Dialogue & Peace "The Process must be"

international | anti-war / imperialism | opinion/analysis Sunday January 28, 2007 17:57 by iosaf barcelona

This morning as thousands of delegates went to the Ard Fheis of Sinn Fein in Dublin to discuss policing matters & shock the unionists by saying "yes" & of course include plastic bullets in the list of lethal weapons - elsewhere the road to peace, dialogue & inter-community relations seems as daunting as ever before.

The Basque moderate nationalists PNV who hold and have held the democratic majority in Euskadi launched the counter-offensive against the Spanish state judiciary who have put the Lehandakari (taoiseach) in the dock "for talking to Batasuna". Meanwhile thousands of people including many hundreds of "heavy weights" from the world of culture & intelligentsia concentrated in Barcelona to demand dialogue more than 80 entities took part including all left wing parties & Catalan nationalist formations & many Basque peace groups.

Though not present Alec Reid noted Belfast pacifist & cleric (RC) got the message & sent support.

this is the complete text of the PNV's statement (in castillian) this is not only a statement from the political party but also an institutional statement on behalf of the Basque government.
http://www.lavanguardia.es/gen/20070127/51303084070/not....html

I am reminded of Alex Reid's words in the documentary "pelota vasca" made in 2003 (information in english http://www.juliomedem.org/english/filmography/basquebal....html ) Alec Reid expressed his astonishment that the then government of Aznar would not even enter in dialogue with the PNV.

Since the set backs of December 30th and the Barajas Madrid bombings for which ETA accepted responsibility whilst also regretting "collateral damage" (2 Ecuadorian migrants died) it has become clear yet again that the Spanish Right wing now in government opposition but still holding sway in the Judiciary have no real intention to foment dialogue & thus peace. Their's is the word no! as much as any Ulster unionist of Paisley's tradition.

It is hoped on the general left not only in Catalonia but much of the Spanish state that the suggestions by the moderate Basque nationalists for "laying the table" & ending violence in Euskadi will be taken to the centre of the Spanish state´s government policy. It is hoped that the new tactics will highlight as in 2003 Alex Reid noted as an Irishman - one impediment to the peace process. The intransigence of the Judiciary who increasingly appear to interpret laws such as the "political party" legislation with right wing Spanish bias.

The PP (Spanish right) are alone in to accepting the need for dialogue and the move to democratisiation and democratic representation of the so-called "abertzale" denominations. Which count not only on Batasuna and its recently illegalised 3 youth wings but also the main trade union & many other social organisations.

Finally I would like to quote (in translation) Raimon, one of Catalonian cultures most celebrated & loved "folk-singers and poets" who this morning in Barcelona's Jaume square quiped that if he had not written the poignant "pais basc" during the dictatorship of Franco (which he performed today to the assembled crowd as the closing act of the event) he would have had to write it in 2007. Its simple words still strike chords not only with the Catalans but with whomever truly appreciates the hunger & thirst of the people of Euskadi for peace. Peace which will come with Dialogue. Dialogue which will come through the patience of those who wish to speak not the intrasigence of those who wish to silence dissent or murder & main for absolutist nationalist paradigms (be they castillian or basque).


All the colours of green
under a leaden sky
which the sun wants to break
All the colours of green
in that month of May
The wind carried the strengh
of a people who have suffered much
The wind carried the strength
of a people who have been hidden.

All the colours of Green
under a well closed sky.

& water is always life
between mountains & valleys
under the greyness of the sky.

All the colours of green
in that month of May.

it so old and rooted
so ancient as time
the pain of that people
it is so old and rooted
as the colours of green in that
month of May
Gora Euskadi! they say strongly
the people, land and sea
There in the Basque country.
my translation of Raimon's text : Pais Basc : Tots els colors del verd
sota un cel de plom que el sol vol trencar. Tots els colors del verd en aquell mes de maig. Portava el vent la força d'un poble que ha sofert tant. Portava la força el vent d'un poble que ens han amagat. Tots els colors del verd sota un cel ben tancat. I l'aigua és sempre vida entre muntanyes i valls. I l'aigua és sempre vida sota la grisor del cel. Tots els colors del verd en aquell mes de maig. És tan vell i arrelat, tan antic com el temps el dolor d'aquella gent.És tan vell i arrelat, com tots els colors del verd en aquell mes de maig. Tots els colors del verd, Gora Euskadi, diuen fort la gent, la terra i el mar allà al País Basc.

I will use the comments to update news as it happens this week.
My previous piece on the peace process in Euskadi may be read here along with update comments, though it is worth noting that the site indymedia ireland suffered a prolonged period "offline" & thus the comments were not as thorough as they would otherwise have been. But now we are back on track & in a sense it as much as sentiment that "the Spanish Right stop" as "ETA stops". It is more important now than ever before for groups who work for ordinary people in the Basque lands and the support hinterlands internationally to redouble efforts to bring about dialogue.

Siochan agus Saoirse = bake prozesuaren aldeko.., = si al proces
= YES TO THE PROCESS.