"Give up poltics or face 30 years in jail"

dublin | rights, freedoms and repression | news report Saturday February 28, 2009 23:58 by Cormac Mac Gall

Dublin meetings hear basque youth representative on repression and resistance in the basque Country

As part of International Solidarity with the basque Country Week, the Irish basque Solidarity Committees invited a representative of Kamaradak to speak at a number of venues in Dublin and Belfast.

Map of Basque Country -- three northern provinces are ruled by France

During the afternoon of 13th February the representative of the basque youth organisation spoke to students at two of the Irish capital's most prominent universities: University College Dublin and Trinity College Dublin. That same evening he also addressed a public meeting at a prominent venue in Dublin. The tour of meetings had been organised by the Dublin Branch of the Irish basque Solidarity Committees and all of the meetings were chaired by their branch chairperson, who briefly explained the history of the branch and introduced the young basque speaker.

basque NATIONAL HISTORY AND RECENT PEACE NEGOTIATIONS
The Kamaradak speaker spoke on the history of the struggle for basque independence, the origins of the present movement and the repression by the Spanish state of election platforms, political parties and of youth organisations such as SEGI and Harria in particular. Speaking about the ETA cease-fire of 2006 and peace negotiations between the Spanish Government and the basque Left movement, the basque youth representative briefly detailed the peace talks initiative leading to talks between the parties to the conflict in Algiers and then the ones that took place closer to home. He recounted how despite the Spanish state response to the ETA cease-fire formally being a lifting of repression of basque political activity, the state had carried out raids and arrests (of which he gave some specific examples) and had organised repressive roadblocks throughout the country and other harassment and surveillance of the pro-Independence Left. The talks had also stalled in the face of the intransigence of the Spanish Goverment.

The talks were not sabotaged by the Madrid Barrajas Airport explosion carried out by ETA, contrary to what is often said in the media, he stated, but were actually resumed as a result, although it was deeply regretted that there had been two people killed unintentionally. However, the 12-point programme on offer by ETA, including decommissioning of its weapons and dismantling of its military structure, was withdrawn when the two main Spanish political parties, the PSOE (Labour Party) and the PP (conservative) refused to allow a mention of basque independence to be included in the list of possible options open to the basque people. The Spanish Government had then threatened to increase repression on the basque pro-independence Left political movement and to arrest 200 of them in the following months – a threat they had carried out.

The Kamaradak representative explained that the repression of the pro-independence basque Left movement takes the forms of formal surveillance and harassment, banning of demonstrations and of political organisations, police attacks on demonstrations, along with raids and police roadblocks, closure of newspapers, arrests of political leaderships and of grass-roots activists, torture and then imprisonment by the special Spanish non-jury court the Audiencia Nacional in Madrid. He stated that there are now 780 political prisoners in Spanish and in French jails.

The youth representative gave a number of specific examples of pro-Spanish “basque” police and judicial repression of youth activists and how most forms of resistance to Spanish assimilation or exploitation of the basque people and resources are eventually labelled as “terrorism” or “in support of a terrorist organisation” by the Spanish state – labels that carry long prison sentences.

THE NORTHERN BASQUES UNDER FRENCH RULE
The Kamaradak speaker also told of the lack of employment opportunities or of study facilities for youth in Iparralde (“the Northern Country”) – the three basque provinces within the French state – along with the depopulation policies of the state towards the area and how the coastal area becomes a retirement area for French and German pensioners, with its attendant cultural impact on the basque language and culture. There is no regional autonomy granted by the state towards these provinces and they are subsumed within a French department (local authority area). The speaker told of how basque farmers there had created their own Chamber of Agriculture after years of neglect by the French Chamber but the French state had accused them of misrepresentation and trying to confuse people and they are currently facing trial.

The basque resistance movement , in particular the armed group ETA, within the four provinces of Hegoalde (“the Southern Country”), those within the Spanish state, had traditionally viewed the northern part as a safe haven from Spanish repression, a place to retreat and regroup, the basque speaker explained. But when Northern Basques wished to organise actions against the French state, the Southerners demanded that they did not do so, for fear of compromising their secure haven. “That was unfortunate,” stated the speaker.

