1OCTOBER 2012

ABERRITIKABERTZALE LEFT’S BULLETIN FOR BASQUE DIASPORAOCTOBER 2012

www.ezkerabertzalea.info / www.basquepeaceprocess.info

ABERRITIKDESDE LA PATRIA VASCA FROM THE BASQUE MOTHERLAND

Egunon lagunak! Good day friends!

We are the candidates for EH Bildu, the heads of the lists for the provinces of Alava, Vizcaya and Guipozcoa, Belen Arrondo, Laura Mintegi and Xabier Isasi.

We want to present ourselves and we want to encourage you to get to know our project, so you will know what we are proposing for our country, and for you who love this country so much, that you have little bit of your heart here, that your parents and grandparents were born in this land, you have the right and also the duty to know what is hap-pening, and we want to invite you to know our proposals and for you to know that we want to propose a new society.

Based on two central themes, first to be Basques as a noun, without adjectives and nothing more, and that we are known as Basques around the world, here in Europe and in the rest of the world. And secondly to establish so-cial justice, a more egalitarian society, that responds to the tremendous needs of the economic crisis that we are suffering in this land and in the world in general.

So, we invite you to get to know us, we invite you to contribu-te: your ideas, your critiques, your contributions to the project. And that we can maintain contact any time you want. We are here, you are there, and we are building this country together.

Geroarte

ELECTIONS IN BASQUE AUTONOMOUS COMMUNITY

Message from the candidates of EH Bildu to the Diaspora

ABERTZALE LEFT’S BULLETIN FOR BASQUE DIASPORA ABERTZALE LEFT’S BULLETIN FOR BASQUE DIASPORAwww.ezkerabertzalea.info

2 OCTOBER 2012 3OCTOBER 2012

www.basquepeaceprocess.infoFROM THE BASQUE MOTHERLAND FROM THE BASQUE MOTHERLAND

A few days ago, a year had passed since the Inter-national Conference of Aiete. On October 17th, 2011, Kofi Annan, Bertie Ahern, Gro Harlem Bruntland, Tony Blair (represented by Jonathan Powell), Pierre Joxe and Gerry Adams presented a roadmap for the resolution of the conflict in the Basque Country. A few days later, the ETA organization responded to the demand covered in the final declaration of the conference and declared the definitive cessation of their armed actions.

These two historic events opened the doors wide for the resolution of the political conflict in the Basque Country. Basque society and the international com-munity accepted it with enthusiasm, expectation and hope for the new scenario opened in the Basque Country.

A year later we can assure that we are closer than ever to a definitive resolution of the conflict which for years confronted the Basque Country with the Spanish and French states. We still have a long way to go and it isn’t exempt from difficulties to reach a definitive solution, but we are convinced that we will achieve it. This is the firm desire of Basque so-ciety and we believe that it is also the desire of the Basque diaspora who represent this country with dignity and pride throughout the world.

The political conflict continues without a resolu-tion and the consequences that this has generated continue to exist. Today more than ever we have an excellent opportunity to resolve these questions and for that it is necessary the implication of all the parts involved. Only through dialogue and negotia-tion among everyone and without exclusions will we be able to reach this much desired objective.

There is no doubt that there have been advances towards peace and resolution, ETA has taken steps and Basque society has also taken steps. The gover-nments of Madrid and Paris have shown the most inflexibility. But we are sure that we will be able to make them move; Basque society demands it and it isn’t willing to let this opportunity go away to reach

peace and the resolution of the conflict.

Today it is more necessary than ever to open a dialogue process among all the parties to agree on a new framework in which all political options can be defended and achieved. We are speaking of a democratic scenario in which the right to decide of the Basques is recognised and can be exercised. Just to give an example, what Scotland is going to do in 2014. Nothing more but nothing less.

On the other hand it is up to ETA and the Spa-nish and French states to start up a dialogue process and negotiations to reach agreements in everything relative to the consequences of the poli-tical conflict; release of prisoners, demilitarization, victims, etc.

There is no turning back on the decision of the definitive cessation of armed activity announced by ETA in October of 2011. ETA itself has confirmed this throughout the year. The International Verifica-tion Commission has verified that this cessation of armed activity is real and also said that ETA has an unequivocal desire to dialogue and negotiate with the Spanish and French states. It is up to the states to start this negotiation as soon as possible.

As we have said the conflict is still not over and vio-lence continues to be present in the Basque Coun-try. Throughout the year there have been arrests and violations of fundamental rights on the part of the Spanish and French authorities. Arnaldo Otegi and other leaders of the Abertzale Left continue in prison, their only crime is of participating in politics and to have promoted the internal debate in the Abertzale Left. A debate that brought the Abertzale Left to a change in strategy and the exclusive com-mitment to peaceful and democratic ways to reach our objectives.

