NIEUWSOVERZICHT

WEEKLY UPDATE BASQUE INFORMATION CENTRE, WEEK 15/16, 16 April until 9 May

From now on we’ll provide this weekly update-service in English also. This time it’s a double week, we hope it won’t become a habit.

At the 17th of April AuB (Autodeterminaziorako Bilguena), the platform for self-determination, the new political organisation of the left-wing independent movement, announces that they collected 90.000 signatures to enter in the provincial elections coming 25 may. Because AuB is not an official political party, but a voters-platform, they had to give 30.000 signatures to the election-council. This council approved with the amount and refuses the request to give them to the Spanish governing party Partido Popular. In 286 villages election-platforms are erected and they also get the proper amount of signatures. Spain is not hesitating to declare that they will outlaw all platforms before the 25th of May, to insure that “the ETA-commando’s are not allowed to enter the ballots”.
At the 18th of April more than 2000 youths enter Gernika after having hiked 3 days in the mountains in a march against fascism. When they enter Gernika they face numerous roadblocks of the paramilitary Guardia Civil. The Ertzaintza, the police of the Basque Autonomous Region, seizes numerous banners.
At the 19th of April ETA says in a communiqué, at the honour of Aberri Eguna, that the Basque parties should join together against the Spanish fascism.
Aberri Eguna, the day of the Fatherland, is celebrated at the 20th of April. Aberri Eguna is celebrated since the sixties as the national day in the Basque Country as day of protest against the Spanish oppression. This time, Aberri Eguna, is celebrated at different places by the different partIEs PNV, EA, Udalbiltza, Abertzaleen Batasuna and AuB. Udalbiltza, the organisation of Basque mayors and councillors, is since the ending of the cease- fire of ETA, divided when the councillors of EA and PNV withdrew. The demonstration of AuB attracted most people, 16.000 demonstrators walked in Iruñea behind a banner with the slogan: ‘Guernika, Irak, the same fascists, forward with the Basque Country’. The reaction on Aberri Eguna by the Spanish prime-minister Aznar was clear; according to him, the Basque Country knows only one problem, terrorism. Aznar called the various declarations against the Spanish oppression ‘a sick obsession’. Also this year a lot of visitors of Aberri Eguna suffer from roadblocks of the Guardia Civil.
At the 22nd April the Basque political prisoner Alvarro Arri is being extradited from France to Spain. Arri is immediately being imprisoned in the notorious Soto del Real, near Madrid, although he finished his sentence completely in various French prisons.
At the 24th of April the first political prisoner in the Madrid- based prison Valdemoro commences with a death-fast. Earlier a group of prisoners started a hygenical strike, refuses to wash themselves and go to the bathroom. The protests are aimed at the isolation-regime of the prison and against the beating-up of one of them, without any reason, in the night of 23 on 24 of April. Four days later more prisoners follow in the strike and they’re not getting any medical attention, because therefore they have to leave their cells and strip, something they refuse to do. At the first of May, some prisoners are taken to hospital. At the 3th of May, thousands of people over the whole Basque Country demonstrate in support of the Basque political prisoners.
At the 25th of April AuB calls all political organisations, including ETA, to participate in a new dynamic, democratic and peace-full process to come to a solution in the Basque conflict. AuB also distances from the concept of outlawing without evidence by the Spanish state, as well as from the violent actions inside of the political conflict, which are not condemned by Batasuna (but just put in a political context). AuB finds both perceptions insufficient to come to solving the conflict. Read the whole declaration
At the 26th of April 700 councillors of Udalbiltza join in a meeting and take a stand against the coming closure of their organisation. They say that only the Basque population has the right to decide whom they choose to be their political representatives. Udalbiltza is working on a Basque party-law, as counter on the Spanish law on the parties, which was especially made to outlaw Batasuna. Udalbiltza also asks for attention for their declaration about the rights of the Basque people. We, of the Basque Information Centre, support this declaration for the full 100%. You can read it by clicking here
Human-right groups from the United States call the Spanish policy of dispersion of Basque political prisoners inhuman. The group, with Gloria Rubac of the anti-deathpenalty comite from Texas, Nozomi Ikuta from a support-group for political prisoners in the US and Marisol Morales from a human-rights group from Puerto Rico, visited the prisons of Soto del Real, Alcalá-Meco en Albacete. They called the evidence of torture obvious, the outlawing of political parties and the closing of Egunkaria unworthy for a democracy and strongly oppose to the terms of 4 years prison-time without trial. “This is clearly a rule to make a society clear that dissident ideologies will not be tolerated”, so they claimed.
The European Union is finishing up the report in which the isolation-detention of Basque political prisoners is rejected. This is the period of 5 days ‘incommunicado’, where the arrested people have no access to a doctor, a lawyer or family. This is the period where most torture occurs.
