Republican News · Thursday 31 January 2002

Basque picket in London

A joint picket was held last weekend outside the Spanish Embassy in London by the Basque Campaign in London and the Wolfe Tone Society. They were protesting of the current clampdown by the Spanish government against Herri Batasuna and Basque people, who are demanding independence from Spain and France.

The Basque campaign is demanding:

• An end to the dispersal of Basque political prisoners to the four corners of Spain and to islands in the Canaries.
• That the Spanish government enter into dialogue with all the parties in the Basque country.
• The immediate release of Indgo Makazaga, who is being held in Belmarsh prison pending extradition to Spain. He was detained while on the way to Westminister to talk to MPs about what is happening in the Basque country.

Several organisations were represented on the picket, along with a group of supporters from Catalonia. There was a large police presence, with a police photgrapher taking pictures of everybody on the picket. More protests are planned.