NIEUWSOVERZICHT

WEEKLY UPDATE BASQUE INFORMATION CENTRE, WEEK 26, 21 until 28 July

Among the at the 18th of July in Mexico arrested Basques there is Joseba Urkijo Borde, who was exposed as police-infiltrator by members of Herri Batasuna in 1989 and since then was in hiding. The 10 prisoners of 18 July, among them 3 Mexicans, are being accused of membership of or cooperating with ETA, together with raising financial means for ETA.
After the one week third World congress of Basque communities and the Diaspora, the Basque government spread out of name of all the participants a statement that wasn’t dealt with in the congress itself. In particular the Euskal Etxeak, the Basque cultural centres abroad, protested against the document in which ETA is pointed out as the chief offender in the political conflict in the Basque Country. The Euskal Etxeak accuses the Basque Government and especially the Basque Nationalist governing party PNV of using the congress for own political gain.
At the 19th of July thousands of people demonstrate in solidarity with the Basque left-wing newspaper GARA in Donostia, forming a human chain. A provocative bomb-alert, probably the work of the Basque police itself, couldn’t spoil the good atmosphere.
At the 22nd of July two bombs explode in two hotels in the tourist resorts Alicante and Benidorn. Eleven people are wounded, one of them severely, and the hotels suffer considerable damage. The GARA got a warning call on behalf of ETA, so the premises were evicted for the most. The wounded occurred when one device exploded too soon. The police had one hour to evict the buildings, but the language-institute beside the hotel wasn’t even told to evict. Despite the comforting words of the Spanish minister of Interior Acebes and Prime Minister Aznar that this wasn’t a new ETA- commando, but a small group, the British and German authorities gave warnings for their citizens travelling to Spain.
The same day Pernando Barena and Joseba Permach of the by Spanish authorities outlawed political part Batasuna, started a campaign to tell tourists in Donostia about their case. In the four- language leaflet it stated: “No Apartheid, You are in the Basque Country”.
At the mountain of Jaizkibel a protest-camp starts, together with demonstrations in the villages Lezo, Pasaia and Hondarribia, against the extension of a track for the high speed train TGV through the Basque Country, and against the big harbour project in Pasaia.
The Spanish Supreme Court dismisses at the 24th of July the appeal of the Basque parliament concerning the order of the same Court to remove the Sozialista Abertzaleak (ex-representatives of the banned party Batasuna) from parliamentary benches. According to the Supreme Court the appeal was filed too late and is the Basque parliament not authorised to file such appeals. The Public Prosecutor and the state lawyer argued that the Basque parliament is not the offended party and that is was obliged to follow the order. Eduardo Manzisidor, head of legal services of the parliament, who was ordered to suspend all means of Sozialista Abertzaleak and to close their offices, resigned; he claimed at the Supreme Court that he didn’t have the power to do as ordered. The Supreme Court also dismissed his appeal.
At the 25th of July a bomb explodes at the door of the Court in Lizarra (province of Naffaroa), two persons are slightly injured and the front door is blown into pieces. The local traffic help services got a call, warning for the bomb. According to the Spanish representative in Naffaroa “the bomb was identical to material ETA always uses”.
The newspapers ABC, El Correo and El Diario Vasco publish one of the eight drafts for a new plan for a new status for the Basque Country, following the plan of the Basque president Ibarratxe what he presented last summer. In September the proposal is to be presented in the Basque parliament. At the last year presented plan, no reaction came from Madrid but cursing and threatening about the suspected ‘separatism’ in the plan. To save the autonomy-status of the Basque Autonomy Community (these are the provinces Bizkaia, Araba and Gipuzkoa, about Naffaroa and Ipparalde (Northern-Basque Country) is not spoken in terms of self- determination), Ibarretxe raises pressure on Madrid. It is not likely that the almost 40 remaining competences which Madrid still has to give to the Basque Country, are handed over in the near future.
The Ukrainian football-team asked the UEFA to postpone the EC- qualifier in and against Spain because of the recent ETA-attacks. The match is scheduled for the 10th of September at Murcia.
At the 27th of July a car bomb explodes at the parking space of an airport in the Northern Spanish town Santander. The GARA got a warning call, the Spanish police evicted the parking space and the hall of the airport; there were no injuries, but the damage was severe to cars and windows in the neighbourhood of the car bomb.

