Hi Russ, hi to everyone.

Today is an historic day for spanish democracy. At last the strongest arm of ETA has been illegalized (it is in the way to).

I'm sorry but I can't agree with you Russ. Batasuna/Herri Batasuna/Euskal Herritarrok (different names for the same party) is not only an "not-nice" party (or as the always partial CNN the basque party), it is more than that.

It is always sad to illegalize a political party because it is the legitimate representant of the citizens, let's see why Batasuna has been ilegalized.

The Reasons

Herri Batasuna was founded 25 years ago, in the birth of the current spanish democracy as a marxist-leninist party which pursued the independence of the region officialy know as The Basque Country by any means possible, including violent ones.

ETA is not only the "comandos" (groups of terrorists that commit assasinations in specific areas, and which are independent from other comandos), ETA designed a wider complex called KAS (Koordinadora Abertzale Sozialista) in which each organization served for a different task.

I can't recall every name, but here are the organizations of KAS currently ilegalized:
  • Egin: The ETA newspaper, in which ETA made anouncements and which was ilegalized when it was demonstrated that was a prime financial and information source for ETA (due to its media status could obtain certain information privileges).
  • Ekin. International propaganda organization. Ilegalized when it was demonstrated that was the key in the financiation infrastructure of ETA.
  • Xaki
  • Gestoras pro Amnistía. The organization designed to support ETA jailed members. Ilegalized when it was demonstrated that was a financial source for ETA, that it passed information between ETA jailed members and ETA, and that it was coarsing the one who wanted to abandon terrorism.
  • Jarrai and Haika. Organization for teenagers which was ilegalized when it was demonstrated that its members fomented violent acts like burning public buses, attacking business (banks, communications arrays, etc), injuring basque policemen and when material for commiting all these acts was found in its sites.
  • Segi

Some of this organizations have the purpose of supporting ETA members abroad, are financial sources (restaurants and other legal business which serves to five money to ETA), to foment its violent ideology in the Basque Country (even in schools) and abroad.
HB was the political arm of this complex. Here are the main reasons for ilegalizing it:

  • It has almost 250 former ETA members (and some of them probably in active membership) as members of Batasuna
  • It has fomented violent acts, and its members have been imprisoned for commiting violent acts, menacing other parties, commiting assasinations or aiding ETA in some other way
  • In its 25 years of existence has never condemn a killing, not even the killings of children or a bombing to prime political representatives, justifying them in the more scandalous ways.
  • It has usurped power every time it could, organizing paralel events in which other parties' representatives should have had representation.
  • It has violated numerous times the laws stated by the basque parlament and the Navarra's parlament (as for example not exhibiting the Navarra's flag in the councils governed by it).
  • In the acts organized by Batasuna almost always shouts as "Gora ETA" - Go on ETA! - or "ETA mátalos" - ETA kill them - have made by Batasuna members, also burning french and spanish flags, allowing ETA members to participate in the meetings
  • It tried to allow a ETA video to be played in the space reserved for it as a political party in the public TVs
  • It has been demonstrated that its members finance ETA, as the european parlamentary that Batasuna has, which was discovered with a couple of million ptas. in a trip from Brusels to the Basque Country
  • The Batasuna senators have not attended to the spanish parlament (Congreso de los Diputados and Senado) for years, but have perceived the wages as senators
  • Batasuna mayors have allowed funerals for ETA members in public spaces (as the councils themselves), exhibiting ETA flags on them
  • etc... (there are 400 pages with reasons given by the judge Baltasar Garzón)

The process
Russ, you say that ilegalizing a party is undemocratic. Germany have ilegalized 25 parties in the recent years (some of them with nazi or xenophobic ideologies), as well as France and United Kingdom. This is the first political party ilegalized in Spain.

The ilegalization has not been only promoved by the Government: It has been a common task of all the powers of the state, the judicial power (by the hand of the 5th Court of Baltasar Garzón), the legislative power (the Congress) in which the ilegalization has obtain the support of the 90% percent of the representatives, and the executive, the Government. A special court composed of judges from the Supreme Tribunal will decide if the ilegalization can be applied. Then the Constitutional Court will determine if the measure comply with our constitution. Thus, the process has democratic legitimation, judicial guarantees and the support of the most important statal representatives.

Moreover, 80 to 90% of the spaniards have expressed in polls that they agree with the measure.

Finally...

With the ilegalization ETA looses a propaganda instrument, its major financial source and a great logistical complex. Following the ilegalization, the spanish government will ask the European Union to recognize Batasuna as a terrorist group equivalent to ETA. That will make ETA loose even more logistical support in its santuars of Belgium and France.

Keep in mind that it is not the ideas which are prosecuted (there are still parties which defend the same objectives by democratic means) but an organization which was integrated in ETA itself.

Those are the reasons for which I think today is a historic day for our democracy. I will sleep better today.

Fernando