At the 26th of April the Basque political refugee Lorezo Llona Olalde is arrested in the Mexican city Zacatecas and immediately flown to the Mexican capital. Llona has the Mexican citizenship and lives there for 20 years, with 3 children being born there. Two months ago Llona was asked by Mexican police-officers and Spanish secret agents of CNI (the former Cesid) to give information about the Basque refugee-collective. If he refused, he could get trouble…
In San Fransisco protest on saturday the 26th of April 11 people for three hours at the Spanish consulate against the closing of Egunkaria.
In the night of 28 and 29 April the Spanish police invades, at orders of judge Garzón, offices of Udalbiltza in Astgarraga, Bilbao, Iruña and Gasteiz. Eight people, Lander Etxeberria, Mirian Campos, Leire Idoiaga, Eider Casanova, Karmela Urbistondo, Larraitz Sanzberro, Oskar Goñi and Txema Jurado are being arrested and are still in jail at this time. The first days it is not clear why the offices were attacked. Spanish politicians point at the Charter of Rights, recently given out by Udalbiltza, and the launching of a Basque identity-card by Udalbiltza. Later it becomes clear that the rading of the offices and the arrests are because of the acquisation that Udalbiltza made it possible that ETA entered the elections, because Udalbiltza erected the AuB electional platform. Udalbiltza is, as usual, closed by temporary ruling by Garzón, avoiding it to prove anything in court. The reactions in the Basque Country are furious. Udalbiltza is a legitimate and democratic organisation, which works in all openness. Anger is also raised because of the arrests of the councillors, in the middle of the night, with dozens of Guardia Civil. Councillors of whom nobody has anything to fear off.
At the 29th of April 300 lawyers of the order of Bizkaia, one of the Basque provinces, meet in the capital Bilbao en condemn the closing of Egunkaria and demand changes in the law ‘to fill the gap which approves the impunity by which torture can keep existing’. The meeting was a historical one, because of the amount of people who participated and the decisions which were made. “Seen from a juridical point of view the closing of Egunkaria is illegal, unjust, unconstitutional, unlawfull, dishonest, insulting, out of proportions and extremely damaging to many persons and organisations”, so it reads partly in a statement.
At the first of May all Basque trade unions demonstrate together with thousands of people and demand democracy, justice and self-determination for the Basque Country. The outlawing of Egunkaria, Batasuna and Udalbiltza is called a ‘coup’ within the state. Harsh criticism is ventilated on the missing of the separation of power, now the Spanish government and the juridical powers more an more follow the same strategy.
At the first of May all Basque trade unions demonstrate together with thousands of people and demand democracy, justice and self-determination for the Basque Country. The outlawing of Egunkaria, Batasuna and Udalbiltza is called a ‘coup’ within the state. Harsh criticism is ventilated on the missing of the separation of power, now the Spanish government and the juridical powers more an more follow the same strategy.
A group of 530 Basque priests hands over a letter to pope John Paul, visiting Spain, in which they press for recognition of the right of self-determination for the Basque people. The priests reject all forms of terrorism, “especially the kind of terrorism of the State and those who are in power”.
Also at the first of May the Spanish government as well as the public prosecutor appeal at the Tribunal Supremo against the registration of AuB and the 286 platforms. According to them all lists where former Batasuna-members candidate ‘infected’ and for that reason seen as a follow-up for Batasuna. AuB complaints firmly and asks, among others, wheather this means that the Batasuna-members lost their right to be elected just like that, without juridical intervention. After some days of heavy political pressure, almost all members of the Spanish government decided to be convinced that the outlawing of AuB was the right thing to do, and so did the Tribunal Supremo at the 3th of May. AuB declared anyway entering the elections with their owns forms. The strange situation occurs now that in 15 Basque villages the governing Partido Popular will win the elections anyway, being the only party to contest. In 10 villages in Naffaroa there will be no elections at all, because AuB was the only party candidating there.
In the meantime prime-minister Aznar continues his campaign to criminalize every form of opposition in Spain; this week he launched a proposition which makes it illegal to organise ‘public activities’ or spread ‘false’ information, which lower the moral of the people or would provoke disobedience towards the Spanish army or the army of an ally!
During the visit of Aznar to Bush at May the 5th it is announced that Powell put the Basque political parties Herri Batasuna, Euskal Herritarok and Batasuna on the US-list of terrorist organisations at the end of april. This makes it possible for the US to take for example financial actions against these organisations or prosecute them in the US.
At the 6th of May former employees and the former board of Egunkaria launche a campaign for a new newspaper, scheduled of appearing at the end of June. Last week the foundation Euskarazko Komunikazio Taldea (the Basque group for communication) was erected by donations of ex-employees of Egunkaria. Now you can buy shares of 50 and 300 Euro’s. To prevent a person of gaining too much influence in the project, a maximum of shares is put at 1,2% of the 5 million Euro which is necessary for the new newspaper.

