<nettime> URGENT ACTION REQUIRED: SPAIN CLOSED BASQUE DAILY/RADIO

[Lagun Batzuen <lagunak@panix.com>]

THE BASQUE CONGRESS FOR PEACE (CPEH)
POB 20252 Dag Hammarskjold PC
United Nations Plaza
New York, NY 10017

FAX         212/826-7164
E-MAIL   cpeh@aol.com

IMMEDIATE ACTION REQUIRED 

The Basque Congress for Peace urges all U.S. activists to call and fax
immediately the Spanish Embassy in Washington D.C. to express their
outrage at the closing of the Basque newspaper EGIN and its sister radio
station EGIN IRRATIA. 	

In another attack to freedom of expression and information, a Spanish
judge of the National Court (created by the Francoist regime) on Wednesday
shut down EGIN and EGIN IRRATIA and arrested 11 members of the
administrative council.

As in the worse times of Gen. Franco dictatorship against freedom of the
press, more than 350 policemen of the Spanish National Police in a predawn
raid entered and occupied the headquarters of EGIN's Hernani newsroom (in
the province of Gipuzkoa) and the newspaper's offices in the cities of
Irunea (Navarre), Bilbo (Bizkaia) and Gasteiz (Araba), which were sealed
off under the order of National Court judge Baltazar Garzon.  Police
prevented workers from entering the newspaper offices and confiscated
documents and computer equipment.  The 11 people arrested, many of whom
are senior employees of EGIN or its parent company, were rounded up in
early morning raids in the province of Gipuzkoa. 

Once again, since gaining office in 1996, Spain's ruling, right-wing
Popular Party (founded by Gen. Franco's minister of Interior, Manuel
Fraga) has overlooked democratic freedoms to deal with the Basque
dissidence as the average dictatorship would.

Last December, the entire leadership of the Basque political party Herri
Batasuna was sentenced to a total of 161 years in jail for having
distributed for public debate a peace proposal for a democratic solution
of the conflict between Spain/France and Euskal Herria (Basque Country).

A heir of the fascist dictatorship of Gen. Franco, Minister of Interior
Jaime Mayor Oreja told a news conference that the Egin newspaper and Egin
radio have been closed and 11 people arrested because "EGIN is helping
ETA."  The Spanish government accuses EGIN of helping the Basque
resistance organization Euskadi Ta Askatasuna (ETA, Basque Homeland and
Freedom) because it has published excerpts of ETA communiques (also
published by Spanish newspapers), and interviews with ETA conducted by
Basque and Spanish journalists, and foreign journalists for  European
television. 

The Basque Congress for Peace condemns Spain's latest attack against the
Basque dissidence, and insists that the only way to solve the
confrontation between Spain/France and Euskal Herria is through dialogue
and negotiations and not by repression.  We urge all supporters of freedom
of expression and information to protest this latest attack by the
neo-Francoist government of Spain. 

Phone calls and faxes should be made/sent as soon possible. The phone
and fax number for the Spanish embassy follows:

Embassy of Spain
2735 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington DC 20037

Phone      + 202 452 0100 and 202 265 0190

Fax          + 202 833 5670

NOTE: AN APPEAL WILL APPEAR IN EUSKAL HERRIA JOURNAL WITH PHONE AND 
FAXES TO SPANISH OFFICIALS, AND ORGANIZATIONS.

============================================================
THE BASQUE CONGRESS FOR PEACE  (CPEH) is a grassroots network working to
change French and Spanish policy in the Basque Country and raise public
awareness in support of self-determination.  We organize events, lobby
governments, and supply speakers and materials. Join us.

Basque Congress for Peace, POB 20252 Dag Hammarskjold PC, New York, NY
10017, <cpeh@aol.com>
 
To help people learn about the Basque Country (Euskal Herria in Basque)
and what they can do to support human rights and self-determination, the
Basque Congress for Peace publishes the Euskal Herria Journal (EHJ) in the
Internet. 

EHJ has documented information with bibliographies, about the culture,
history and politics of the Basque Country. It also has a news section
updated weekly, articles, video and audio archives.

EUSKAL HERRIA JOURNAL
    http://osis.ucsd.edu/~ehj  (updated site)
    http://www.contrast.org/mirrors/index.ehj/

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