European protests, Spain's general strike

In a general strike that has been delayed for all the summer by the duopolistic unions UGT and CC.OO., finally Spaniards had yesterday occasion to vent their anger and frustration and go on strike.

It was, it seems, a massive success, considering the appeals to demobilization and police violence by the entrenched institutional actors. Unions estimated the impact in 71.7%, with some media reporting a rounded up figure of 75%. Even the minister of labor had to admit that the impact was of 100% in the automotive sector, with air carrier Ryanair also canceling all its flights and some key services such as trash collection generally paralyzed.

 

Southern Basque Country

CNT picket in Bilbao

In the Southern Basque Country the impact was smaller, as the major unions did not join the strike, disgruntled by passive and manipulative attitude of the Spanish union duopoly. However in Navarre, the impact was similar to that of Spain with 74% of workers joining according to Gara and the airport completely paralyzed. Reports from industrial areas in the Western Basque Country, talk of some key industries paralyzed and industrial areas nearly stopped, as well as a total blockade of the harbors of Bilbao and Pasaia. Non-industrial sectors however were only mildly impacted.

Catalan Countries

Reports from the Catalan Countries tell of strong following in general and riots in Barcelona. With demonstrations in the thousands in many cities (Barcelona, Sabadell, Tarragona, Valencia, Lleida, etc.) and some arrests.

Fire barricade at Barcelona

Closing Mercavalencia at dawn

Asturias

In Xixon (Gijón) the walkout was generalized, with few incidents. The demo was called by Corriente Sindical de Izquierdas (CSI), SUATEA and CGT but was boycotted by institutionalist unions UGT, CC.OO. and USO, who were accused of making secret pacts with the patrons and government, trying to demobilize popular anger.

Aragon

The reports also talk of a general success, not just in Zaragoza but also in Teruel and other towns. They also talk very bad and  of the attitude of UGT-CC.OO, who posed for the photo and then left in most pickets. Combative unions in this country were CGT, Sindicato Obero Aragones (SOA) and CATA.

Closing El Corte Inglés, more images at NoblezaBaturra

There are also reports of police charges and arrests.

Andalusia

I could only find reports so far on Málaga, telling of irregular impact but stopping the key sectors. The demo was of several thousands.

Castile

The most important city by large is Madrid, which was strongly affected by the General Strike according to La Haine.

While the "official" UGT-CC.OO. demo gathered some 500 people, the alternative one called by other unions (CGT, Solidaridad Obrera, etc.) was massive (photos).

Very symbolically, regional public TV Telemadrid cut its emission, reminding somewhat of the impacting cut of TVE in the quasi-mythical general strike of 1988, which was a massive success.

While the unity and strength of genuine labor-unionism was an important element, the violence of police was another one. Police did not only charge against pickets, including the bycicle picket, but there are reports of seven live ammunition caskets being found after a specially violent charge in Airbus-EADS Getafe.

Madrid

Another city where the strike had major impact was Valladolid.

Valladolid

In Salamanca instead the reports tell of low following. 

Salamanca

Elsewhere in Europe

There was a call for protests and demos to take place around Europe yesterday and I am aware of such protests in Ireland, Portugal, Italy and several Central European countries, however in the wealthy central bloc of the EU the impact of this call for mobilization seems to have been pretty low or nil, excepting the central demo at Brussels. 

Brussels

Dublin (Parliament gates)

Brief Analysis

Combative labor unions clearly made gains both in charisma and unity yesterday in the State of Spain, while traditional subsidized unions seem to have tried to make a posse strike instead to save their face before a growingly angry working class, which massively joined the strike in spite of all.

Much remains to be done at European level, which, in my understanding, is a key level of organization if we want to stop and reverse the offensive of Big Capital.

Some relevant links: CGT, CNT, Solidaridad Obrera, Rojo y Negro, La Haine.

Update: according to Cuestionatelotodo ("questioneverything") the sectorial impact was:

• Metal 74%
• Wood 59%
• Construction 70%
• Chemical 80%
• Textile 77%
• Mining 100%
• Air transport 82%
• Road transport 78%
• Sea Transport 90%
• Urban transport 85%
• Markets 90%
• Public education 60%
• Private education 32%

By autonomous communities:

• Andalusia 76.8%
• Asturias 87%
• Balearic Islands 72%
• Canary Islands 70%
• Cantabria 70%
• Castile-Leon 72.3%
• Castile-La Mancha 80.2%
• Catalonia 80%
• Valencian Country 78%
• Extremadura 70%
• Galicia 80%
• Madrid 76%
• Murcia 72%
• Navarre 74 %
• Western Basque Country 30%
• La Rioja 71%

European HR Court condemns Spain for not investigating tortures

It refers to the case of Basque citizen Mikel San Argimiro who was arrested, held incommunicado and (allegedly, most likely) tortured for five days by the Guardia Civil (militarized police corps) in 2002. The sentence condemns Spain to pay 23,000 euros for the fault of investigating the denounces of torture. The sentence is likely to establish a precedent in the matter because Spain almost systematically does not investigate torture while in detention.

The forensic report in San Argimiro's torture case established the first day that he had many lesions, which were dismissed as they could be "compatible with the development of the arrest and the maneuvers of immobilization". This same argument was held by the state attorney in the case of Igor Portu and Mattin Sarasola, which, in an exceptional development, resulted in the accusation of several policemen (Guardia Civil again) which will be judged in a month. 

