NEWS

OVERVIEW EVENTS BASQUE COUNTRY NR 35, period 1st until 24th of January

Following the plans for more autonomy from the Basque and Catalan governments, the president of Andalusia, Manuel Chaves, announces also reforms of the autonomous regions for more economic and fiscal independence. Other noticeable news; the number of tourists for the Basque Country was never as high as in 2003: most of the visitors are from other regions in Spain (70%), with Madrid on top. Another investigation points out that de youth-unemployment in the Basque Country (and also in Andalusia) slightly dropped (but remained very high), but the unemployment under women rose, as well as the number of temporary contracts. Only 8 on 100 contracts are from unlimited time.
In the last overview we published the annual figures of traffic accidents of people visiting Basque political prisoners; unfortunately the figures of 21 heavily wounded and 3 deaths are old already; at the 20th of December 5 family-members and friends, who travelled 1000 km for a visit, suffered a severe accident. At the 29th of December 2 family-members of the Basque prisoner Agustin Almaraz are having a car crash near Burgos, which leaves them heavily wounded.
At the 30th of December the truck driver Jose Juan Alkorta Eizagirre is deadly wounded in the docks of Pasaia, raising the figure of death casualties due to bad or dangerous circumstances in the South of the Basque Country to 137.
At the 1st of January thousands of people protest in various cities and towns for the transfer of Basque political prisoners to prisons in the Basque Country, so they can participate in the political process in the Basque Country. In the Christmas holidays there were numerous actions, parties, protests, car-caravans etc.
In Donostia the Ezker Abertzale, the left Basques, announce at the 2nd of January that they will file 25.000 complaints at the UN against the Spanish state for violating the political and civil rights of Basques. Every year since the transition there are at least 1000 complaints. The violations are f.e. “the nuclear plant at Lemoiz, the membership of NATO, the actions of GAL, the murder on Joxi Zabala and Joxean Lasa, the closing of the newspapers Egin and Egunkaria, the banning of political parties, the attacks on the Basque flag, the use of torture, the political apartheid suffered by the left in the Basque Country and the dispersion of the Basque political prisoners”. Until the end of February they will work on the document; in May the Spanish representatives at the UN have to answer numerous complaints about human right violations in the Spanish state.
At the 3rd of January around 18.000 people demonstrate in the pouring rain in Bilbo for the transfer of the Basque political prisoners to the Basque Country, so they can participate in the process of self-determination.
From the 5th until the 10th of January 150 members of the prison help organisation Etxerat travel around Europe with a hunger strike, demonstrations, actions, films, meetings and press- conferences to ask for attention for the situation of the Basque political prisoners. In Barcelona, Berlin, Brussels, Gent, Copenhagen, Geneva, Milan and Paris they speak with representatives from the political and human rights sphere. At the last day of their hunger strike a delegation of Etxerat is welcomed at Barcelona by the Catalan president Ernest Benach, which trigger a lot of protest from the governing PP and groups of victims of terrorism. Benacht asked attention for the ‘Virreina Manifesto’, in which 65 groups ask for an end of the dispersion and isolation of the Basque prisoners. A report of the action week in Brussels, with lots of pictures, and the support of f.e. the Flemish left part Spirit, who condemned the dispersion of the prisoners openly, can be found on http://members.lycos.nl/basqueactionweek/
Another accident of a family-member of a Basque political prisoner; at the 6th of January the father and grandmother of Sergio Errazkin, who is 600 km from the Basque Country in the prison of Alcázar de San Juan, suffer an accident near their home. Their car is total-loss, but both are not injured.
At the 7th of January the Basque political prisoner Alexander Akkaregi is extradited unexpected by the Netherlands to Spain. Justice minister Donner didn’t feel for the appeal Alexander wanted to file against his decision to extradite and sent him a letter during the holidays, with Alexanders lawyer out of office. Donner made himself popular by the Spanish authorities with this action. Alexander was imprisoned in Alcalá Meco in Madrid. Until now he is treated well, given the circumstances, and he is together in a cell with Aurken Sola, who is there without accusation since March 2002. More about Alexanders extradition and his trial
In Donostia lately in the surroundings of the Spanish military barracks in the neighboorhoud Loiola there appear more and more anti-Basque slogans; especially on the premises of left Basques you can find lyrics as ‘None of you would exist, if Paco (dictator Fransisco Franco) would be alive. Cheer for Spain!’.
