine my surprise tonight when I logged into Yahoo to find this headline at Yahoo News:

Bank Scandal Smears Pinochet Image

I mean, what is there left to smear?

The guy was a brutal and murderous dictator, exactly which image is there left to smear?

If you read the article it says something like Chileans are grateful that although having his hands soaking wet in innocent blood, Pinochet never abused his power to increase his assets.

No one that fancies himself of being a dictator would keep his hands off the money, give me a break, they dedicate their whole tenures to ensure that the filthy rich make more money.

The sad part is, this tells you how much the media sanitizes the "image" of people like Pinochet, or Franco, or Aznar.

If you want to read the whole note go here.

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The Long Road to Freedom

Long Road to Freedom

The six Basque political prisoners in Mexico announced yesterday on a press conference that they were suspending their hunger strike as a result of the decision of Mexico's Foreign Minister Luis Ernesto Derbez who acting on orders of President Vicente Fox validated the extradition request.

Their defense lawyer Barbara Zamora has presented a recourse against the SRE and its resolution can take several months.

Earlier on a letter that appeared in Mexico's newspaper, former Basque political prisoner Lorenzo Llona Olalde asked from his country men to stop the hunger strike as to avoid the possibility of someone losing his or her life. He reminded the six that "the road to freedom is long, but that without them, there is no road".

Numerous Mexican personalities from multiple walks of life including politicians, jurists, artists and activists have regarded the decision by Luis Ernesto Derbez and Vicente Fox as surrendering Mexico's sovereignty to the designs of a backwards and authoritarian Spanish state, represented by the arrogant and self serving figure of judge Baltasar Garzon.

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Freedom to the Six!

If you wish to show your solidarity to the six Basque political prisoners in Mexico, here is a couple of options:

First you can sign the Petition on Line here.

Second, you can use the banner at the bottom, hang it at your own site and link it to this page.

We appreciate your efforts and your support.

Freedom 6 Mexico

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Mexico Violates Own Constitution

Taking advantage of a days ladden with political and social pivotal events, the head of the Secretaria de Relaciones Exteriores (Mexico's Foreign Ministry) Luis Ernesto Derbez decided to go ahead with the extradition process against the six Basque political prisoners behind bars at the Reclusorio Norte of Mexico City.

With this decision Luis Ernesto Derbez allows Spanish Judge Baltasar Garzon and Spanish Ambassador to Mexico Cristina Barrios to stomp on the Mexican Consitution that stablishes that no individual should be returned to a country were the person could face State harassment or discrimination for his or hers race, religion or political beliefs.

The Mexican Minister also stabs in the back the entire Mexican society that praises itself of being recognized around the world for its old heritage of providing safe haven for those who around the world suffer persecution, harassment, torture and even death due to their activism.

Shame on you Mr. Derbez!

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Told You!

Yesterday I informed you that Angel Acebes, former Interior Minister for Franc... I mean for the PP ruled Spain was to testify in front of the commission looking into the aftermath of the bombings in Madrid on March 11.

Well, believe it or not, after months of their political debacle due to their lies and manipulation in which one Basque citizen was murdered as direct result of their clumsy attempt to saddle the Basque society with the responsibility of the attacks, Angel Acebes went back to accusing ETA of being behind the attacks. In 10 hours of testifying he was unable to produce any evidence to support his accusations.

If this behavior does not tell the world that there is something definitely wrong with the likes of Acebes, Aznar, Palacio, Garzon and Rajoy, then the world just simply wants to look the other way while sadistic idiots like those above mentioned continue to rape one of Europe's oldest nations.

You can read the report in multiple sources, but I leave you with a report by a French judge denying a link between ETA and the Islamists.

Here it is:

NO LINK BETWEEN BASQUE AND ISLAMIC MILITANTS: FRENCH JUDGE

MADRID, July 27 (AFP) - No evidence has emerged to suggest any collaboration or connection between the Basque separatist movement ETA and extremist Islamic organisations, French anti-terrorist judge Jean-Louis Bruguiere told Spanish radio on Tuesday.

"We have uncovered no document showing a link, not even of a logistical nature, between ETA and Islamic organisations," Bruguiere, an expert on the Al-Qaeda terror network, told broadcaster Cadena Ser. Bruguiere has previously interviewed Jamal Zougam, considered to have played a leading role in the bombings of four commuter trains in Madrid on March 11, which killed 191 people in Spain's worst ever terrorist outrage.

Bruguiere questioned Zougam, now in Spanish custody, as part of an investigation begun in 1998 and focusing on young French radicals recruited to train at Al-Qaeda-affiliated camps in Afghanistan who are believed to have spent some time in Spain.

