This measure has been followed with interest by the International
press, as it will be the first case of banning a party with representation
in a country of the European Union. We have to add that many have
showed surprise in Britain because once the Northern Irish peace-process
is consolidating –ask the Republicans and Catholics the price
and all what they are putting with- in the Basque Country and
Spain, it seems the directions are the opposite ones.
Nothing new. When ETA declared the cease-fire because of the
solutions found in similar cases, they found that still the Spanish
government ignored their efforts. Their reply was: The Basque
Country is not like Northern Ireland (Aznar). Or like a Basque
PP politicians stated in an interview with the BBC: ‘Conflict?
There is no conflict here!’
You have in this page the many articles that we’ve writing
reporting many other similar situations, the escalation of the
fascist estate in Spain and the continuos repression as a solution
deployed by government, courts, police and even army. This is
just another step forward.
In BBC 2 News, the PP representative was challenged by the presenter:
- ‘You think that’s the way to get to a solution?
By closing down the speakers of the terrorists?’.
Exactly: because they don’t want to negotiate with no one.
They don’t want to get to any kind of agreement. They just
want to use the same methods than before: repression. They’ll
say once and again that ETA is over, that terrorism is defeated,
that the Basque fundamentalism has been sorted, but like it will
happen now, after every repressive move of the Madrid government
they will suffer the consequences (by the way: they don’t
want to be aid this. They found this very threaten words, but
this is just a logic vision of the situation).
Even the Independent today had words of rejection against the
move with such a headline as ‘If Spain wants peace she
must let the terrorists' party speak’.
We include it here too, as the content is quite eloquent.
Batasuna’s leaders have prevented this too: ‘The illegalization
affects Batasuna but not the project that those people who hold
it” (Barrena). As one of their leaders said, they are going
to take the issue to the European Court in Strasbourg being confident
about the positive outcome of this, though this will happen in
9 years time. Otherwise the repression is thought to continue
through other paths and they expect that the Spanish High Court
will order the imprisonment of the whole party’s direction
at some point. As you can remember, the Spanish government already
imprisoned all the direction of Herri Batasuna (Previous name
of the Batasuna party) three years ago when this party wasn’t
even illegalized.
And so the conservative Basque nationalist of PNV who didn’t
vote the illegalization of Batasuna have pointed out that this
is going to get even more into the ‘spiral, and that will
take no-where’.
For both those ones who support ETA and for those ones who are
critical with the armed struggle this move is the definitive end
of the parliamentarian option. In this situation, the armed option
as only one left to the separatist movement.
PNV are in a funny position because even they refused this measure
they’re obliged to implement it because the regional government
that they rule is totally dependant of the Spanish Government.
However, and as you can see in other articles in this same page
(‘The Basque regional Parliament upsets
Madrid by approving to discuss self-government next September’)
this decision may pressurise the PNV and its government and trigger
things in another direction.
In this situation the very Basque regional police Hertzaintza
has been –once again- the one closing Batasuna’s offices.
It is not the first time that they act against the Basque nationalist
movement, but as we say, the situation is not the same. Yesterday
in the closures the shouts were ‘Zuek ere txakurrak zarete’
(‘You too are dogs (the Basque for pigs)), a slogan that
is not new.
If PP and PSOE have earned some ground in the Basque Country,
since ETA’s cease-fire in 2000 and 2001 we can say that the
moderate PNV has got loads of verbal abuse from the Spanish government,
politicians and -obviously – media. The only reason, that
the PNV increased its demands for self-government, though it maintained
a very quite attitude. The decision of discussing ‘self-government’
in next September has been the clearest step towards it since.
In this sense Joseba Egibar (PNV) stated in the day after Batasuna’s
offices’ closure: ‘I think from a nationalist position
and from a historic perspective, that the national emancipation
process is speeding up no matter how much the PP wants to stop
it”.
Judge Garzón famous for his previous constant attacks against
any organization close to the Basque left has ordered the closure
of all Batasuna’s bars (Herriko’s) alleging that they
are used to fund ETA. Whoever who knows the situation from a bit
closer that the judge (and all those journalists employed by the
International press) in Madrid, will know that everyone involved
with the movement does it in almost total altruist basis. Money
is needed for paying minimum wages but also to produce all the
publicity deployed in the streets, infrastructure, election campaigns
and support to prisoners. This allegation has been done constantly
because it’s the easiest way of persecuting the movement
– since the closure of Egin and before. Still, Judge Garzón
hasn’t been able to present any evidence.
The ban will affect Batasuna in other ways, as the members of
Batasuna won’t be able any longer to meet in their offices
as they’ll be closed and they can’t meet under such
name anyway. But it will affect also their power in the streets
as people won’t be able to be called to demonstrate against
this or other issues, either to distribute information about their
situation and views under that name.
In the same way all their accounts and money will be seized too.
This is smoething thata as you can also see in this page, judge
Garzón tried to do too before the Parties Law was passed.