In Baiona the trial of 8th January against 63 demonstrators ended in chaos when the police used teargas and batons to evict the courtroom. The 63 were arrested 2 months ago when they played the Basque card game Mus on the railway tracks between Hendaia and Baiona out of protest against the refusal of the SNCF to let the Basque language be present on the train. In the courtroom the judge refused to let a Basque interpreter in and suspended the case, after that the police evicted the courtroom. Several people were injured.
At the 19th of December Jose Atanes Rodriguez was shot in the head at the highway near Alegia. An Ertzaintza, a Basque police officer, who reported to a car-accident, would have fired the shot accidentally according to an official statement of the Basque government. After that he fought with a Basque youngster and the shot was fired. At the 9th of January Edurne Cornejo, the girlfriend of Atanes however revealed that there hadn’t been a fight and that she witnessed from her car what happened; Atanes had to kneel down and the Ertzaintza shot him through the head from behind.
In Lisbon 13 Basques of the action group Zuzen Ekintza Taldea have to appear in court at the 9th of January and hear a demand of 5 year in cell being spoken against them. During the visit of Aznar to Portugal in 2000 the 13 demonstrated in favour of the Basque political prisoners and two paint bombs were thrown.
At the 12th of January Amnesty International accused some EU- members. According to them the EU-countries cann’t criticize other countries, if EU-countries themselves violate human rights. Amnesty judges that several countries threat their arrested badly and the Spanish war against ETA is far out of the way according to Amnesty: “The EU-human rights machine is loosing steam”, Amnesty director Dick Oosting said. “It’s not enough that the EU preaches human rights outside Europa. They have to watch first their own countries as well.”
At the 12th of January in Caracas, Venezuela, the Basque community and their friends protest against the repressive politics of the Spanish state against the Basque political prisoners. They say that the high number of 700 Basque prisoners would count for 10.000 prisoners of Venezuela, given the amount of inhabitants.
At the prison of Martutene in Donostia Manu Azkarate is arrested at the 14th of January, when he reports to the prison directive after a court order. Azkarate was released in 1992 on medical grounds, but the Spanish Audiencia Nacional decided that he should sit out the rest of his punishment. Since his arrest, Azkarate refuses to take food and water and had to be taken in hospital after 2 days with severe dehydration.
In Tolosa the Basque José Luis Areizaga Aranbarri is arrested on orders of judge Garzón at the 15th of January. Eight months earlier this also happened and after his hearing by Garzon he was released without charges. Aranbarri is suspected of having paid ‘revolutionary tax’ to ETA.
At the same day a manifest called ‘Eutsi aukerari’ (Use the opportunity!) is presented in Donosti, to call for a unified list of candidates of all Basque parties for the coming elections of the 14th of March. Among others the musicians Benito Lertxundi and Fermín Muguruza signed the manifest.
At the 16th of January the highest Spanish body, the Constitutional Court, acknowledges the banning on the Basque political party Batasuna and her predecessors Herri Batasuna and Euskal Herritarrok. The Spanish High Court decided at the 17th of March 2003 these 3 illegal. The whole procedure was in high-speed record, after the new Law on Parties was adopted in the summer of 2002. The Constitutional Court only took 4 days for their verdict, making the first banning of a political party since the Franco-era official. In France Batasuna is still legal, minister of Internal Affairs Sarkozy is waiting further procedures. Batasuna now takes her case to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg. Here you can read an analyses of the ban on Batasuna.
The new band of the Basque musician Fermin Muguruza ‘Kontrabanda’ is also hit by a ban; twice in Madrid, and in Valencia and Borriana. Just like last year, when he toured with Manu Chao. Official reason was the fact that fascist groups would attack the concert, but when the owner of the concert- hall in Borriana refused to cancel, he had to report to the Guardia Civil and the major and was threatened with closure. Muguruza is accused over a long period of ‘calling for terrorism’. In Madrid earlier this week the concerts of Berri Txarak and Leihotikan were banned. The socialist regio government of Andalusia tried to ban Muguruza’s concert in Cordoba, but with support of the local city council the sold-out concert moved ahead. In Merida the concert went through also, despite pressure from the regio government of Extremadura, although there was a protest of 12 people, among them plain- clothes police, at the entrance. Muguruza will also play in Amsterdam, at the 19th of February. Check here for European tour-data.
