The Udalbiltza’s representative Peio Gascón has done yesterday, friday 27, a press conference in the frame of the Basque National Week of Cordoba, where he has appeared with representatives of the different basque political trends of the diaspora. In this framework, Gascón has observed the importance of the political moment that’s living Euskal Herria and has emphasized the importance of the international community’s and basque diaspora’s implication in this process.

Concretely, the EA’s general secretary in Argentina, Cesar Arrondo, the affiliated to the PNV’s extra-territorial assembly in Argentina Domingo Ormaetxea, the Eusketxe’s president and the widow of the PNV’s ex-leader in exile Andres Irujo, María Elena Etcheverry, the coordinator of the International Association Basque Diaspora Daniel Bilbao and the journalist from Cordoba Mariano Saravia accompanied Gascón.

Within this framework, Gascón gave a synopsis of the political process, beginning by the Euskal Herria’s historical trajectory for the defence of its rights, whose the historical negation provoked a political conflict. He quoted the presentation by the abertzale left in november 2004 in Anoeta of a methodology which creates two scenes as frames of dialogue and of negotiation: on the one hand, the States and ETA and, in another hand, the Euskal Herria’s political and social actors, with an aim of authorizing a proposal.

He also quoted the signature of the Basic Democratic Agreement, authentified by the 55 political, social, institutional and trade-union majority actors in this country, among them this national institution, by claiming a democratic solution to the conflict. In this context, he emphasized that in march 2006, with the ceasefire’s announce by ETA, has signified a “point of flexion” which was followed by the declaration of Zapatero to the Spanish Congress of the Deputies about the beginning of the contacts with the armed organisation and his promise to respect the bsque citizenship’s will.

In an another moment of the press conference, Gascón has remarked the importance of the International Community’s implication, supporting the political process open in Euskal Herria. In this point, he has emphasized not only the approbation of a movement in support to the political process by the European Parliament the last wednesday, but also he has reminded the creation of the “Friendship” in the European Council at the beginning of the year; the various declarations made by instances like the Vatican, the United Nations or the White House; as well as the note that have published the last 9th of october six personalities recognized from different countries for the political process open in Euskal Herria.

The Udalbiltza’s representative emphasized the importance of the basque diaspora’s implication and, in that, he quoted the official statements expressed by the two legislative chambers from the State of Idaho and by the Senate from Chile. These initiatives were possible thanks to the american and chilean political leaders with a basque ancestry.

At this point the different representatives of the basque diaspora, Arrondo, Ormaetxea, Etxeverry, Bilbao and Saravia insisted on the necessity to create a trend of opinion in the basque community favourable to the process of peace, affirming that the knots of the process are in the self-determination right and the territoriality, and remarking that the key for its resolution is in the right to decide. Besides, they continued to say that the ways for a democratic situation’s open go by the dialogue and the negotiation, though they emphasize that must exist “democratic minimums” like the participation of all the political sensibilities and the respect of the will expressed by the basque citizens. “There were decades of disinformation while trying to allay the diaspora, it’s time that all we affront the situation and to see to it that the diaspora take part to the process since the beginning until the end. We must take the things we’ve in common to advance and to whish that this photo be repeated in Euskal Herria”.

In the same way, all showed their engagements to inform and to diffuse the punctual information on the process’s walk and to habilitate the ways for the basque diaspora’s participation in this, by the creation of a trend of opinion favourable to the new political scene. Arrondo, Ormaetxea, Etxeverry, Bilbao and Saravia took again this objective and they were engaged supporting it between the members of the basque community in Argentina.

Udalbiltza’s Office of Press.
28 of October 2006