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Basque struggle for self-rule grows stronger

By Key Martin

Ramon Aldasoro Magunaclava was deported from Miami to Spain last week by the U.S. State Department to face charges in connection with the Basque resistance to domination by the Spanish state. The only evidence submitted at the extradition hearing were three "confessions" obtained under torture by the Spanish government and later recanted.

The deportation comes at the same time as a trial of Spanish Civil Guard members, including a general, in the death-squad torture murders of Basques Jose Angonio Lasa and Jose Ignacio Zabala. These were part of a series of death-squad torture murders.

When the murders were exposed they were a factor in the downfall of the Socialist Party government of Felipe Gonzalez in 1996. The notorious Civil Guard dates back to the fascist regime of Francisco Franco.

Basque political prisoners have faced long prison terms, exceeding a lifetime. The members of the state-sponsored anti-Basque death squads convicted of the torture murders have been paroled after a year if they do any time at all.

Former Civil Guard Gen. Enrique Rodriguez Galindez betrayed the colonial mentality of the government when he called his co-defendants "two of the best men in the fight against terrorism. With six men like them we could have conquered the whole of South America." The death squads have already been implicated in the deaths of 28 Basques.

Aldasoro returns amid a hunger strike among 20 Basque political prisoners over their conditions of confinement. They are especially protesting the Spanish and French governments' policy of transferring them to prisons far from their families and homeland.

The hunger strike began Nov. 1. It is approaching a point where it may jeopardize the participants' lives.

"In jails we are killed little by little. We hopelessly see our relatives and friends die when they come to visit and see how our ill comrades are released to die after having no medical care in prison," the communique of the Basque Political Prisoners Collective declared. "We were imprisoned because we wanted to live in a free Basque Country."

Batera, a newly formed organization of political parties, unions and community organizations from across the political spectrum, has taken on support for the Basque political prisoners. This marks a significant shift in the political landscape as the self-determination struggle has been joined by just about every political party in Basque Country. While many of the parties once had affiliations with parties in Spain, recently they have severed those ties.

On Nov. 28 the ETA (Basque Homeland and Freedom) announced the end of its 14-month cease-fire with the Spanish government after finding it impossible to have any form of meaningful dialog. The ETA has a record of resistance that goes back to the fascist Franco dictatorship.

The Basque country straddles the border between Spain and France, with about 2.6 million Basques living in Spain and 250,000 in France. The French government has cooperated with Spain in the repression of the Basque movements.

The Basque Country is one of the most industrialized regions of Spain. It has a strong labor movement that is known for combativeness. Basques have their own language and national identity and have waged a long history of struggle for self-determination.

Recently there have been protests by tens of thousands in the streets showing popular support for the political prisoners.

Copyright © 1999 workers.org