Basque Country: police forcibly enters worker-occupied industry

Police forces entered this morning with force in the factory of INCOESA in Bedia (Biscay) in order to allow the capitalist to retrieve the produce, raw materials and machinery. 

The workers had occupied the factory in order to prevent delocalization to Castile (Soria and Extremadura). 

Police not only employed violence but also charged seven workers for resistance.

The company is dedicated to the production of electrical transformers.

Real democracy means democratic control of the economy

This instance, like many others, highlights the importance of the democratic social control of the economy, not allowing the capitalists (if these exist at all) to dump the workers who have produced all the wealth at whim. 

It also highlights the importance of nation-peoples to effectively be able to decide independently of higher instances, be them old-school imperialist states like Spain or more complex modern entities like the EU. 

Real democracy means popular control of the economy and exerting that control at local and national levels. Nothing of this could happen under true democratic control by the people, because they would not allow such abuses (or do you think that Bedia would suicide by allowing such abuse to happen if these matters were subject to local democratic control?)

Sources: Naiz Info[es], BGD[eu].

Basque prisoner in hunger strike against deportation to Spain, where he may face torture

Basque prisoner Ibai Sueskun (pictured) is in hunger strike since September 1st against his forced deportation to Spain, where he fears he could be arbitrarily arrested and tortured, even after having completed his 10-year sentence for membership in ETA. 

Sueskun is natural of Larraga (Navarre) but resident in Donibane (Northern Basque Country, under French administration) and is now at the Prison of Tarascon.

Source: Ateak Ireki[es].

Basque Country: Altsasu occupied by military police in fiestas

Spanish military police (Guardia Civil) occupied on Friday the town of Altsasu (Sakana valley, Navarre) in the middle of its fiestas after fascist-like rampage by the Spanish-imposed provincial governor Carmen Alba. 

In 2011 the same fascist proconsul attempted to indict Mayor Garazi Urrestarazu on a festive parody of a royal discourse, now she charges again against the Ospa Eguna, which may be translated as Celebration Day (ospatu = celebrate) or as Go Away Day (ospa! = go away!, coll.) but hardly as Runaway Day, as the ignorant Alba said. 

Whatever the case she has unilaterally declared illegal the festive acts on the absolutely arbitrary grounds that such acts "have not been communicated to the state administration", as if we'd have to tell the occupants about every single local activity we organize in our towns and villages. The acts include a demonstration and the burning of a doll.

The military cops literally surrounded the town with controls and even entered the festive area threatening in Spanish to "clean it up of shit" (what "shit"? are you going to shoot yourselves dead?) 

In spite of all that the activities continued as intended, no matter that a helicopter roared threateningly above the fire of the doll. People showed a lot of bravery dancing and playing among the threatening police occupants.

Witnesses declared:

It was brutal, disproportionate! 

We suffered an incredible police deployment: the people were surrounded by automatic guns. 

For example, when some 200 people took part in the bertso* dinner, they were surrounded by almost the same number of armed cops. Forced identifications and verbal intimidation were common in the day. Town Hall representatives explained that:

It was to drive you crazy. We did not enter into the provocation and in a bertsolari* town as we live in, citizens went on improvising, and also sortzikoak, polkas, Basque dances and games they performed to impress the military policemen, as saying: "here we are and we will stay here". 

Repression no! Go away. Leave Altsasu in peace.

I must say that nothing of all this was in TV news yesterday, neither in the Spanish channels (of course) nor in the Basque ones.

Sources[eu]: Gara, Naiz Info.


* Bertsoak are a form of improvised song, usually in humorous duels, traditional among Basques. The singers are known as bertsolari(-ak).

Update (Sep 2): it has been known now that a young man was arrested, apparently for "answering back" to the verbal aggressions by the police forces → Topatu.info.

Basque Country: Nazi French hooligans attack us

Nazi followers of the Lyon football team made attacks in Donostia (San Sebastian) prior to the match with the local team Real Sociedad. Notably they attempted to cause harm at Urka Mendi tavern and broke some city infrastructure. Police then appeared in great numbers and escorted them to the field (instead of arresting and charging them, as would be logical, punishing them at least without football). 

Some of the French Nazis

Instead, in a fight at the Londres Hotel, in which a French citizen was injured, the aggressors (presumably locals) were arrested.

Sources: Berria[eu] (incl. video; also: photo gallery), Noticias de Navarra[es].