The Spanish government wants to start filling the lake at the weir of Itoiz, despite the fact that there will be a verdict of the European Court for Human Rights soon. There is also an investigation into the security of the walls of the weir.
The ‘plan-Ibarretxe’ is making headlines also this period. The PNV is accused from all sites in the Basque Country that they are going for electoral win by putting aside all proposals for a joined list for the elections. Batasuna is angry because the PNV misses the golden opportunity from ETA on a cease-fire and now also Euskadi Elkartasuna (EA) trashed the idea of a left list with Batasuna and now goes into partnership with Aralar, a split from Batasuna, to prevent itself from drifting to far away from the PNV. As it looks now, up to 20% of the Basque people are not able to vote what they want coming elections. Ibarretxe himself said that he would stay determined to hold a referendum. The government of Naffaroa (UPN, the PP’s local branch and the CDN, the Democrats in Naffaroa) however appealed at the Spanish Constitutional Court and the Basque High Court against the ‘plan-Ibarretxe’, because it would be against the Spanish constitution and the region-statutes of Naffaroa. On the other side in Naffaroa there was founded a unified list of Aralar, EA, EAJ and Batzarre (party of left Basques in Naffaroa) for the elections, called ‘Naffaroa Bai’ (Yes).
Then there was a small riot about an old map that was used by the French section of Batasuna at the Social Forum in Paris at the end of last year. At this map, which takes Germany as ‘future of the Europe from the people’, had been criticized before of the right wing assumption and was withdrawn by Batasuna. Joseba Alvarez, parliamentarian and Foreign Affairs responsible for Batasuna, apologizes to the left movement in Germany and Flanders: “Because of the campaign of the Spanish secret service and the Madrid press to portray Basques as nazi’s and racists, we are often asked if we cooperate with the Italian Lega Nord or the Belgian Vlaams Blok. Of course not! Batasuna has a leftwing character; we are against fascism, racism and an ethnic definition of people and resist the neo- liberal globalisation. We defend the right on self-determination of people. The own language, culture and a collective identity and the plurality in common, a leftwing person should defend that against the state, the neo-liberalism and capitalism”. (…) “The map is wrong and only confuses people.” (…) “Of course there is a difference between people and a state, it’s the state who violates the rights of different people inside their borders.” (…) “The map shows an Europe divided in language-areas, and must not be seen as a political blueprint of Europe”. (…) “With this map we wanted to show a plural alternative against the capitalist states.”
The International Basque Organisation (IBO) for human rights campaigns for the 6 Basques who are in prison in Mexico since the summer of 2003. According to IBO the accusations are false, the 6 should have a right to defend themselves and the procedure should be limited within international standards. The Spanish judge Garzón accuses them of being ‘part of ETA’ and that they laundered money and that there was found incriminating material in their houses, a videotape and computer documents. According to the 6 the videotape is a documentary about the Basque Country and the money transfers are from family members who sold property. Other money was for their return to the Basque Country, they even bought the tickets already. IBO thinks that extradition on this accusations is impossible, especially when the 6 would be imprisoned in Madrid, were they have a risk of suffering torture during the incommunicado-detention. IBO calls for protest at the Mexican ambassador in the US Juan José Bremer and the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights in the US. Here is a petition online.
At the 24th of January it becomes public that the highest prosecutor of the Spanish National Court, Eduardo Fungairiño pressured the judge Guillermo Ruiz Polanco not to drop the case against the directive of the Basque Television EiTB, something Polanco was intended to do. At the 15th of May last year EiTB footaged a documentary in which ETA appeared was accused of ‘glorifying terrorism’. The board denied that they made ‘a statement in support of ETA’ and declared that they had worked within the borders of journalism. Despite Polanco thought there was no crime committed, the case is continued anyhow.