In the second day of arrest the forensic physician reported new lesions without attributing them to any particular cause. Four days later, after being sent to prison, another physician found a broken rib.

The European tribunal cannot judge the existence of not of torture, because there is no investigation but can judge that not investigating it is a serious fault, a breach of article 3 of the European Covenant on Human Rights forbidding torture.

There is a long list of similar cases involving Basques as victims; next in line are the well known cases of Unai Romano, whose photos with the face totally deformed by the beatings caused a tremendous impact, and Martxelo Otamendi, director of Basque language newspaper Egunkaria, which is one of the most aggravating cases of persecution against freedom of speech and linguistic diversity. 

 Unai Romano before and after his arrest

In the past the European tribunal has only ruled against Spain in few occasions, one involving Catalan nationalists, tortured in the context of the Olympic Games of 1992, the other two affect Basque victims: nationalist MP Miguel Castells, who was deprived of parliamentary immunity, judged and sent to prison for a crime of opinion (denouncing that the death squads of the 1980s were not being investigated) and the other happened last year, when Strasbourg condemned Spain to pay 170,000 euros to Mikel Iribarren, who was almost killed by a rubber bullet shot at short distance against his face. 

Hopefully this sentence will help to at least contain a bit the systematic impunity of police torture.

Source: Gara.

On strike

General Strike tomorrow

Labor unions have called a General Strike of 24 hrs. in the state of Spain tomorrow, September 29th. While I have my reservations, I will join it and therefore Leherensuge will be idle tomorrow. I won't reply to comments either. 

The most representative unions in the Basque Country, ELA and LAB, which organized a separate national strike in June, declared weeks ago that they will not back the strike, because it has been unprepared and the Spanish unions have not counted with them. Another reason is that they argued that tomorrow there would be a Europe-wide strike and there is nothing like that (they lied). Other state-wide unions have joined the strike also critically.

However I am of the opinion that not one day but many of general strike are needed in order to put the State, Big Capital and EU against the ropes. So I am not renouncing to the opportunity to adhere to this strike, even if I am strongly critical of the subsidized Spanish union duopoly and I strongly suspect that the main motivation they have is to demobilize workers, rather than actually present battle against Big Capital and their administrators in Madrid and Brussels. 

________

On a separate note:

Leherensuge will be discontinued in October 1st. Two new blogs: will take its place that day:

• For what they were... we are
• For what we are... they will be

This follows the plan I have already outlined in the past, with a slight delay. The strike is another reason to delay it a few days more (avoiding confusion), even if the new blogs are ready, I believe. 

A final post will formalize the change. Leherensuge will remain online as archive and, at least for some time comments will be allowed.

Please make preparations for the replacement: bookmark, follow and/or update your feeds. Thanks. 

Spain arrests Basque internationalists

Spanish police has arrested tonight seven members of the, so far legal, internationalist organization Askapena. It has done so ordered by the Neoinquisition's new boy, judge Juan Pablo Ruz, who is replacing B. Garzón, who is in trial for daring to investigate fascism or something).

The seven arrested are Gabi Basañez, Unai Vázquez, Itxaso Lekuona, Rubén Sánchez, David Soto, Aritz Ganboa and Walter Wendelin. Wendelin, who has German citizenship, was expelled from Venezuela in March in a cowardly action by the Bolivarian government, upon pressure from Spain. In spite of all the manipulations he was free until yesterday. 

There is of course concern because of the recent reports of tortures against other people arrested arbitrarily by the Audiencia Nacional (Neoinquisition). 

Source: Gara.

Analysis

This is obviously another sabotage against any possible peace process and a provocation to the whole Basque Nationalist Left. There is no question about it. The only question may be who is directing the judges (and police, as tortures are not something that judges can order) into arbitrary arrests of political nature in this delicate time. I do not have an answer but it is clear that, if it is not the Spanish Government directly (it might be the right wing opposition), it casts a huge shadow on the real power wielded by Rodriguez Zapatero (PM) and Rubalcaba (Minister of the Interior) and therefore on whether something can be negotiated at all with the PSOE government. 

Question remains is how much patience will ETA have with the blatant disinterest of Spain in reaching to any agreement or even respecting the most basic protocol towards any sort of negotiation. And how much patience will the Basque people have as well because what is obvious by now, and is likely to become more obvious in the near future, is that Spain does not want peace and democracy and Basque people does instead. 

By the way, there is some persistent helicopter noise out there. Not too unusual but sign that they are monitoring the streets from the air, whatever the exact reason. As there is no demonstration called for today, it should be related to the arrests.

Latest developments in the fragile Basque process

I'm not even going to call it "peace process" jet, just "process". Because the news are not really hopeful in general.

After rumors on the bilateralness of the truce, the Spanish government decided to dismiss these by the path of action and jailed a number of Basque politicians diffusely accused of belonging to the "all is ETA" conspiracy theory that prevails in Madrid since some 12 years ago. In effect they are accused to belonging to Ekin, a ghostly political avant-guard organization that would lead the similarly ghostly KAS bloc, including the Basque Nationalist Left, ETA and a host of other organizations. The KAS (Patriotic Socialist Coordination) bloc did exist in the 80s and 70s but it's not clear it does exist anymore nor that it ever included ETA at all and, in any case, it should be the same as the Basque Nationalist Left political movement (now illegal but still very real). No evidence of the existence of Ekin now or in the past exists (just police reports).

