Madrid cracks down on Basque independence
by Teresa Toda
If any week sums up what is going on in the Basque Country over the
last few months and what underlies those events, that was last week,
from Sunday 7 March to Sunday 14 March. On the morning of March 7,
journalist Pepe Rei -who headed the investigative team of the closed
down pro-independence daily Egin- was arrested by the Spanish police
acting on orders of a well-know judge, Baltasar Garzón, who in close
collaboration with the Spanish Home Ministry, is specialising in
``sensitive'' cases relating to pro-independence Basques, from ETA to
political organisations. Rei was arrested on a diffuse charge of
collaboration with the armed organisation ETA, deriving from the
proceedings that led to the shut-down of Egin, eight months ago.
It was the first indication that the Spanish Government had decided
to openly play its repressive card, thus responding to the cease-fire
called by ETA last September and the increasing strength of the
newly found union of Basque nationalist forces. Six alleged ETA
militants were arrested in Paris on Tuesday 10 March, on a joint
operation by French police and Spanish Guardia Civil. Among those
arrested was Xabier Ariskuren, who was singled out by Spanish Police
as a leading figure in ETA. Just 24 hours later, the Spanish Police
raided several houses in different towns of the Basque province of
Gipuzkoa, arresting 10 people supposed to be involved in ETA's
Donosti Unit. Guardia Civil members arrested Mikel Egibar, former
Herri Batasuna delegate in Paris.
Reactions were immediate, and paint a fairly clear picture of
political equilibrium today in Euskal Herria. Herri Bastasuna
condemned the arrests as an attack not only against left-wing
independence, but against the whole of Basque nationalism as it moves
towards sovereignty and peace. Although they did not openly condemn
the arrest, PNV and EA -christian democratic and social democratic
nationalist parties- clearly said that such acts do not favour the
process towards peace and claimed that the Home Ministry ordered the
raids on a political basis. PNV leader, Xabier Arzalluz, furthermore,
said that ``Madrid will have to pay a price to Paris'' for the arrests,
referring to the difficult negotiations in the European Union on
Common Agricultural Policies. IU, a Spanish party that nonetheless
sides with the nationalists in the Agreements of Lizarra-Garazi, took
a similar stand.
The Spanish parties PP and PSOE and their delegations in the Basque
Country applauded the raids and criticised moderate nationalists for
their positions.
Home Minister Jaime Mayor Oreja, who seems to be gaining strength
within his party (PP) and the government, was blatant: ``these
operations do not harm the peace process, they endanger nationalist
strategy''. He thus describes what is really worrying the Spanish
government. This is the strengthening of political, institutional and
local collaboration among PNV, EA and HB, and the increasing public
opinion in favour of Basque-only decision making on Basque affairs, a
firm step towards sovereignty.
To round up the week, Basque political prisoners made public their
opinions in their first statement after the cease-fire. ``We will be
part of any exchange'', they said in reference to the Spanish
government's repeated statement about ``peace for prisoners'' as the
only final objective of the so-called peace process. Basque political
prisoners tie their future release to the construction of the Basque
nation, and salute the links between the nationalist parties, trade
unions and community organisations.
After the arrests, in the streets of many towns and cities,
petrol-bomb attacks on Spanish parties' premises, on Spanish
candidates to local elections cars and businesses, flared up once
more, followed up by a rosary of declarations attacking not only the
``petrol kids'' but also Basque nationalism in general.
The events of the week were spiced by ``revelations'' in Spanish
papers, stories leaked out by ``sources'' close to the Home Ministry
speculating about ETA's immediate plans in Gipuzkoa and as a whole.
Among the first was a supposed plan to attack a busload of Guardia
Civil schoolchildren; although even official sources denied the
story, some media insisted on it. To what purpose? To throw doubts on
the sincerity of ETA's cease-fire, implying that it is really a
``sham'', (as minister Mayor Oreja said in September), and to keep up
their belligerence on this issue.
The media, are in fact becoming an important part of present-day
politics in relation to the Basque conflict. As the Spanish
Government has no clearly defined plan to develop negotiations
leading to political changes in the Spanish State, the Spanish media
as a whole reflects that lack of a steady course, supporting their
convictions that Spain cannot be ``split up'' and that Basques have to
submit to the will of the whole of the population of the Spanish
State. Thus, attacks on Basque nationalism -or non-Spanish
nationalism - happen on a day to day basis and are quite virulent.