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WEEKLY UPDATE BASQUE INFORMATION CENTRE, WEEK 15/16, 16 April until 9 May
From now on we’ll provide this weekly update-service in English also. This time it’s a double week, we hope it won’t become a habit. At the 17th of April AuB (Autodeterminaziorako Bilguena), the platform for self-determination, the new political organisation of the left-wing independent movement, announces that they collected 90.000 signatures to enter in the provincial elections coming 25 may. Because AuB is not an official political party, but a voters-platform, they had to give 30.000 signatures to the election-council. This council approved with the amount and refuses the request to give them to the Spanish governing party Partido Popular. In 286 villages election-platforms are erected and they also get the proper amount of signatures. Spain is not hesitating to declare that they will outlaw all platforms before the 25th of May, to insure that “the ETA-commando’s are not allowed to enter the ballots”. At the 18th of April more than 2000 youths enter Gernika after having hiked 3 days in the mountains in a march against fascism. When they enter Gernika they face numerous roadblocks of the paramilitary Guardia Civil. The Ertzaintza, the police of the Basque Autonomous Region, seizes numerous banners. At the 19th of April ETA says in a communiqué, at the honour of Aberri Eguna, that the Basque parties should join together against the Spanish fascism. Aberri Eguna, the day of the Fatherland, is celebrated at the 20th of April. Aberri Eguna is celebrated since the sixties as the national day in the Basque Country as day of protest against the Spanish oppression. This time, Aberri Eguna, is celebrated at different places by the different partIEs PNV, EA, Udalbiltza, Abertzaleen Batasuna and AuB. Udalbiltza, the organisation of Basque mayors and councillors, is since the ending of the cease- fire of ETA, divided when the councillors of EA and PNV withdrew. The demonstration of AuB attracted most people, 16.000 demonstrators walked in Iruñea behind a banner with the slogan: ‘Guernika, Irak, the same fascists, forward with the Basque Country’. The reaction on Aberri Eguna by the Spanish prime-minister Aznar was clear; according to him, the Basque Country knows only one problem, terrorism. Aznar called the various declarations against the Spanish oppression ‘a sick obsession’. Also this year a lot of visitors of Aberri Eguna suffer from roadblocks of the Guardia Civil. At the 22nd April the Basque political prisoner Alvarro Arri is being extradited from France to Spain. Arri is immediately being imprisoned in the notorious Soto del Real, near Madrid, although he finished his sentence completely in various French prisons. At the 24th of April the first political prisoner in the Madrid- based prison Valdemoro commences with a death-fast. Earlier a group of prisoners started a hygenical strike, refuses to wash themselves and go to the bathroom. The protests are aimed at the isolation-regime of the prison and against the beating-up of one of them, without any reason, in the night of 23 on 24 of April. Four days later more prisoners follow in the strike and they’re not getting any medical attention, because therefore they have to leave their cells and strip, something they refuse to do. At the first of May, some prisoners are taken to hospital. At the 3th of May, thousands of people over the whole Basque Country demonstrate in support of the Basque political prisoners. At the 25th of April AuB calls all political organisations, including ETA, to participate in a new dynamic, democratic and peace-full process to come to a solution in the Basque conflict. AuB also distances from the concept of outlawing without evidence by the Spanish state, as well as from the violent actions inside of the political conflict, which are not condemned by Batasuna (but just put in a political context). AuB finds both perceptions insufficient to come to solving the conflict. Read the whole declaration At the 26th of April 700 councillors of Udalbiltza join in a meeting and take a stand against the coming closure of their organisation. They say that only the Basque population has the right to decide whom they choose to be their political representatives. Udalbiltza is working on a Basque party-law, as counter on the Spanish law on the parties, which was especially made to outlaw Batasuna. Udalbiltza also asks for attention for their declaration about the rights of the Basque people. We, of the Basque Information Centre, support this declaration for the full 100%. You can read it by clicking here Human-right groups from the United States call the Spanish policy of dispersion of Basque political prisoners inhuman. The group, with Gloria Rubac of the anti-deathpenalty comite from Texas, Nozomi Ikuta from a support-group for political prisoners in the US and Marisol Morales from a human-rights group from Puerto Rico, visited the prisons of Soto del Real, Alcalá-Meco en Albacete. They called the evidence of torture obvious, the outlawing of political parties and the closing of Egunkaria unworthy for a democracy and strongly oppose to the terms of 4 years prison-time without trial. “This is clearly a rule to make a society clear that dissident ideologies will not be tolerated”, so they claimed. The European Union is finishing up the report in which the isolation-detention of Basque political prisoners is rejected. This is the period of 5 days ‘incommunicado’, where the arrested people have no access to a doctor, a lawyer or family. This is the period where most torture occurs. At the 26th of April the Basque political refugee Lorezo Llona Olalde is arrested in