Today there are more than 600 political prisoners, the great majority of whom are dispersed in prisons far from the Basque Country, against what Spa-nish and international legislation affirm, adding an unnecessary and inhuman punishment to the family

members and loved ones of the prisoners. The policy of dispersion has to end. The prisoners have to be urgently repatriated. Their participation in the resolution process is necessary. Josu Uribetxeberria, a gravely ill prisoner with terminal cancer just left prison thanks to the pressure of the Basque people. But we can’t forget the other 13 political prisoners with serious and incurable illnesses who continue in prison.

Also, the European Court of Human Rights in Stras-bourg has recently condemned the Spanish state for the application of what is known as the “Parot Doctrine”. The Spanish state has refused to obey the sentence and has appealed it. Meanwhile dozens of prisoners who have had this applied to them and who should be free because of having completed their sentences, continue to be imprisoned. These prisoners as well as the ill prisoners must be relea-sed without delay.

There is no doubt that there is a long road ahead to reach a definitive solution to the conflict. The Abertzale Left has taken up to now numerous unilateral steps, we consider that the time has come to pass from the phase of unilateralism to a multi-

lateral phase and to advance to a resolution among everyone.

Our commitment was, and is, clear, we are going to bring peace to the Basque Country, we are going to make sure that the voice and the words of the Bas-que Country are heard and respected. We will conti-nue on this path and we will continue accumulating forces, demanding the rights that belong to us as a people, asserting that dialogue and negotiation are the only ways to solve the conflict.

The future of our country is in our hands, we must all contribute what we can to achieve the freedom of the Basque Country. We are facing a historic opportunity, from the Basque Country, from any place in the world where you may be, we all have something to contribute to achieve a fair and lasting peace in the Basque Country. A free future where the right of the Basques to decide their future is respected.

From here a salute and a warm embrace to all the Basques all over the world. Among all of us we will get it done. The peace and freedom of our people are closer today than ever before.

EDITORIAL

ABERTZALE LEFT’S BULLETIN FOR BASQUE DIASPORA

5OCTOBER 2012

www.basquepeaceprocess.info FROM THE BASQUE MOTHERLAND

4

ABERTZALE LEFT’S BULLETIN FOR BASQUE DIASPORAwww.ezkerabertzalea.infoFROM THE BASQUE MOTHERLAND

OCTOBER 2012

Fifteen months after the Spanish Supreme Court de-nied the inscription of Sortu in the Registry of Political Parties, for considering it the successor of Batasuna, and one year after the lawyers of Sortu presented an appeal against this decision, the Spanish Constitutional Court at the end of last June recognised the right of Sor-tu to inscribe itself in the Registry.

With this decision a long cycle of banning which las-ted over 10 years was ended. Facing these difficulties the Abertzale Left has been capable in this time to turn around the political situation and to open a new political cycle in the Basque Country. The banning, the arrests of many leaders of the pro-independence left for the simple fact of making politics haven’t been able to deactivate our political initiative. The State not only hasn’t been able to finish off the independentists in the Basque Country; but it is the Abertzale Left, with its political initiative, with its commitment to a strategic change, which has been able to dramatically alter the political panorama in our country and to open a window towards hope, to advance towards peace and the reso-lution of the conflict.

The sentence of the Spanish Constitutional Court that

declared legal the political formation of the Abertzale Left, Sortu, considered that the Spanish Supreme Court violated the “right of association” of the members of Sortu when it impeded their legalization.

From that moment a constitutive process began for the new political formation, whose objective will be to de-bate and decide the Ideological Bases, the Political Line, the Organizational Model and the Policy of Communica-tion of the political formation and which will conclude next February.

The Abertzale Left invites all of its militants and social base to take part in the constitutive process of Sortu, among all of us we will create a new political expre-ssion for leftist Abertzales in the Basque Country. At the same time the Abertzale Left reaffirms its strategic commitment to the combined work among sovereign-tist and leftist political forces set out clearly in the Zu-tik Euskal Herria resolution.

From here we also wish to thank all of the people, asso-ciations and political parties who have expressed their solidarity with Sortu and who have denounced that some wanted to ban this political formation, to all of them, Thanks! Eskerrik Asko!!

On the path to reconciliation Victims of different violent ex-pressions of the Basque conflict presented a few months ago the Glencree initiative. This initiative has grouped together vic-tims of ETA, the dirty war and police violence.

The name they have given to this dynamic makes reference to the Irish locality where the first meeting took place in 2007. For around five years these people have been getting together and sharing reflections and experiences. The initiative was put forward in the first moment under the direction of the Victims of Terrorism of the Basque Government, for which they created a technical team which has guided the meetings. From there the initiative took on its own life and it has been the victims themselves who have made the decisions.

The meetings of this group of people have developed in a dis-creet manner and without public notoriety to avoid manipula-tions of a political type or from the media that they considered inevitable once it was made public. For that, their act of pre-sentation was at the same time their farewell.