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WEEKLY UPDATE BASQUE INFORMATION CENTRE, WEEK 26, 21 until 28 July
Among the at the 18th of July in Mexico arrested Basques there is Joseba Urkijo Borde, who was exposed as police-infiltrator by members of Herri Batasuna in 1989 and since then was in hiding. The 10 prisoners of 18 July, among them 3 Mexicans, are being accused of membership of or cooperating with ETA, together with raising financial means for ETA. After the one week third World congress of Basque communities and the Diaspora, the Basque government spread out of name of all the participants a statement that wasn’t dealt with in the congress itself. In particular the Euskal Etxeak, the Basque cultural centres abroad, protested against the document in which ETA is pointed out as the chief offender in the political conflict in the Basque Country. The Euskal Etxeak accuses the Basque Government and especially the Basque Nationalist governing party PNV of using the congress for own political gain. At the 19th of July thousands of people demonstrate in solidarity with the Basque left-wing newspaper GARA in Donostia, forming a human chain. A provocative bomb-alert, probably the work of the Basque police itself, couldn’t spoil the good atmosphere. At the 22nd of July two bombs explode in two hotels in the tourist resorts Alicante and Benidorn. Eleven people are wounded, one of them severely, and the hotels suffer considerable damage. The GARA got a warning call on behalf of ETA, so the premises were evicted for the most. The wounded occurred when one device exploded too soon. The police had one hour to evict the buildings, but the language-institute beside the hotel wasn’t even told to evict. Despite the comforting words of the Spanish minister of Interior Acebes and Prime Minister Aznar that this wasn’t a new ETA- commando, but a small group, the British and German authorities gave warnings for their citizens travelling to Spain. The same day Pernando Barena and Joseba Permach of the by Spanish authorities outlawed political part Batasuna, started a campaign to tell tourists in Donostia about their case. In the four- language leaflet it stated: “No Apartheid, You are in the Basque Country”. At the mountain of Jaizkibel a protest-camp starts, together with demonstrations in the villages Lezo, Pasaia and Hondarribia, against the extension of a track for the high speed train TGV through the Basque Country, and against the big harbour project in Pasaia. The Spanish Supreme Court dismisses at the 24th of July the appeal of the Basque parliament concerning the order of the same Court to remove the Sozialista Abertzaleak (ex-representatives of the banned party Batasuna) from parliamentary benches. According to the Supreme Court the appeal was filed too late and is the Basque parliament not authorised to file such appeals. The Public Prosecutor and the state lawyer argued that the Basque parliament is not the offended party and that is was obliged to follow the order. Eduardo Manzisidor, head of legal services of the parliament, who was ordered to suspend all means of Sozialista Abertzaleak and to close their offices, resigned; he claimed at the Supreme Court that he didn’t have the power to do as ordered. The Supreme Court also dismissed his appeal. At the 25th of July a bomb explodes at the door of the Court in Lizarra (province of Naffaroa), two persons are slightly injured and the front door is blown into pieces. The local traffic help services got a call, warning for the bomb. According to the Spanish representative in Naffaroa “the bomb was identical to material ETA always uses”. The newspapers ABC, El Correo and El Diario Vasco publish one of the eight drafts for a new plan for a new status for the Basque Country, following the plan of the Basque president Ibarratxe what he presented last summer. In September the proposal is to be presented in the Basque parliament. At the last year presented plan, no reaction came from Madrid but cursing and threatening about the suspected ‘separatism’ in the plan. To save the autonomy-status of the Basque Autonomy Community (these are the provinces Bizkaia, Araba and Gipuzkoa, about Naffaroa and Ipparalde (Northern-Basque Country) is not spoken in terms of self- determination), Ibarretxe raises pressure on Madrid. It is not likely that the almost 40 remaining competences which Madrid still has to give to the Basque Country, are handed over in the near future. The Ukrainian football-team asked the UEFA to postpone the EC- qualifier in and against Spain because of the recent ETA-attacks. The match is scheduled for the 10th of September at Murcia. At the 27th of July a car bomb explodes at the parking space of an airport in the Northern Spanish town Santander. The GARA got a warning call, the Spanish police evicted the parking space and the hall of the airport; there were no injuries, but the damage was severe to cars and windows in the neighbourhood of the car bomb.
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