UL Frank Ryan Ógra show solidarity with Basques

In the early hours of Tuesday 24th November 2009, masked and armed police smashed their way into the homes of 34 young political activists all over the Basque Country. All those arrested have no crime except being a member of the youth organisation SEGI, proscribed as 'terrorist' by the Spanish supreme court in 2007.
All those arrested are being accused of being members of the national and/or local leadership of SEGI. If An Garda Síochána raided the headquarters of Ógra Fianna Fáil or Fine Gael Youth there would be international condemnation, yet these actions, and the subsequent torture of these young people, are overlooked in the international community. Spain abuses human rights with impunity and nobody bats an eyelid. Ógra Shinn Féin stood beside Basque students in the University of Limerick on Thursday 26th November to voice their disgust and anger at this recent attack on the Basque independance movement.


Speaking at the demonstration, spokesperson for the Linerick Basques group, Ross Taylor said "All over Ireland this week people were horrified to hear of these raids. This is yet another attack on the Basque independance movement, who seek to end the conflict by peaceful and democratic means. These attacks, coupled with the recent attacks last month on the LAB trade union offices in Donostia are proof that the PSOE and Spanish authorities do NOT want a peaceful solution to this conflict, they want the complete defeat of the Basque independance movement. We in Ireland are all too familiar with these tactics, but what didn't work in 1981 will not work in 2009! The Spanish need to live up to their obligations, end the criminalisation of Batasuna, SEGI and countless other cultural and political organisations, and enter fully transparent talks with the Basque left. Only then will there be a lasting peace in Euskal Herria.

For our part, Irish republicans, and supporters of Basque independance need to keep up the pressure on Spain by highlighting their abuses to an international audience. At a time when revelations of inhumane tortures are emerging from Iraq and Afghanistan, we need to remind the world that its not just a handful of rotten apples as the British MOD would have us believe, that it is the whole bushel of apples, and one of the gravest offenders against human rights is the Spanish state. The attempts by the Spanish to have Inaki de Juana Chaos extradited from Belfast, along with the failed attempt to have Arturo 'Benat' Villanueva are two more examples of the lack of respect for human rights on the part of the Spanish state. I salute the Belfast judge for seeing through the obvious political motivation in Benat's arrest warrent, and I call for the immediate withdrawal of Inaki's warrent. The Spanish state tortured him enough in 21 years. He should be left alone.".