1. Basque political prisoners and arrests

   Mikel Albisu, pointed out 'leader of ETA' by the Spanish and French state, which was arrested at the 3rd of October in France, is accused by the French justice of 'organisation and leadership of an armed group, possession of firearms, fabrication of bombs, possession of forged documents and stolen goods.' Some of these accusations were just added recently to the file, so that Albisu and his girlfriend Soledat Iparragirre could be sent in front of the special court. Spain won't ask for his extradition because Albisu cannot be trialed for the same delict again. Albisu was one of the ETA-members with whom ERC-topfigure Carod-Rovira had talks that lead to a ceasefire of ETA in Catalonia. Soledad Iparragirre probably will be extradited to Spain by use of the International arrestwarrant.

   Six of the Basques that were arrested on 6th and 7th of October were released on 9th of October. José Ramon Unanuem (43), Aimar Guzon (27) en Ascension Canellada (62) are free. Arantza Sanchez (47) en Aimar Aiertza (26) didn't even have to show up in front of the investigative judge after their short detention, eventhough they were accused 'of being ready to join ETA'. Aimar Aiertza, like all others, talked about being tortured. He nearly fainted 3 times after the notorious 'Bolsa' was used on him, a plastic bag that is put over the head until near-suffociation, and he received blows by the Guardia Civil to the stomach and kneecaps.

   José Luis Beotegi stays 4 days in isolationdetention before he is transfered to Madrid. He was abused in his cell, one of the methods used was the above mentioned 'Bolsa'. Beotegi is accused of 'membership in an armed organisation' and 'collecting revolutionary tax as a middleman'. He is accused of giving shelter to ETA members as well.

   The arrestants of 3rd of October are dispersed through the whole of France; Lourdes Urdanpilleta is sent to Saint Ettiene, Robert Arranbide to Fresnes, Mikel Albisu to Moulins, Soledad Iparragirre to Bordeaux, Benoit Arricau, José Ramon Arano and Mirian Incabi to Poitiers, Peio Sebielle to Nantes, Mikel Negrete to Fleury, Xabi Oxarango to Chateauroux, the location of Maryse Lavie is still unknown. On October 19th the daughter of Mikel Negrete, Estebeni, is arrested in Pau, France, and held for 2 days in isolationdetention.

   1500 people demontrate on the 10th of October in Hendaia against the wave of arrests during the first week of October. The slogan on the headbanner says 'Erreprisionair stop, utzi Euskal Herria bakean' (Stop the repression, leave the Basque country alone) In Irun and other cities hundreds of people demonstrated. The Guardia Civil closed the border between Gipuzkoa and Lapurdi, one of the 3 Basque provinces in France.

   Despite of indications by the new Spanish governement, ruled by the social democrats of the PSOE, to give Basque political prisonenrs the possibility again to join the Basque education program of the University of the Basque country, the restrictions that were applied 1 year ago by the PP, stay valid. Despite the decision of the central governement in Madrid, the Basque governement thinks that this study should be made available for prisoners.

   The left-republican party ERC declares on the 12th of October that it will take 'initiatives' to bring the 17 Catalan political prisoners to catalan prisons. 5 of the 17 are accused of collaboration with ETA: Laura Riera and Diego Sanchez,that are imprisonned in Soto del Real in Madrid, Zigor Larredona (Albacete), Dolores Lopez i Resina (Fresnes) and Juanra Rodriquez, which was extradited by the Netherlands to Spain and is still detained in Soto del Real in Madrid.

