15 April 1999 Edition

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Six months on

Just returned from a weekend in Euskal Herria, Sinn Féin Press Officer Eoin O'Broin gives his view of the developing political progress, six months after ETA's historic ceasefire.

More than six months have passed since ETA announced its historic ceasefire, opening up the way for a political settlement to Spain and France's conflict in the Basque Country. Despite this fact, and the many political developments which have taken place, one resounding reality remains: state repression. Each week sees more arrests of political activists and raids on offices and homes, each arrest comes with stories of torture and brutality.

Despite the heavy levels of repression, however, the Basque National Liberation Movement is more focused and determined than at any other time in recent years. On Saturday, 3 April, the youth organisation Jarrai celebrated its 20th anniversary with characteristic strength and style. Following a 15-day march through the mountains and towns of Euskal Herria, the final three days of which attracted a crowd of up to 3,000 activists, a mass political meeting and concert brought the celebrations to a close.

The political meeting was an electric mixture of theatre, audio-visual display, music, speech-making and audience participation. Tracing the development of youth politics over the past 20 years and the broader political development of the left-nationalist struggle, the meeting was probably one of the most impressive political events I have ever attended.

Half way through, as a crowd of young people were demonstrating on the stage, the sound of sirens, motorbikes and vans surrounded the crowd. From an emergency exit at the back of the auditorium a cavalcade of `Spanish police' drove into the theatre and charged the stage, wielding batons at the unsuspecting protesters. Minutes later, a crowd of scarved youths came running from the other side of the auditorium, throwing `stones' and driving the police off into the wings. All the while, the crowd of up to 10,000 young people chanted at the police and celebrated the victory of the street fighters.

After the meeting, a concert of Euskal Herria's finest radical rock bands continued with the political messages of the meeting, albeit in more popular and hardcore fashion. The high point of the gig was when a series of singers from bands of the past 20 years came to the stage for a ``greatest hits'' type crescendo. At 2am, as the final songs were played and the crowd went absolutely wild, it was as if the concert was only beginning. Speaking to some of the youth activists afterwards on the way home, their emotions were stirred by listening to the songs of their childhood and more recent teenage years. This was one birthday celebration they weren't going to forget.

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