From: NCP-AT-geocities.com Date: Tue, 4 Feb 1997 20:48:08 GMT Subject: urgent internationalist action >Comments: Authenticated sender is <askapena-AT-[10.128.179.2]> >From: "Askapena Araba" <askapena-AT-eusnet.org> >To: ncp-AT-geocities.com >Date: Wed, 29 Jan 1997 18:37:28 +0000 >Subject: urgent internationalist action > > >Dear comrades, > >We want to send you our solidary and internationalist regards from >ASKAPENA (Basque Solidarity with the Peoples), on behalf of the whole >Basque People. Through this letter, we want to communicate you two >things: First of all, we would like to inform you about the Hunger >Strike that we will celebrate from 1st to 8th February 1997 in favour >of the REGROUPING OF ALL THE BASQUE POLITICAL PRISONERS IN THE BASQUE >COUNTRY (we send you some information about it). Secondly, we would >like to request your support, so that you send faxes to some concrete >addresses expressing the demand for the respect of the rights of the >Basque Political Prisoners. We would like to thank you beforehand for >any action that you would celebrate, > >"To feel in the deepest of our soul any injustice committed against >anyone in any part of the World" > >Our best wishes, > > >The Basque Country, 19 January 1997. >ASKAPENA (Basque Solidarity with the Peoples) >Mikel Resa. Responsible for the Foreign Relations. > > > >If you require any information more, do not hesitate to request it. > > > > > > > > > >FOR THE REGROUPING OF THE BASQUE POLITICAL PRISONERS IN THE BASQUE >COUNTRY > >Since ASKAPENA was founded, it has work with the objective of >answering to the necessity of building an Internationalist and Basque >Solidarity Movement in our country, the Basque Country; assuming also >our own social and national liberation process as the point from which >we can promote the solidarity with the rest of the countries of the >world. > >This necessity has its origin in the economical and political >relations imposed by the dominant development system, the capitalism >and its spreading to the whole world. > >All this is shown clearly as we just face with the international bleak >prospect which involves us: the concentration of the investment in the >countries of the North, the payment of the foreign debt, the worsening >of the differences between the North and the South, the dual >development of the economy, the rising of the social differences, the >poverty in the countries of the North, the hard adjustment measures >imposed from the centres of the economical power, the continuous >reductions in the social expenses... > >That supposes that the 87% of the world income ends at the hands of >only the 20% of the population. This is just a number, but behind it >we can find the dramatic situation of thousands of millions of people >condemned to the death, the hunger, the sickness, the biggest poverty >and the exploitation. > >The capitalist system of accumulation has forced a process of >economical globalisation based in the relation world-market and the >neoliberalism is the practical application of the new instruments of >power and exploitation with which they try to stop the negative >tendency of the average profit rate and to start a new phase of >expansion for private interests, with a generalisation of the poverty. > >This process of spreading, which generates powers against the nations >and the popular identities, forces us to be confronted to a common >enemy unfriendly and irreconcilably and forces us to develop a >radically internationalist solidarity and to struggle for the freedom >of our own countries. > >Internationalism and independentism are the two sides of the same coin >which give sense to the Common Solidarity which we demand, and the >national liberation is the middle point towards which all the solidary >countries must direct. > >That is why we send you this letter, to demand for the Basque Country >the same solidarity that ASKAPENA has shown with so many other >countries of the world. We are doing this because we assume our role >to make public the reality that comes from the prisons and we want to >strengthen the scream for freedom that comes from the streets of the >cities of the Basque Country. > >The Basque political prisoners form the part of the Basque Working >Class which is more involved in the struggle for the freedom of the >Basque Country, and they are suffering the most hard consequences of >this armed political conflict which maintains the Spanish State >against our people. > >The systematic violation of the most basic human rights ( dispersal, >aggressions, beatings, insults, continuous transfers among prisons, >arbitrary isolations, lack of proper health care in the prison with >the result of deaths, constant threats, obstacles for the juridical >defence...) constitutes the repressive measures that the Spanish State >imposes to the Collective of the Basque Political Prisoners and it is >another instrument