   Finally there is proces-date for the German Gabriele Kanze, after being in imprisonmnet on remand for 2,5 years and 10 years of prosecution by the Spanish justice: 29th of november. Kanze is accused of 'possession of firearms and explosives' and 'collaboration with ETA'. These accusations are based on a statement by Felipe San Epifanio, pressed under torture in april 1994. The 48 years old Kanze became a teacher in 1993 in Barcelona and was renting and appartement there. She changed her plans and in april 1994 she returned to Germany, where she stayed until 2002. Her husband, Benjamin Ramos Vega, was arrested in Berlin in 1995 and extradited one year later to Spain to be convicted of 'supporting an ETA-commando' one year later.Kanze was extradited in 2003 by Switzerland, in which she was arrested in march 2002. She is threatend by a 20-years sentence. All based on a testimony forced by torture, a method condemmed by international law-institutions and seen as invalid for use in a trial. Meanwhile a delegation is formed, consisting of journalists, human-rights-activists, lawyers and jurist to monitor the trial in Madrid.

   On 13th of October the trial against Paolo Elkoro took place. The 30 years old Basque was extradited by Germany to Spain one year ago. 3 days were 'reserved' for the trial, but both parties quickly agreed that Elkoro had to stay in prison for 3 years.During the trial at the Audencia Nacional Elkorro was accused of transporting 2 ETA-members in his car and not of 'ETA-membership' and 'taking part in a bomb attack' as was stated before. Even that accusation was dropped after a 'deal' was offered to Elkoro and his defence: 5 years of prison in exchange for pleading guilty of collaboration with ETA. After Elkoro had denied this deal, the public prosecutor lowered the accusation to 'attempted collaboration' for which a maximum sentence of 3 years is standing. That sounded attractive to Elkoro,who already spent 2 years in extraditiondetention and he accepted. If he would have dendied this deal as well the demand would have become 8 years. This is not the first time that a trial where evidence has to be presented against the accused is avoided by the public prosecutor in such a way. The Catalan Juanra was offered such a 'deal' as well. The German justice probaly was delighted; An asquittal would have manouvered them into a difficult position since they deported Elkoro without any evidence.

   The organisation of familymembers of Basque political prisoners 'Etxereat' (Back home) published some statistics: Of the 689 detained Basque political prisoners only 12 are located in the Basque country. 539 are detained in Spain, 150 in France. The average distance that family members have to cross for a visit in France is 795 kilometers. In Spain that is 611 km.

   On 5th of november the case of Filipe Bidart, a member of the armed organisation 'Iparretarrak' ('The ones of the North', founded in 1973) will be reopened.On 26th of October a 1000 signed petitions(including 20 mayors) demanding the freedom of Bidart,which is in prison for 17 years already and according to French law is ready to be released,are offered. In 1992 Bidart was sentenced to life.

2. News from the ranks of the Basque and Spanish government

   Herebye a correction on the article published in BIC-newsletter NR.4 about the disapperance of the memorialplate of the Basque young men Joxean Lasa and Joxi Zabala,which were murdered in 1983. On October 1st the discovery was made that the tombstone in the graveyard in Tolosa had disappeared. That event took place at about the same time as the release of their murderer, former civil guard general Rodriquez Galindo. The plate in Tolosa was placed there because the the family of the 2 deceased found no place else to remember them until 1995 when the mortal remains of Lasa and Zabala were found.

   De Basque minister Joseba Azkarrage made a statement about the 21 arrests of October 3rd. He called the operation against ETA 'important and positive', but added that 'it would be an illusion to think that an organisation that has an important social base in Basque society can be beaten only by police and juridical measures. The PNV-representative within the Spanish governement ,Begoña Lasagabaster, says as well that 'the conflict has to be solved by a democratic, political way'. Arnaldo Otegi, the spokesman of Batasuna, says that 'not ETA is the problem but that fact that the Basque country is not allowed to decide by itself. The social and political majority wants a different political statut and cannot be stopped'.

   The Italian ex-president Frasesco Cossiga is visiting the Basque minister of justice in Bilbo beginning of October. He is critisising the release of Galindo, whom he calls a 'vulgar murderer'. He claims as well that Galindo brough the drugs to the Basque country. According to him the dispersion of political prisoners is 'torture for the familymembers that will contribute to a victory of ETA'.