the Mexican city Zacatecas and immediately flown to the Mexican capital. Llona has the Mexican citizenship and lives there for 20 years, with 3 children being born there. Two months ago Llona was asked by Mexican police-officers and Spanish secret agents of CNI (the former Cesid) to give information about the Basque refugee-collective. If he refused, he could get trouble… In San Fransisco protest on saturday the 26th of April 11 people for three hours at the Spanish consulate against the closing of Egunkaria. In the night of 28 and 29 April the Spanish police invades, at orders of judge Garzón, offices of Udalbiltza in Astgarraga, Bilbao, Iruña and Gasteiz. Eight people, Lander Etxeberria, Mirian Campos, Leire Idoiaga, Eider Casanova, Karmela Urbistondo, Larraitz Sanzberro, Oskar Goñi and Txema Jurado are being arrested and are still in jail at this time. The first days it is not clear why the offices were attacked. Spanish politicians point at the Charter of Rights, recently given out by Udalbiltza, and the launching of a Basque identity-card by Udalbiltza. Later it becomes clear that the rading of the offices and the arrests are because of the acquisation that Udalbiltza made it possible that ETA entered the elections, because Udalbiltza erected the AuB electional platform. Udalbiltza is, as usual, closed by temporary ruling by Garzón, avoiding it to prove anything in court. The reactions in the Basque Country are furious. Udalbiltza is a legitimate and democratic organisation, which works in all openness. Anger is also raised because of the arrests of the councillors, in the middle of the night, with dozens of Guardia Civil. Councillors of whom nobody has anything to fear off. At the 29th of April 300 lawyers of the order of Bizkaia, one of the Basque provinces, meet in the capital Bilbao en condemn the closing of Egunkaria and demand changes in the law ‘to fill the gap which approves the impunity by which torture can keep existing’. The meeting was a historical one, because of the amount of people who participated and the decisions which were made. “Seen from a juridical point of view the closing of Egunkaria is illegal, unjust, unconstitutional, unlawfull, dishonest, insulting, out of proportions and extremely damaging to many persons and organisations”, so it reads partly in a statement. At the first of May all Basque trade unions demonstrate together with thousands of people and demand democracy, justice and self-determination for the Basque Country. The outlawing of Egunkaria, Batasuna and Udalbiltza is called a ‘coup’ within the state. Harsh criticism is ventilated on the missing of the separation of power, now the Spanish government and the juridical powers more an more follow the same strategy. At the first of May all Basque trade unions demonstrate together with thousands of people and demand democracy, justice and self-determination for the Basque Country. The outlawing of Egunkaria, Batasuna and Udalbiltza is called a ‘coup’ within the state. Harsh criticism is ventilated on the missing of the separation of power, now the Spanish government and the juridical powers more an more follow the same strategy. A group of 530 Basque priests hands over a letter to pope John Paul, visiting Spain, in which they press for recognition of the right of self-determination for the Basque people. The priests reject all forms of terrorism, “especially the kind of terrorism of the State and those who are in power”. Also at the first of May the Spanish government as well as the public prosecutor appeal at the Tribunal Supremo against the registration of AuB and the 286 platforms. According to them all lists where former Batasuna-members candidate ‘infected’ and for that reason seen as a follow-up for Batasuna. AuB complaints firmly and asks, among others, wheather this means that the Batasuna-members lost their right to be elected just like that, without juridical intervention. After some days of heavy political pressure, almost all members of the Spanish government decided to be convinced that the outlawing of AuB was the right thing to do, and so did the Tribunal Supremo at the 3th of May. AuB declared anyway entering the elections with their owns forms. The strange situation occurs now that in 15 Basque villages the governing Partido Popular will win the elections anyway, being the only party to contest. In 10 villages in Naffaroa there will be no elections at all, because AuB was the only party candidating there. In the meantime prime-minister Aznar continues his campaign to criminalize every form of opposition in Spain; this week he launched a proposition which makes it illegal to organise ‘public activities’ or spread ‘false’ information, which lower the moral of the people or would provoke disobedience towards the Spanish army or the army of an ally! During the visit of Aznar to Bush at May the 5th it is announced that Powell put the Basque political parties Herri Batasuna, Euskal Herritarok and Batasuna on the US-list of terrorist organisations at the end of april. This makes it possible for the US to take for example financial actions against these organisations or prosecute them in the US. At the 6th of May former employees and the former board of Egunkaria launche a campaign for a new newspaper, scheduled of appearing at the end of June. Last week the foundation Euskarazko Komunikazio Taldea (the Basque group for communication) was erected by donations of ex-employees of Egunkaria. Now you can buy shares of 50 and 300 Euro’s. To prevent a person of gaining too much influence in the project, a maximum of shares is put at 1,2% of the 5 million Euro which is necessary for the new newspaper.
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