POLITICAL SITUATION IN THE BASQUE COUNTRY 2 MONTHS AFTER THE ETA'S CEASE-FIRE AND THE LIZARRA DECLARATION

A new promising political situation emerged in the Basque Country since the ETA announced a cease-fire on September 18th, 1998 and most Basque political, labour and social organisations signed the Lizarra-Garazi Agreement on September 12th. At present, Basque people are determined to resolve the political conflict between the Spanish State and the Basque Country, to embark on a peace process and to advance recognition of the right to freely determine our own destiny.

Since these two significant events took place in our country, many voices have raised at the international and state level, as well as in the Basque Country, to support the new emerging process.

International Support

First, Herri Batasuna is working hard at the international level to provide the international public opinion -and different governments, institutions, political parties and trade unions- with information about the emerging Basque political process. Herri Batasuna demands the International Community should get involved in this process and should influence on the Spanish and French Governments to take effective steps and resolve the current political conflict.

In October this year, 5 Peace Nobel Prizes (Adolfo Perez Esquivel, Jose Ramos Horta, Rigoberta Menchu, Joseph Rotblat and Mairead Corrigan Magire) welcomed the Lizarra Declaration and the ETA's truce, assuring that "there is a new interest in finding alternatives to resolve the conflict, which are based on Basque people's leading role and power to make decisions". The Nobel Prizes called on the "Spanish Government, ETA, authorities and people in the Basque Country, and on the political parties, churches and social organisations, confident that they will grasp this historic opportunity and redouble endeavours to resolve this conflict through dialogue, consensus, inclusive participation and democratic respect". Besides, Gerry Adams, leader of the Sinn Fein and one of the protagonists of the peace settlement in Ireland, visited the Basque Country on October 5th, and thus showed his allegiance to the Basque nationalist left in their aim to find a negotiated solution.

In addition, several HB delegations have recently visited the French State, Belgium, Great Britain, Ireland, Portugal, Italy, Argentina, Uruguay and Mexico. These delegations were welcomed in all these countries, where they gathered backing for a conflict of political origins and nature. Soon, more delegations will visit different countries.

As a result of these contacts, the President of Portugal Mario Soares and the President of Italy Francesco Cossiga backed a process of negotiation and peace in the Basque Country and urged the Spanish Government to take real steps such as a declaration like the "Downing Street Declaration". In this document, the former Irish and British Prime Ministers undertook to respect the will of the people in the North and South of Ireland and supported a process of dialogue to put an end to confrontation.

On the other hand, on November 15th, the Christian Democrat Internationale (including Aznar's Partido Popular and the Basque Nationalist Party -PNV-) approved a declaration in their XIIth Assembly General held in Madrid, which was promoted by the Irish ex-Prime Minister John Bruton. In this declaration, the members of the Internationale stated they hope new political situation will bring about peace in the Basque Country. However, due to the pressures of the Spanish PP, a paragraph was left out which said "the formula to achieve a framework of peace and stability in the Basque Country is respect for democracy, people's will and plurality of the Basque community". This fact shows present PP Government's refusal to advance a peace process grounded on respect for the will of the Basque people.

Likewise, on November 19th, the Committee of Regions in the European Community passed a resolution stating "respect for democracy, people's will and plurality of the Basque community are the grounds to achieve a framework of peace and stability in the Basque Country".

Besides, at the end of October, Herri Batasuna took part in the VIIIth meeting of the Sao Paulo Forum in Mexico, which gathered all the leftist organisations in Latin America and Caribbean Sea. This meeting was also attended by leftist parties from Europe and other continents who came as observers. Then, a resolution was passed by which the Forum expressed their "sincerest desire for a near and just resolution to the Basque conflict".

Moreover, the Parliament in Uruguay recently demanded that the Spanish Government should take decisive steps in the new process. And the African National Congress -ANC- sent a letter of support from South Africa.

New initiatives in the Basque Country

As soon as the agreement was signed and the truce was announced, different political parties, trade unions and social movements openly backed a political process. Afterwards, it was the Church and the entrepeneurs' sector that stated their view.

On the one hand, in September, the Bishops of the Southern Basque Country -on the Spanish side- regarded the ETA's truce as a significant step for pacification and called on the rulers and politicians to advance the process. Then, on November, Pierre Moleres, Bishop of Baiona, published his pastoral letter in which he applauded the Lizarra-Garazi Agreement. He considered the whole Basque Country is ready to work out new insitutional alliances and reminded the public of the issue of refugees and political prisoners, asking for measures to improve their situation.

Besides, through a press release, CONFEBASK, Basque Entrepeneurs' Confederation, stated they were satisfied and hopeful for the ETA's announcement of truce, and supported the new process. According to the Basque businessmen, all the Basque people should engage to make success of this peace opportunity.