As a testimony of their encounters the message they wan-ted to bring to Basque society was to invite them to “make your own self critical revision of the past through an una-voidable commitment with the truth and with justice.”

They consider it “desirable and necessary the gestures of recognition of the damage caused and the assumption of responsibilities by those who caused it.” These and other re-flections that these people have shared can be found in the document that they presented.

Among those who shared experiences and testimonies you encounter people of diverse ideologies but who have all suffe-red the consequences of the violence derived from the political conflict. Among those are Edurne Brouard – the daughter of Santi Brouard, killed by the GAL-, Trini Cuadrado – the widow of Miguel Arbelaiz, a militant of HB who died at the hands of the BVE-, Amaia Guridi – the widow of Santiago Oleaga, killed by ETA-, Patxi Elola – a councilman from Zarautz for the PSE and a victim of numerous attacks-, Mikel Paredes – the brother of Jon Paredes Monot, one of the last people to be shot by firing squad under Franco-, Jaime Arrese – the son of a UCD leader with the same name, gunned down by ETA-, Fernando Garri-do – son of Rafael Garrido, the Military Governor of Guipuzcoa, killed by ETA, together with his mother and younger brother -, Santos Santamaria – father of a Catalan policeman of the same name killed in an attack by ETA-, Lurdes Zabalza – sister of Mikel Zabala, found dead in the Bidasoa river after being in the hands of the Guardia Civil-, … all together almost thirty.

In the Abertzale Left we know that that of the victims is a de-licate space. For this, we value this initiative as a constructive contribution which supposes a step forward in the recognition of all the victims as a consequence of the political conflict that our country suffers. In the Abertzale Left we believe that we must advance on the path of reconciliation and understanding in Basque society. The Abertzale Left has taken steps in the recognition of the pain caused to the victims of one part of the violence, as is covered in the document “Konponbide haizea dabil” (wind of a solution) and it has also been mentioned re-cently in an interview with their leader Arnaldo Otegi. Our com-mitment is firm, we are committed to knowing all the truth, for the recognition of all the pain caused, for the reparation of all the victims. And we will continue working on this path.

SORTUGLENCREE, an important initiative on the path to reconciliation

DISCUSSION PROCESS

ABERTZALE LEFT’S BULLETIN FOR BASQUE DIASPORAwww.ezkerabertzalea.info

6 OCTOBER 2012

FROM THE BASQUE MOTHERLAND

The Declaration of Aiete set out a roadmap on the path of democratic solutions, which I value positively. On the other hand, the time that has passed since then demonstrates that the Spanish government seeks to block the process and they want to complicate the roadmap in the second point of the declaration. With things as they are we must re-member that one of the principle characteristics of our commitment is unilateralism, among other things, because we had and we have, very clear that the state has no interest in giving a democratic exit to the political conflict. Therefore, if we speak of bring the process to a bilate-ral scenario, the process is at an impasse, because the government has the key in this scenario. How do we solve this? By accumulating forces, fighting and increasing unilateral initiatives in all spheres. Only in this way will we achieve that the government assumes its responsibilities.

TEST

IMO

NIE

SIn spite of the new political-social scenario in the Basque Country after the International Peace Conference and the end of armed activity by ETA, the PP and the government in Ma-drid act as if nothing has happened in an attempt to let the situation go to waste. A government of EH Bildu in Vitoria-Gasteiz would be the best guarantee that this won’t happen. We live in a historic moment concerning the resolution of the Basque political conflict and we can’t let pass this opportuni-ty, which to my understanding is unique.

PERNANDO BARRENA

ARNALDO OTEGI

EH Bildu has made their first reflection after the electoral re-sults. “We are a union of sovereigntist and leftist forces stron-ger than there has ever been in the Basque Parliament.”

Laura Mintegi has expressed satisfaction with the “very good” results: “We have come out strengthened, with 21 parliamentarians and 276,989 votes in favour of sovereig-nty and change: parliamentarians and votes that we are going to put at the service of what we have defended since the beginning a change in the politics of this country.”

Mintegi also referred to the rest of the political forces: “We have congratulated the PNV and their candidate, for the victory in these elections. As far as the forces who defen-ded a Constitutional project, the PSE and the PP, they have failed. It is evident that the model of autonomy that they have defended during these years has had a bad result in

the opinion of the Basque citizenry. They have represen-ted submission to Madrid and they have caved in to their impositions. The majority has expressed in favour of an abertzale Parliament, and now two out of three parlia-mentarians will be nationalists.”

We are in a new era and we have two options: “obey the impositions that are planted from Madrid; or the path that EH Bildu will take, that is, respond as a people to the impo-sitions and make politics from this perspective, to defend the economy, the social rights of the people and the natio-nal rights of this country.”

EH Bildu has also emphasized that one of the subjects which will be dealt with in the new parliament will be the right to decide.

276,989 votes in favour of sovereignty and change