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Members of the German Deutsche Bundestag and the European Parliament support peace efforts in the Basque Country 20.7.2012 | Press release baskenland-friedensprozess.de
15 German Members of Parliament of different parties, members of the Deutsche Bundestag or the European
Parliament, the Minister for Finance in Brandenburg (one of the German counties) and former Member of the
European Parliament Dr. Markov, as well as the former judge of the German Constitutional Court,
Prof. Ernst-Wolfgang Böckenförde, signed the "Declaration of Aiete".
The Declaration of Aiete is a roadmap for a peaceful resolution of the conflict between the Basque Country, Spain and France. It was published on October 17, 2011 by Kofi Annan and other international figures as a result of a peace conference, which took place in Donostia-San Sebastián, a city of the Basque Autonomous Community. The conference was led by international moderators and had huge support from parties in the Basque Country and the Basque society. All leading trade unions of the Basque Country, trade association, social organisations, the whole spectrum of Basque parties from the leftwing coalition Bildu to the conservative PNV, members of the PSE, the Basque regional section of the Spanish PSOE and of the French PS participated. The rightwing parties UPN and PP did not take part. Three days after the conference ETA declared an end to their armed campaign.
The Declaration of Aiete is also supported by former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, the American Senator George Mitchell, and almost one hundred current and former Members of the European Parliament, by Members of the Swiss Parliament, the "Schweizer Bundesversammlung", and the Socialdemocratic Party of Switzerland (SP).
The " Declaration of Aiete " is an important contribution of the international community to a peace process in the Basque Country. It says, "when a genuine opportunity for peace arises it must be seized. The growing demand of the citizens of this country and their political representatives to resolve this conflict through dialogue, democracy and complete non-violence has created this opportunity."
Now this important contribution to a peaceful and democratic resolution of the conflict in the Basque Country gets also its backing from Germany.
German Signatories of the "Declaration of Aiete":
Volker Beck (Green Party), party whip and spokesperson of the Parliamentary Green Party on human rights
Tom Königs (Green Party), human rights committee chairman in the German Parliament (Deutscher Bundestag)
Alexander Alvaro (FDP - Liberal Party), Vize President of the European Parliament, member of the group ALDE of the European Parliament
Prof. Ernst-Wolfgang Böckenförde, former judge of the German Constitutional Court (Bundesverfassungsgericht)
Dr. Helmuth Markov (The Left), Minister for Finance in Brandenburg (one of the German counties) and former Member of the European Parliament
Kerstin Müller (Green Party), member of the Deutsche Bundestag, Foreign Affairs spokesperson of the Greens
Dr. Frithjof Schmidt (Green Party), member of the Deutsche Bundestag, deputy party whip and member of the foreign affairs committee
Rebecca Harms (Green Party), party whip of the Greens in the European Parliament
Dr. Franziska Brantner (Green Party), member of the European Parliament and Foreign Affairs spokesperson of the group The Greens/EFA
Prof. Lothar Bisky (The Left), member of the European Parliament and former chairperson of the group GUE/NGL
Helmut Scholz (The Left), member of the European Parliament and the group GUE/NGL
Jürgen Klute (The Left), member of the European Parliament and the group GUE/NGL
Martin Häusling (Green Party), member of the European Parliament and the group The Greens/EFA
Sven Giegold (Green Party), member of the European Parliament and Finanz and Economy spokesperson of the group The Greens/EFA
Stefan Liebich (The Left), member of the Deutsche Bundestag and member of the Foreign Affairs Committee
Andrej Hunko (The Left), member of the Deutsche Bundestag, European Union Affairs Committee and member of the assembly of the Council of the European Union
Daniel Cohn-Bendit (Les Verts), Writer and Politician, member of the European Parliament and Co-Chairperson of the group The Greens/EFA
Website baskenland-friedensprozess.de
The initiatives for peaceful and democratic resolution of the conflict in the Basque Country and the support of these initiatives in Germany and Switzerland can be found in German language at http://www.baskenland-friedensprozess.de . There you find the Declaration of Aiete, the older Brussels Declaration as well as a short timeline of the peace process. We link to the website of the International Contact Group, who facilitate this process, for the international context.
First published:
baskenland-friedensprozess.de
July 20, 2012
German language website
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Photo:
International moderators in Donostia on Oct 17, 2011