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OVERVIEW EVENTS BASQUE COUNTRY NR 35, period 1st until 24th of January
Following the plans for more autonomy from the Basque and Catalan governments, the president of Andalusia, Manuel Chaves, announces also reforms of the autonomous regions for more economic and fiscal independence. Other noticeable news; the number of tourists for the Basque Country was never as high as in 2003: most of the visitors are from other regions in Spain (70%), with Madrid on top. Another investigation points out that de youth-unemployment in the Basque Country (and also in Andalusia) slightly dropped (but remained very high), but the unemployment under women rose, as well as the number of temporary contracts. Only 8 on 100 contracts are from unlimited time. In the last overview we published the annual figures of traffic accidents of people visiting Basque political prisoners; unfortunately the figures of 21 heavily wounded and 3 deaths are old already; at the 20th of December 5 family-members and friends, who travelled 1000 km for a visit, suffered a severe accident. At the 29th of December 2 family-members of the Basque prisoner Agustin Almaraz are having a car crash near Burgos, which leaves them heavily wounded. At the 30th of December the truck driver Jose Juan Alkorta Eizagirre is deadly wounded in the docks of Pasaia, raising the figure of death casualties due to bad or dangerous circumstances in the South of the Basque Country to 137. At the 1st of January thousands of people protest in various cities and towns for the transfer of Basque political prisoners to prisons in the Basque Country, so they can participate in the political process in the Basque Country. In the Christmas holidays there were numerous actions, parties, protests, car-caravans etc. In Donostia the Ezker Abertzale, the left Basques, announce at the 2nd of January that they will file 25.000 complaints at the UN against the Spanish state for violating the political and civil rights of Basques. Every year since the transition there are at least 1000 complaints. The violations are f.e. “the nuclear plant at Lemoiz, the membership of NATO, the actions of GAL, the murder on Joxi Zabala and Joxean Lasa, the closing of the newspapers Egin and Egunkaria, the banning of political parties, the attacks on the Basque flag, the use of torture, the political apartheid suffered by the left in the Basque Country and the dispersion of the Basque political prisoners”. Until the end of February they will work on the document; in May the Spanish representatives at the UN have to answer numerous complaints about human right violations in the Spanish state. At the 3rd of January around 18.000 people demonstrate in the pouring rain in Bilbo for the transfer of the Basque political prisoners to the Basque Country, so they can participate in the process of self-determination. From the 5th until the 10th of January 150 members of the prison help organisation Etxerat travel around Europe with a hunger strike, demonstrations, actions, films, meetings and press- conferences to ask for attention for the situation of the Basque political prisoners. In Barcelona, Berlin, Brussels, Gent, Copenhagen, Geneva, Milan and Paris they speak with representatives from the political and human rights sphere. At the last day of their hunger strike a delegation of Etxerat is welcomed at Barcelona by the Catalan president Ernest Benach, which trigger a lot of protest from the governing PP and groups of victims of terrorism. Benacht asked attention for the ‘Virreina Manifesto’, in which 65 groups ask for an end of the dispersion and isolation of the Basque prisoners. A report of the action week in Brussels, with lots of pictures, and the support of f.e. the Flemish left part Spirit, who condemned the dispersion of the prisoners openly, can be found on http://members.lycos.nl/basqueactionweek/ Another accident of a family-member of a Basque political prisoner; at the 6th of January the father and grandmother of Sergio Errazkin, who is 600 km from the Basque Country in the prison of Alcázar de San Juan, suffer an accident near their home. Their car is total-loss, but both are not injured. At the 7th of January the Basque political prisoner Alexander Akkaregi is extradited unexpected by the Netherlands to Spain. Justice minister Donner didn’t feel for the appeal Alexander wanted to file against his decision to extradite and sent him a letter during the holidays, with Alexanders lawyer out of office. Donner made himself popular by the Spanish authorities with this action. Alexander was imprisoned in Alcalá Meco in Madrid. Until now he is treated well, given the circumstances, and he is together in a cell with Aurken Sola, who is there without accusation since March 2002. More about Alexanders extradition and his trial In Donostia lately in the surroundings of the Spanish military barracks in the neighboorhoud Loiola there appear more and more anti-Basque slogans; especially on the premises of left Basques you can find lyrics as ‘None of you would exist, if Paco (dictator Fransisco Franco) would be alive. Cheer for Spain!’