All the arrested denounced tortures, triggering some protests and, rather unusually, a pre-trial. All them been jailed "preventively".

But the most important meaning is to say, not just to ETA, but to all those hopeful of some kind of solution in the short run, who are most in the Basque Country (not so many in Spain it seems), that the State of Spain is not accepting the good will signals from the armed group.

It is also and foremost a message to the Spanish Right that the government is not renouncing to the repressive road to peace, a road that most here would consider impossible or even undesirable.

We are therefore witnessing, I understand, a sign of weakness of the Spanish socialdemocrats, who, the same as other "liberal left" parties elsewhere appear only to be able to govern under the ominous shadow of the right, specially the belligerant Reganist quasi-fascist far-right. This phenomenon is known as "violin government": supported by the left but effectively played by the right.

In this sense, ETA has now issued a new communication, which is published by Gara today but only in the print edition it seems.

The armed group responds in this communication to the Brussels Declaration issued by a number of senior public figures from South Africa, Ireland and Britain and declares to assume its part of responsability in this. The Brussels Declaration reads:

Statement by International Leaders in Conflict Resolution and Peace Processes

We, the undersigned, welcome and commend the proposed steps and new public commitment of the Basque Pro-independence [Movement] (Abertzale Left) to "exclusively political and democratic" means and a "total absence of violence" to attain its political goals. Fully carried out, this commitment can be a major step in ending the last remaining conflict in Europe. We note the expectation that the coming months may present a situation where the commitment to peaceful, democratic and no-violent means becomes an irreversible reality. To that end, we appeal to ETA to support this commitment by declaring a permanent, fully verified ceasefire. Such a declaration appropriately responded to by [Spanish] Government would permit new political and democratic efforts to advance, differences to be resolved and lasting peace attained.

Signatories:

-Nelson Mandela Foundation
-Archbishop Desmond Tutu (Peace Nobel Prize. South Africa).
-Frederik Willem de Klerk (Peace Nobel Prize. Former South African President).
-Mary Robinson (Former Irish President).
-John Hume (Peace Nobel Prize. Took part in the Good Friday Accord for Ireland).
-Albert Reynolds (Former Irish Prime Minister).
-Jonathan Powell (Chief of Cabinet form Tony Blair).
-Nuala 0'Loan (First Police Ombud in North Ireland).

The wording chosen by ETA seems subtle but I am not in condition to judge it until I buy the newspaper (if I do), as it doesn't seem that Gara is publishing it integrally online this time. The online article quotes the sentence: disposition to study jointly the steps needed by the democratic process, included the compromises to be adopted by ETA.

ETA hence seems to emphasize the democratic process of resolution (i.e. eventual self-determination) and seems to condition any permanent demilitarization steps to advance in the negotiation process. Nothing new really but I would not have expected anything else either. Meh, it's been more than 40 years now! And the last time they already issued a "permanent" declaration of ceasefire, what in the end lasted "only" one year. So issuing another would be futile rhetoric.

You may agree or not with what ETA says or does, but that is exactly what has been going on for the last 40-plus years. All my life. On one side there is a Spanish nationalist (Jacobin/Post-Fascist) state that has as principle the territorial integrity of the remaining state (after losing the Netherlands, Portugal, Belgium and most of Italy, most of America, Philippines, Cuba, Equatorial Guinea, West Sahara, etc.) as "sacred" and on the other there is this armed group and akin political movement saying that they do not settle for anything but the right of self-determination and sovereignty of the Basque People. They have been bumping heads forever (ETA is just the latest symptom, we can easily go back through the centuries to the Bagaudae with almost no stop in the struggle) and it does not seem likely they will suddenly find any kind of agreement possible.

The case of Ireland shows us that other possibilities do exist but a very different thing is to actually implement them, specially as the approach of Britain is generally less dogmatic than those of Jacobin Latin European states, derived ultimately from French Absolutism.

ETA says: if there is democratic will, it is possible to solve the conflict now and here.

It also attributes itself, with mariner language, the bravery of relaunching the opportunity for peace:

Before the close-mindedness of Spain and France, ETA has launched again the ship of opportunity for the democratic solution of the conflict. And it has taken the first decision without throwing the anchor, ready to sail into deeper waters.

They look as reference anyhow not only to Ireland but also to Central and Eastern Europe, where many new states have formed recently, as well as to Greenland and Scotland, where self-determination processes are ongoing with full normality.

They also make an appeal to international institutions and agents to impel the peace process: a democratic process that provides a permanent, just and democratic solution to a centuries old political conflict.

ETA confirms that it has been willingly for six full months without committing any attack. And complains that the various Spanish governments have wasted all opportunities for peace so far.

Source: Gara[es]. More briefly also at BBC[en].

ETA-Spain negotiations clearly active

ETA has issued a new communication. It is available in original Basque language in PDF and video format. A Spanish language translation is available here. A BBC "exclusive" video can be found here (at the moment is too busy to load but I presume it has English translation of some sort). The BBC also has an excerpted version of ETA's communication in English.