Uruguay protests against the forgetfulness of Mujica

The authors of a massacre in 1994 against those supporting Basque exiles remain not just at large but with power to commit again any such massacre or worse. Hundreds demonstrated in Montevideo against such impunity, demanding justice and memory.

Roberto Facal and Fernando Morrone were the victims of a massacre executed by police in 1994 to break the resistance of some 4000 Uruguayans against the extradition of Basque exiles, who were in hunger strike at Hospital Filtro. At least 500 police officers took part in the attack, using nothing but live fire. 

Not just demonstrators were killed or injured but also nurses like Esteban Massa who was shot in the back while he aided another victim. 

The murderous repression continued mercilessly in union offices and through the neighboring streets. It was then when the two mortal victims were shot. 

It was a bourgeois elected government which assumed all responsibility with no shame nor remorse. Minister of Interior Gianola was backed by the government in full, nobody resigned, nobody was ever prosecuted. 

Every year in the anniversary of the massacre people march through Montevideo demanding justice and memory. The Frente Amplio ignores the issue and one of its leaders even said it was a massacre "to forget". 

Forget? Never! Forgive? Never! The culprits must pay or something of the like will happen again. 

Source: Borroka Garaia Da![es]

Basque Country: 200 years of "Liberal" Spanish imposition

Today 200 years ago the Parliament ("Cortes") of Navarre was dissolved in the name of the new post-Napoleonic "Liberal" regime of Cádiz. 

You may not know it, but in all the Kingdom of Spain, it were the Basque provinces the only ones who remained indifferent towards Napoleonic occupation. There was no guerrilla (except for some late offshoots triggered by the abuses of occupation) and the French Army had absolutely no problem in holding in our little country. Why? Obviously there was no sympathy for Spain and their Nationalist ideas and soon also it became obvious that the new "Liberal" ideology sought to impose the notion of a single nation-state against the wish of our people and its long-held liberties. 

The liberties of Spain became the yoke of the Basque Nation. 

For centuries, the Basque provinces had retained their unique (and quite "Liberal") institutions in the context of the Feudal system that dominated the Kingdom of Castile (later Spain). Our provinces were ruled by elected bodies since at least 1200, date of the Castilian annexation of the Western Basque Country, rooted in the Navarrese Law, very distinct from the Latin one. 

Residual Navarre had however evolved its "Cortes" into an more feudal-like body, similar to other European Parliaments of the time, in which the different estates (castes) were represented in less-democratic form. It was still better than what Castile/Spain had: absolute monarchy, with its intrinsic tendency to corruption and decadence.

With the Spanish War of Independence against the illustrated Napoleonic protectorate, a new and short-lived Spanish Liberal Monarchy arose from the Cortes of Cádiz, under Machiavellian British support. This new state suppressed the Navarrese Cortes altogether exactly 200 years, and also forced the Western Provinces' Juntas (Parliaments) to swear the new constitution, which incidentally suppressed them altogether. 

Ironically the return to Absolutism restored the Basque liberties, what set the stage for a whole century of Taliban-like support by the Basque institutions and people of the most reactionary camp in Spanish politics. Two Carlist wars, almost only manned by Basques, were the product of that imposition. Eventually it became obvious that the Spanish reactionaries were not either our friends and that the Basque society was much more liberal than its forced affiliation may have suggested and a more modern Basque Nationalism emerged, first with the Navarrese Republican Party, then the Basque Nationalist Party and finally with Basque Nationalist Action and its more recent offshoots: ETA and the Basque National Liberation Movement, with its various tactical names.

Partial source: El Blog de Fernando Mikelarena[es].

Basque internationalist arrested in Palestine

Igor Goikolea was arrested by Zionist forces in the town of Ma'Sara (or Al-Masara). In the previous days two other European internationalists (with French and Italian passports) were also arrested in that same town and expelled from the territories under control of the Apartheid regime.

A protest has been called for Monday in his hometown of Vitoria-Gasteiz.

Video of one of the arrests:

Sources: Naiz Info[es], Askapena[eu/es], Borroka Garaia Da![eu].

Basque Country: ideological repression reaches the fiestas of Bilbao and Laudio

The Spanish proconsul in the Western Basque Country, a petty bald guy known as Carlos Urquijo, denounced the recently appointed txupinera (woman in charge of shooting some noisy fireworks known as txupinak) of the Fiestas of Bilbao, Jone Artola (pictured). Why? Because she is the sister of a political prisoner and active for decades in the konpartsa (festive organization) Txori Barrote, related to the prisoner solidarity human rights organization Etxerat (back home), of which she has been speaker often. 