. In Baiona the trial of 8th January against 63 demonstrators ended in chaos when the police used teargas and batons to evict the courtroom. The 63 were arrested 2 months ago when they played the Basque card game Mus on the railway tracks between Hendaia and Baiona out of protest against the refusal of the SNCF to let the Basque language be present on the train. In the courtroom the judge refused to let a Basque interpreter in and suspended the case, after that the police evicted the courtroom. Several people were injured. At the 19th of December Jose Atanes Rodriguez was shot in the head at the highway near Alegia. An Ertzaintza, a Basque police officer, who reported to a car-accident, would have fired the shot accidentally according to an official statement of the Basque government. After that he fought with a Basque youngster and the shot was fired. At the 9th of January Edurne Cornejo, the girlfriend of Atanes however revealed that there hadn’t been a fight and that she witnessed from her car what happened; Atanes had to kneel down and the Ertzaintza shot him through the head from behind. In Lisbon 13 Basques of the action group Zuzen Ekintza Taldea have to appear in court at the 9th of January and hear a demand of 5 year in cell being spoken against them. During the visit of Aznar to Portugal in 2000 the 13 demonstrated in favour of the Basque political prisoners and two paint bombs were thrown. At the 12th of January Amnesty International accused some EU- members. According to them the EU-countries cann’t criticize other countries, if EU-countries themselves violate human rights. Amnesty judges that several countries threat their arrested badly and the Spanish war against ETA is far out of the way according to Amnesty: “The EU-human rights machine is loosing steam”, Amnesty director Dick Oosting said. “It’s not enough that the EU preaches human rights outside Europa. They have to watch first their own countries as well.” At the 12th of January in Caracas, Venezuela, the Basque community and their friends protest against the repressive politics of the Spanish state against the Basque political prisoners. They say that the high number of 700 Basque prisoners would count for 10.000 prisoners of Venezuela, given the amount of inhabitants. At the prison of Martutene in Donostia Manu Azkarate is arrested at the 14th of January, when he reports to the prison directive after a court order. Azkarate was released in 1992 on medical grounds, but the Spanish Audiencia Nacional decided that he should sit out the rest of his punishment. Since his arrest, Azkarate refuses to take food and water and had to be taken in hospital after 2 days with severe dehydration. In Tolosa the Basque José Luis Areizaga Aranbarri is arrested on orders of judge Garzón at the 15th of January. Eight months earlier this also happened and after his hearing by Garzon he was released without charges. Aranbarri is suspected of having paid ‘revolutionary tax’ to ETA. At the same day a manifest called ‘Eutsi aukerari’ (Use the opportunity!) is presented in Donosti, to call for a unified list of candidates of all Basque parties for the coming elections of the 14th of March. Among others the musicians Benito Lertxundi and Fermín Muguruza signed the manifest. At the 16th of January the highest Spanish body, the Constitutional Court, acknowledges the banning on the Basque political party Batasuna and her predecessors Herri Batasuna and Euskal Herritarrok. The Spanish High Court decided at the 17th of March 2003 these 3 illegal. The whole procedure was in high-speed record, after the new Law on Parties was adopted in the summer of 2002. The Constitutional Court only took 4 days for their verdict, making the first banning of a political party since the Franco-era official. In France Batasuna is still legal, minister of Internal Affairs Sarkozy is waiting further procedures. Batasuna now takes her case to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg. Here you can read an analyses of the ban on Batasuna. The new band of the Basque musician Fermin Muguruza ‘Kontrabanda’ is also hit by a ban; twice in Madrid, and in Valencia and Borriana. Just like last year, when he toured with Manu Chao. Official reason was the fact that fascist groups would attack the concert, but when the owner of the concert- hall in Borriana refused to cancel, he had to report to the Guardia Civil and the major and was threatened with closure. Muguruza is accused over a long period of ‘calling for terrorism’. In Madrid earlier this week the concerts of Berri Txarak and Leihotikan were banned. The socialist regio government of Andalusia tried to ban Muguruza’s concert in Cordoba, but with support of the local