Still image of ETA's video

Introductory section

The first part of the communication is an apologetic synthesis of ETA's history, emphasizing its "responsible" role in rejecting the post-fascist arrangements made in the late 1970s and their strong stand for the self-determination of the Basque People.

Then they talk of the existence of a current "crossroads" situation, which they interpret in terms of "exhaustion of the autonomic frame":

The Spanish State is conscious of the Basque Country being at a crossroads, and that it can still take the option of independence. That is why such a fascist offensive. They want that the conditions of political change rot in the despair of blockade: deviating the political debate to prevent a democratic resolution and drown the popular will in this state of exception.

They seem to mean here the legal offensive of the last decade that has rendered many political and other popular organizations illegal, heavily distorting the electoral and media representation in the Southern Basque Country, and bringing many political activists to jail, often under fictitious accusations.

In this regard they appeal for the Basque actors and citizens to answer by assuming responsibilities and taking firm steps in favor of the organization of the independentist project, in creating conditions for democratic change (read "self-determination"), in response to repression and in the defense of civil and political rights.

Political change is possible. But in that journey there are no shortcuts. (...) Without confrontation, negation and stubbornness cannot be defeated. (...)

Negotiation and truce

At this point they reinstate their compromise with a democratic solution... through compromise and negotiation.

If the Spanish government has the will, ETA is willing, today as in the past, to agree the democratic minimums necessary to initiate the democratic process.

They make an appeal to the "international community", which, they say, are already informed of this, to support this process.

Then they inform that, already some months ago, they decided not to make any offensive armed actions.

[In fact it has been a whole year, with the last attack taking place in August 9 2009 in Majorca.Since then, there have been some kale borroka (street fight) actions (incendiary devices and such, made not by ETA but by irregular militant cells) and one seemingly accidental shooting with the French police near Paris but it was clear for any knowledgeable casual observer that there was an undeclared unilateral truce by ETA.

Spanish repression has only loosened in the last few months. Not too much but the lack of ETA arrests in the last few months clearly suggested me already by early summer that the truce had finally become bilateral, a clear sign of progress in negotiations].

They conclude with a repetition of the call to all Basque political actors to assume their responsibilities in order to produce solid steps as People for when the democratic rights are acknowledged.


Analysis

The tone of this penultimate paragraph is suggestive of ETA having big hopes on this negotiation but myself, having watched many previous negotiations end with no results, I can't but be highly skeptic.

The international economic and political situation, unlike maybe 10 or even four years ago, is not the kind of situation that could push for a surrender of ETA with only cosmetic concessions maybe. In fact the deep and persistent economic and socio-political crisis of the West (and by extension Spain) is the kind of scenario that would support continued armed struggle in any case. You don't surrender when the enemy is weak, do you?

Anyhow, I do hope that the negotiations this time end up to the satisfaction of all. But I am highly skeptic because:

• I do not see that Spain has any immediate need nor intent of dropping the fight against Basque rights (civil, political and the rights of self-rule and self-determination)
• While independentist politicians may be in some "hurry" to get legally recognized again and hence be able to participate in elections normally, that is not what ETA nor their voters surely give priority to but to the persistence of the struggle, including armed struggle. So they won't settle for anything less than the legal recognition of the right of self-determination, what implies a radical reform of the Spanish constitution.
  
• The ruling Socialist Party (PSOE) probably has not enough backing in this from the right wing (PP), which are the ones who really represent the Spanish state since fascism and who will probably and predictably boycott any serious concessions.
  
• The social-economic frame is favorable to radical struggles rather than negative. A surrender of ETA is therefore not likely and, would it happen for whatever political or otherwise circumstances, it'd surely cause a schism and the creation of a new ETA.

So, well, my expectations are pretty much limited: a year or so of frustrating and mysterious negotiations ending up most likely in a return to "normality", i.e. the low intensity war I have known all my life. However there are some political elements that may favor a constitutional reform:

• The situation in Catalonia, where independentism is very strong (and nearly all non-independentist parties would want at least federalism).
• The weakness of Spanish economy (and hence social order) weights somewhat against Madrid risking to keep the Basque military front open.
• The incipient formation of a Basque indepentist front. However, given the low vote support of the legal parties involved (EA, Aralar) its effect is certainly limited.
• So far the right wing has remained rather silent. This is a good signal because it should mean that they are assuming (for a change) their state responsibilities and supporting the social-democrats in the negotiation. Certainly no negotiation can succeed without the effective support of the Spanish right. But they can easily decide to sabotage the negotiations at any moment.
  

We'll see. This is what I can think of at this time.

What is clear is that this communication is written to emphasize the will of negotiations and the reality of the truce, hence I would expect some sort of confirmation of extant bilateral negotiations from Madrid soon.

__________

Update: first reactions.

The main government-aligned speaker so far has been Rodolfo Ares, Western Basque Councilor (regional minister) of Interior (police) and possibly the most visible leader of the PSOE in the Basque Country, who has reacted very harshly, deeming the statement insufficient, ambiguous and fraudulent because it falls short of his demand of immediate self-dissolution.

He rejected the idea that the government has also initiated a truce.

On the other side, members of the Basque Nationalist Left (illegal but important political movement) welcomed the communication as an element of unquestionable value for the arrival of peace and the consolidation of a democratic space as necessary framework to open spaces of dialogue and negotiation towards the definitive resolution of the conflict.

