Batasuna statement on the last days events in the North of Ireland

by up to the line & beyond Sat Mar 14, 2009 13:40

May they too someday see such progress and the freedom to condemn violence in their own community be it a lump-hammer in a pub, bullet in the nape or pesky car bomb.

Perhaps the new situation in the democratically castrated Euskadi region of the Spanish state which will see the Basque centre right nationalist party lose adminstrative power for the first time in history to the unionist Spanish socialists will ironically help them.

let's see how the souflé crumbles.

Otegi of Batasuna & Adams of Sinn Fein 2 years ago.

by Louise Michel Sun Mar 15, 2009 22:15

The political mistakes in this statement are much more serious than those in the English usage. This is Batasuna paying back Sinn Féin for the support of the latter in the past and even sending a delegation from the Ex-Republican Prisoners' Committee to the Basque Country last June to try to persuade the Spanish Government (through the media) to engage in dialogue with the Basque movement rather than repression.

No doubt SF asked for their support to isolate their dissident opposition further. In the run-up to the vote in their party on the Good Friday Agreement, they enlisted the support of the ANC, Al Fatah and the ANC in order to swing it with their following. The ANC hardly has any revolutionary credentials left and Fatah is disgraced by corruption and even collusion with Israeli Zionism. Only the Basque movement is left with credibility among the dissidents to stand in the breach.

No matter whether one agrees or not with the recent dissident republican killings of two colonial soldiers and a policeman, it was surely wrong by any kind of revolutionary anti-imperialist analysis for the leader of a party that claims to be socialist, anti-imperialist and even (sometimes, in some quarters, but less so these days) revolutionary, to stand with representatives of imperialism and to condemn the actions against colonial forces of some republicans and to call for collaboration with the colonial police.

That being so, it is extremely dodgy for Batasuna to support GA on his statement and in general his position.

But Batasuna is on totally sinking ground when it states that "Irish people’s Right to Self determination and to reunification is recognised in the Good Friday Agreement". What is recognised is the Loyalist veto which was never before formally agreed.

Batasuna goes on to state: "Today in Ireland republican goals can be achieved through peaceful and democratic ways thanks to the peace process leaded by the republican movement. Today Irish genuine aspirations can become true through democratic means. There is enough democratic space for it; Irish people have the voice for it." And later "that a United, Gaelic, Democratic, Socialist Republic is closer to become a reality." Yet a little later still, that "it will be the republican leadership who will end with British presence in Ireland and will unite the island."

Again, whether one agrees with the killing of those personell or not, and even whether one agrees with the GFA or not, by what indicators can we be said to be closer to " a United ..... Republic", not to mention Gaelic (go bhfóire Dia orainn!) or indeed Socialist? Where are the indications that "the republican leadership will end ..;. British presence in Ireland and .... unite the island"? There is nothing of substance of show anyone who cares to look for any real progress towards aforementioned goals. True, SF has made electoral advances and continues to do so, but in the process it has been divesting itself of some of the international causes it previously espoused as well as some of its former friends while it moves steadily further to the right at home (although it was never that Left in the first place).

Indeed, even if we had not witnessed that transformation of SF, we have hundreds of years of history of the world to show us that sooner or later all imperialist powers resort to violence to protect their interests and it is that, plus their huge armies and arsenals, that make peaceful revolution ultimately impossible.

This statement by BATASUNA is not only an incorrect and unwarranted interference in Irish internal afairs but bodes ill for the future of the Basque movement. True revolutionaries, while willing to help their allies, never do so in contradiction of revolutionary principles.

by up to the line & beyond Mon Mar 16, 2009 20:23

As I wrote in the comment above. & before one speaks of any statement from Batasuna as not only incorrect and unwarranted interference in Irish internal afairs but also have the temerity to suggest such a statement bodes ill for the future of the Basque movement , as you did, it would be an idea to wonder how correct and warranted are the many statements by microgroupings in Ireland in support of a continued armed struggle in Euskal Herria are.

Or if that was too close to the bloody bone for some, at least to be au fait with not only the consistent wish of the Batasuna groupings but also their current strategy as well outlined by Arnaldo Otegi in his statements this weekend as reported in today's Gara newspaper in the Spanish language and in Berria in the Basque language.

It seems to me that Otegi's public pronouncements that he seeks bilateral discussions with all groups supporting a democratic route to statehood for the Basque are consistent with all he said before and without scraping that bloody tusk on the effing elephant in the livingroom anymore, it seems too ridiculous to point out that were such a route to be democratically representative it would mean convincing a large segment of the current population of the Basque, particularly in the French and Navarran provinces that such statehood was desirable.

