Basques look to Irish peace process

Urko Aiartza (right) meets with Californian congressman John Garamendi, who is a member of the Basque diaspora.

 

By Evan Short

A Basque country senator has said he will press members of the U.S. Congress to back their peace process in the same way they helped to deliver peace in Ireland.

Urko Aiartza told the Irish Echo that the Spanish government was stalling on developing the peace process ahead of his recent arrival in the U.S.

“We are part of a delegation that will meet with congressmen to update them on the Basque peace process,” Aiartza said.

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“The process has been inspired by the Irish peace process and we have had a lot of input from Ireland.

“We have tried to develop the process but over the last four years we have been completely blockaded by the conservative government.

“They are not interested in developing the process and have done what they can to blockade it. There’s been no kind of dialogue and they’ve said no to dialogue.

“There are lessons to be learned from the Irish peace process which showed that you can’t impose preconditions.

“The ceasefire is absolutely solid. The armed campaign ended in 2011 and there is a clear commitment to work towards decommissioning.”

Mr. Aiartza said the issue of Basque prisoners was a significant issue.

“There are still 375 prisoners in bad conditions in prisons far away from the Basque country and that has to be addressed.

“Overall, there are opportunities but a lot of work has to be done.”

In addition to meetings regarding the peace process, the delegation’s visit coincided with the Smithsonian Folklife Festival in Washington, D.C. which this year celebrates Basque culture.

Mr. Aiartza said they were excited to be part of it.

“This is a very important event because not only we are celebrating strong work of Basques in America who were able to keep our culture alive.

“We are very proud of the Basque communities in West Idaho, Nevada and California who have our language, culture and identity. It’s very important to celebrate this.”

The festival runs until this Sunday, July 10.

 

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