Calls to reinforce the Basque Process

international | rights, freedoms and repression | news report

Thursday January 04, 2007 15:14

by Irish Basque Committees

irishbasques at hotmail dot com

The leader of the banned left wing pro-independence political party Batasuna, Arnaldo Otegi, has assured that the attack perpetrated last Saturday morning in the Madrilenian airport of Barajas does not imply the rupture of the peace process. Infact, he has appealed to "serenity and responsibility".

"The process is not broken", has insisted calmly, in fact, now it is more necessary than never to maintain it alife "because is what the Basque and Spanish majorities want" it is time to reinforce and estabilise it.

Just after that, Arnaldo Otegi remenbered that in the last few moths Batasuna has many times denounced that the process to overcome the conflict had structural problems. Also mentioned that in the past nine months no party's board has been formed, that there is no agreement and also, has not neared the prisoners and Iñaki de Juana Chaos, in hunger strike, is on the verge of dying "tied to the bed of a hospital".

He has criticized that representatives of the socialist Executive "have been boasted to have done less than the others" in previous truces. All of these, Batasuna believes, clearly shows how fragil the pocess really was. Otegi has blame the Spanish government of letting the ceasefire reach to an end underlining that a process can not be built in such a situation.

Never the less the situation is not "Broken" believes the left pro-independence party, "the process is necessary and we must go on "underlining its compromise to go to the end. Strong bases are needed, "Sadly, if there was anything agreed it has not been fulfilled and if there was none nothing has been built" said Otegi.

"Todays attack must not bring us back to the situation before the 24th March" day of the cease-fire was called. To re-start the process and go on with the talks some "basic conditions" must be ensured. All the differents sensibilities must take part in a process to build a new framework in the absence of violence based on respect.

"All the parties involved must take part on this compromise towards resolution, Batasuna will forward new ideas to make that dialogue posible." In his intervention, the spokesman of Batasuna has expressed his"solidarity with the wounded" and their hope "so that they appear the bodies of the missing persons."

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Comments (2 of 2)

correct links (sorry)

by iosaf

Wed Feb 07, 2007 14:10

Basque independence / seperatist daily newspaper
http://www.gara.net/azkenak/02/2078/eu/Batasuna/propone...erria
Catalan independence news platform
http://www.vilaweb.cat/www/noticia?p_idcmp=2263981

Batasuna have just unveiled their political wish-list.

Wed Feb 07, 2007 14:06

I have covered the near day by day developments which have led up to this at this article :-
http://www.indymedia.ie/article/80679

But Otegi's statement belongs here under the call he made for a unitary push by the Basque independence left formations (generally called "Batasuna/ETA") in Ireland.

They propose :-

(1) The creation of a new autonomous region within the Spanish State which unites the two such regions which are presently called "Basque Country" and "Navarra".
(2) That the citizens of those 2 curent autonomous regions have free participation in referendum in such a decision to unify the "Foral" government of Navarra with the "Lehandakari's" government of the Basque.
(3) This shall begin an interim process within the Spanish state to establishing a Euskal Herria with its own institutions built on those 2 parliaments & their historica rights (to collect taxes.)
(4) Parallel to this proposal for the Spanish State, the French State will be asked to establish a "Autonomous region" in that department of the Pyrennes which shall become "Northern Basque" this will mean dividing a department (region) of the centralised French state & establishing the first autonomous region in its history.

& here is the statement from the Basque independence formation's daily newspaper Gara
http://www.indymedia.ie/article/80679&comment_limit=0&c...82740
& report on same at the Spanish Daily "el Pais"
http://www.elpais.com/articulo/espana/Otegi/propone/cre...4/Tes
& report on same at the Catalan independence formation's news platform "vilaweb"
http://www.vilaweb.cat

[this is a news update & I consider it wrong to append a comment & will do so in any case under my article "Dialogue & Peace The Process must be" as these issues will be "debated". http://www.indymedia.ie/article/80679 ]

Traditional Euskal Herria - 2 Spanish regions & half a French department

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Calls to reinforce the Basque Process

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