also used against the political struggle with the >Basque National Liberation Movement. > >We also must denounce the actitude of the Penitentiary Authorities as >they maintain arbitrarily in prison (kidnapped) nearly a hundred >prisoners who should be already out applying the law, because they are >suffering incurable sicknesses or because they have already served >three quarters of their sentence. > >Some of the Basque political parties, as the PNV, have play the role >of the collaborators, helping in the design and improvement of the >machinery of repression, adding special punishments to the relatives >or friends of the prisoners who are forced to drive hundrends and even >thousands of kilometres in order to make a visit, with the risk of >traffic accidents which unfortunately have happened, sometimes even >dying some of them. > >The situation of anguish which the Basque political prisoners are >enduring becomes more insulting when the responsibles and murderers of >the GAL and other paramilitary groups, responsibles for the death of >nearly 30 refugees and two political representatives of the Basque >popular will, are in the streets with impunity. > >We know that the regrouping in the Basque Country of the Basque >Political Prisoners is another step towards the amnesty and the >freedom of the Basque Country, which tries its legitimate right to >self-determination to be respected. A basic democratic right in order >to decide in peace its own future. > >We also know that this right is not going to come easily, only with >the effort of all of us. Before ending, we want to ask you for your >support in order to make this message public in your own organisations >and in order to organise some actions in solidarity with the >Collective of Basque Political Prisoners who are in unlimited hunger >strike since 9 September to demand the respect of their rights and >their regrouping in the prisons of the Basque Country. > >Internationalist greetings. > > > >INFORMATION ABOUT THE BASQUE POLITICAL PRISONERS AND SOME CONCRETE >PROTESTS > >Nowadays, in the Basque Country, we have around 550 political >prisoners serving sentences in the prisons of the Spanish and French >States, around ten people deported for political reasons and thousands >of refugees in other countries. > >We are dealing with a political conflict, the one between the Basque >Country and the Spanish and French States, as the Basque Country is >fighting for the right of its people to Self-Determination, to be >recognized by both states. And, perhaps, the clearest and strongest >consequence of that conflict is the political repression that our >country and people are enduring. > >At this time, the 550 political prisoners are dispersed in more than a >hundred prisons in both states. Their relatives and friends must drive >sometimes more than a thousand kilometres every week in order to visit >them. Illegally, they are taken far away from their homes, against >what the Spanish and French laws state (the Spanish and French laws >state clear that the prisoners must serve their sentences near from >their cultural and social environment), and against the international >law adopted in both states. But, this is a punishment added to the >sentence of the prisoners and carried out also against the relatives >and friends of the prisoners. > >This illegal policy is not something isolated but the most important >measure linked to other ones as the violation of the human rights in >the prisons (tortures, bad treatments...). The Basque society has >demanded the respect for the civil rights of the Basque Political >Prisoners many times and during the last year it has stressed the >necessity of taking them back to the Basque Country, their country. >This would be the best step if we want to secure their rights and >physical and psychological integrity. > >In spite of the efforts of the Basque people, in spite of the popular >demands for the compliance of the law, nowadays our prisoners are >still dispersed all around the Spanish State and dispersed and >isolated in the French prisons, enduring some imprisonment conditions >which are against the minimal rights of the human being, and also the >laws of both states. > >Anyway, we are also conscious that the solidarity which the Basque >population has always maintained with the political repressed and the >constant support is a unique and fundamental strength which can make >possible a solution for this situation, being abandoned the strategy >of prison dispersal, which is based in the pressure and blackmail >against the prisoners and their families. A good sign of all this are >the mobilizations, but also the thousands of initiatives of the >citizens in the different villages, towns and neighbourhoods all >around the Basque Country (demonstration, hunger strikes, sit-ins, >sabotages against the institutions and economical interests, motions >approved in more