An eventuality which has always relied on the end of armed struggle as one but not only factor.

Did you see that little elephant there?

Because quite frankly, even if SF nor Batasuna have ever really presented a convincing blueprint to either a unitary Irish or Basque state - neither have the armed struggle traditions done anything to even allow such ambitions and aspirations the chance to find fertile ground. Blood is very bad fertilizer Louise.

You might like those links :-
+ Gara: La izquierda abertzale iniciará una ronda de contactos con los agentes que "quieran construir un Estado para este país".
http://www.gara.net/azkenak/03/127436/es/La-izquierda-a...-pais
+ Berria: Otegiren esanetan, euskal estatua eratu nahi duten indarrekin bilduko da ezker abertzalea datozen asteetan.
http://www.berria.info/albisteak/32750/Otegiren_esaneta...n.htm

by Carlos Mon Mar 16, 2009 23:11

I agree with Batasuna and I expresses my complete solidarity and support to SF and the Irish people on the defense of the Irish peace process and the democratic scenario.

On the other hand, we should take in account that the situation could evolve dramatically in another direction. For instance, once FARC tried to change itself to a massive political movement by abandoning any guerrilla operations and decommissioning the military organization which resulted in a massacre of 3000 political activists.

In addition, the same or a similar thing happened in Argentina when Montoneros opened the organization to many activists in order to support the Campora´s government. Even though, they won the election the Argentinean army made a golpe which resulted in a military dictatorship and the physical elimination of an entire generation of young and brave revolutionists. No to mention, Batasuna´s party that has been declared outlow by the Spanish government.

In other words, I understand that Sinn Fein and the Irish people has obtained an impressive victory which will certainly lead to the independence of Ireland, but, as Carl von Clausewitz said the worst situation in which you can put your enemy is tacking his weapons or maintain him with out them.

To sum up, Continuity IRA should keep increasing the military organization, do not open the organization to movements and respect the situation pledge: “no war at the moment” unless the situation changes.

The only justice is the revolutionary one.

Hasta La Victoria Siempre Patria O Muerte!

Continuity means Freedom.

Carlos

by Louise Michel Thu Mar 19, 2009 19:47

I'm not speaking for any group whether 'micro' (big is correct?) or otherwise. My question stands: by what existing indicators can we chart any visible (rather than wished-for) progress towards the "democratic, united, Gaelic and socialist" Ireland that the Batasuna statement says that we're moving towards? No references to elephants gets us away from that awkward question.

I'm not without some knowledge of the situation in the Basque Country and I followed with interest a recent Indymedia correspondence in which the "up to the line etc" correspondent justified a person in the Basque Country smashing up a pub of the same movement as Batasuna with a hammer.

It is of course possible as the contributor maintains that Batasuna wants to head in the same direction as Sinn Féin (if only the Spanish and the French would let them!) and it's certainly curious that the Spanish authorities have left Otegi at freedom to walk around the Basque Country while they lock up his comrades. One recalls that Mandela was similarly isolated from his comrades when the state wanted to come to some kind of deal.

To push for talks and try to gain the best out of them is obviously sensible for people in many situations of struggle. It is never however good tactics to give up your weapons of struggle to the enemy or to have (or to spread) illusions about it.

There are people who are pacifists -- that's their opinion. There are others who are not but who deny some people in struggle the right to armed resistance. But if they want to put forward that people can win freedom without recourse to arms at some point, they need to show how this can be done and not rely on criticising the actions of armed groups.

Both groups above are faced with an uncomfortable fact and that is that while no people (or class) in history has won freedom without recourse to arms, many countries (and the bourgeoisie) have won that freedom through arms. That doesn't mean that all armed actions are appropriate in all situations, or even that the time is always right for them. But it does mean that any revolutionary cannot be consistent and at the same time rule out forever armed action, much less stand beside the imperial authorities and ask for collaboration with the colonial police against the actions of patriots, no matter how misguided one may believe them to be.

by Ernesto Thu Mar 19, 2009 22:05

The tactics Sinn Fein are using now, mirror that of the tacitics used by Thatcher and her cronies during the eighties and that is,to try and criminalise the armed struggled.It wasnt long ago that ten heroic republicans died,but won fighting against these tactics..God have they learnt nothing! Che guevara once said"You cant win a revolution without firing a shot"Maybe Sinn Fein and Batasuna should read up more on the guy,instead of using his Iconic image to help sell their merchandise.Which may i add,promotes armed struggle!