The say that, together with their own conclusions from the debates in previous months, make irreversible the beginning of a new political phase. They also make an appeal to the international community and to the Basque people to take active part in this new phase.

For Basque Solidarity (EA, Basque nationalist and social-democrat), the news are hopeful and say they will work for results. For Aralar party (break up faction of former Batasuna) it is a positive and important news item, but demanded from ETA a unilateral and definitive ceasefire. United Left-The Greens considers the announcement insufficient. The Navarrese People's Union (UPN, Spanish nationalist far right, close to Opus Dei) said that ETA cannot get anything from this ceasefire. The largest labor union, Basque Workers' Union (ELA), said that the Spanish government should take the announcement prudent and responsibly, revising their current policies and making decisions that contribute to distension. [Source for miscellaneous reactions].

In the international scene, two personalities have come to make declarations encouraging the search of a definitive solution. These are South African mediator Brian Currin and Northern Irish leader Gerry Adams.

Currin emphasizes that ETA does say that the time has come for the construction of a democratic frame for the Basque Country respecting the will of the majority of the Basque People. For the South African lawyer the key elements of this announcement is that ETA is adopting a unilateral and unconditional ceasefire and also that this decision is a response from ETA to the political leadership of the Basque Nationalist Left.

For Adams, now it is vital that the Spanish government produces a positive answer, takes the opportunity and establishes quickly inclusive political negotiations.

I'd take the declarations of politicians with a good pinch of salt but I think that the opinions of ELA, Currin and Adams are sincere, thoughtful and well-intended.

Update (Sep 6): more reactions.

Spanish Minister of Interior, Alfredo Pérez Rubalcaba, declared today to a public TV program, that the announcement is far from the democratic minimums that this society is imposing to the Basque Nationalist Left to be allowed back to make [institutional] politics. He also expressed distrust that the ceasefire would last. Other officers of the ruling PSOE party, including Prime Minister Rodríguez Zapatero, went in the same line, demanding the total abandonment of armed struggle.

Aralar speaker, Patxi Zabaleta, said that it is impoverishing to attempt to reduce the debate on whether this communication is enough or not, on whether it is satisfactory or has not fulfilled the expectations. That is a short-term analysis and in politics we have to look to the long term.

The European Commission welcomed the announcement with prudent hope and announced it will follow the developments closely.

Canarians get involved in West Sahara while the Moroccan tyrant choses repression again

Tenerife con el Sahara reports[es] that a number of Canarian citizens have taken part in a protest for the rights of the Arab Democratic Sahrawi Republic at El Aaiun. The reaction of the Moroccan autocracy has been brutal, as usual.

Carmen Roger one of the Canarian victims

After being beaten by the Moroccan occupation forces, the Canarians have been arrested at the "House of Spain". Two international observers, Mexican Antonio Velázquez Díaz and Catalan Isabel Terraza, are being besieged by the occupation forces at the homes of their Sahrawi host family. Tenerife con el Sahara claims that they are at serious risk, as well as the Sahrawi families besieged at their homes by the invader troops.

The international protests are organized by Saharaacciones which is promoting nonviolent protest in order to make the occupation and repression of the West Sahara more visible and hopefully push towards a democratic solution through the right of self-determination of the Sahrawi people:

We are demonstrating to make visible a vetoed territory, where we are unwelcome by the occupation forces, following the example set by the admirable peaceful resistance that the Sahrawi people are doing once and again since the beginning of the Intifada in May 2005.

Morocco may be pushing for greater involvement of Spain

This is what Pedro Canales argues at El Imparcial newspaper (found at Sahara Libre). According to him, Morocco wants Spain to take a more clear pro-Moroccan stand in regards to the West Sahara, a former Spanish province. As Spain cannot really control the high level of popular support for the Sahrawi cause, which is generally perceived as a treason to the formerly "Spanish" people of the Sahara by Madrid, nor can reign on the local and regional administrations in this matter, Morocco seems to have opted to do the same: leave the Moroccan popular discontent with Spain on matters such as the colonial outposts of Ceuta and Melilla or the treatment of immigrants, break loose.

However Canales seems to be writing for the Moroccan viewpoint and seems to think that greater Spanish involvement alone could change things. This is not possible because Spain already has a very shameful role by mere inhibition and cannot really take any stronger political stand against the Arab Democratic Sahrawi Republic. So if Spain would get involved, it could only do with a stand at least moderately opposed to Morocco's aspirations, so really Morocco is doing it wrong if Canales is right. After all some border riots at the Melilla fence won't get anyone worried this side of the Strait.

On the other hand, I guess it is always positive when the people, in this case the Moroccan people can express their discontent. It is a positive development that may be in the future will turn against the autocrat of Rabat. If the people can really express their anger and gets organized maybe in the near future we can hope to see a simultaneous solution to both colonial problems: Moroccan occupation of the Sahara and Spanish control of Ceuta and Melilla.

In any case, I don't think that Morocco really wants to press Spain to get itself "more involved" in the conflict of West Sahara because it can only backfire. For Moroccan imperialist interests the best situation is the status quo, with Spain inhibiting itself, what is as pro-Moroccan as it can get.

But that the people organizes itself and gets to speak out loud in any conflict is as such a good development. In an ideal democracy situation all these conflicts would not exist because it'd be up to each local people to self-determine their status and their future.

