Boycott day at Bilbao Fiestas

As mentioned yesterday, wednesday was a journey of protest for freedom of speech and the participative popular model of fiestas, against the persecution of ideas and konpartsak by the authorities, be them remotely located at Madrid or nearby at the local Town Hall.

The konpartsak made a massive concentration at the Town Hall:


They also parodied the mayor, who has not only be as weak and treacherous as to accept the imposition of the Spanish flag but who is also actively cooperating with the repressive policies designed by the Spaniards:


Source: Gara (link 1, link 2)

Bilbao Fiestas on strike

Today at 10 am, the official inauguration of the festive journey, the kompartsak (popular festive teams which are the heart of the fiestas since 1978) went on strike for the whole journey. If you happen to visit today the festive area you will find nearly everything closed.

Additionally this year, all the stands are decorated on black background as sign of protest, a pretty unusual sight.

Why? Because the Town Hall decided to ban three kompartsak (Kaskagorri, Txori Barrote and Komantxe) because they included photos of Basque prisoners in their stands. Such photos have been part of the Basque landscape since I have memory but, as of late, the undemocratic imposed government of Patxi López, has been working to get them out of the streets and taverns on the pretext that they are offensive for "the victims of terrorism".

There is no clear legal frame for such an actuation but, of course, judges are siding with the Spaniards and their local lackeys in this matter as well.

As the photos have been anyhow present in the fiestas, with them hanged from every tree and lamp, yesterday Spanish Neoinquisition judge Velasco ordered for second time their removal and now also investigation on who may be placing them (what a silly question: everybody!, these doctors seem to ignore the best of Spanish literature).

But they also seem to ignore history: the Basque flag was illegal until a campaign of flag-bombs forced its recognition. Such a scenario may happen again indeed with the photos of prisoners or whatever other expression that is formally banned by some distant judge in his crystal palace of Madrid. It happened again indeed with the prohibition of banners of Basque Nationalist content, causing some policemen to be injured in Navarre a few years ago.

Whatever the case, these are the strangest fiestas I have ever witnessed.

Judge Velasko has also ordered police to intervene against the homage to repressed members of Kaskagorri konpartsa (Nationalist Left youth) and even a toast (brindis) to women prisoners in Barcelona, which in his opinion is an act of welcome of recently freed anarchist prisoner Laura Riera, as well as homage to other two Catalan political prisoners: Dolores López Resina and Marina Bernadó.

Image of the police aggression yesterday on orders of the Spanish Inquisition (Audiencia Nacional).
More photos at Boltxe.

Video: police repression in Barcelona (text and most dialogue in Catalan)
People chant: you fascists are the terrorists, Audiencia Nacional dissolution and Laura Riera welcome home

The konpartsak however made exception to their strike for the visit to children in hospital, being present there with all the festive paraphernalia: Mari Jaia, pregonero, txupinera, circus clowns and even the mayor, who avoided any declarations.

Source: Gara[es] (link 1, link 2)

Pamplona: fascist aggression in San Fermin

The information on this matter was confusing at first, as the incident was believed to have been just one of several involving Spanish hooligans and Basque nationalists as some hollow heads got out to the streets with Spanish banners, what is generally considered a fascist provocation here and may cause serious fights.

But as time passes the case is becoming more clear: three armed Spanish fascists went into a popular meal of the San Fermin peñak on Sunday, dressed on Spanish flags and fascist tattoos and carrying also weapons such as a pepper spray, a machete and a pistol, pushing, threatening and insulting the people who were celebrating there.


Gaztelu Plaza was full with policemen but they did not intervene against the provokers.

A reason may well be that at least one of them, the one carrying the gun, was a policeman himself, as has been reported by Diario de Navarra.



However no word is said of the violence they caused.

Sources: Sare Antifaxista (1, 2), Boltxe, Diario de Navarra

Gora San Fermin!

Today officially begin the most famous fiestas worldwide: the San Ferminak of Pamplona.

Panoramic view of the City Hall Plaza at the txupin

Of course, the tensions between the official Navarre and the other Navarre have been present all the time.

For instance, it was the turn for the txupin to be launched by a member the Basque Nationalist Left municipal group and that has caused that for the first time it has been launched instead by the members of the Giants and Big-Heads konpartsa instead of a councilor. Furthermore the councilors of this group were forbidden to access the balcony on the grounds that their t-shirts had Basque flags on them.

However the Basque banner was visible in the plaza anyhow:

Another conflict is the censorship imposed on some peñak (popular groups that co-organize the fiestas and give it the real feeling) because their banners, traditionally critical and humorous depictions of the social and political reality, included references to Basque prisoners.

For that reason all peñak have agreed that this year their banners will be black, representing censorship.

Again, regardless the municipal government, solidarity with the prisoners has been present in form of the traditional salutation, this year by the hand Asier Aranguren, a recently liberated local prisoner:

Yet another conflict has been with the platform for participative fiestas Gora Iruñea! The city government has repeatedly denied them permission to install scenarios and such, so this year they have asked for the very minimums, bringing the rest of activities to the street (1200 hours of street music, activities for children, 14 rock concerts, dances...). Still the right-wing Mayor and camarilla have rejected to concede any permission, forbidding even a popular dinner. The association will therefore be forced to relocate these activities in less adequate spaces but the clowns Pirritx eta Mari Motots need an scenario for their actuation so they may have to cancel this activity. However they have promised to act for the children of Pamplona in some other occasion.

Another prohibition is vuvuzelas.

Source: Gara (link 1, link 2, photo gallery).

And, by the way, who was San Fermin? Nobody seems to know nor care... ask the Pope. What the people really wants is a pretext for wild, almost endless party.

________________________

Update (Jul 8): La Haine reports of one person arrested and two more brutally beaten by local police for carrying the Basque flag to the txupin (inaugural ceremony repeated daily). It's perfectly legal and nobody would mind if it'd be the banner of Australia or Andalusia but the Basque ensign is apparently forbidden de facto by the fascist government of the city.

Aste Nagusia!

I'm too old to be all day and night partying, so guess I won't totally disconnect from the PC these days. But be warned anyhow: Marijaia, the goddess of the local fiestas, will arrive this evening at Bilbao and... well I may not be so active in the Net for the next nine days or so.

Yes, nine fiesta days!

Scores of 'pirates' land in San Sebastian. Bounty? Popular participation in the fiestas.

For the 6th consecutive year scores of young people provided with home made rafts and dressed as pirates have landed in the classy beach of Kontxa in the Basque city of Donostia (San Sebastian) claiming more popular and participative festivities, something that does exist in all other Basque cities and most towns and villages but that is lacking in elitist Donostia, where "fiestas" seem to mean little more than fireworks and standarized parades.

The popular participation for this event has been growing since it began to be organized six years ago.

Source: Gara.