city council the sold-out concert moved ahead. In Merida the concert went through also, despite pressure from the regio government of Extremadura, although there was a protest of 12 people, among them plain- clothes police, at the entrance. Muguruza will also play in Amsterdam, at the 19th of February. Check here for European tour-data. The Spanish government wants to start filling the lake at the weir of Itoiz, despite the fact that there will be a verdict of the European Court for Human Rights soon. There is also an investigation into the security of the walls of the weir. The ‘plan-Ibarretxe’ is making headlines also this period. The PNV is accused from all sites in the Basque Country that they are going for electoral win by putting aside all proposals for a joined list for the elections. Batasuna is angry because the PNV misses the golden opportunity from ETA on a cease-fire and now also Euskadi Elkartasuna (EA) trashed the idea of a left list with Batasuna and now goes into partnership with Aralar, a split from Batasuna, to prevent itself from drifting to far away from the PNV. As it looks now, up to 20% of the Basque people are not able to vote what they want coming elections. Ibarretxe himself said that he would stay determined to hold a referendum. The government of Naffaroa (UPN, the PP’s local branch and the CDN, the Democrats in Naffaroa) however appealed at the Spanish Constitutional Court and the Basque High Court against the ‘plan-Ibarretxe’, because it would be against the Spanish constitution and the region-statutes of Naffaroa. On the other side in Naffaroa there was founded a unified list of Aralar, EA, EAJ and Batzarre (party of left Basques in Naffaroa) for the elections, called ‘Naffaroa Bai’ (Yes). Then there was a small riot about an old map that was used by the French section of Batasuna at the Social Forum in Paris at the end of last year. At this map, which takes Germany as ‘future of the Europe from the people’, had been criticized before of the right wing assumption and was withdrawn by Batasuna. Joseba Alvarez, parliamentarian and Foreign Affairs responsible for Batasuna, apologizes to the left movement in Germany and Flanders: “Because of the campaign of the Spanish secret service and the Madrid press to portray Basques as nazi’s and racists, we are often asked if we cooperate with the Italian Lega Nord or the Belgian Vlaams Blok. Of course not! Batasuna has a leftwing character; we are against fascism, racism and an ethnic definition of people and resist the neo- liberal globalisation. We defend the right on self-determination of people. The own language, culture and a collective identity and the plurality in common, a leftwing person should defend that against the state, the neo-liberalism and capitalism”. (…) “The map is wrong and only confuses people.” (…) “Of course there is a difference between people and a state, it’s the state who violates the rights of different people inside their borders.” (…) “The map shows an Europe divided in language-areas, and must not be seen as a political blueprint of Europe”. (…) “With this map we wanted to show a plural alternative against the capitalist states.” The International Basque Organisation (IBO) for human rights campaigns for the 6 Basques who are in prison in Mexico since the summer of 2003. According to IBO the accusations are false, the 6 should have a right to defend themselves and the procedure should be limited within international standards. The Spanish judge Garzón accuses them of being ‘part of ETA’ and that they laundered money and that there was found incriminating material in their houses, a videotape and computer documents. According to the 6 the videotape is a documentary about the Basque Country and the money transfers are from family members who sold property. Other money was for their return to the Basque Country, they even bought the tickets already. IBO thinks that extradition on this accusations is impossible, especially when the 6 would be imprisoned in Madrid, were they have a risk of suffering torture during the incommunicado-detention. IBO calls for protest at the Mexican ambassador in the US Juan José Bremer and the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights in the US. Here is a petition online. At the 24th of January it becomes public that the highest prosecutor of the Spanish National Court, Eduardo Fungairiño pressured the judge Guillermo Ruiz Polanco not to drop the case against the directive of the Basque Television EiTB, something Polanco was intended to do. At the 15th of May last year EiTB footaged a documentary in which ETA appeared was accused of ‘glorifying terrorism’. The board denied that they made ‘a statement in support of ETA’ and declared that they had worked within the borders of journalism. Despite Polanco thought there was no crime committed, the case is continued anyhow.
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