Abertzale Left’s valuation of Bilbao’s demonstration for Basque Political Prisoners
Posted on 09 January 2012 by admin
ASSESSMENT OF THE DEMONSTRATION
In the first place the Abertzale Left wishes to salute and congratulate everyone who participated in the demonstration that collapsed the streets of Bilbao yesterday.
Without a doubt, yesterday’s demonstration can be described as colossal and historic. Yesterday’s mobilization was one of the largest, if not the largest mobilization ever carried out in Euskal Herria.
The Abertzale Left wants to point out that in yesterday’s mobilization tens of thousands of people of diverse political options participated. And they did so in spite of the attempts by the Spanish National Court, the Department of the Interior and different members of the media to strain the environment previous to the demonstration. Clearly an attempt in vain.
And it’s that thousands and thousands of people succeeded in having the streets of Bilbao be witness to the largest demonstration for Basque political prisoners ever seen, they mobilized yesterday to bring a demand that yesterday’s demonstration show one more what is the majority in Basque society: the criminal penitentiary policy that is applied to the collective of Basque political prisoners must stop at once and without conditions; each and every Basque prisoner has to be in Euskal Herria, owners of all of their rights.
A DEFINITIVE AND IMMEDIATE CEASE TO THE CRIMINAL PENITENTIARY POLICY
As we have pointed out on numerous occasions throughout the past months, from the Abertzale Left we consider that in order to advance in the process of political and democratic normalization, covering the subject of Basque political prisoners is a question of absolute priority.
The Abertzale Left considers, although insufficient, a first step must be the definitive cessation of the inhumane penitentiary policy that is applied to the Basque Political Prisoners Collective. Maintaining the current penitentiary policy can’t be understood than more than from the prism of clinging to the previous situation of confrontation, a situation that the majority of Basque society demands be definitively overcome.
Just as could be seen yesterday on the streets of Bilbao, it isn’t the Abertzale Left but the political, labor and social majority that demands the immediate release of all Basque political prisoners who have finished their sentences, as well as those who are gravely ill. In the same way we demand the immediate transfer to Euskal Herria of all of the Basque Political Prisoners Collective. We demand that the government of the Popular Party doesn’t prolong for one more minute the Russian roulette of dispersion against the relatives of Basque political prisoners.
In the current situation with the historical decision by ETA to definitively cease their armed activity which allows advancement towards a definitive resolution of the political conflict, the Spanish and French governments must act immediately by adopting the measures described and which are demanded by a large part of Basque society and by the political, labor and social majority of Euskal Herria.
AN INTEGRAL SOLUTION
We consider the political prisoners to be a consequence of the conflict but they also are an agent whose participation in the conflict resolution process is indispensable. As a consequence, basic conditions should be given them to participate in a process of building a just peace for everyone. Changing the root of the situation in the prisons allows for advancement on the path to political and democratic normalization, indispensable for generating a climate that permits us to take on dialogue of political resolution.
The Abertzale Left considers that the resolution to the political conflict has to be dealt with in all of its dimensions, from the causes to the consequences.
So, we consider that sufficient conditions exist today, such as the end of the armed struggle, the demand for advances towards peace from Basque society or the monitoring and implication in the resolution process of the international community so that the Spanish and French states take on dialogue with the ETA organization, which has to stick exclusively to the consequences derived from the political conflict, among them, of course, the release of Basque political prisoners.
In the same way we consider that trying to hide behind alleged legality in order to avoid taking steps shows nothing but an attempt to cling to the trenches of not giving any solutions. Even more so when legality has constantly been twisted, modified and altered when it means violating and reducing the rights of Basque political prisoners.
A CALL TO THE NEW GOVERNMENT
Finally the Abertzale Left would like to call out the new Spanish government of the PP.
We live in a situation without the armed struggle and with an expressed wish on the part of ETA for disarmament and the definitive closing of the cycle of armed confrontation. This is a historic opportunity that should be taken advantage of in order to face the process of definitively closing the cycle of armed confrontation.
We consider that this is the wish of the majority of Basque society: definitively overcoming violent confrontation as well as all of its consequences, with the return home of all prisoners and exiles, with the demilitarization of the country and the disarmament of the ETA organization.
For that we call on the Popular Party to carefully study the photograph that yesterdays mobilization left us. That they attend to the demand of the majority of Basque society that it convert into an agent for solutions, and as a first step, to definitively abandon the penitentiary policy that is applied to Basque political prisoners, the greatest and most flagrant violation of rights that is carried out against Basque citizens
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