Basque Hunger Striker Force Fed

international | rights, freedoms and repression | news report Thursday September 21, 2006 16:42 by IRISH BASQUE COMMITTEES irishbasques at hotmail dot com

Inaki De Juana, Basque political prisoner, is been force fed after 45 days on hunger strike

Inaki De Juana expressed his will to continue on hunger strike after he was force fed last night following orders coming from the Spanish Special Court.

Askatasuna, organitation of solidarity with the Basque political prisoners, denounced the situation of Inaki saying that "it's of big hipocrisy for the Spanish state that they are feeding him because his life is on danger when they are trying to keep him in prison for life. We have to remenber that Inaki started the hunger strike as it was the last weapon he had to fight against the dirty tricks used by the Spanish authorities when despite he did his time to the full, 18 years, they made up new charges requesting for him 96 years for two articles he wrote in te newspaper Gara."

The Irish Basque Committees are organising protests in Cork and Belfast on Saturday and yesterday former 1981 hunger strikers Laurence McKeown and Jackie McMullan showed their support to Inaki De Juana and asked the Irish people to do the same.

Protests are increasing all around the Basque Country. Thousands of people demonstrated in favour of prisoners' rights last Sunday.
Five rallies under slogan "We need them alive and home" went by without
incidents in the five capitals. Attendants claimed amnesty and supported De
Juana Chaos.

Rallies to denounce penitentiary politics of Spanish and French Governments
and to claim respect to prisoners´ rights were hold today after
demonstrations were banned twice the last three days.

Thousands of people demonstrated Sunday morning in Bilbao, Donostia-San
Sebastian, Vitoria-Gazteiz, Pamplona/Iruña and Bayonne without incidents.

The five rallies passed by under slogan "We want them alive and home", and
escorted by Basque Autonomous Police and by National Police in the case of
Navarre.

EPPK demands not to "use" prisoners in the peace process

09/17/2006
"Basque conflict will not be solved neither through prison politics nor
through release from prison", the association asserts. [image: Gara] Gara

EPPK, Basque Political Prisoners Group, demands pressure increase against
penitentiary politics and its responsibles. It also claims bringing them to
prisons of the Basque Country, according to a press released published in
Gara today.

"Basque conflict will not be solved neither through prison politics nor
through release from prison", the association asserts.

EPPK calls Basque society in order to " strengthen pressure against
penitentiary politics and its responsibles," and to "be persistent to get
self-determination, territoriality and recognition of the Basque Country".

The press release, addressed to French and Spanish States, showed intention
"to take new and more efficient steps towards freedom."

EPPK claims it will reject "any political project that is based in the
denial of the Basque Country" and it criticises France and Spain because
"they once again make use of prisoners to condition the freedom". Sentences,
such as, "Prisoners in exchange for peace" or "Prisoners in return for
legalization", are just "the expression of political fraud".

The press release also condemns the attempt of trying to take advantage of
the situation of the prisoners and their relatives suffering. Iñaki De Juana
Chaos, in hunger strike since Aug. 7, is mentioned in the release.

New attacks in Barakaldo, Deusto, Vitoria-Gazteiz and Tafalla

09/17/2006
Last attack was registered Sunday afternoon in Barakaldo. Some people set
fire to a parked bus. Seven cars were damaged due to the flames.
Protesaters
attacked Barakaldo, Deusto (Bilbao), Vitoria-Gasteiz and Tafalla. The last
was registered in La Paz Street in Barakaldo, Bizkaia, at 6 p.m. Some hooded
people set fire to a bus.

The vehicle was parked and the driver - though no passenger - was in it.
Several people entered the bus and after obligating the woman to get it off,
they set fire on it with several molotov cocktails.

Although firemen arrived at the place on time, the flames damaged seven cars
were damaged.

*Deusto (Bilbao)*

Saturday at 11.10 p.m. protesters attacked with molotov cocktails a
euskotren train in Berrizbidea Street in Deusto. It had just stopped when
some strangers threw several molotov cocktails to one wagon.

The fire was quickly smothered by the engine driver with a fire
extinguisher.

*Vitoria-Gasteiz*

At around 11.20 p.m. on Saturday night an ATM was attacked with molotov
cocktails in Vitoria-Gasteiz, according to Basque Home Department. The ATM
is useless.

*Tafalla, Navarre*

Protesters threw several incendiary devices to the Court of Tafalla
triggering little damage. It happened at around 2.30 a.m. Sunday and the
artefacts only blackened the building.