Support from the Spanish State

In March 1998, a group of more than 200 Spanish well-known intellectuals, politicians, shop stewards and artists had all endorsed the "Manifesto for a dialogued solution in the Basque Country". On October 20th, this Forum gathered again and worked out a new declaration stating they were still actively commited to the peace process in the Basque Country. In their view, "the conflict can only be solved by deepening democracy, through a process of inclusive talks, respecting Basque People's sovereign decision on their future political model". The Forum added that "the Spanish Government must recognise and favour this democratic process, with no restraint". "Steps in this regard should not be understood as a political compensation but as the necessary democratic solution". What's more, the members of this Forum appeared in favour of transferring the Basque political prisoners closer to the Basque Country. On November 18th, a delegation of the Forum met other political forces in the Basque Country to present them with this report.

Moreover, on November 10th, one of the biggest magistrates' assotiations in the Spanish State, Jueces para la democracia, passed a resolution welcoming the "negotiation process in Spain", and stating "there are new reasons for hope in the work to consolidate peace and conexistence based on justice and full respect for individual and collective rights". These magistrates agreed on most Basque people's claim "to bring prisoners near to the regions where they have social and family ties, due to humanitarian reasons and in accordance with legal provisions".

Finally, we present you with the recent survey published by the Spanish conservative newspaper ABC on November 22th and 23th. According to this survey, in the Basque Autonomous Community, 92% of the people agrees on the negotiation process (in the rest of the Spanish State, 74'7%); the Spanish State goes slow in the process (63'9% in the Basque Autonomous Community and 38% in the State); 86% people in the Basque Autonomous Community and 75'4% in the State take the view that the Government should accept all, many or some of the ETA's demands; and finally, 87'2% people in the Basque Autonomous Community and 56'1 in the State agree on transferring political prisoners to the prisons in the Basque Country. Besides, 64'9 of the people in the Basque Autonomous Community are in favour of the right to self-determination (34'4% in the State) and 83% people in the Basque Autonomous Community share the view that the Spanish Consitution should be modified (58'2% in the State).

Present situation

Taking into account all these statements, resolutions and endorsements in the Basque Country, and at the state and international level, Herri Batasuna is positive when assesing current situation and turning of events. However, the Partido Popular Governments' is still clearly stubborn.

Therefore, we cannot still talk about a true peace process, about the resolution state, that is, the stage in which the conflict will be eventually resolved. The PP Government wants to separate what they call a "peace process" (i.e. disarmament and prisoners) from what they call "political normalization" (i.e. dialogue within the framework of the Spanish Constitution and the Statutes of Autonomy, which implies no political change to resolve the conflict). The President of the Spanish Government Jose Maria Aznar allowed contacts with the Basque nationalist left, without specifying spokespersons or the goal of these contacts. However, it is clear that the Spanish State is still reluctant to take serious measures to advance a democratic process. It is very clear because, for instance, the State takes no measure to transfer political prisoners to the Basque Country, a claim demanded by the majority of the Basque people, in accordance with the Spanish law in force.

The Lizarra-Garazi Declaration, however, is the expression of most Basque political parties, trade unions and social movements and sets forth the steps towards peace and end to the political conflict: inclusive political talks among all the parties involved; discussion on territorial unity, on the subject who takes the decisions and on political sovereingty; and finally, a democratic process that respects Basque people's voice and decisions. Thus, to favour a resolution stage, the Spanish Government should accept a democratic principle: Basque people have the right to resolve their own destiny. This is something the ETA and all the signatories to the Lizarra-Garazi Agreement have already agreed on. The Spanish Goverment could pass a sort of Downing Street Declaration, as did the former Irish and British Prime Ministers, which set the grounds and safeguards for the following peace and negotiation process. Thus, the Government and the ETA should start political talks on the global situation and on the patterns to follow. Then, through dialogue and agreement, all the political forces in the Basque Country -in the whole Basque Country- should alone embark on a democratic process to determine the future of their people.

It is obvious there is still a long way to go to persuade the PP Government and the PSOE into the need of a negotiation process to find a democratic solution to the conflict and to achieve a stable, just and lasting peace. The signatories to the Lizarra-Garazi settlement are going to develop different institutional and social initiatives to advance the new process. Herri Batasuna, besides, will continue to carry out actions to promote a negotiation process at the international, state and Basque level.

At present, political parties in the Basque Autonomous Community are engaged in talks to structure the future Government. Herri Batasuna launched a proposal to support a Goverment made up by the PNV and EA, on the basis of the contents of the Lizarra-Garazi Agreement, to foster a negotiation process and to favour a new situation and a new juridical-political framework for the whole Basque Country. A Government made up by the PNV and EA with the parliamentary support of HB would indeed be a very good news in our march to peace.

4 December 1998
ESTHER AGIRRE
Herri Batasuna International Department