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The ‘Plan-Ibarretxe’ keeps on disturbing the minds in Spain and
The Basque Country. The government of Aznar and the PSOE
(social-democrats) even speak of a national state of emergency.
Aznar proposes to change the constitution and to punish holding
a referendum (or an illegal vote). The PSOE is not agreeing with
this, but calls on all European governments and on the EU itself
to make a statement against the plan. Spanish companies are
also pushing Basque companies to stake a stand on the plan,
otherwise they will isolate and exclude them. The Spanish church
and the trade unions are also against. The Constitutional Court in
Spain now discusses whether they will take the appeal of the
Spanish government into account. If they do, they can suspend
the debate about the plan in the Basque parliament for 5 months
and the conflict will be even more severe.
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According to a report of the French human rights organisation
Observateur Internationale des Prissoniers the
overpopulation in the French jails is growing heavily. Some jails
house more then twice their capacity. Currently there are 60.000
prisoners, the highest account since the Second World War;
124 of them are Basque political prisoners, spread over 28
prisons. Last year, because of the bad and depressive
conditions, 122 people committed suicide, in the first 7 months
of this year already 77, which is 7 times as high as outside the
prison doors.
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The 8 Basque political prisoners in Algericas protest since the 1st
of November against their isolation, from 2001 on, with a
hygiene strike, on which after several days the guards put on the
hoses. After that the prison board moved the visiting hour to
Thursday afternoon, which makes it even more difficult and
expensive for relatives to visit them. The distance between
Andalusië and the Basque Country is 2.500 kilometres. After
two weeks on strike, the board makes a promise to put them
back together in a separate wing, but still in isolation.
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The Spanish air force starts the drill ‘Tormenta 2003’ in the
desert area Bardenas Reales in Naffaroa, including the dropping
of 500-kilo bombs.
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At the 13th of November Juan Mari Olano, the spokesman of
the by judge Baltasar Garzón closed human rights organisation
Gestoras Pro Amnistia, is extradited by France to Spain.
Olano was in extradition detention since October 2001.
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The appeal of the Basque political prisoners Alfonso Sebastián
and Sebas Lasa against the acquitting of the officers of the
Guardia Civil who tortured them in Madrid during their
detention, is denied at the 14th of November by the Spanish
High Court. Motivation for denying the appeal is that the injuries
of both Basques were occurred when they resisted arrest and
that the complaints about torture were only filed to get their
statements getting declared illegal, because they were taken from
them under pressure. This kind of statements is however used
frequently to prosecute as well the one who was tortured as
other mentioned in the statement. The latest examples of this
practice are Juanra and Paulo Elkoro.
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At the 16th of November Frech antiterrorist units nearby
Toulouse arrest Igor Letona and Mikel Uzkudun. They are
accused of ‘logistic support of the armed organisation ETA’.
Two days later in another town near Toulouse, Eneko
Agirresarobe and Lander Fernández are arrested. They are,
according to the authorities, part of the ‘Commando Bizkaia’,
that is responsible, according to the Spanish minister for Interior
Angel Acebes, for the attacks on the airport of Santander, the
hotel in Getxo and attacks in Bilbao and Iberdrola.
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In the ports of Pasaia, Bilbao and Baiona there is a 24 hours
strike at the 17th of November, as a protest against reforms in
the harbour work.
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In Gipuzkoia, Naffaroa and Sevilla 12 people, Ikerne
Indakoetxea, Goizeder Antón, Ruben Gelbenzu, Xabier Otaegi,
Zugaitz Izagirre, Enekoitz Oiarzabal, David Brum, Saioa Alzua,
Gaizka Azkarate, Gaizka Garcia, Eneko Gorostidi and Regina
Maiztegi, are arrested on the 18th of November on the
accusation ‘being co-operators of ETA’. According to Acebes
they try to ‘re-organise the base structure of ETA’ and is this
operation a preventive measure. The accusations are based on a
seized document at the arrest of Ibon Fernandez de Iradi at the
19th of November 2002. Two days later Maider Egiguren and
Mikel Garaiondo are also arrested. Of the 14 people 4 are
released, 2 of them didn’t even have to appear for court, the rest
is detained. The number of arrests based on that list of Iradi now
rises to 72. Apart from this, 9 people went voluntarily to judge
Baltasar Garzón and were released. Later Tubal Abrisketa is
arrested in France, but released. This arrest was connected to
the 34 arrests that were made at the 8th of October throughout
the whole Basque Country.
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At the 20th of November ETA criticises in a press statement and
a letter sent to journalists the Basque television EiTB on her use
of language to describe the Basque political prisoners. EiTB calls
them ‘ETA-prisoners’ and their relatives ‘family-members of
ETA-prisoners’. According to ETA EiTB cooperates in this with
the police and justice to criminalize the left nationalist movement.
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Joxe Mari Sors, Mikel Azkune, Joan Mari Larrarte, Mikel
Sorozabal, Angel Ramón Díez, Mikel Arrizabalaga, Amando
Hernández, Xabier Legarra and Eneko Etxeberria, who were
arrested at the raid in the Martin Ugalde Culture Park at the 16th
of October this year, are no longer being suspected of
‘membership or cooperation with ETA’ but for tax-fraud.
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In Bilbao 2000 people of the platform ‘Nunca Mais’ protest at
the 22nd of November against the catastrophe with the oil tanker
Prestige, now one year ago.
