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Grasping the opportunity for Peace 20.11.2012 | Basque Peace Process
Gerry Adams' prologue to the book of Arnaldo Otegi "The time of the lights"
A year ago I took part in a conference in Donostia – San Sebastian in Euskal Herria entitled; ‘International
conference to promote the resolution of the conflict in the Basque County’. The event was organised by a
range of groups, including the Basque Citizen Network for Agreement and Consultation, Lokarri, the
International Contact Group (GIC) led by South African lawyer Brian Currin, and four other international
foundations.
Along with myself five other international participants contributed to the conference; former Irish
Taoiseach Bertie Ahern; Jonathan Powell, former Chief of Staff to Tony Blair, former UN Secretary
General Kofi Annan; Pierre Joxe, former French Defence and Interior Minister; and Gro Harland Bruntland,
a former Norwegian Prime Minister. Our role was to speak on the process of conflict resolution, its
difficulties and hopes and to agree a ‘Declaration’ which would set out our view of how the process
of peace in the Basque country could be advanced.
The Declaration said:
We call upon ETA to make a public declaration of the definitive cessation of all armed action and to request talks with the governments of Spain and France to address exclusively the consequences of the conflict. If such a declaration is made we urge the governments of Spain and France to welcome it and agree to talks exclusively to deal with the consequences of the conflict. We urge that major steps be taken to promote reconciliation, recognize, compensate and assist all victims, recognize the harm that has been done and seek to heal personal and social wounds. In our experience of resolving conflicts there are often other issues that, if addressed, can assist in the attainment of lasting peace. We suggest that non violent actors and political representatives meet and discuss political and other related issues, in consultation with the citizenry, that could contribute to a new era without conflict. In our experience third party observers or facilitators help such dialogue. Here, such dialogue could also be assisted by international facilitators, if that were desired by those involved. We are willing to form a committee to follow up these recommendations.Within days of our Declaration ETA – Euskadi ta Askatasuna – responded positively and issued a statement acknowledging that the conference was ‘an initiative of enormous significance’. ETA recognised that there now exists ‘an historical opportunity to find a just and democratic solution for the centuries old political conflict. Dialogue and agreement should outline the new cycle, over violence and repression’. And it announced a ‘definitive cessation of its armed activity … Through this historical declaration, Eta shows its clear, solid and definitive commitment.’ The Donostia – San Sebastian conference and Declaration was the culmination of years of intense effort by a range of individuals and groups committed to building a lasting peace in the Basque country. Sinn Féin has been intimately involved in this process. There is a long affinity between Irish people and the people of France and Spain and the Basque country. Sinn Féin’s endeavours go back to the Good Friday Agreement. In the intervening years there have been moments of great hope but also of despair as the opportunity for peace suffered setbacks. We have worked closely worked closely with our Basque friends in Batasuna, including Arnaldo Otegi and others, in an effort to inject new momentum into a peace process that is stalled. They have been pivotal in making progress against a backdrop of continued repression and imprisonment. In recent years the formation of Abertzale Left saw the development of a new political strategy for a peace process and progress.The connections between the Irish peace process and the Basque peace process is clear. The Abertzale Left strategy commits Basque activists to using ‘exclusively political and democratic means’ to advance its political objectives. It seeks to advance political change ‘in a complete absence of violence and without interference’ and ‘conducted in accordance with the Mitchell Principles.’ And its political goal is to achieve a ‘stable and lasting peace in the Basque country’. Making peace is hugely challenging and enormously difficult. It demands that enemies seek to understand what motivates, what inspires, what drives their opponent. Ultimately, as Madiba – Nelson Mandela – said, we have to make friends with our enemy. Each conflict is different but the key ingredient is dialogue. This must be the starting point. Without a willingness to talk there is little prospect of progress. It also means respecting and acknowledging the democratic rights of all political parties and treating them as equals. It means accepting, respecting and acting on the rights of citizens to vote for elected representatives of their choice. In this latter respect I welcome the decision in June by the Spanish Constitutional Court to end the ban on Sortu. This is a positive move. But the irony is immediate. This is the political organisation that Arnaldo Otegi and his comrades were imprisoned for attempting to form. This is a preposterous situation. The continued imprisonment of Arnaldo Otegi and his colleagues, who in my view are committed to peace, is therefore deeply unhelpful. The Nobel Irish poet Seamus Heaney’s ‘The Cure at Troy’ catches at once the despair of conflict and the hope of peace and justice. For many the conflict in Ireland, rooted in centuries of war and division, and violence seemed intractable. Every generation had known war – and between the cycles of violence there was the despair of oppression and discrimination, of instability and institutional violence. The cycle seemed destined to continue into a depressing future. Seamus Heaney wrote: ‘Human beings suffer
They torture one another
They get hurt and get hard …’ But there were some who dared to dream and to hope of a different way; to look to Heaney’s ‘far side of revenge’ and to believe it is possible to achieve peace. Arnaldo Otegi and his comrades are among those who dared to dream and to seek to chart a new peaceful and democratic course to Basque freedom and independence. They should be released. I would urge the new governments in Spain and France to grasp the historic opportunity that exists advance the efforts for peace in the Basque country. I would especially urge the release of Basque political activists, trade unionists, and those from youth and cultural and media organisations currently detained by the Spanish government. I extend best wishes and solidarity to all of those committed to a peaceful and democratic process and to the building of a new relationship between the Basque country and the Spanish state based on equality and the exercise of their right to self determination without impediment or external interference.
Published by website basquepeaceprocess.info:
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Foto:
Frontpage of the new book
"The time of the lights". The Basque journalist Fermin Munarriz talks to Arnaldo Otegi about the current political process, the lessons from former peace talks and the expectations for the future. The interview was conducted as written questions and answers smuggled out of jail, because Arnaldo Otegi is still incarcerated. He is serving a 6,5 years sentence for his activities to change the strategy of the Basque left pro-independence movement to the use of exclusively peaceful means.