Freedom Askatasuna | |
|---|---|
| Founded | August 31, 1998 |
| Dissolved | February 18, 2009 |
| Ideology | Basque nationalism Socialism Ezker abertzalea Left-wing Nationalism Basque independence Revolutionary Socialism |
| Political position | Far left |
Askatasuna (from the Basque word meaning "Freedom") is a Basque political party registered on 31 August 1998, and outlawed in 2009 by the Spanish Audiencia Nacional under the 2002 Political Parties Law. [1]
In 1998, several notable events occurred around the Basque nationalist left: the National Table of Herri Batasuna was jailed, the Pact of Estella was signed, ETA declared an indefinite truce and the electoral coalition Euskal Herritarrok presented itself to the Basque elections of the same year. Askatasuna was created that year by a small group of members of the Ezker abertzalea that feared the banning of the other political parties and organizations of the Basque national movement.
Three years later, in May 2001, with a different situation since ETA had returned to commit deadly attacks, Askatasuna presented lists to the Basque elections in the three provinces. Askatasuna barely campaigned and won a very meager percentage of votes (0.05%).
A month later, in June 2001, Euskal Herritarrok and Herri Batasuna created a new political party, Batasuna, which in March 2003 was outlawed by the Supreme Court according to a new law on political parties, that allowed the banning of those political parties that were against the democratic regime of liberties, supported violence and/or activities of terrorist groups.
Despite the outlawing of Batasuna, Askatasuna continued to appear in the register of political parties and was in all respects a legal political formation, although since 2001 had not had any activity. This led some politicians and media communications analysts suggest that Askatasuna was being kept as a legal political brand that could eventually be used by Batasuna to present lists in future elections. In mid-January 2009, the press reported that Askatasuna wanted to participate in the Basque elections of 2009. The PP asked justice to monitor Askatasuna to see if it was the electoral brand of the outlawed Batasuna. [2] Askatasuna and Demokrazia Hiru Milioi (D3M) [3] were banned from the elections by the Supreme Court of Spain due to their alleged links to ETA and Batasuna. Soon later, both Askatasuna and Demokrazia Hiru Millioi were also banned as political parties and dissolved by the Constitutional Court of Spain. [4]
On June 11, 2012, the Audiencia Nacional cleared the promoters Askatasuna considering that their activity did not involve "direct connection" with the purposes and methods of the terrorist organization ETA. The judgment recognized that Askatasuna "was the successor" of Herri Batasuna, Euskal Herritarrok and Batasuna, and therefore "had to be aware of their contribution to the succession of the outlawed parties"; but "has not been established that the accused, consciously and deliberately acted in support of the terrorist organization ETA" but exercised "political participation rights of those who are the owners and the exercise of which have not been suspended or disqualified. [5] [6]
ETA, an acronym for Euskadi Ta Askatasuna, was an armed Basque nationalist and far-left separatist organization in the Basque Country between 1959 and 2018, with its goal being independence for the region. The group was founded in 1959 during the era of Francoist Spain, and later evolved from a pacifist group promoting traditional Basque culture to a violent paramilitary group. It engaged in a campaign of bombings, assassinations, and kidnappings throughout Spain and especially the Southern Basque Country against the regime, which was highly centralised and hostile to the expression of non-Castilian minority identities. ETA was the main group within the Basque National Liberation Movement and was the most important Basque participant in the Basque conflict.
Batasuna was a Basque nationalist political party. Based mainly in Spain, it was banned in 2003, after a court ruling declared proven that the party was financing ETA with public money.
Herri Batasuna was a far-left Basque nationalist coalition in Spain. It was founded in 1978 and defined itself as abertzale, left-wing, socialist, and supported the independence of the Greater Basque Country. It was refounded as Batasuna in 2001 and subsequently outlawed by the Spanish Supreme Court for being considered the political wing of the separatist group Euskadi Ta Askatasuna (ETA).
