Basque Struggle For Political Status Deepens

by Kazike Wed May 25, 2005 01:10

As far as I know political prisioners are jailed for the political ideas not for placing bombs in supermarkets, not for killing children, not for killing innocent people going about their business, not for kidnaping and holding people against their will locked in an underground room smaller than a box for 2 years, not for kidnapping a small town counsellor on his early twenties and shooting him at the back of his head three days later. No, whatever sympathy the Irish Republican Socialist Party may have about ETA, they are not political prisioners. Since 1975 they can express whatever they want in a democratic way, as many do calling for independence in the Basque country, in Catalonia, in Galicia... Stop making analogies between the Basque country and Northern Ireland because both situations have very little to do with each other, and ETA is very different from the IRA. The policy of dispersal (not isolation) is ruthless but bombs, and shots on the head are less ruthless, aren't they? Can you explain what the repression and punishment being directed against all Basque prisoners is? the dispersal? Why don't you call all the people of Ireland and the world to call for an inmediate stop to nonsense killing of innocent people. Get real!

by Jo Take Wed May 25, 2005 11:50

You admit to Madrids brutal and vindictive policy of dispersal of ETA prisoners but neglect to mention that there are several ETA prisoners who have served their full terms (25 years and more) and have not been released. What sort of "democracy" allows that? The sort of one that bans a political party because it doesn't like it.

Can you explain the institutionalized toture of Basque activists in Guardia Civil and Municial Police stations? Look at Castilles own disgusting human rights record before you start calling all ETA prisoners criminals.

How many people did Franco, the Falange/PP, GAL murder compared to ETA then eh?

by pity to raise your article to comment. Wed May 25, 2005 12:09

plant the car bomb in Madrid in the last 24 hours?
no they did not.

by Nicolo Wed May 25, 2005 12:21

Sorry but given the involvement of PP/PSOE/GAL etc in terrorism they can hardly be left blameless.

Remember some years ago ETA and the govt entered into a cerasfire and talks the the govt used this opportunity to make mass arrests and continue the abuses against basques. Whether we like it or not there is a political issue here that needs to be addressed.

Violence is not the answer but neither is the subjucation and toture of people, mass arrests of politcally active young people etc etc etc

Franco may have died in 1975 but fascism is still alive and well within the state structures. Each year the UN condemns Spain for the torture and abuses,

Dialogue to the way ahead but as in the Middle East and here in Northern ireland this means real and meanigful dialogue between both sides not preconditions etc etc etc

by touché. Wed May 25, 2005 12:28

the intimidation of citizens, and attacks on commercial interests who do not contribute "the revolutionary tax" by ETA are condemned by human rights organisations.
The last such condemnation came Sunday last from the secretary general of the largest trade union accompanied by Zapatero as two bombs destroyed workplaces which had not given "the due".
This was followed by the leader of the UGT union in the basque who once again, asked that ETA respect the right of workers to an environment free of the threat of arbitrary murder. The bombings in Zaruetz were followed by arrests of ETA members in France and Spain with explosives, and have been topped up with carbombings and 8 injured in madrid this morning.
Meanwhile, the spokesperson for ETA, the leader of HB, Ortega appears in court today, taking a break from asking for a peace process table to be laid to defend himself on charges of proximity to ETA operations including financial extortion, kidnapping, murder and all those reasons international human rights and worker representative groups call ETA "terrorist".

by Nicolo Wed May 25, 2005 13:42

I never apologised for eta, I am saying that we need to see a political way forward and that starts by recognising that there is an issue to tackle.

ETA are terrorists and should stop

However, if they stop there still is a political issue to deal with along with human rights abuses comitteed by the madrid government.

by kazike Wed May 25, 2005 14:00

who are those ETA members who have served their full terms and should be releaseed but have not? name them. Who is Castilles by the way? what is that disguting human right record and how is it institutionalised? can you provide any facts other than your cheap rethoric? Franco killed many people, my grandfather use to tell before he died last year. He spent 25 years in jail under Franco, and he wasn't even Basque!! everyone suffered under Franco, Basques, catalans, andulucians, everyone, in fact PNV was the only 'democratic' party that had to vote to decided which side they were taking. And what about the pact of Santoña? That "we were the only victims of Franco" argument is only valid as propaganda for people who haven't got a clue about the spanish civil war and the years under Franco. What about GAL, they are all in jail, are the political prisioners as well?
The Congress vote to open the door to negociations with ETA and what's ETA's response? a car bomb in madrid. That tells a lot.

by Gernika Wed May 25, 2005 14:00

http://web.amnesty.org/report2005/esp-summary-eng

by Jo Take Wed May 25, 2005 14:31

As at March 2003, 74 (That's SEVENTY FOUR) ETA prisoners completed their sentences but were kept in prison. I'm not going to name them all just for you, check the Spanish Prison authorities and facts for yourself before insinuating that I'm a liar. Maybe it doesn't disgust you but it is a fact that torture of Basque suspects in institutionalised, you are incredibly naive if you dispute this as all the evidence proves that police/paramilitary use of torture in Spain is widespread.