That would half-normal, considering the fascist imperialist nature of the Kingdom of Spain. But what is more worrisome is that a tribunal accepted yesterday the demand, temporarily suspending Artola at just one week from the beginning of the Fiestas. 

A few days ago another tribunal also suspended the appointment of Pablo Gorostiaga, 71, as pregonero (in charge of reading the festive proclamation or inaugural discourse) of the fiestas of Laudio. Gorostiaga was for many years the elected mayor of this town but was sentenced to nine years of prison in a political persecution trial. 

Pablo Gorostiaga in a political meeting

The legal pretext for both instances of political repression is the so-called Law of Acknowledgement and Reparation to the Victims of Terrorism, which is designed, it seems, to impede free speech and increase political repression against Basque patriots. 

It is hard to see how these kind of fascist measures can help at all to bring peace and conciliation. Rather the opposite: it seems that Madrid is determined to re-ignite the endless war, probably because they need some sort of distraction for all the socio-economic problems they are unable to solve, never mind deep institutional corruption. 

Source: Naiz Info[es] (link 1, link 2, link 3, link4).

Basque Country: fascist terrorist group threatens mayors with death

Mayors and councilors of EH Bildu denounced the threats

The cell known as Falange y Tradición was in the recent past involved in terrorist threats and embryonic terrorist organization. Their components were eventually arrested but later released without charges. 

The fascist gang clearly enjoys protection from the regime's twin party as was evident when one of its members was invited to Basque TV (ETB) under the anti-democratic rule of the Spanish regime's parties, issuing all kind of racist insults and threats. 

Now, under a new name, they have arrogantly decreed "death penalty" to the mayors of Baztan and Elizondo unless they place the Spanish flag and get rid of Basque ones and pro-prisoner banners. 

Text of the Spanish imperialist death threats

According to Sare Antifaxista this new "Navarrese Nationalist Grouping" is nothing but Falange y Tradición, whose leader J.I. Irusta and other members are well known.

What is clear is that the Spanish institutions are behind this criminal terrorist group, which is clearly pushing Basque patience to the extreme. If a murder happens, it is probable, I believe, that the whole unilateral "peace process" goes down the toilet altogether because you can't really ask the People not to defend their lives against direct murderous attacks like this one. It's clear to me that any such political murder will cause retaliation and this may cause a violent spiral that ends this rather fruitless "peace process" altogether.

Psy-op?

It's very possible that this is the kind of psy-op that Mariano Rajoy has been pondering to distract the attention from the socio-economic disintegration of Spain. Britain is a tad too big to push them too far but the Basque People may become a scapegoat of the inability of Spain to face its own dramatic problems. 

In this sense there's hardly anything that the Spanish nationalist stablishment could wish more than the return of the open war. They have done everything in their hands to sabotage any peace arrangement of any sort and it seems clear that they believe they are better with ETA than without ETA. They believe that Spaniards are stupid enough to forget their huge problems with unemployment, home evictions, lack of social support public infrastructures, deep corruption and collapse of the legitimacy of the whole post-Francoist political system. 

They are surely wrong. But they probably think they lose nothing trying old distraction tricks. 

But, if you ask me, I am pretty sure that such an escalation could end in the Yugoslavization of Spain, which is just too fragile internally in too many fronts (not just Basque Country and Catalonia but national dissidence is also growing in Galicia, Andalusia and even Canary Islands, while the rest is in deep social turmoil) to withstand any further conflicts. We are not anymore in the Fordist Era, Mariano (and the rest), Fascism simply does not work today: people just won't obey.

But they are desperate: they can really try anything to distract the attention.

Fiction story: "we need a Malvinas or something"

Mariano, the President of Spain, which is a Kingdom, was having a hard time deflecting the widespread criticisms against his economic policy of destruction of social services and extremely high unemployment, as well his party's moral collapse into corruption. 

Worse, Mariano, the President of the Sunny Kingdom, had that day to speak before Congress. The opposition does not understand his phobia to multitudes and had forced him to face his worst fear: other people. Strange that someone like him would choose to become politician but you know: Spain is different. 

Not so different anyhow: politicians lie like everywhere else. Just that a lot more, especially Mariano, who never understood that the best lies are the ones camouflaged among many truths.