Zaragoza-Brussels march for social rights

It began last Saturday and it's expected to reach Brussels on September 27 after many journeys varying from 17 to more than 50 kilometers, mostly through France.

People who wish to join for whatever length is asked to write to marchaabruselas@gmail.com, including name, mail address, telephone and journeys planned to take part in, or calling to telephone +34-679213259. Marchers are expected to bring their luggage, shoes, basic aid kit and sleeping utilities (sleeping bag, tent). A van accompanies the march to take care of luggages and people who need to rest.

The slogan is "March to Brussels. Against labor reform, for social rights" and one for the callers is anarcho-syndicalist union CGT, a splinter of the historical CNT (they mention other organizations but I have not been able to find out yet).



More photos and info (in Spanish) at CGT (includes detailed schedule and other info) and Rojo y Negro (photos).

From the second site:

We march against the spoliation of working classes and the destruction and privatization of the public sector in all Europe.

We march against Labor Reform and social cuts in the State of Spain.

We march against the Spanish government and the rest of European governments, who reduce salaries to public employees, freeze salaries, freeze pensions, increase VAT equally for the rich and the poor.

AND ABOVE EVERYTHING ELSE, we march because taxes are not being raised for the rich, fiscal paradises are not being destroyed, submerged economy is not being persecuted, tax fraud is not being attacked, no responsibilities are demanded to those who have caused the crisis, no embargoes nor prison are being applied against bankers, speculators and billionaires who are taking the public money.

How West Sahara was given to Morocco

There is a rather interesting historical review at Le Monde Diplomatique (in English) on how the then Spanish provinces of Saguía el Hamra and Río de Oro (then legally as much part of Spain as Madrid, by the way - so good for the unalienable unity of the fatherland) ended up in Moroccan hands with the blessings of the USA and France.

Map of the colonial West Sahara and Morocco in the mid 20th century (from Wikipedia).

Apparently the USA saw Algerian interest in supporting the Sahrawis as part of the Cold War geopolitics, so, by default, it supported Morocco discretely. Spain was reluctant to yield the territory and specially if it appeared they had been kicked out, however it eventually yielded to pressure in the context of an uncertain regime change.

The appointed Sahrawi council (Yemaa or D'jemaa) however declined to play the rubber-stamping role that the USA, France, Morocco and Mauritania had devised for them and instead declared its own dissolution and transfered its power to the recently created POLISARIO Front, which proclaimed the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic.

To Moroccan disillusionment the African Union Organization, as well as most African states, also recognized the rebel republic and the weakest part, Mauritania, soon yielded to Polisario attacks and recognized the country's independence in 1979. Morocco became isolated in Africa. However, later on, the Moroccan tyranny (it's a police state where people fear speaking freely, I can tell you), with massive support from Saudi Arabia, the USA and France, managed to build their version of the Great Wall, forcing the Polisario out of most of the country and preventing them from attacking the much coveted phosphate mines and foreign fishing ships that had no authorization from the Republic.

All this only barely dealt with in the Le Monde Diplomatique article but it is still interesting to read to understand how the imperialist interests of the USA and France played in favor of the last absolute monarchy of Africa... and to read how Kissinger view the issue on his own words.

However, in spite of a two decades long cease fire, the wound is still open and the war might start again at any moment. Moroccan official maps, of the kind you find only there, have no borders south of Oujda, as the fascist monarchy claims all the desert for them: a good bunch of Algeria, all Mauritania and, who knows, maybe even Mali.

Further reading (in Spanish) at Sahara Libre, where you can find news of the ongoing conflict such as the violent repression of striking workers yesterday, the long hunger strike of Dr. Abbas Mohammed Chej Sebaj or how lobbyists in the USA are trying to bring the now unemployed Louisiana fishermen to the rich Sahrawi banks.

US soldiers indicted again on the murder of journalist in Baghdad

The Spanish Audiencia Nacional has ordered search and capture for three US soldiers: colonel Philip de Camp, captain Philip Wolford and sergeant Thomas Gibson for the murder of civilian journalists at Palestine Hotel in Baghdad on April 8th 2003. As you probably remember, a US tank shot against the balcony of this hotel while journalists were filming the entrance of US troops in the Iraqi capital, killing two: Reuters cameraman Taras Protsyuk and Telecinco cameraman José Couso. Three other journalists were injured.

Earlier the case was dismissed by this same tribunal but the Supreme Court rejected the dismissal and ordered to open it again.

The crime for which they have been indicted is to knowingly attacking civilian population causing the death of José Couso and act or threats of terror against civilians and journalists. The judge considers that there is enough evidence to believe that Col. de Camp was the person who gave order of shooting in spite of knowing perfectly well that it was a civilian zone and was occupied only by journalists. Wolford is accused for transmitting the criminal order and Gibson for materially executing the murder.

The search and capture order has been decided because of the lack of cooperation from the US authorities. According to EU treaties it has validity in all the Schengen space, which includes most of EU and therefore also most of NATO. Additionally, bilateral extradition agreements of Spain or EU may mean the suspects are subject to arrest and extradition in many other countries across the globe.

So far the USA has rejected to cooperate with the Spanish judiciary in this case but that was under G.W. Bush and the judges "hope" (in vain I forecast) that the new administration will be more cooperative.