He also related how a local resistance group, Irrintzi, had in recent times grown in opposition to that historical position of the anti-Franco basque resistance and now takes action against holiday homes, estate agents and hotels (many of which are empty during the Autumn and Winter).

basque INDEPENDENCE OR AUTONOMY?
Turning to the issue of basque autonomy and of the basque nationalist party PNV, which is in government in four of the basque provinces (the conservative PP is in power in the 'Spanish' Navarra), the Kamaradak representative pointed out that this is a right-wing Christian party which represents in the main basque big business.

With regard to autonomy, he stated that although it is generally the Policia Nacional and the Guardia Civil that torture detainees, autonomy has meant that it is the basque 'Autonomous' police that attack the people whenever courts or government ministers in Madrid declare a demonstration or organisation illegal. “I have been stopped by other police forces in the basque Country at checkpoints but I have personally never been physically attacked or arrested by them – it has always been the Urtzaina, the basque Autonomous Region Police, that have done that to me.” Only some weeks ago, the same police force had used an environmental demonstration against the High Speed Train for plastic bullet target practice on the protestors.

“We have greater autonomy than the Six Counties of Ireland have, certainly,” the speaker went on to say, “in so far as we stay within what Spain wants. Outside of that, there is no autonomy whatsoever.” He recounted how the President of the basque Autonomous Region, Etxebarria, had last year announced that his party was going to hold a referendum to answer two questions:
1.Should ETA cease their activities; 2. Did the citizens of the basque Country want independence?

However, as the basque pro-independence Left had known it would, the Spanish state court had told the President of the basque Autonomous Region that he could not ask Question 2 in any referendum, since the very question violated the Spanish Constitution. "The man who holds the most powerful position in three of the four basque provinces within the Spanish state did not even have the power to ask basque citizens a question!"

In preparation for that ruling, the left Basques had planned, for six months in advance, a pro-Independence demonstration and festival for the beginning of last October. When the Spanish court ruling was announced, the PNV had been able to mobilise only three thousand of its own supporters to protest. The basque youth had mobilised tens of thousands and, as Madrid had banned the demonstration, the Urtzaina, the basque police, had attacked the youth and hospitalised many. However, the youth had refused to leave the area and, as night fell, it was the Urtzainza who had to retreat instead, leaving the youth to a peaceful festival weekend.

KAMARADAK AND THE WIDER basque YOUTH MOVEMENT
The speaker then went on to talk about the Kamaradak organisation and about the basque pro-independence movement. He explained that Kamaradak had been formed to coordinate and service with information, leaflets etc. the internationalist work of a number of youth organisations in such areas as students, sexual freedom, gender equality, anti-repression, etc. They organise an internationalist hike or youth camp in rotation each year. Kamaradak also now has its own CD label and produces discs of progressive and internationalist music from the basque country and elsewhere.

Although they are part of the basque pro-independence Left movement and include members of various political organisations (including banned ones), the speaker explained that Kamaradak is not under the direction of any of those movements and their members are active on issues in which the individual concerned has a particular interest and in spheres in which he or she has particular talents. The policy of the organisation and other directional issues are decided by assembly of the members twice a year.

The basque youth representative went on to explain that some time ago the organisation decided to "start building the future today". As a result they have worked within their affiliated organisations to support alternative projects to capitalism, sexism and sexual repression, in support of their language and culture as well as for the improvement of their environment.

The basque speaker and the chairperson of the meeting then responded to questions and engaged in discussion with participants in the meetings, as follow:
So much repression and torture may cause some individuals to give up but may also induce a war-weariness where untenable agreements may be made but it could also lead to more people taking up the gun. The Spanish state can continue to act as it does in the face of criticism about torture by so many international organisations, they said, because they are not really coming under any pressure to stop.

THE LANGUAGE AND THE GUN
The speaker felt unqualified to comment on the situation of the Irish language. He commented that the progress of the basque language in the basque country today, although not as fast as they would wish, is as a result of involving the ordinary people in its promotion and maintenance, by ensuring that those who work in direct contact with the public are withdrawn and given other work until they have learned Euskara, and by using it as much as possible in their own movements. He drew attention to the fact that the daily newspaper GARA, whose editorial line is pro-independence Left, has most of its printed text in Euskara. The Chairperson of the Dublin branch ventured the personal observation that the reason for the greater basque success in the use of their language was simply that they were more serious about it and also that they did they did not rely on government funding or organisation.