Whatever the case Mariano was feeling very bad that day. Nobody noticed because he's a good poker player and even a sympathetic tabloid declared he "won" the next day. It was the only one however. 

Before his second turn as speaker he was however recorded¹ talking to his minister, Fátima Báñez:

-- This is getting unbearable, Fátima-- said the President --, we have been months already sleeping in separate rooms. 

And then:

-- This year there is no football, nor Olympic Games... there are some swimming pools but those are Catalan... I believe we can only resort to more extreme measures. 

-- An extreme measure? Which one? -- asked the minister.

-- The Malvinas² measure, of course -- replied Mariano.

-- What do you mean?

-- I don't know: Ceuta and Melilla, The Rock³, Perejil Island⁴... -- he replied --. Let the assessors deal with the details. 

A few days later Spain imposed restrictions to the only land access to Gibraltar, charging 50 euros per car and submitting them to extreme police controls. The pretext? A recent fishing rights dispute and accusations of money laundering and tax evasion.

Sadly for Mariano, every single Spaniard asked on TV was apparently aware that it was a distraction maneuver. The locals even protested because of some of the most harmed were Spaniards working in The Rock. 

But there is a place where Spanish media never properly reports. In a quiet tavern of Bilbao's Old Quarter the feeling was very different. 

-- I know for a fact that the Spanish Navy is about 2/3 of the British one-- said Txomin, whose extense background as antimilitarist activist provided him with a deep knowledge of everything military, somewhat ironically.

-- Then they can perfectly invade Gibraltar unopposed if they want-- concluded Patxi --. By the time the English arrive, The Rock has been secured and there's nothing they can do other than shower Madrid with nukes. 

-- They won't do that-- argued Esteban --. If they did not use them against Argentina, much less they will in Europe.

-- True-- agreed Txomin --. Another one? 

-- Sure. 

The jars were quickly refilled and paid. 

-- Would I be Cameron, I'd invade Bilbao instead-- suggested Patxi.

-- What?-- replied both drinking buddies at the same time.

-- Sure: it's the most logical thing to do-- insisted Patxi --. While the Spanish fleet is pinned in the Strait defending their new conquest, the Royal Navy lands here and gives us weapons, a lot of them. And we fight their war with their air and naval support. It's a sure bet.

As his friends were looking with some disbelief he continued:

-- Catalonia only borders the Mediterranean and France, which will surely not collaborate with London. Anyhow they are a bunch of pansies. They could land in places like Galicia or Canary Islands but the natives may not collaborate too much, unsure. So their best bet is to arm the Basques... and also get Morocco to invade Ceuta and Melilla. 

-- Seen like that... -- agreed Txomin a bit reluctantly. 

-- Actually it may well be the best thing that can happens to us Basques -- concluded Patxi --: the NATO solidarity would be broken and we would have a decent chance to break free from Spain, for a change. 

-- You may well be right -- conceded Esteban --. Now I really hope that Rajoy is as dumb as to invade Gibraltar. 

-- I drink for it -- said then Txomin, raising his half-empty jar --. "Gibraltar Español!"

The jars converged in the air among laughs. 

___________________________________________________________________________________

Notes:

¹ The conversation between Mariano Rajoy and Fátima Báñez is an Internet rumor (source). Allegedly the original video, recorded in August 1st, was posted by some media and then retired without any explanation but I could not get any confirmation. It still inspired me, together with other anecdotes, this story that I hope you enjoyed. 

² Malvinas Islands, more often known in English as the Falklands. There was a war between Britain and Argentina back in the 1980s if you recall. 

³ The Rock: nickname of Gibraltar, disputed by Spain and Britain. 

⁴ Perejil Island: Spanish name of an islet known in Berber as Tura and in Arabic as Jazirat Tura. Located off the coast of Ceuta it was the subject of a brief and bloodless military dispute between Spain and Morocco in 2002.

Bilbao: empty building occupied for homes

The number 13th of Ribera Street (pictured), abandoned for years, was occupied yesterday by people in need of a home.

The building is located in the Old Quarter (Alde Zarra) of Bilbao, Basque Country. 

In their communication, the squatters denounced the city model, oriented to tourism and big companies, what pushes most people to precariousness (temporary jobs, no collective agreements, low salaries) and the near-impossibility to have a decent home (or a living in general). 

They denounce the speculators and the corrupt politicians, who push the people to joblessness, homelessness and even lack of a decent education.

