Tour-The Basques:A People in Resistance id IAA11434; Sat, 27 Sep 1997 08:53:07 -0400 Via NY Transfer News Collective * All the News that Doesn't Fit source: "Nora P. Dwyer" via the ireland_list@email.rutgers.edu I realize that this isn't exactly about Ireland, but with the recent articles in the AP/RN about the Basque tour of the 6 counties, I thought people might be interested.... ________________________________ The Basques: A People In Resistance Much of what has been written about Basque politics has focused narrowly on the armed struggle. Little has been said about the historical or social circumstances facing Basque nationalists. Yet since the death of General Franco in 1975, their struggle for national independence has been marked by increasing repression by the Spanish government. Today there are more political prisoners in Spanish jails than during Franco's dictatorship. Thousands of Basque activists have suffered, and scores have died in the struggle for a Basque Country. It is time we asked how they are able to keep alive their commitment to such an ideal when to do so is so costly. Senideak Tour (Association of Relatives of Basque Political Prisoners, Refugees and Deportees) Inigo Elkoro is a member of the European Democratic Lawyers Association based in Brussels. Inigo has devoted his work to the defense of the Basque political prisoners and the investigation of torture and other inhuman treatment by the Spanish government. He and Prof. Didier Rouget (Paris VIII University) are the authors of "Torture, Cancer of Democracy" on the judicial mechanisms that make possible torture in Spain. He has taken part in the meetings of the European Committee Against Torture of the Council of Europe and the Human Rights Commission of the United Nations investigating Spanish "anti-terrorist" legislation that makes torture possible. Blanka Kalzakorta is a member of Senideak since the association was created in 1991. She was arrested in January 1987 and held under incommunicado detention at a Spanish police-station for 6 days in application of "anti-terrorist", and imprisoned until October 1987. Her mother has been held in a Spanish jail since January 1987 serving a 16 year jail sentence. Since May 1987, Blanka has represented the international relations department of the pro-amnesty organization Gestorak. Schedule of Talks: Sunday October 5 - 2pm "Struggle for Basque Independence" Bluebonnet Room (2nd Floor), University Center, University of Houston Sunday October 5 - 7pm "Che's Contributions to the Basque Struggle" Houston Room (2nd Floor) University Center, University of Houston --- the keynote speaker will be Angela Davis Sunday's talks are part of the Che Commenorative Conference sponsored by the African-American Studies Program-UH, Association of Multicultural Progressive Students (AMPS), The Cuba Friendship Committee, The Irish Unity Committee, The Latina Coalition, MeCha, NOW-UH, Pan-African People for Progressive Action (PAPPA), Women's Studies Program-UH, and The Young Socialists. Monday, October - 12:30pm "Spain's Dirty War Against Basque Refugees" Room 314, South Texas College of Law (1303 San Jacinto), hosted by the South Texas Civil Liberties Association and Women's Legal Forum Wednesday, October 8 -- 11am "Judicial Mechanisms that Make Torture Possible in Spain" Room 263, Thurgood Marshall School of Law (3100 Cleburn Ave.) hosted by the law school faculty. Thursday, October 9 -- 3pm "Women in Struggle-Balancing Feminist and Nationalist Aims" 3rd floor of the Roy Cullen Building, hosted by the UH Women's Studies Program. Day & Time Being Determined -- "The Struggle for the Rights of Basque Political Prisoners" hosted by Amnesty International (Rice University) Information on additional events: Houston Contact: Michael (Irish Unity Committee) at phone no. 713/862-3754 Austin Contact: Doug (Austin Peace & Justice Coalition) at phone no. 512/452-7140 El Paso Contact: Paco (Texas Rural Aid) at phone no. 915/544-5238 Denis Langlois, a French lawyer and writer wrote of the Basques after receiving France's Human Rights Prize, "I have eaten at their tables, I have slept under their roofs, I have talked with them, and my heart has been filled with hope. I have discovered a real community, not one of those folkloric things that are put on show in museums -- a living community, with its own language and an ancient culture that looks forward to tomorrow. This is a people among whom solidarity, friendship and brotherhood are not mere words. This is a community which closes ranks in the face of danger, but in which people sing and dance not only for sheer enjoyment but also out of a profound feeling that they are alive." ____________________________ Euskal Herria (the Basque Country) Historical Timeline 778 On their way back from attacking the Saracens of Zaragoza, the troops of Charlemagne passed through the territory of what was to become known as the Kingdom of Navarra. The Basques united in a popular rising to defeat the aggressor. 1521 The union of Castilla and Aragon ushered in the conquest of Navarra. 1589 After the northern Basques succeeded in defeating the Castilian forces, Henry III was made King of France and Navarre, a title that was to be used by all the Kings of France up to the Revolution of 1789. This king kept Basse Navarre's identity intact as far as its administrative system and his rights of succession were concerned. 