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So, who are we?
Euskalinfo is a Basque collective based in England, committed
to providing the censored side of the Basque conflict.
Since the conservatives (PP) are in power, the media- always supporting
those in power and for an españolist project- has had a
very special role in maintaining the government's indiscriminate
repression of the Basque left and Basque nationalism.
This has included the Basque right nationalism too, which was
previously very respected because of its support of the Spanish
government, but was ferociously attacked by the government and
the media when it joined forces with other Basque parties in the
Lizarra-Garazi pact (1998-1999), and Spanish unity was questioned.
The Spanish government has directed the media by providing the
scripts and information they needed immediately prior to repression
campaigns. This manipulation and media control has provoked the
sacking of radio directors (Mallorca & Castello) of television
directors (TeleMadrid) and of radio programs, etc. The Spanish
media is uniform and there is no room for discrepancy.
In 1998 the Spanish government closed the Basque paper and radio
station Egin, after years of boycott and attack (imprisonment
of journalists, etc). It also closed the magazine Ardibeltza in
2001 after- again- a huge media campaign. The editor was imprisoned
from January to June 2001 without a sentence and after suffering
two heart attacks.
The Spanish government is taking advantage of the Spaniards' attitude
towards ETA to impose their version of the truth, the only version
we find everywhere else, including Britain. Because of this, we
decided to launch Euskalinfo. From translating news we went on
to write about different events, created a web page and an e-mail
list. We hope to produce a printed version in the near future.
Euskalinfo is aware of the difficult situation Euskal Herria (Basque
Country) is going through. But as well as questioning the official
information we believe the conflict won't be solved while the
other side of the coin (ie: the government's media, social, political
and military repression) is not unveiled. Aware of the lack of
real information in English, Euskalinfo has created that space.
Euskalinfo doesn't focus on high-profile events, such as bombings,
because these get enough publicity in the Basque Country and here
too. Because of Euskalinfo's commitment to providing another side
of the Basque conflict we are not interested in creating platforms
for any party but only to expose the abuses and injustices that
the Spanish and the French governments commit in the area.
Euskalinfo is an independent initiative and therefore our funds
are nil. We would appreciate any financial support, especially
for the launching of a printed version of the web page. We would
appreciate any help with translations and collaborations.
Thanks for your support. Eskerrik asko.
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