The News Letter article (19 August) which claims that last weekend's Tyrone hunger strike commemoration was attended by a member of “ETA's youth wing Segi” is inaccurate. Even the Spanish authorities do not claim that Segi is “ETA's youth wing”.
The Basque pro-independence youth movement Jarrai-Haika-Segi has been criminalised by the Spanish government over recent years not for anything even remotely related to armed actions but for carrying out peaceful, public and transparent political activities – which happen to be in favour of independence for the Basque Country.
In the lead-up to the criminalisation campaign, the Basque youth movement was gathering strength and in 2000, when the new national youth organisation, Haika, was established, more than 20,000 young people attended the group’s founding meeting.
The youth movement set about organising several thousand young activists in campaigns around social and economic issues, for youth and students’ rights and for Basque cultural rights through demonstrations, summer schools, youth camps and festivals. Fearing the political impact of a well-organised national Basque youth movement in favour of independence, the Spanish authorities responded by launching a propaganda campaign against Jarrai-Haika (which became Segi in 2001), falsely claiming unproven links between the youth movement and ETA and urging that Jarrai-Haika-Segi be outlawed.
But the UN's special rapporteur Martin Scheinin has strongly criticised the Spanish authorities for criminalising a wide range of youth and cultural organisations, political parties and newspapers which have absolutely nothing to do with “terrorism” but which share the ETA objective of Basque independence, saying this is a grave violation of the Basque people's democratic rights.
The impact of this draconian campaign is being felt here in Ireland where Belfast-based Basque activist Arturo Benat Villanueva is fighting extradition charges for allegedly being a member of Jarrai-Haika in the 1990s – when the youth movement was not outlawed until 2005 and not categorised as “terrorist” until 2007.
Former Basque prisoner Inaki de Juana is fighting extradition from Belfast on similarly ridiculous charges – of somebody at a rally celebrating his release from prison a year ago, which he wasn't at, saying “On with the ball”.
Well done to Ógra Shinn Féin for maintaining links with young people in the Basque Country who are peacefully struggling for their democratic and national rights, and for raising the issue here in Ireland through organising the petition against Segi's criminalisation.
Keep up the good work!
2 comments:
Its not like the Newsletter would actually let the facts get in the way of prejudice or bigotry.
On with the ball!
end the criminalisation of the basque youth.
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