   On October 19th Rafael Vera, former state-secretary of security,is sentenced to 7.5 years of prison because of 'egoistic waste' of 3.8 million euro of taxmoney during the period of 1987 - 1993. Vera transfered money to members of the GAL, the 'Grupos Anitterroristas por la Liberacion', which fought a dirty war against the Basques.(see here for more information ). Rodríguez Colorado,former secretary general of the Spanish police and the former direcotr of state security,Julían Sancristóbal,were convicted for the same facts as well. The 3 men were behing bars already for their activities within GAL. Vera was in prison for 10 years because of the kidnapping of the Basque Seguno Marey,that was seen as the first GAL-action, but he was released already again after 8,5 month. In case that he has to go back to prison, he threatens to reveal more names that can be brought into relation with the GAL-affair. Keypersons like ex-president Felipe Gonzalez ask to drop the charges against him directly and hope that Vera will shut up.

   On October 20th prime-minister Zapatero says that he will submit a proposal to abolish the law that makes it possible to ban a referendum. The PP,which initiated the law during their reign, called his initative 'a big mistake' and warned of 'a referendum that could lead to separation'.

3. Initiatives from Euskal Herria to come to a political solution of the conflict

   On October 12th, 2000 people gather in Iruña to demonstrate against the presence of the Spanish armed forces in the Basque country. The protest is a consequence amongst others of far reaching military manouvres and exercise bombardmens of the Spanish army in Naffaroa.

   On October 16th 160 people protest at the city hall of Andoain and read out a statement inside in which they demand the seats of the left-wing independence movemement. During the elections in 2003 245 local leftwing independent election platforms were banned. Those seats were demanded by the winners of these shadow-elections. The protesters say that the parties that are present now protested against the law that banned Batasuna, but are the profitators of the same law by taking these seats. So 'No political apartheid' was one of the main slogans.

   The Basque peacegroup Elkarri presents its points, that according to them should lead to dialog. Respect for human rights, no exclusion of no one, right for assembly, pluralism and relation between the 3 Basque political administrations, the Basque Autonomous Community, Naffaroa and the Northern Basque country in France. Elkarri recognises that this is the first step and goes on with its work, the second fase is the publishing of rapports about the political situation, based on talks with all political parties.

   The Basque left nationalist tradeunion LAB calls for economical self-determination during a demonstration in Bilbao against the closure of a dockyard on October 23rd. Six Basque parlamentarians in the Northern-Basque country (France), that are seated in the Département des Pyrénées Atlantiques, support the initiative of the organisation Batera to call up for a referendum to setup an own political administration. Batera is pushing the initiative since the promises of Paris 'to have a look at it' seemded empty. According to the law it is possible to setup 2 administrations (Basque country and Biarn). If this is declined, Batasuna will gather signature to enforce a referendum.

   On October 27th Theo van Boven, special reporter for human right group of the United Nations, speaks in the Spanish parliament about the torture of Basque arrestants which he found out. (See here for Van Bovens Rapport).Van Boven related the torture to the question of self-determination as they are actual in the Basque country and in Kurdistan.

   SEGI,the banned Basque youth organisation, starts a campain of 'civil disobeydiance' against the French and Spanish state on 27th of October. The campaing focuses around the right of self-determination and is finished end of the year. On november 11th is a nation wide action day.

4. Aftermath 11 March/attacks in Madrid

   On October 20th on Spanish TV and in some Spanish newspapers, like El Mundo, keep repeating the thesis of the PP 'ETA as a complice of 11th of march' and keep providing 'evidence' to underline that. On TV these rumors are steadily accompanied by fotos of arrested 'ETA-members'. A Moroccan man that lived in Iruña is called a 'Morroccan of Basque origin' and in El Mundo anonymous spokespeople of the Morroccan secret-service are listed that declare that the arrested terrorists planned to buy dynamite of ETA and that 'the arrestants made contact with ETA-prisoners to buy dynamite'.Other sources are guards of the Topas prison in Salamanca that say that Afif Said, the leader of the group that planned to blow up the Spanish high court in Madrid, 'had good relations with José Manuel Errazkin,an ETA-prisonner'.