And where are you getting your "we were the only victims of Franco" bullshit from, who said this? GAL? A few token prosecutions how many of those murderers have been sentenced in total and for how long then? Don't even think about comparing the paid criminals, fascists and mercenaries of GAL to the volunteers of ETA. "Democratic" Spain founded and funded these terrorists.

by drip drip Thu May 26, 2005 12:30

the leader of the grouping which has been known as HB /EH / Batasuna, the political wing of ETA was imprisoned yesterday pending a case on his involvement on murder, extortion, and other terrorism charges on bail of 400,000€.
Describing himself in court as a "spokesperson" the prosecution maintains there is enough evidence to link HB / EH / Batasuna to the operational apparatus of the terrorist group ETA and Ortegi to the directional part of that joint apparatus. The news-site Gara, which is considered the mouthpiece of ETA, and as such has been the conduit for "warnings" or "claiming" of all terrorist incidents relating to ETA in the last two years including several bomb attacks in the last 5 days (the last one in a working class and marginalised suburb of Madrid caused 57 wounded), and the psychologically abusive car bomb attacks on Madrid's exit points 3/12/04 has described the detention of Ortegi as "a blow to the peace process", and has threatened the prime minister of the Spanish government Zapatero, holding him responsible for this decision, though it has been seen by the right wing in Spain as proof of the independence of the Judiciary.
http://www.lasemanaquevivimos.com/periodico/actualidad.php?codi=6468

At present the HB / EH / Batasuna formation have no parliamentary presence in the legislature of either the Basque autonomous region or the Spanish state. They had previously and belatedly called for their supporters to vote for EHAK a communist party (after that party had satisfied the judiciary that there were no links to terrorism) who hold over 10% of the representation and have been in talks with other parties of that legislature to form a new program of government. EHAK have remained the only basque political party to not condemn the bombing of Madrid yesterday.

The Basque autonomous government elected its speaker or ceann comhairle on Monday, for the first time a woman Izaskun Bilbao, (of the PNV) will occupy the key role, and amidst protracted negotations the parties are moving to elect a new lehandakari (taoiseach) and move the process of dialogue, concensus, and peaceful political solution onwards amongst the bitterly divided communities of the Basque regions.

by Little Red Indian Thu May 26, 2005 22:34

I am glad to see us at least have some discussion on the situation. Thank you to the IRSP for their statement and their support for political prisoners in struggle.

Of course the situation in the Basque Country is very different from that of the situation now happening in Ireland. But there is much we can learn.

If the Basque people feel that they will gain anything from a 'peace process' similar to that in Ireland they are much mistaken. Yes, some peoples weapons maybe out of the way but we must remember that numerous loyalist armed groupings are still at their dirty work, including the state which created and directed them for years.

Both peoples must remember that little on the ground has changed for working class people in the six counties following the Agreement either. The 'peace process' has merely papered over the cracks.

I still believe that SF are involved in a waiting game. Playing at politics whilst offering no constructive alternative that will change the way in which the Irish society itself operates for the working people of that country. Instead they are happy to wait and let their unofficial policy of 'let's breed them out' continue.

This is surely sexist blind nationalism at it's crudest form but I don't think that their leadership mind. They are not actually political are they, well in the socialist meaning of that word. Doesn't John Hume describe himself as a socialist? Indeed!

I always look to James Connolly when we talk about Euskal Herria and its struggle for liberation as his writings are useful which I'm sure the IRSP would obviously agree.

Connolly once warned his people as they prepared for their Easter uprising in 1916: "If you remove the English (Or Spanish) army tomorrow and hoist the green flag (Or Ikurriña) over Dublin Castle (Or Bilbao city hall), unless you set about the organisation of the Socialist Republic, your efforts would be in vain. England (Or Spain) would still rule you. She would rule you through her capitalists, through her landlords, through her financiers, through her array of commercial and industrial institutions she has planted in this country..."

A Little Red Indian