We are tired of getting just the crumbs, they say. And, after recalling the long European squatter tradition, they declare:

We cannot waste any more time, we have to take the future in our hands. We have occupied this building with a clear intention: to create a space for all the people and with open doors to learn how to take the reins of our own lives. 

Sources[es/eu]: Borroka Garaia Da!, Elkartzen.

Basque Country: Nazi alert in Bilbao

This armed (and truly dangerous) man who looks so much like Sylvester Stallone is a well known Nazi from Valladolid (Castile), plays the guitar in the Nazi music band "Más que palabras" ("More than just words") and is suspect of several violent aggressions in his hometown and in Santander. He's known as "Albertito" and I could not find his full name online (although it's probably known).

On May 23, he attacked a Cantabrian independentist in the city of Santander, to whom they followed from Bilbao in the bus. When the victim reported to police, these sarcastically asked him: "why do you think he attacked you and not me?"

Stupid question proper of a stupid man who should (but will not) be suspended on his functions as police agent. 

It is believed that the Nazi cell that Albertito is organizing in Bilbao already attacked an immigrant worker in the subway in 2010 (Bilbao subway has extreme security measures, yet they got away).

The Nazi thug and potential assassin has apparently organized a small cell of Nazis in Bilbao who organized a "protest" in "solidarity" with the murderer of Clément Méric in Paris two months ago. These are their faces:

Albertito leading his horde (click to expand)

What can be said and what can be done?

Zero tolerance against Fascism and get that scum out of our streets quickly. Cancers are much easier to deal with when they are small, else we may well end up with a serious problem.

Sources[es]: Sare Antifaxista, La Haine.

Political repression of Basque youths continues unabated

Two more young Basques have seen confirmed their ideological punishment of six years in prison for the "crime" of illegal association, i.e. for being members of a political organization arbitrarily banned by the Spanish imperialist authorities.

This very same Spanish Supreme Court just the day before dramatically reduced a sentence against Spanish corrupt ringleader Jaume Matas (ex-President of Balears, PP) from six years to a mere nine months (so he won't go to prison).

The sentence reduction, by means of declaring the politician innocent of most charges, was issued by a tribunal which is controlled by the ultra-catholic greedy power-mongering cult Opus Dei and on whose likely deep corruption as institution there are already appearing detailed articles and even a Facebook group. 

Back to incorruptible Basque revolutionaries, it is expected that, in the next weeks, other trials for political activity will be reactivated in the Spanish Supreme Court. 

A campaign of civil disobedience, the popular wall already organized in similar cases in order to highlight the dramatic ideological repression that Spain continues exerting against the youth of this oppressed country, is being readied for these cases. 

However what is desirable and democratic is that repression ends at once and that Castile-Spain pulls back its occupation forces behind the 1199 international border.

Note: all links direct to Spanish language articles.

Basque Country: fascist aggression in Pamplona

A man who wishes to remain anonymous was victim of a well organized violent fascist attack by three men, apparently young, completely dressed in black and wearing masks. 

The attack happened in the San Fermin fiestas of the historical Basque capital. The victim fell a hit on the back of his head and when he turned around was hit again on the face with an extensible baton. The third strike broke his finger, as he tried to protect his head. He then fell down and made himself a ball, "like when the bulls get you" remaining that way the rest of the aggression, in his own words: pretending to be dead. 

Eventually the attackers stopped the aggression and left. Even if the attackers were three, the beatings were produced by one of them, the other two acting as escorts only. 

It seems apparent that some fascist organization is trying to gain some ground in Iruñea-Pamplona, because in recent weeks there has been graffiti, a homophobic attempted attack and also another attempted attack against the see of Basque labor union ELA. 

The fascist nature of the attack seems clear in this context and also because who else would make such an organized beating. The victim wore a t-shirt with an unspecified popular demand printed on it.

However the exact nature of the fascist group remains a mystery so far. 

Source: Ateak Ireki[es] (incl. video of the victim narrating the aggression in first person).

Basque Country: political arrests in Navarre

Three Five arrested, see updates below.

Artzai Santesteban has been arrested tonight in Antsoain by Spanish police forces under unclear accusations of taking part in "an incident" during these San Fermin fiestas. It is speculated that it may be the placing of the gigantic Basque flag but no details have surfaced yet. 

He seems to be a scapegoat because he has been previously persecuted once and again: he was arrested in Italy under the political accusation of being member of Segi (Basque Left-Nationalist youth movement) and then deported to Spain, where he was in prison for more than a year. 