than a hundred council halls...), which, in spite of >the silence of the majority of the mass media, to make the situation >of the Basque Political Prisoners a central issue in the Basque and >Spanish politics. > > >Among these initiatives, we have to stress the rotate hunger strike, >in periods of a week- which groups of 15 people are carrying out in >the Buen Pastor Cathedral in Donostia (San Sebastian) since 18 >December 1995. If, at the beginning, the relatives and the pro-amnesty >popular organizations were the driving force and the contributors of >the initiative, it became a people's initiative immediately. Many >people and organizations from different parts of the Basque Country >have taken part, but also intellectuals, artists, workers, young >people, feminists,.. and many others from different countries solidary >with the struggle of the Basque Country and the respect of the human >rights. This hunger strike will finish only when the objective, the >transfer to the Basque Country of all the Basque Political Prisoners >and the respect of their rights are achieved. The hunger strike in the >Buen Pastor Cathedral has become the symbol of the solidarity of the >Basque population and the popular organizations with the political >prisoners. > >With the same aim, the Collective of the Basque political prisoners >started on 15 January this year a permanent and indefinite struggle, a >struggle carried out in different ways, and from 9 September they >decided to go on with an indefinite hunger strike. By this way, the >Collective of prisoners is expressing its determination and wish to >achieve its objectives, the regrouping and the respect of the human >rights, and in the same way, is expressing also what the power is >permanently rejecting that in spite of the imposed dispersal they >build up a collective, a political collective, and that the prison >dispersal policy has failed and that any strategy which tries to >capitalise them will also fail. > >Due to this initiatives and their influence, some of the different >movements, institutions and even political and institutional leaders >who supported and even helped for the succeeding of the prison >dispersal policy recognise that this policy "violates and is against >the human rights of the prisoners and their relatives". An example of >this is the new resolution adopted by the Human Rights Commission of >the Parliament in Gasteiz recently, which demanded to the Spanish Home >Office the immediate transfer of all the Basque prisoners to the >prisons in the Basque Country, along with other measures to secure >their rights. > >>From 1st to 8th February 1997, ASKAPENA will be taking part in the >Hunger Strike being carried out in the Buen Pastor Cathedral in >Donostia for a week. Through this report we would like to inform you >about this one week-hunger and also about the situation of our >prisoners. Along with the hunger strike, we will try to denounce the >situation on this issue and we will be holding different meetings and >conferences on other issues in the Buen Pastor Cathedral. > > > > > > >NOTE- VERY IMPORTANT > >While the members of ASKAPENA are on hunger strike, it would be really >interesting if you could send faxes denouncing the situation of our >prisoners to the following addresses: > >* Faxes of support during our week, from 1st to 8th February 1997. We >will get and use them in order to celebrate a press conference. > Fax: 0/34/45/280847 > >* Faxes or letters To the attention of the President of the Spanish >State; > Sr. José Mar=EDa Aznar-Presidente del Estado Espa=F1ol. > Complejo de la Moncloa, 28071 Madrid. > Spanish State. > Fax/phone: 034/1/3353535 > >* Faxes or letters To the attention of the President of the French >State; > Mr. Jacques Chirac-Présidence de la République (Palais de L'Elysée) > 55, rue du Fg St honoré, 75008 Paris Fax: 0/33/1/47422465 > >* Faxes to the Spanish Embassies in your country, demanding the >respect of all the Basque Prisoners to stay in the Basque Country and >their regrouping. > >All the activities that you could develop, would serve to the fair >struggle that we are carrying out as a People. > >Well, receive solidary and internationalist greetings. > >The Basque Country, 19 January 1997 >ASKAPENA (Basque Solidarity with the Peoples) >Mikel Resa. Responsible for the Foreign Relations. > > >ASKAPENA's contact address: >Mikel Resa. Foreign Relations >Apto:728, Gasteiz, Alava, The Basque Country, Spanish State. >Phone/Fax: 0/34/45/280847 >Email: askapena-AT-eusnet.org > > >ASKAPENA (SOLIDARIDAD VASCA CON LOS PUEBLOS) >Relaciones internacionales >Mikel Resa >Tel/Fax : 45 28 08 47 >E-mail: askapena-AT-eusnet.org > > > > > > New Communist Party of Britain Homepage http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/2853 A new service for the Working Class! Workers of all countries Unite!
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