BASQUE COUNTRY: MORE POLITICAL REPRESSION IN THE BASQUE COUNTRY

The Spanish Supreme Court finally banned two Basque political parties last week following law suits brought against the two parties by the Spanish Government and the Public Prosecutors Office.

The two parties, Basque Nationalist Action (ANV) and the Communist Party of the Basque Lands (EHAK) had been barred from taking part in elections for three years last February by National Court Judge Baltasar Garzon, for alleged links with banned political party Herria Batasuna. In recent year's, three Basque political parties (Herria Batasuna, ANV and the EHAK), a youth group (SEGI), two Basque prisoners' rights group (Senideak and Askatasuna) have all been banned and two Basque newspapers (Egin and Egunkaria) have been closed, leading some to call into question the Spanish democratic process.

The Celtic League General Secretary, Rhisiart Tal-e-bot, who is currently resident in the Basque Country, said this weekend:

«Both the ANV and the EHAK have many elected representatives throughout the Basque Country and would have more representatives if a large proportion of their candidates had not been banned from participating in the 2007 Spanish Municipal elections. The EHAK nevertheless have 9 elected representatives in the Basque Parliament.

The rest of Europe should be made aware of the damage that the Spanish state is inflicting on the Basque democratic process by banning these parties and other groups within Basque civil society. Both the ANV and the EHAK can draw on huge grassroots support and many of their demonstrations involve hundreds of protesters.

The irony of these political purges is that the Spanish political parties from the Fascist Falange movement have been allowed to continue to exist up to the present day with their neo Nazi agendas.»

A spokesperson for the Dublin branch of the Irish Basque Committees said:

«It is hard to think of any process more likely to lead people into use of arms. If they take away every other avenue to organise for and express the desires of the Basque people, if they constantly frustrate every legal democratic initiative and block every popular avenue, what do they expect the Basques to do? Giving up is the one option that the Basques will never choose.»

J B Moffatt Director of Information Celtic League 20/09/08