2007/X/17
Askapena and the international solidarity

Askapena thank the expressions of solidarity received from different parts of the world, specially from the persons and organizations who are acting in solidarity with the detainees during the last police operation of the Zapatero government against Batasuna's leadership, and who are claiming the right of self-determination, and a negotiated solution for Euskal Herria, the Basque Country.

Euskal Herria is not alone in their fight, and have good friends all over the world as we can see them showing their solidarity in front of the Spanish consulates and embassies, and organizing informative talks and discussions about the ongoing political apartheid in Euskal Herria...

This solidarity work is not useless, and hurts the Spanish government strategy aiming to prolong a conflict lasting too many years.

Zapatero government is obsessed about keeping in the dark their politics in Euskal Herria. As an example, we can see what happened in Caracas (Venezuela): On the "Hispanic Day" was showed a documentary called "Euskal Herria, a history of fight an resistance ", produced by Resumen Latinomaricano and Askapena. The Spanish ambassador in Venezuela himself asked the organizers not to show the documentary. The Spanish Embassy also phoned the vice-minister for European affaires to tell the organizers that the documentary "was no fitting for the occasion".

The organizers denounced these pressures, and highlighted the "coincidence" because it happened on October 12, "Hispanic Day". "It seems that 515 years later, the Spanish Empire still thinks that Venezuela is one of their colonies", they said.

The organizers have also announced a solidarity campaign with Euskal Herria, and a campaign denouncing the detention of Batasuna's leadership.

During this act was handed out a manifesto made by different Venezuelan popular organizations denouncing the detention of several leaders of Batasuna carried out by judge Garzón, whose stay in Venezuela invited by a business men association, belonging to the opposition, is well remembered. At this time, the vice-president of the Republic of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, who remembered that Garzón had closed several Basque newspapers, answered Garzón's statement, and called him "a clown". The president of the Venezuelan High Court also answered and said that "Garzón is an example of what a judge should never been ".
Garzón has also been denounced in Chilli, where the Movimiento Patriótico Manuel Rodríguez, said about the well known in Chilli "judge Baltasar Garzón" that "this judge has the same methods that the Chilean military attorneys attending the raids, and receiving at their offices the tortured prisoners. He has not only tried to imprison the pro-independence activists and close their parties, but also he has closed Basque speaking printer's, newspapers and radios, in a Franco period style'. The MPMR made a rally in front of the Spanish Embassy in the capital, Santiago de Chile.

There have also been many examples of solidarity in Europe, from the left as well from the European nations without State, from Andalusia to Kurdistan: Galice, Castile, the 'Platform for peace, dialogue and rights' from Madrid, Paďsos Catalans, Brittany, Corsica, Sardinia, Occitania, Scotland, Ireland, Italy...

In Ireland and Italy there were mobilizations in Belfast, Cork, Milan and Rome. In Ireland there were a big representation of people from the Sinn Féin, from the youth organization 'Ogra Sinn Féin' and from the organization of the ex-political prisoners Coiste. In Belfast it will take place a big demonstration.

October 12th, in Athens (Greece) delegations from the Greek Social Forum, the Anti-imperialist Space and the Communist Organization of Greece (KOE) gathered outside the Embassy of the Spanish State in Athens in order to protest against the arrests of leading members of Batasuna, they condemned the new wave of repression against Batasuna and expressed their support towards the efforts for a just and democratic solution. The protest was peaceful despite the presence of "anti-riot" police units. The protest resolutions were read through a megaphone, and a representative of the participants pasted the resolution of the Greek Social Forum on the main entrance of the Embassy. Reporters from national newspapers and radio-stations covered the protest.

In Italy the bigger rallies took place in front of the Spanish Consulate in Milan, and in front of the Spanish Embassy in Rome. This one was attended by all the left organization, the institutional ones (the PCI and Refundazione Comunista are in the government), and the radical left ones. The participants were: Rete dei Comunisti, Federazione Giovanile ComunistiI italiani Roma, Comitato con la Palestina nel cuore, Radio Euskadi (RadioOndaRossa), Confederazione Cobas, Federazione Romana del Partito della Rifondazione Comunista, Coordinamento per l'unitŕ dei comunisti, CDR, Militant, Associazione Sinistra Critica, L'Ernesto, Erromako Euskaldunberriak, Marco Odorici (Capogruppo PRC Comune Casalecchio di Reno), Fosco Giannini (senatore Prc, direttore de "L'Ernesto"), Enrico Campofreda (giornalista, Roma), Adriana Spera (Capogruppo P.R.C.-S.E al Consiglio Comunale di Roma), Claudio Ortale (capogruppo PRC-SE Municipio Roma 19), Nando Simeone (Consiglio Provinciale di Roma.

Other expressions of solidarity came from two Mexican representatives from the PRD; Quebracho and Martin Fierro in Argentina; the Coordinadora Continental Bolivariana, Movimiento 26 de Marzo-Frente Amplio and Fogoneros in Uruguay (where next Thursday a rally will take place in Montevideo); Partido Comunista from Bolivia, the Frente Nacional de Lucha por el Socialismo from Mexico...

The ongoing moment in our country is undoubtedly critical, and this is the reason why we are pleased seeing that Euskal Herria is answering the attacks by organizing mobilizations as well as with political initiatives, as the one announced by ANV that they will be in the march 2008 general elections, or Batasuna's communiqué made today, October 14, highlighting that "we will answer, and we will keep on with a bigger political initiative, if possible, working side by side with our activists, founding the bases of our political project by a permanent interlocution in order to achieve a Basque State socialist and independent". On the other hand, the internationalist solidarity with the fight of our people for their rights is growing, and is eroding the "democratic" image of the States at the international level.

hamaika herri, borroka bakarra!
Many peoples, just one fight!

Askapena, October14, 2007

  · Fotos de Roma, Atenas, Dublin, Cork y Caracas
  · Fotos de Milano, Belfast, Santiago de Chile, Caracas