He was also accused of burning several cash machines, without evidence, the case being archived.

Last year he also became scapegoat of an inconsequential fight which took place within the riau-riau between Basque and Spanish nationalist individuals. Only Basque Nationalists were arrested. 

Just months ago he was declared not guilty for an attack against a police van. As in the other occasions, there was absolutely no evidence, excepted declarations obtained under torture. 

He still awaits trial for being member of Segi.

Source: Ateak Ireki[es].


Update: not one but three people have been arrested, according to Naiz Info[es].

Besides the already mentioned Artzai Santesteban, Endika Garai and Jon Karmelo Lizarazu are the other two victims of this instance of political repression.

It seems that the accusations are not related to the hanging of a Basque flag before the City Hall but to the clashes that, triggered by police violence, took place in Txapitela St. when a march attempted to access the City Hall Square with another large ikurriña:

Video by Ateak Ireki

In those incidents Navarrese MP Txelui Moreno was injured by police batons on the head. Allegedly a municipal policeman was also injured by a bottle, although this is not apparent in the video. 


Update: two more have been arrested so far: Ekaitz Esteban Baruke and Eneko Pérez → Ateak Ireki[es].


Update (Jul 18): the five have been released but another person, Monika Mendiberri was arrested tonight in the Old Quarter of Iruñea-Pamplona accused of "destruction" (arson?, vandalism?) → Ateak Ireki[es].

The victims of political persecution denounced the ruling party UPN to have done that in order to hide their own misery. One denounced beatings while under arrest. → Ateak Ireki[es] (incl. press conference video).

Basque Country: how the gigantic national flag was placed before the City Hall (video)

You may not know it but the word bizarre comes from Basque bizardun (bearded), via Spanish bizarro (brave, dashing, manly). You may consider, or not, this a little bizarre but it is certainly fully bearded. 

Bizardun productions presents: The making of the 2013 ikurriña:

 

This direct nonviolent action put the Basque national icon in the forefront of San Fermin fiestas again. The authorities decided then to delay the beginning of the fiestas nothing less than 20 minutes, something absolutely unprecedented. 

Source: Ateak Ireki[es].


Update (Jul 24): Tasio at Gara imagined the unpopular UPN authorities planning the 2014 txupin in order to absolutely impede the Basque flag to be present:

Translation:

THE INTERIOR COMMITTEE OF PAMPLONA CITY HALL PLANNING THE TXUPIN OF THE YEAR 2014

Councilor A: Here in Santo Domingo we deploy the 5th infantry battalion, clearing the area for the sapper company of the Legion...

Councilor B: In the roofs we place the sharpshooter company just arrived from Afghanistan.

Councilor C: The [armored division] Brunete we put in Mercaderes St. The tanks in white and red to dissimulate a bit... the guns covered with sashes.

Cop A: I bet a thousand that next year's ikurriña is even larger. 

Cop B: That's not fair: you are playing safe.

Luckily for all 2014 will be their last year in power... unless the sky falls over our heads, so to say. 

Basque Country: San Fermin parade march under the demand of the People to oust the government

The San Fermin institutional parade that every day officially opens the fiestas has found itself drowned by the massive popular demand for the extremely corrupt and illegitimate government to resign. While the authorities marched under heavy police protection, the crowds chanted: "UPN kanpora!" (UPN out!). 

The Navarrese People's Union (UPN) is a "regionalist" party tightly allied with the Spanish Nationalist Right (PP) and is not just extremely opposed to the recovery of the Basque identity, language and culture of Navarre, never mind joining the other Southern Basque regions politically, but also has demonstrated in the last years to be one of the worst institutional looters of Europe, being so extremely and blatantly corrupt that they will no doubt lose the government for the first time in decades as soon as there are free elections. 

Video of the parade:

Source: Ateak Ireki[es].


Txupin for prisoners get harassed by police

A group of Navarrese citizens also wanted to make the fiestas reach, even if just symbolically, to the prison. Therefore they launched their own alternative txupin (sound firework) near the prison (photo) and organized a lunch.

A van of the Spanish National Police showed up, forcing the identification of the activists with very aggressive attitude, while from prison it could be heard the protests against the cops: "assassins", "antiterrorist law for them", "son of a bitch"...

When the activists were already leaving, some police agents used their batons against them. 

Source: Ateak Ireki[es].