Information is absolutely mixed with opinions, and truth is once more
the first casualty of a stagnant situation. The second is a new
political process that may lead to a real peace is constantly
harassed by the media and by Spanish politicians.
Things have reached such a worrying stage in the media that on
Saturday 13 March, about 100 Basque journalists met in Bilbao and
launched a proposal for a professional Code of Behaviour in
journalism today in Euskal Herria. The document reflects, ``how
society is informed acquires special care, especially, in such times
as in the Basque Country today, when all conflicts come to the fore
and decisions leading to change have to be taken''.
A head-on clash
Six months after the Lizarra-Garazi Agreement -that set the basis for
co-operation between nationalists to rebuild the Basque nation and
opened the way for ETA's cease-fire, a head-on clash between two ways
of securing lasting peace and of establishing the Basque Country has
become evident.
Beneath the troubled water, one finds the Spanish government's
absolute frozen position, refusing to move prisoners to Basque
Country prisons, or at least to an area close to home; stating once
again its readiness to talk to ETA but doing nothing to make it
possible, and in the media projecting the picture that it is ``the
other side'' that does not really want to talk that ``they do not want
peace, but independence''.
``Peace - absence of ETA's violence and petrol-bombing- in exchange
for prisoners'' and no talk about politics until there is a total,
final and lasting cease-fire, and even then within the limits of the
Spanish Constitution are their basis.
d that is really it. The conservative Spanish government, and the
leading opposition party PSOE are becoming conscious of the fact that
Basque nationalists have finally decided to take steps forward and
start doing things as far as possible without Madrid's permission.
And that means creating a political and social momentum that will
eventually force the Spanish institutions to accept the decisions of
the Basque people.
Herri Batasuna, 14 of whose leaders are on a week-long fast are
calling for ``more political talk'' as the best way to answer the
Spanish government's political and police provocation. The
nationalists should work together and get things done, gaining
credibility in Basque society so they will hold a stronger position
when facing Madrid's government. And there is little doubt that
Madrid is planning more of the same.
Spanish police registered Herri Batasuna offices
On Tuesday, 15 March, a Spanish judge, Teresa Palacio, ordered the
Spanish Guardia Civil to enter the offices of Herri Batasuna in
Donosti (San Sebastian). The judge's decision came as a result of the
arrest of, Mikel Egibar, who was HB representative in Paris and who
is being accused of collaboration with ETA. The police action started
at 4.30pm in the afternoon and went on until the early hours the
following morning. During the raid, members of the Guardia Civil,
took some computers and some other material. On Wednesday, the lawyer
of the pro-independence coalition Iñigo Iruin issued a denounciation
saying HB understands that the raid, though ordered by a judge, was
part of a political motivated strategy towards the criminalisation
and possible ban of a democratic party Herri Batasuna.
EU violates arms embargoes
Three NGOs -the British-American Security Information Council,
Safeworld and Norwegian Initiative- denounced some arms dealers and
overseas agents within the EU who are using third countries to export
arms to Uganda, Sierra Leone and Rwanda, areas that are suffering
humanitarian crisis. They also denounced the attitude of European
governments who are not putting any effort into prosecuting those
responsible.
The report presented by the NGOs names the business Sandline
International, which sent arms to Sierra Leone through Bulgaria, and
Mil Tec which, using Albania, Bulgaria, Israel and the Democratic
Republic of Congo, broke the embargo imposed by the United Nations on
Rwanda in 1994 after the massacres between Hutus and Tutsis.
Germany, the country holding the European Presidency, will this month
propose a meeting of arms exporters of European Union State members
to arrange a license for all arms exports.
However, the NGOs propose to increase the control over arms dealers
who live or hold a EU passport, to impose the use of the license to
trade arms and the creation of a register that should include all the
arm dealers and overseas agents.
While turning a blind eye on the unlawful arm trade to countries
suffering grave conflict, the European Union is studying how to unify
the criteria used in different member states when granting asylum
status to people fleeing those conflicts.
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