Euskal Herria - Basque country - political situation

Latest news:
>>>> 08.06.2008: New show trial: Lessons from the North of Ireland?

>>>> 21.04.2008: New show trial: Julen Arzuaga: 33/01 - Case against Gestoras Pro-Amnistia-Askatasuna

>>>> 28.02.2008: Jim Gibney (Sinn Fein): Spain could learn lessons from Irish conflict
>>>> 9.02.2008: Spanish Government bans anti-fascist Basque party once banned under Franco's dictatorship

>>>> 4.02.2008: Spanish Police arrests further leading members of the Basque Independence Movement
>>>> 2.02.2008: "Hautsitako Leihoa - the broken window" an ordinary day in the Basque Country
>>>> 08.01.2008: after being arrested by the Spanish police Guardia Civil a young Basque had to be taken to the intensive care unit of a hospital with serious signs of torture - Amnesty International demands an investigation!
>>>> 18.12.2007: European Court of Human Rights: Admissibility decision in the case Batasuna v. Spain: An important step!

Solidarity with the Basque country -
against oppression, torture, illegalisation
and criminalisation of Basque organisations

525 years in prison
instead of freedom of speech
1./2. December 2007: The reaction to the 18/98 macro-indictment arrests was impressive. Just 24 hours after the arrests begun a human wave of solidarity invaded the streets of Bilbao on Sunday. 25,000 rallied in support of the 46 activists in Bilbao. Most of the 46 have been arrested already.

Translation: For the right to democratically advance all political projects in the Basque country!

Under the guise of fighting terrorism the Spanish government tries to violently silence all those in the Basque Country who politically aim for an independent Basque country. The "Izquierda Aberzale" , the left wing independence movement, finds itself - individuals and organisations - branded terrorists as soon as they mention "independence" . Who ever demands politically the same like ETA, supports ETA and is guilty of supporting terrorists - this is the simple logic of a government trying to criminalize attitude.
DECEMBER 2007: against all our hopes for peace
In one of the biggest mass trials of a total of 52 defendants, the judge imposed 525 years imprisonment. The verdict was announced on December 19th, but 43 defendants were arrested already two weeks before. Among those arrested are the director and the deputy director of the Basque newspaper EGIN, as well as the head of an environmental group. How dangerous the Spanish authorities judge these supposed "ETA members" to be can be clearly seen from the fact, that they were free during the trial.
The Spanish film maker Alfonso Sastre criticises the mass arrests of the 18/98 defendants: (see: >>>> GARA, 2.12.2007, es <<<< ):

"The Spanish executive and judicial powers act ... in a confused undemocratic medley ... against all our hopes for peace with a torrent of arrests (and subsequent imprisonment) ... legally - unthinkable / socially - shameful / politically - incorrect / historically - anachronistic / ethically - infamous / ideologically - stupid ... "

OCTOBER 2007:
With the arrest of the leadership of the Basque party Batasuna in October 2007 it became clear, that the Spanish government has chosen repression instead of conflict resolution. The Irish priest Alec Reid who played a major role in the Irish peace process and who has been involved in the Basque / Spanish peace efforts for years, criticises in an interview with the Basque newspaper GARA the attempts of the Spanish Executive to try to eliminate "an essential" party, the pro-independence left, from the equation as "political madness" (see below for the complete interview):

"I would have never thought, that something like this could happen anywhere in Europe - except in Turkey - ", Reid states at the beginning. Such behaviour is an "abuse of human rights" and impossible in a democracy. And he is very concerned about the fact, that the representatives of the pro-independence left are being treated "as criminals" because of their political activity.

News and background information:
>>>> 08.06.2008: New show trial: Lessons from the North of Ireland?
>>>> 21.04.2008: New show trial: Julen Arzuaga: 33/01 - Case against Gestoras Pro-Amnistia-Askatasuna
>>>> 28.02.2008: Jim Gibney (Sinn Fein): Spain could learn lessons from Irish conflict
>>>> 9.02.2008: Spanish Government bans anti-fascist Basque party once banned under Franco's dictatorship
>>>> 4.02.2008: Spanish Police arrests further leading members of the Basque Independence Movement
>>>> 2.02.2008: "Hautsitako Leihoa - the broken window" an ordinary day in the Basque Country
>>>> 08.01.2008: 24 hours after his arrest by the Spanish police Guardia Civil a young Basque had to be taken to the intensive care unit of a hospital with serious signs of torture - Amnesty International demands an investigation!
>>>> 18.12.2007: European Court of Human Rights: Admissibility for the case Batasuna v. Spain!
>>>> 01.12.2007: Forty-six of the 18/98 defendants to get 527 years in prison
>>>> 07.10.2007: Interview with Alec Reid: "No one can call Spain a democratic state"

Websites and Blogs:
>>>> Blog: Irish Solidarity Committees with the Basque Country <<<<
Weekly updates in English language, very good reports on the current situation, link to two videos by the "People&Power" program of Aljazeera with a first impression about the political groupings in the Basque country.
>>>> Indymedia <<<<
Very good reports on the current situation, but German language only.
>>>> Behatokia (e) <<<<
Basque human rights organisation, one of the few outspoken organisations which are not banned. Behatokia offers Information on human rights violations in the Basque country. Information can be downloaded in Basque, English, Spanish and French language.
>>>> TAT - Torturaren Aurkako Taldea - Stop Torture (e) <<<<
TAT is a group within Behatokia, which helps victims of torture. This could be psychological help as well as legal support. On the website there are 500 testimonies of people who were tortured by police.
>>>> Askapena (e) <<<<
Internationalist website with information in Basque, Spanish, French, Italien and English language
General information about the Basque Country:

The name Euskal Herria identifies the Basque country with all its seven provinces. The Basque Country today has approximately 3,000,000 inhabitants and measures 20 km2. The Basque country is partitioned: Lapurdi, Nafarroa Beherea and Zuberoa are under French administration. The three provinces are not an unit, but part of the greater Pyrénées Atlantiques département. The other four provinces are under Spanish rule: Bizkaia, Gipuzkoa and Araba are one regional unit named Comunidad Autonoma Vasca. Nafarroa (Navarra) has a separate regional administration. The media often equal the Comunidad Autonoma Vasca to the Basque country. (Pictures from http://www.eke.org/euskal_herria)

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