Torture in the Basque Country

From Borroka Garaia Da! (English and Spanish original, videos subtitled in English):

Torturas. Torture in the Basque Country

10.000 basques  has been tortured in the Spanish state for the past 50 years. 40.000 politically-related arrested Basques over 53 years an more than 30.000 were not later charged.

That in a country of barely three million people some ten thousand cases of torture have been documented is an indicator of the brutality that has characterized the state in their repression of the Basque independence movement, and the fact that the cases have maintained throughout time an example that the this repression hasn’t changed with regimes or governments. Torture has always been understood by Madrid as one more tool in their policy towards this people.

An example that torture has been a strategy of the state against the Basque Country is to realize that there have only been 19 convictions condemning torture. Altogether, no more than 62 agents of the state’s security forces have been condemned for torturing Basque citizens. And what is even more shameful, more than half of those condemned, a total of 36 have been pardoned by the governments of the PP or the PSOE.

—————



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kOlrOwf_O5g



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r_iaxiJ_QAM



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KGLi0ii9Jfs



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-3Ra9UAGzC8

Spanish High Court judge Baltasar Garzón complied with the protocol regarding the people held under arrest after the police operation executed in Biscay in July 2008, and, in theory, the Guardia Civil (a Spanish police force) adopted several due procedures concerning those under arrest; meanwhile, the Guardia Civil video-recorded the arrest. During the oral trial some images taken in the cells were shown: the arrested people along with the policemen can be seen to and fro the corridors of the jail — Arkaitz Goikoetxea, Iñigo Gutierrez, Maialen Zuazo and Anabel Prieto-

The documentary gathers together the statements made by those tortured under police arrest by the police, the assessments of lawyers and experts, and the images shown in the trial. The work is made in Spanish with Basque, French and English subtitles.

——–

120 hours. Torture against the Basque Country

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l0dk3vvILUc#at=2104

English subtitles

Eguzki bideoak

“120 horas, la tortura contra Euskal Herria”; un documental que trata de explicar los recobecos de la tortura y su uso en la actualidad. Este método con el que sonsacar información o con el que forzar a admitir una información que puede o no ser cierta, ha sido aplicada de manera sistemática a muchas de las personas detenidas que participaban en el movimiento social de euskal herria.
A través de entrevistas a personas que han sufrido esta práctica ruin y otras que han analizado con detenimiento esta realidad, como abogadas, médicas y activistas especializadas conoceremos por qué todavía es posible que la tortura se aplique, considerando que nos encontramos en un supuesto sistema democrático donde se preservan los derechos civiles y humanos, y cuáles podrían ser los mecanismos para erradicar esta realidad que los vulnera de manera radical.

————

TORTURE AGAINST THE BASQUES

———–.





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Basque Country: San Fermin fiestas begin with unprecedented delay

The highly unpopular, and therefore illegitimate, Navarrese and Pamplonese authorities have made once again all in their hand again to impede the popular demands from being present in the txupin (firework shooting, official beginning of the fiestas), notably Basque flags.

Their Spanish nationalist zeal was such that they delayed for the first time in history the txupin in order to allow police forces to remove a Basque flag that had been hang above the plaza by a group of people wearing berets and fake beards.

The march that carried a large Basque flag to the City Hall Plaza was blocked by police forces, with some use of violence. Only after they folded it they were allowed to continue. Smaller flags were allowed in however.

In the incident, people chanted in favor of prisoners to come back home and for police forces to go away instead. They also demanded that ruling Spanish Nationalist party UPN to resign.

Sources: Naiz Info[es], video from Ateak Ireki.

Basque Country: IKEA workers on strike

The strikes in IKEA Barakaldo have been a very clear success, with most workers joining them. The Swedish multinational has responded with illegal measures firing striking workers (totally illegal) and replacing them by new staff. 

The strikes come as result of new working hours schedules that would force employees to work six days per week (instead of five) and reduce the number of yearly free saturdays from 17 to just 8. All workers would be obliged to work as much as nine hours per day, even those with half-journey contracts. 

The company tried to minimize the impact of the strike putting their managers to work as provisional cashiers, as every single cashier had joined the strike. This is illegal and contravenes the right to strike, reason why the Company Comitee (worker representation) has sued them. 

Further negotiations have not reached any deal. 

IKEA Norte is making ridiculously high profits and there is absolutely no objective reason to make such brutal demands to workers, much less in a context of widespread unemployment, where new workers can be hired almost overnight.

Source: Herri Kolore[es].