5. Repression

   On October 10th the activist Ibai Ederra of the group 'Solidarios con Itoiz' was transferred from the prison in Iruña to Zuera in Zaragoze. Edera is one of the 8 activists that cut the cables of the dam in construction in Itoiz in 1996. Ederra is victim now of the special isolation-system FIES.His new adress is Ibai Ederra, Centro Penitenciario de Zuera, Ctra. Nac. 330, km 539 50298, Zuera, Zaragoza,Spain. Beginning of October facts were published that 175 earthshockes that occured in Naffaroa during the last 3 month were a consequence of filling the dam of Itoiz.

   Fransisco Etxeberria-Gabilondo,a forensic doctor,published his opinion about the torture of Unai Romano,whose pictures went across the globe in 2001, on 12th of October. The doctor made his conclusion based on all investigations of Romano. One of the things he concluded was that the wounds on his head were not inflicted by a single blow, as the defence of the Guardia Civil agents wanted to make the world belive.

   On October 14th, Arkaitz Arroyo and Aitor Urtasun, 2 Basque youngster that were arrested around Bilbao in October 2002, are convicted. They were hold in isolation detention for 4 days and claimed that they were tortured in this time. Afterwards they remained in prison. A third Basque young man, Alberto Bonilla, handed himself over to the police and stayed in prison for 6 month. The demands against them were 18 years because they were found guilty of burning the blinds of the PNV party office in Portugalete. Today in court an agreement was made after the young men pleaded guilty on the charges ('terrorist dammage'). The charges were reduced to 3 years for Urtasun and Arroyo and to 2 years for Bonilla. A fine of 7845 euro was added. The defence complained that such delicts would be punished with a dammage compensation in other countries.

   On 19th of October the Basque cooks Juan Mari Arzak and Pedro Subijana are summond in front of the Audiencia Nacional in Madrid as witnesses about 'possible payment of revolutinary taxes to ETA'. These accusations were said to be made by José Luis Beotegi,which claims to be tortured during his 5-days incommunicado detention. Two other cooks are named as well,Karlos Argiñano and Martin Berasategi, and will possibly be summond by the Audiencia Nacional. Arzak and Subijana could return home afterwards. The whole question stirred up a lot of dust in the Basque country, that is known for his exquisite kitchen and in which cooks are valued and respected people.

   On October 20th, 3 young Basques are arrested by the the Basque regional police Ertzaintza and accused of streetviolence in the year 2000.

   The Basque Haritz Tortorika is arrested on 25th of October in Santutxu. He stayed in incommunicado-detention for 5 days and after seeing a judge (who was unaccessible for his lawyer) was transfered to a prison of an unknown location. His incommunicado status was not lifted. He was mistreated in his cell and could walk only with the aid of crutches. According to the public prosecutor Tortorika 'helped ETA'.

   Maria Teresa Juarro (30) was arrested nearby Tarbes in France after her car was searched. She run off and after a persecution and a shoot-out she was arrested. Another woman managed to escape. According to French police both of them belonged to ETA.

   On October 29th, Amaia Urizar (22) was arrested by the Guardia Civil. Later on the day they want to arrest the former prisoner Kepa Suarez as well, but he is not at home.

   Next year, on february 20th, finally the trial against the leftwing-independence movement should start in the mega-investigation of 'superjudge' Baltasar Garzon. The prosuction includes KAS, Orain (the company that produced the paper EGIN), Xaki, Ekin, Joxemi Zumalabe and investigation journalist Pepe Rei. 60 people are prosecuted in total. We wrote reguarly about this subject in our newsletter, but we advise everyone to order the outstanding publication of Behatokia via de shop on our website.