Similarly the Iraqi government has not replied to the Spanish requests of cooperation for the examination of the place of the crime, however the tribunal has ordered to send inspectors on their own, as no legal authorization seems to be actually needed for such simple task.

The Spanish Penal Code qualifies undiscriminated or excessive attacks against civilians in war situations as a crime.

Source: La Haine[es]

Catalonia bans bullfights

The Catalan Parliament has approved a law that bans bullfights since January 2012. The decision was taken with 68 votes in favor, 55 against and nine abstaining. Catalonia is the second autonomous community of the Kingdom of Spain that bans bullfights, the first one being the Canary Islands, which forbade them in 1991. There is only one active bullfight plaza in all Catalonia.

While the vote was made on individual convictions, the vast majority of Catalan nationalist deputies voted for the ban while most Spanish nationalist ones voted against.

I am totally in favor of forbidding such cruel rituals and therefore I welcome the law and hope it's extended to other territories in Iberia and France, as well as America. However I disagree with those who oppose all kind of bull-themed fiestas such as encierros (running the bulls), recortes (dribbling the bull attacks much as in Knossos' frescoes) and vaquillas (similar with bullocks and open to public participation), which are essentially harmless to the animal (human participants know the risks they take). The important point is that the bulls are not tortured and also to prevent damage to horses, also suffering in the most cruel and well-known variants of bullfighting.

In my hometown there is a huge bullfight plaza that is almost unused except for the fiestas in late August. I have yet to meet a person who likes bullfights but there seem to be some in social strata I don't mix with. But I know a lot of people who enjoys vaquillas (or enjoyed them when younger). I would think that the plaza could have much better use as some sort of public venue, as for concerts (used on occasion) or massive popular assemblies - or just to gain a much needed new park after its demolition.

Source: Gara.

Catalans take Barcelona by millions!

We are a nation - Self-determination!

More than one million people, according to the city police, took to the streets in Barcelona today in defense of their Statute as the people and democratic institutions designed it, and not the mutilated remnant that the Spanish Constitutional Court would allow.

Catalonia has 6 million inhabitants, so these figures mean that practically every Catalan is supportive of the Statute. It also meant that the demo had major difficulties proceeding as planned because the people itself prevented it from advancing unwillingly, which happened at the rate of very few meters per minute, with streets and streets cramped with people and republican Catalan banners.

Sources: VilaWeb, Gara

This situation really pits Catalans and the Spanish institutions into a confrontational dead-end that can only be resolved with a radical change of the Spanish Constitution, something that the Spanish parties are not for.

Unlike the small Basque Country, Catalonia is a major demographic (and even greater economic) component of the State of Spain and it is very difficult to see how can it be ignored for long.

Basques demonstrate for independence and solidarity with Catalonia

The demo, under the main slogan of "We are a nation - Self-determination", was called by the Basque Nationalist Left and Basque Solidarity (EA) and Alternative (Alternatiba), in solidarity with Catalonia, which has seen how the statute democratically designed by Catalans was wildly mutilated by the Spanish Constitutional Court.

Basque parties feel that this attack on Catalan self-rule has also grave implications for the Basque Country, making virtually impossible to work for self-determination within an institutional frame that does not acknowledge that right.

Source: Gara

Spanish Inquisition: one step further.

Elected representatives will now, in the legal jurisdiction of Spain, be suspended if they don't parrot with enough vehemence the institutional doctrine promoted by the two official (and almost identical) parties: PP and PSOE.

According to the new wording of the electoral law, just approved by the Constitutional Commission of the Spanish Parliament, representatives elected in any list that is declared illegal after the elections will be suspended. The only way to avoid this suspension would be to repeat constantly the ritual words "terrorists" and "I condemn".

By the letter the popular representatives must formulate "voluntarily" before the "Electoral Administration" in the term of 15 days "an express and doubtless declaration of separation and rejection of the causes determining the declaration of illegality" of his/her list.

This however is not enough: the "lucky" representative will be placed under constant scrutiny and can be suspended at any time if "by act, omission or manifestation" he/she "would show contradiction" with the written declaration.

This process will happen by mere administrative procedure, with no judicial guarantees whatsoever.

Source: Gara.

It is of course a law intended primarily to prohibit one of the largest Basque political factions from having any institutional representation whatsoever under any circumstances but these McCarthyist laws are ample enough to allow the illegalization and persecution of anyone who dares to have different opinions, be them Basque or Spanish.

Furthermore, we must not forget that the Spanish "anti-terrorist" hysteria has been plagiarized by the USA and its empire since 2001. The same that Spain allowed the massacre of Hipercor to happen, the USA allowed 9/11 (if it did not directly engineer it), only to spark mediatic hysteria and rally the people around the Capitalist governments and their repressive policies in what I could not describe but as a de-facto coup against democracy, as it has allowed for further restrictions of human rights and civic freedoms everywhere, impelling almost total police control of the citizenship. All things that would have been unthinkable without this carefully engineered hysteria.

So beware, because it'd be not the first time that a "brilliant" Spanish idea like this would be copied worlwide.

Regarding the Basque political situation it can only make more difficult any path to peace. We must remember that ETA has been in an unspoken but real unilateral truce since more than a year ago and that the Basque Nationalist Left has repeteadly declared its will to achieve independence by peaceful and democratic means, yet the State only responds with more repression.