It is not really possible to say what the opinion of Herri Batasuna on the question of whether the gun has a role in the basque struggle because the first and second tier of leadership have all been arrested and most of them are in prison. It is not fair to ask the personal opinion of the speaker because the 'wrong' answer would leave him liable to conviction in a Spanish court and a sentence of years in prison. Some Irish people may criticise the long-term results of the Irish peace process but although the speaker thought it not appropriate to discuss Ireland's affairs; in general, he personally would wish to have reached such a stage in the basque Country because as a man who is not yet 25 years of age he is not ready to give up his life; yet his future appears to hold only the choice of serving most of his life in prison or to give up politics.

THE SPANISH LEFT AND INTERNATIONAL SUPPORT
The alleged main grouping of the Spanish extra-parliamentary Left, Izquierda Unida, is not, in the opinion of the basque movement, as big as it claims to be or as people outside the state think it is, stated the speaker. However, the main problem with uniting with it for the Basques is that they are expected to leave their own struggle in order to help the IU to fight the Spanish state, on a promise that when the state is changed that they will then receive their freedom. The IU also plans the demonstrations to take place in Madrid instead of in the basque country. IU has a formal position that the basque Country is entitled to self-determination but never takes any serious action in support of that, or even against any part of the wave of Spanish state repression crashing against the basque movement and even asks for punitive action against ETA. As a result, Kamaradak has relations with a number of socialist and anarchist youth groups in different nations within the Spanish state but also in different localities within the state. These groupings are not part of the Izquierda Unida and are genuinely interested in solidarity and in struggle.

The basque youth movement has formal relations with a number of youth movements around the world, including Ógra Sinn Féin in Ireland, stated the speaker. The basque anti-repression movement has been getting support from solidarity groups elsewhere in the World, notably in Europe such as in Ireland (three branches), Italy (a number of groups), Paris, Spain (two groups), Catalunya, Germany, Portugal and so on. In the USA and in Venezuela, it has generally been from the quite substantial basque diaspora that the support has come. In Montreal a committee that defended migrants and asylum seekers also recently took up the case of a basque which the Spanish state sought to extradite and fought for him with tenacity and imagination, reported the chairperson. The most significant thing that people in Ireland could do, replied the Kamaradak speaker to a question from the audience, is to support the work of the Irish basque Committees, because they seek to coordinate their work with the basque anti-repression movement and there is a two-way flow of information between them.

GET ON THE LIST, SUPPORT EVENTS AND TELL YOUR FRIENDS
The chairperson of the IBSC asked those in attendance to get on the Committee's electronic information mailing list, to support public events of the Committee and to tell their friends about the reality of the basque struggle. “There are certainly people in this world who suffer more than the Basques,” he stated, “but not a mere two hours' flying time away. Irish people are more capable of having a positive impact on the situation in the basque Country, of bringing real pressure to bear on the French and Spanish governments, than they are on other conflicts in the international arena.” The Chairperson also stated that in terms of mass mobilisation, the language and the left-wing trade union movements, “the basque pro-independence Left have so much to teach the Irish people.” In the universities, the Chairperson thanked Ógra Shinn Féin for booking the rooms for the meetings.

In all the meetings, the young Kamaradak speaker received loud applause and people continued informal discussions with him after the meetings ended. This was the first time that the Dublin branch had hosted a representative from the basque Country. “The one-day speaking tour was definitely a success for us”, stated the Chairperson of the Dublin branch “and we'll definitely be doing it again whenever we can get speakers to come across.

In an unrelated event a couple of weeks later, a basque pro-independence movement MP Kattalin Madariag addressed the Sinn Féin Ard-Fheis in Dublin in a short speech. In thanking the organisation for the invitation she brought also the greetings of three previous speakers from the movement at such functions in Ireland, all now in prison, one jailed as recently as three weeks previously.

Erzaintza -- pro-Spanish Basque police -- confront Basque protest

Basque solidarity action in Mexico -- one of 14 countries to take such actions in February

Another international solidarity action: Glasgow Celtic supporters at match against Rangers

Collage: Poster for banned party, police repression, police arrest of a D 3M leader, colleagues and supporters protest