   

6. Attacks and statements of ETA

   On 27th of October an ETA-statement is delivered to some Basque media. The statement was issued in september of this year, just befor the arrest wave beginning of October. ETA says that 'the conflict must be solved by means of dialog, negotiations and agreements' and that the time has come 'to walk new ways'. ETA said to be ready to 'give everything in such a trial.' There was no mentioning of attacks or struggle.

7. The Basque language

   On October the 4th 120.000 Basques marched between the villages Orio and Zarautz. The profit made with the annualy 'Kilometroak' goes to the Ikastola's, the Basque schools.

   The Basque organistaion Kontseilua,that is struggling for the Basque language, is critisizing the 'plan Ibarretxe'. According to them there is not enough guarantiy for the 'normalisation' of the Basque language and that 'linguistic rights' are not guaranteed.

8. Summary debate 9th of October, Melkweg, Amsterdam

   On saturday 9th of October the whole of the Melkweg was the scene of various topics about the Basque country. Different aspects of the country were shown, like politics, sports, media and of course the famous Basque kitchen. On 13.00 the movietheater of the Melkweg was filling with people that wanted to see La Pelota Vasca of Julio Medem and that wanted to hear what the director Koldo Zuazua had to say. A very diverse audience as seemed later. Germans, Dutch, Basques, Spanjards, Catalans, Irish and English. First the teacher Jonan Koraga gave a lecture about the Basque language.What follows is summary of his introduction. A summary of the political debate organised by the BIC and the story of Zuazua and the summary of the eveningparty are to be followed in the paper edition of the Euskal Herria Newsletter that will be published later this year. The origin of the Basque language is still a big discussion between linguists. There are theories of connections between Caucasian languages and the language of the Berber in North-Africa. But none of the theories are really fitting. The Basque language is by centuries dominated by Romans, Goths, French and so further. The first publications in Basque was the bible in the 16th century. That is a consequence of the close relation of the language to the catholic and protestant church. There was no gorvernement that protected the language nor was there a standartd version of it. The first radio station in Basque started in the 19th century. After the Spanish civil war in the 30's of the last century a hard time for the Basque language began. Just in the 60's the Euskara Batua,the standardisation of the different Basque dialects was reintroduced and the illegal schools, the Ikastolas, were continuously build up. It was in this period of time that a lot of songs and stories war 'recovered'. After the disapperance of the Franco-dictatorship the AEK, an institiution for Basque adult education, was founded. In 1997 Kontseilula, an organisation to defend the linguistic rights for the Basque people (there are 700'000 Basque-speakers) was set up. Newspapers, magazines and publishers based on the Basque language arose and it could be said that that Basque language had sufficient instruments to ensure its survival. But the Basque language is seen as a politcal instrument by the Spanish and the French state and heavy prosecution is used against initatives that flourish. In France the Basque language is not even seen as a minority language; in fact it does not even exist. In the juridical system in the autonomous regions (the provinces of Gipuzkoa, Bizkaia and Araba) Basque is not spoken. During school education everyone is obliged to learn Spanish, but Basque is a subject of joyce. There exist Basque media: EiTB is the television station in Basque and there are different radio stations. In Naffaroa there is a mixed zone and a complete Spanish zone. There the Basque language (and actually every kind of Basque expression) is under permanent attack of the local Partido Popular presidend Sanz. There is no difference between male and female in Basque by the way and the language is very connected to nature.

Colofon:

Next to this digital issue of the BIC-newsletter the goold old paper version of the Euskal Herria newsletter is issued a couple of times a year, with more space for detail, backgroundinformation, analyses, discussions, book reviews and so on. You can reveive a paper copy for free at home if you provide your adress here. On the same email adress you can subscribe yourself to our mailinglist (maximum 3 mails a month). By doing so you receive our pressstatements as well. We are pleased to receive your comment on the digital BIC-newsletter.