Euskal Herritarrok was a Basque independentist and socialist political party in the Basque Country. EH was banned in 2003 by the Supreme Court of Spain on the grounds that it sympathized with ETA.
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The Communist Party of the Basque Homelands was a communist Basque separatist party in the Basque Country, Spain. The party was outlawed by the Spanish Supreme Court in 2008 after it was judicially proven to be part of Batasuna and, therefore, ETA.
The Basque National Liberation Movement was an umbrella term that comprised all social, political and armed organizations orbiting around the ideas of the illegal armed organisation Euskadi Ta Askatasuna (ETA), proscribed internationally as a terrorist organisation.
Euskal Herritarrok was a coalition created in 1998 that replaced Herri Batasuna. It was intended as an expansion of this coalition to include a wider spectrum of sympathizers. The name played with the rather usual acronym EH that also means Euskal Herria: the Basque Country.
Julen Kerman Madariaga Agirre was a Spanish Basque politician and lawyer who co-founded the Basque armed group ETA in 1959 together with José María Benito del Valle, Rafael Albisu and Txillardegi.
Segi is a Basque pro-independence and revolutionary left-wing organization. It forms part of the Basque National Liberation Movement and is aligned with Langile Abertzaleen Batzordeak and Batasuna.
Aralar was a Basque socialist and separatist political party in Spain. It was opposed to the violent struggle of ETA.
The 2009 Basque regional election was held on Sunday, 1 March 2009, to elect the 9th Parliament of the Basque Autonomous Community. All 75 seats in the Parliament were up for election. The election was held simultaneously with a regional election in Galicia. It would be the first time that the elections for two of the Spanish "historical regions"—namely, those comprising Andalusia, Catalonia, Galicia and the Basque Country itself—were held simultaneously. This would evolve into an unwritten convention in subsequent years, with Basque and Galician elections being held concurrently in 2012, 2016 and 2020.
Demokrazia Hiru Milioi was an electoral platform which was formed to participate in the Basque Parliament elections in 2009. It was declared illegal on February 8, 2009, as the Supreme Court of Spain considered that it was linked with the separatist organization ETA.
The Basque conflict, also known as The terrorist fight in the Basque Country or as Spain–ETA conflict, was an armed and political conflict fought from 1959 to 2011 by the Basque National Liberation Movement, a group of Basque nationalist organizations which sought independence for the Basque Country, against Spain and France through various social, political, and terrorist means. The movement was largely built around Euskadi Ta Askatasuna (ETA), a terrorist organization, which had launched a campaign of attacks against Spanish administrations and civilians since 1959. ETA had been proscribed as a terrorist organization by the Spanish, British, French and American authorities at different moments. The conflict took place mostly on Spanish soil, although to a smaller degree it was also present in France, which was primarily used as a safe haven by ETA members. It was the longest running violent conflict in modern Western Europe. It has been sometimes referred to as "Europe's longest war".
EH Bildu, short for Euskal Herria Bildu, is a left-wing, Basque nationalist and pro-independence political party and a federation of political parties in Spain. It is the main political force of the abertzale left in Spain. EH Bildu is active in the Southern Basque Country, that is, in the Basque Autonomous Community and Chartered Community of Navarre, as well as in the Treviño enclave of the Burgos Province. In the Northern Basque Country, it has an alliance with the party Euskal Herria Bai, with the goal of establishing a state for the Basque Country across the Spanish-French border.
Basque Socialist Party or Basque Socialist Assembly was a socialist Basque political party, with presence in the Southern Basque Country. The party was illegal until 1978.
Joxe Pernando Barrena Arza is a Basque politician, former member of the Parliament of Navarre and member of the European Parliament for Spain.
Iñaki Ruiz de Pinedo Undiano is a Basque sociologist, politician and a member of the Congress of Deputies of Spain. He was previously a member of the Basque Parliament.
Maite Aranburu Olabarrieta is a Spanish Basque politician who served in the Basque Parliament from 2005 until 2009, representing the Biscay constituency as a member of the Communist Party of the Basque Homelands.