This file is a mirror of EUSKAL HERRIA JOURNAL by Basque Red Net.

Herri Batasuna: Political Statement
After the Suspension of the Ceasefire

For more than half a year, numerous initiatives have been carried out in the Basque Country in order to consolidate the democratic process insistently demanded by our people. In fact, the Basque social and political majority understands that the existing political conflict can only be overcome through political solutions, based on the respect for the will of Basque men and women who freely decide their destiny. This wish is shaped by the work that, based on the social and political protagonism, is done everyday from the point of view of a nation and our legitimate sovereignty to build our present and future democratically. We do all our best to carry out this work, urging the Spanish and French States to clearly and sincerely undertake to reach a new scenario, a democratic scenario indeed, without violence, and favouring peace from the respect for the decisions freely made by Basque people.

In this context, 14 months ago ETA announced an indefinite and inconditional cease-fire. Thus, Basque people could be the maximum protagonist in both aspects of the democratic process. ETA also stated that they were ready to definitively lay down their arms if the initiated process opened the doors to our country's democracy, overcoming imposition from Madrid and Paris.

In these 14 moths, faced to the wishes of the majority of our people, the Spanish and French Government could not perceive the endeavours made by the Basque people or hear the cry claiming democracy in the Basque Country; not only did these governments despise the demands of Basque institutions and social, political, labour and economic sections; not only did they turn a deaf ear to the Spanish Congress itself, which demanded respect for human rights and humanisation of the conflict; not only did they close their eyes to the rich democratic wave emerging from the political-social platforms and institutional activities to overcome the conflict and to provide Basque people with a floor; as a matter of fact, they also persisted blindly in repression, in the vulneration of their own law, or in denying democratic rights; they even kept on using a language of war, arresting ETA's official spokespersons who were present in the talks with representatives of the Spanish Government; and finally, they still go on with a cruel prison policy on the Basque political prisoners, refusing to take any step to maintain the hope of our people.

This reality of permanent sabotage has seriously endangered the initiated democratic process, blocking its development, and hindering the determination and the will to consolidate it.

In this situation, we want to denounce the obstructionist and anti-democratic attitude of the Governments in Madrid and Paris.

But at the same time, we would like to express our firm determination to face up to the engagements we have taken so far, especially with our people, both political-social or institutional commitments. Our aim is only that democracy and peace in our country are a reality freely decided by all the Basque men and women.

These words do not only want to explain our assessment on the new situation, but they also want to share our concern with the international community, and more specifically with those who represent the European citizenship. We want to call on them to adopt an active role in the search for a democratic solution to the conflict between our country and the Spanish and French States, as far as it is not a domestic problem of these two states, but it affects international stability, and thus needs to be finally resolved.