He thought that Batasuna could be financially drawn if they were
blamed with the damage costs from after-demo riots (‘kale-borroka’).
And so he launched a new robbery of the party’s arches.
Despite all the things said by the government regarding origins
of Batasuna’s funds to justify the ban, the money Batasuna
holds in its accounts is the result of the generous donations
of its committed supporters. No money from banks like the other
parties, who bet on a party in order to have privileges when elected,
Batasuna depends entirely of people and mainly of the working
class. In this sense we have also to add, that despite the low
wages that they enjoy as much of the work is done based on commitment
and altruism, the ban will mean the loss of jobs for many people
who worked for the party.
The illegalization of Batasuna so far
Footage
of the closure of Batasuna offices here (Antena 3).
So far the offices of Batasuna in Gasteiz (Vitoria), Donostia
(San Sebastian), Bilbo have been closed down by the Hertzaintza
(Basque Police).
The Batasuna members, MPs and councillors still remained inside
when this happened. Arnaldo Otegi awaited in the one of Donostia.
There he told the media: "Batasuna is not at risk, neither
a name neither a political organization; what is a risk is the
national dignity".
Nine other offices have been closed on Tuesday 27th August in
Navarre by the Spanish national Police: Iruñea (Pamplona),
Tutera, Elizondo, Leitza, Lizarra, Altsasu, Tafalla and Biana.
According to the Guardian:
"Up
to 50 riot police had to use batons, rubber bullets and smoke
bombs to fight through a human barricade of party activists in
the city of Bilbao, northern Spain.
The police were trying to deliver a judge's closure order to stamp
out Batasuna, but the 300 militants fought them with umbrellas".
It’s remarkable the other side of this operation that aims
at every other organisation close to the Basque separatist movement
but doing work in other fields.
In this sense we have to report the closures of the TAT (Organisation
Against Torture) and Etxerat! (Back Home! On behalf of Basque
prisoners and refugees). This was a practice that the Spanish
government has already been involved with and as you can see in
the many articles in our archives. With the illegalization of
Batasuna we are afraid that this practise is going to provide
the legal support that they needed to finish with all social and
human rights movements.
And in the end of the day this situation is not new because whoever
who gets involved with the Basque separatist movement know that
there are many consequences. For the groups too: you won’t
have a computer in your office because you will have very clear
that it will be seized at any time.
This movement is a result of years of repression. But this movement
that Batasuna represents was born in the dictatorship, in the
middle of the worse conditions of censorship, repression and persecution.
Once again, if the Spanish government thinks that this will stop
the Basque separatist movement we can say that they are very wrong.
(and once again, this is not a threat. This is the logic view
of the facts and history)
Meanwhile we know that people right there won’t be stopped,
because they will have to close more a than a few thousand homes.
Sure people will be showing their opinion before such bigotry.
However, and at the moment, batasuna.org
is up and running. Check it and send your support.
‘If Spain wants peace she must let the terrorists'
party speak’
The Independent, 27 August 2002
The Spanish authorities would dearly like to garotte
Batasuna, the political arm of Basque nationalism. Yesterday,
the senior judge Baltasar Garzon succeeded in banning it for three
years, during which time he will investigate links between Batasuna
and ETA terrorists. The prime minister, Jose Maria Aznar, would
like to see the party banned for good.
It is not surprising. Spain's frustration, and the
revulsion of many, Basque people included, at ETA atrocities is
deeply felt. They are angry that Batasuna has not condemned some
of the worst outrages, most recently a car bombing which killed
a six-year-old girl in her home and a 57-year-old man waiting
for a bus. It seemed offensive that Batasuna exploited the privileges
of democracy while conniving in terror.
It also seems very familiar. Batasuna is merely
doing what Sinn Fein did for many years on behalf of the Provisional
IRA, excusing the murder of civilians with cold talk about historical
injustices. It was that sort of behaviour that made many want
to ban the IRA. The British and the Irish have been here before,
and, while the parallels are imprecise, the experience of the
Irish peace process offers some lessons for Spain.
The most important is that banning a political party
doesn't work. Sinn Fein was banned in Northern Ireland until 1974,
was kept off the radio and TV in the Republic from 1977 until
1994, and was subject to Margaret Thatcher's famous attempt to
starve it of the "oxygen of publicity" with a broadcasting
ban in the UK from 1988 to 1994. All that did was to send a message
to republican sympathisers that the democratic route was closed
off and that violence was the way forward. It didn't stop republicanism
as a political force, but merely diverted it.
When, at last, Sinn Fein did become part of the
peace process, that changed, and Sinn Fein's electoral success
north and south of the border and membership of the power-sharing
executive in Belfast is now contingent on its supporting peaceful
methods. Banning parties doesn't end violence; coaxing them towards
a political settlement does. Sooner or later Spain will have to
come to terms with what Batasuna represents.
