Saoirse do Thír na mBascach

08/07/08

A rare hour of summer sunshine rewarded those who participated in the Basque solidarity protest outside the GPO on Dublin’s O’Connell Street on Saturday (July 5).

Upwards of 40 people joined in the colourful demonstration, which was called to draw attention to the plight of hundreds of Basque political prisoners. While the protest was jointly organised by éirígí and the Dublin Basque Committee, those who participated came from a wide cross-section of political groupings and from none.

At one point, a large number of students who where visiting Dublin from the Basque Country joined the protest. For them, it was clearly a great morale-boost to see that people in Ireland were actively highlighting the cause of their country and its fight for freedom.

Speaking at the protest éirígí chairperson Brian Leeson said he was encouraged by the turnout.

“I have to admit that the turnout here today is surprisingly good. In recent times the cause of the Basque people has not attracted as much attention in Ireland as it may have done in previous years.

“But the lack of publicity does not take away from the reality that the fight for Basque freedom continues. As a direct consequence of that struggle, hundreds of Basque activists are today incarcerated in jails in the French and Spanish states.”

Brian continued: “The whole process by which so many Basque activists have found themselves in jail is deeply disturbing. The Spanish government have some very serious questions to answer in relation to allegations of torture, forced confession and cruel prison regimes.

“This is in addition to the manner in which that same government have outlawed legitimate political parties and organisations. When it comes to the Basque people, it appears that the Spanish state has not progressed too far from the tactics of Franco.”

In conclusion, Brian said éirígí's support for the Basque struggle was a result of its internationalist ethos: “éirígi activists have huge empathy with the Basque people. The parallels between their struggle and the Irish freedom struggle are as stark as they have ever been.

“Over the last couple of years we have organised or participated in a number of profile-raising events in support of their struggle in general and the plight of their political prisoners in particular. We will continue to do so in the coming years as part of our overall commitment to the concept of internationalism.”