1598 Under the Treaty of Vervins, Henry III gave up his claim to Spanish Navarra. The Kings of Spain and France could legitimately call themselves "King of Navarra" for one was effectively King of Navarra in the south, and the other of Basse Navarre to the north. 1833 - 1839 The first Carlist War was fought primary in the southern Basque Country where it took the form of an insurrection in defense of local traditions and foral rights. For seven years the Basques set about creating their own State consisting of its own administration and judicial system and relied on a popular support which served as the basis of a powerful army. 1839 The war ended with the Treaty of Bergera by which the Basques would lay down their arms and disperse their troops in exchange for recognition of their foral rights. The Spanish army then occupied the country, but far from keeping their promise, the Spanish government pursued a policy of unification. Thousands of Basques went into exile, either into the northern parts of their country or else to America. 1841 After the implementation of the Law for the Modification of Foral Rights the Basque territory lost its status as a kingdom and became a province of Spain. 1872 - 76 Discontent throughout the southern Basque Country led to new provincial governments setting up a complex administrative system, introducing their own coinage and issuing their own postage stamps. After the second Carlist defeat, almost all the foral privileges enjoyed by the Basque provinces were abolished. It was these measures which gave birth to the first Nationalist stirrings that were the direct antecedents of the political movements of today. 1900 Vigorous movements appear in defense of Basque liberties and also, for the first time, of the Basque language. 1936-39 During the Spanish Civil War, the great majority of Basque citizens supported the Republic, some in order to promote the national cause, others the cause of the working class, and yet others quite simply to protect Republican liberties. For these reasons most of the Basque people joined the numerous battalions and resistance groups opposed to the Spanish Army and its allies. The war in the Basque Country ended with 50,000 deaths, 10,000 prisoners, and 150,000 exiles. 1937 The Condor Legion of the Germany Army bombed the Basque village of Guernica, the first aerial bombardment of a non-combatant civilian population. 1939-75 Under Franco's dictatorship political parties and trades unions were banned. A system of police interrogation and torture was introduced which continues to the present day. 1978 The majority of voters in the southern Basque Country refuse to approve the Spanish Constitution which recognizes only the "Spanish people" and speaks only of its indissoluble unity, just as the French constitution of 1958 recognizes only the "French people." The Spanish government institutes the current policy of dispersion of Basque political prisoners. The European Parliament, the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture, and the UN's Human Rights Commission have all condemned this policy applied to Basque prisoners. 1983 The Spanish Government begins its "dirty war" against Basque activists with the first operations of GAL . These well-coordinated actions from the outset give rise to massive general strikes and protests in the Basque Country, and soon degenerate into violent confrontations with police. 1986 In a referendum on the Spanish state's membership in NATO, two out of the three Basque providences vote "no." 1994 The combination of public opposition and armed action by ETA, forces the nuclear power station at Lemoiz to close. 1995 ETA's ( Basque Homeland and Freedom) Democratic Alternative --- proposal relating to a ceasefire and end to the conflict---is published. The Spanish government rejects offer from Nobel Peace Laureate Adolfo Perez Esquivel to mediate between the government and ETA for peace talks. 1996 Over 50,000 people marched in the Basque city of Bilbo in support of Basque political prisoners. February 1997 A Basque political prisoner awaiting trial in prison was found hanged in his cell, blindfolded and with hands and feet bound in what the Spanish government called a suicide. July 1997 ETA claims responsibility for the kidnaping and shooting of a Basque politician of the ruling Popular Party. Government orchestrated mobs lynched Basque dissidents and burned several Herri Batasuna's headquarters after politicians and the media accused HB and its supporters of being "accomplices" of ETA. October 1997 Twenty-three members of Herri Batasuna's leadership will go on trial in Madrid. They face up to 8 years in prison on charges of terrorism. The alleged crime---promoting a videotape in which the ETA explains a proposal for cease-fire and peace. ================================================================= NY Transfer News Collective * A Service of Blythe Systems Since 1985 - Information for the Rest of Us 339 Lafayette St., New York, NY 10012 http://www.blythe.org e-mail: nyt@blythe.org ================================================================= nytrc-09.27.97-08:53:24-4574