Some Archaeo News

The compilation of archaeological news by the team of the reference site Stone Pages strikes with a new update, some of whose snippets I found of some significance:

• Çatalhöyuk team to announce new findings this summer (more at Hürriyet)
  
• Guernsey's only gallery grave (passage dolmen) dug by archaeologists (more at BBC)
• Possible indications of Neolithic at Andrah Pradesh discovered by freelance archaeologist (more at The Hindu - not a very clear story)
• Neanderthals and Sapiens probably diverged long ago because of teeth morphology (more at Science Daily).
  

I already mentioned this last story earlier in relation to the latest Neanderthal Genome controversial molecular clock guesstimates, which caused palaeoanthropologist Aida Gómez, of the Atapuerca team, pointing to her older works on the matter saying: no way, it's more like one million years. It seems that the story is still bouncing around, now in English.

And Spanish-speakers favorite word is... 'Republic'

This has been one of those pathetic self-destructive laughable manipulations of the Spanish "cultural" (political) establishment.

The Cervantes Institute (public foundation to promote the Spanish language and feed some system intellectuals of those that may write books for children or columns in papers praising the system) had the idea of getting an online poll on which is the people's favorite word in Spanish language.

Soon the poll was closed for "technical problems". The technical problem being, as reported by Ciudad Futura and echoed by 20Minutos, that the most voted word was "república" (republic), a spit on the face of the honorary president of the institution King Juan Carlos Bourbon Bourbon (alias Double Bourbon and not just for the endogamous coincidence of his surnames).

In the end, after censorship was exposed, the Institute eventually accepted the results of the poll as it was before they closed it. However, in order to prevent that obvious anti-monarchic feeling from becoming evident, they found a solution: they posted, in alphabetical order and in a not too evident location, the ten most voted words without vote count. However, an image is worth a thousand words and the people at Ciudad Futura got a screenshot before the contest was sabotaged by the organizers:


Who knows... maybe if the poll would have been left to follow its course, some exotic word like gamusino (imaginary animal that only exists in practical jokes) might have won. I doubt it though.

Madrid subway workers to strike for three days

In a massive assembly, the workers of Metro Madrid (the subway or underground) decided to go on legal strike on June 28th but, if the scheduled salary cuts are finally approved, to continue the strike for two more days (29th and 30th) without any sort of minimal services.

This unprecedented and technically illegal measure has been justified by the workers on the grounds that the salary cuts and unilateral revocation of the company's collective agreements by the regional government of Madrid are also illegal.

The right-wing government of Madrid autonomous community has unilaterally decided to cut public salaries by 5%, regardless of individual income, following the orders by the IMF and EU in this sense.

The strike is supported by most unions: UGT, CC.OO., Solidaridad Obrera, Sindicato Libre de Metro, Sindicato de Conductores and Sindicato de Estaciones.

Subway service is vital for the normal functioning of the Spanish metropolis.

Source: La Haine.

Iraqi government's death threats force suspension of conference

The State* Campaign against Occupation and for Sovereignty in Iraq (CEOSI for its Spanish acronym) decided yesterday, in the last minute, to suspend the International Conference of the Iraqi Political Resistance at Xixon (Gijón), Asturias, which had the support of the local and regional government. The reason? Death threats.

Death threats that anyone who has read about Iraq under the current collaborationist regime knows are very real.

Previously, economic and political threats by the government of Nouri Al-Maliki, which cooperates with both the USA and Iran, for a fascist fundamentalist agenda, had got its desired results in form of visa denial by the pathetic submissive government of Rodríguez Zapatero.

To this, the organizers responded by continuing with the conference and establishing videoconference links with Baghdad, Amman and Damascus in order for the banned speakers to be able to address the audience.

But the criminal Maliki was not satisfied and began issuing death threats against the organizers if the conference ever took place.

Such threats have been transmitted directly by the government of Nouri Al-Maliki to the Spanish government, demanding the cancellation of the conference and associated activities. It is believed that the execution of such death threats would correspond to paramilitary groups linked directly to Al Maliki's government.

Under such extreme pressure and the collaborationist innaction of the Spanish government, current president of the EU, the CEOSI decided to suspend the conference altogether, preserving only a visit to the Spanish Parliament next monday, where what happened will be explained again.

The conference intended to bring together and into public limelight, representatives of various human rights groups, civil society organizations and opposition parties and movements of Iraq, such as the Union for the People (communist party), the Southern Iraq Tribes' Council, the National and Islamic Patriotic Front of Iraq, the Association of Muslim Ulemas of Iraq, the Political Council of Iraqi Resistance, National Iraqi Founding Congress, as well as European and US solidarity organizations (see schedule for details).

Source: CEOSI (press release PDF) (in Spanish)

________________________________
*State means State of Spain, a common terminology among anti-imperialists within the multiethnic realm, where the term Spain has a quasi-fascist meaning that many reject.

Genetically modified corn causes infertility

New research by the Austrian government confirms that a Monsanto-patented genetically modified maize causes infertility in mice (and probably in humans too). The variety, known as NK 603 x MON 810, is by the moment forbidden in the European Union but it is being grown experimentally in 30 municipalities of Spain.

Sources: Greenpeace, G&C and La Haine (all three in Spanish)

Research paper should be found here (in German) but at the moment the PDF link is broken, giving a "500 Internal Server Error" page.