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The Audiencia Nacional in Madrid decides that the Basque
political ex-prisoner Patxi Gómez, who was released last year
after sitting out his sentence for ľ, has to return to prison to
complete his sentence. Gómez spent 13 years in prison in
several Spanish prisons.
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The president of Naffaroa, Miguel Sanz, announces at the 25th
of November that every mayor who dares to flag the Ikurrińa,
the Basque flag, from a municipal house of a public building, or
does nothing against that, will be put before the court. In March
this year the UPN, the local branch of de Partido Popular,
created the ‘Ley de Simbolos’, the Law on Symboles. At the 5th
of December the government of Naffaroa files a complaint at the
court against the mayor of Leitza, because he didn’t remove the
Ikurrińa within 15 days of the balcony of the municipal house.
The High Court in Naffaroa rules in a case about the use of the
Basque language in public places “that the knowledge of a
language cannot be the subject of discrimination” and takes
away the grounds for the language policy of the UPN. The
verdict makes clear that discrimination against Spanish speakers
in Naffaroa is non-existent, as the UPN wants people to believe,
but that it is the Basque speakers who are refused jobs.
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Some hours after the Guardia Civil opens a new web site about
‘Terrorism’ the list with attacks of the Grupos Antiterroristas de
Liberación (GAL), who among others murdered Joxean Lasa,
Joxi Zabala, Mikel Goikoetxea and Bixente Perurena in the
eighties, was removed. According to the general director of the
Guardia Civil is was a ‘huge mistake’ that was made here.
Officers and superiors of the Guardia Civil were involved in
these Spanish death squads, who worked on orders of the
PSOE-government that time.
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The Audiencia Nacional in Madrid files complaints against 103
students of Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea (EHU), the
University of the Basque Autonomous Region, because of
‘resistance against state violence’. They participated at the 7th of
April this year at a manifestation out of protest against a new
Spanish University law; this manifestation was violently dissolved
by the Basque police Ertzaintza.
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The Basque Asier Huegen, who was for 73 hostage of the
Columbian ELN, is released at the 24th of November, together
with the German Reinhilt Wiegel. One week before Huegen was
seen on a video asking for solidarity of the Basque people for
the Columbian ELN. The other hostages are due to be released
before Christmas.
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Again a deadly accident of a relative of a Basque political
prisoner: at the 29th of November Sara Fernandéz, girlfriend of
Ińaki Etxeberria, who is imprisoned in Valdemoro in Madrid,
dies in a car accident. Izaskun Urijo, the girlfriend of Iker Zubia,
since his arrest in November 2001 also in Valdemoro, is
dangerously wounded. Fernandéz is the 3rd deadly victim of the
policy of dispersion this year, the 14th in total. One day later
Sara Fernandéz is mourned in Iruńea, but the Spanish police
disperse the 400 people by opening fire on them.
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At the 1st of December there is a commemoration in the
parliament in Madrid of victims of the Spanish Civil War and the
Franco dictatorship. Only one not present is the PP of Aznar;
the spokesman of the fraction of the PP, Luis de Grandes, said it
was not ‘an adequate meeting’ and it reminded him too much of
‘mothballs’. The PP, who one time condemned the Franco
dictatorship in a statement with the other parties, sees this topic
as handled with. Inside the PP there are many people, among
them Aznar, who come from families and circles who were
closely connected to Franco.
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At the 2nd of December judge Juan del Olmo starts a search of
several days in the offices of the Basque Daily Egunkaria,
which was closed by himself in February this year. This
operation has to do with the second accusation against
Egunkaria of financial misbehaviour. The Guardia Civil closed
of the Martin Ugalde Culture Park and all the employees of the
25 companies situated there, have to go to through the
checkpoints. Del Olmo seized numerous boxes of documents.
At the 6th of December Joxi Mari Elosua, the lawyer of the last
remaining arrested in the Egunkaria-case, Ińaki Uria, asks at
the Spanish National High Court to release his client “because
there is no reason whatsoever to hold him”. “Uria is accused of
nothing, he cannot repeat his alleged crime because Egunkaria
is closed, there is no victim so no risk that Uria can do
something to that victim and there’s no risk that Uria would
tamper with evidence because when Oleaga and Alegria were
released judge Del Olmo said that there was no fear of that”,
argued Elosua along the lines of the Spanish law.
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The spokesman of the Basque parliament, Juan Mari Atutxa, his
replacer Gorka Knörr and secretary Kontxi Bilbao have to
appear for the High Court of the Basque Country at the
accusation of ‘refusing’ to follow a court order to remove the
political party Sozialista Abertzaleak (that exists of
parliamentarians of the outlawed Batasuna) from parliament. It
has also to be reviewed whether it was right to give the
Sozialista Abertzaleak financial support (that will be punishable
in the new proposal of the PP about prohibiting the referendum),
something all parties have a right to. After 12 hours of
elaboration for the High Court, Atutxa stood at his right decision:
“Parliamentarians who make a fraction, don’t represent a party,
but their voters. That’s why you can’t remove them”. The Court
has still to decide.
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At The 4th of December French antiterrorist units near Mony-
de-Marsan arrest Ibon Fernández de Iradi, Garazi Aldana and
Patxi Abad. They are accused of ‘co-operating with the
leadership of ETA’. Iradi was arrested at the 19th of December
2002 in Baiona, but escaped 3 days later through the ventilation
system of the police station there.
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In Durango thousands of people demonstrate at the 6th of
December behind the slogan ‘Bai Euskal Herriari’ (Yes to the
Basque Country) for the right on self-determination for the
Basque Country.
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