"That is to say this network existed, but I don't know that one could have anticipated or imagined an attack (such as March 11)," the judge said.

"We are facing a very different threat from that of ETA," he warned. "We are up against terrorism of the third millennium whose structure is global, ideological and loose," Bruguiere went on.

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Free Inaki Uria

Press Release from the Asociación Diáspora Vasca inviting you to show solidarity and sign a petition to demand the release of Inaki Uria -he is a member of the proscribed Basque newspaper EuskaldunonEgunkaria-who today is a prisoner of the Spanish State.

Solidarity With Basque Journalist Inaki Uria, Jailed Due to the Process Against the Newspaper "Egunkaria"

The Spanish State, that maintains the southern part of Euskal Herria (Basque Country) under occupation,attacks systematically and seeks to destroy the columns on which the land of our ancestors is built.Within this frame, on february 20th of 2003 the Government of then Spanish Prime Minister José María Aznar (infamous around the world for his cuestionable actions after the attacks of M-11 in Madrid) ordered the closing of the news paper Euskaldunon Egunkaria, the only one in the world published entirely inEuskera, the Basque language. It was not the first time something like this would happen: the newspaperEgin, the radio station Egin Irratia and the magazine Ardi Beltza, media outlets of nationalist tendencies, had been targets of similar attacks by the neo-Fascist Spanish State.

Within the frame of the political, judicial and law enforcement operation against Egunkaria, many of the people in charge of the publication were detained and held incommunicado, enduring torture from the hands ofthe Guardia Civil. What Martxelo Otamendi told the public after his release on bail was heart wrenching.He was fisically and emotionally abused, with absolut impunity. That is the way the Spanish State and its alleged democracy behave with those who defend, with their work, the right of the Basque women and men to access balanced information of unmatched quality inEuskera. Today, one of the assesors of that newspaper, Inaki Uria, remains in jail. He is one of the many political prisoners that are behind bars in a state that has been denounced on the international arena for mistreating and harassing the Basque prisoners. His one and only crime was to work towards the freedom of speech of those Basque women and men that every morning wished to read the news of their country and the whole world, and do so in their own ancient language.

The Spanish Audiencia Nacional, heir to the infamous Francoist Tribunal de Orden Publico, has imposed a bail of 600,000 euros on Uria as a pre-condition for him to secure his freedom. Later the amount was reduced to 450,000 euros, a steep amount that makes it impossible for his loved ones to raise it any time soon.The Asociacion Disapora Vasca, nationalist group integrated by over 300 people with presence in 20 countries, whishes to inform that we support the campaign of signatures initiated by the group “InakiUria Askatu” (Free Inaki Uria), to demand his freedom. We invite you to access the web pagehttp://www.uriaaskatu.com/gutunerako.php and add your signature as to tell the Spanish Government that our political prisoners are recipients of our support and our solidarity not only from the Basque women and men in Euskal Herria but also from the ones in the Diaspora, and also from those women and men that defend the freedom of speech throughout the world.

Due to the fact that the page is written entirely inEuskera, we provide this information:

Izen-abizenak: Name and Last Name.
E-posta: E Mail.
Nortasun Agiria: ID Card Number.
Kargua/lanbidea: Occupation.

Once the fields have been filled, you can click on“bidali” (send).

We want to thank you in advance for your support.

Iñaki askatu orain!

Free Iñaki Now!

Asociación Diáspora Vasca

Germany, Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Bolivia,Brazil, Castile, Catalunya, Colombia, Chile, Denmark,Ecuador, Spanish State, French State, United Kingdom,México, Perú, Puerto Rico, Sweeden, Switzerland,Uruguay, USA, Venezuela.

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Angel Acebes the Scumbag

Here you have uber-scumbag and Spain's former Interior Minister Angel Acebes, as he arrives today at the parliamentary commission investigating the March 11 train bombings, in Madrid, where Acebes was due to testify. Acebes and the Popular Party have been criticized by the international community for blaming the Basque separatist group ETA for the attacks on the eve of the general elections fearing a voters backlash if the attack were related to former Prime Minister Jose Maria's support for last year's U.S.-led invasion of Iraq .

My opinion?

This sad little piece of shit along with Jose Maria Aznar, Ana Palacio and Mariano Rajoy should be taken to The Hague to be put to trial for their repressive campaign against the Basque people. If Europe wants to honor its history and racial diversity, no one should be allowed to conduct all out campaigns against the nations without state within Europe.

As I said before, they did not blame the attacks on just ETA, they blamed the attacks on the whole of the Basque society, they blamed the attacks on the yearn of the Basque people to exercise their right to self determination.

Acebes

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