Tens of thousands of people have demonstrated this Saturday on the streets of Bilbaosummoned by EH Bilduto claim, between cries of independence, “more sovereignty” and demonstrate that “another Euskal Herria is possible”. A march in which the coalition leader, Arnaldo Otegihas warned that the Spanish State “was, is and will be willing to use all legal or illegal violence to defend the unity of Spain”.
Under the motto ‘Euskal Olatua. Geldiezina’ (‘The great Basque wave. Unstoppable’), the mobilization -in which they have taken part 40,000 peopleaccording to the organizers– it started after 5:30 p.m. from the vicinity of Plaza de la Casilla to end in front of the Bilbao City Hall, where the leader of the pro-sovereignty coalition, Arnaldo Otegi, read a statement.
The march has been headed by a banner with the slogan of the call and which was covered, among other representatives of the sovereignist coalition, by Arnaldo Otegi himself, as well as Mertxe Aizpurua, Iker Casanova, Maddalen Iriarte, Unai Urruzuno, Bakartxo Ruiz, Juankar Izagirre, María del Rio, Laura Aznal, Rocio Vitero, Joseba Asiron, Eva Lopez de Arroyabe and Gorka Elejabarrieta. A few meters later several people carried some letters forming the word “Abante”.
The demonstration, which started at a quarter to six in the afternoon, started with shouts of independence and representatives of ERC, CUP and BNG have taken part in the protestas well as members of Ahora Canarias, Mes per Menorca and Mes per Mallorca, Andecha Astur (Asturias), Puyalon (Aragón) and ER-PV (Valencia).
Among those attending this march, in which shouts were chanted in favor of the return of ETA prisoners home, it was also possible to see the leader of Sortu, Arkaitz Rodríguezand his EA counterpart, Eba Blanco, as well as relatives of prisoners of the terrorist organization.
Otegi criticizes Feijóo and Almeida
Subsequently, the general coordinator of EH Bildu, Arnaldo Otegi, took the floor, who began his speech by thanking the representatives of different organizations who had come from other parts of the State for attending the march, among them.
In his speech, interrupted by cries of independence to which the general coordinator of EH Bildu also joined, Otegi has also reminded the ETA prisoners “deported and exiled to ensure that they have to return home”.
Otegi has denounced that there is a “structural” trend that is the growth of fascism and neo-fascism in Europe but also in Spain and has pointed out that the third largest economy in the EU is chaired by “a fascist”.
In addition, he has indicated that in the Spanish State there are lately “obvious proofs” that “authoritarianism is taking off all its masks.” In this sense, he has described as “shameless” that the president of the PP, Alberto Nunez Feijoocame to Vitoria to say that popular consultations would be illegal and would “put them in jail.”
He has also summoned the mayor of Madrid, Jose Luis Almeidawhich, in his opinion, has made “the greatest apology for fascism what can be done”, a tribute to the founder of the Legion, José Millán Astray, “to a fascist criminal”. “Of course, with that look he has, he looks like a legionnaire and, furthermore, shirtless, that there is nothing more machirula and stupid than being shirtless,” he said.
Otegi recalled that Almeida quoted him to say the pact on democratic memory was made with him, to which he replied that it was made “with the memory, justice and dignity of thousands of victims of fascism.” “I rarely forget a face but with yours I will make an exception,” he has said.
The nationalist leader has affirmed that in the Congress of Deputies there is a “clearly clear” division, on one side those who fight fascism “claiming the national liberation of the Basque Country and the peoples of the State and on the other those who “lived placidly 40 years of fascist repression and they proudly claim it today”.
intervene in the energy sector
On the other hand, he has alluded to those who warn that “a storm is coming” and want to make believe that it must be understood in “natural terms”, so that people, as happens in storms, try to “take shelter” and think that ” It will happen”. However, he has indicated that the crisis is “responsible” and they are the economic elites who make decisions in “favor of a minority”. “There is no storm, there is a crisis manufactured by erroneous decisions that hit the popular class and the workers,” she added.
However, he has assured that there is “good news” and that there is an alternative and has pointed out that the alternatives are, firstly, to stop the war in Ukraine and, on the other hand, to modify production and consumption habits and distribute the wealth and work.
As he pointed out, the reality of capitalism is that there are more than 900 million hungry people in the world, that more than half of the world’s population does not have access to drinking water or that wealth accumulates “in a few hands”.
In the face of all this, he has affirmed that EH Bildu vindicates national sovereignty and has defended intervene in the economy, the energy sector and real estate.
“Legal and illegal violence”
He has also criticized the King Emeritus Juan Carlos of Bourbon and the recent statements by the former Minister of the Interior Jose Barrionuevoin which, among other issues, he acknowledged that he ordered “Second Marey to be released” after his kidnapping.
In this context, he has warned that coexistence needs an “exercise of intellectual honesty” and has stressed that “it is not about raising your voice and putting adjectives or using magic words as condemnation but about having intellectual honesty”.
“We only ask you to be brave and recognize that the Spanish State was, is and will be willing to use all legal or illegal violence to defend the unity of Spain. Say it, that will indeed be a contribution to coexistence”, she argued, to add that the Spanish State is willing to” do anything so that Basques, Galicians and Catalans cannot vote and decide our future”.
As he has denounced, “that is the true story”, that the State is willing to use “all means” to combat the independentistas. “You do still have a long way to go. Political problems are resolved in democratic terms and not with jails, repression, judges, dirty war and police,” she insisted.
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On the other hand, he has failed the declarations of Urkullu in which the lehendakari pointed out that “sovereignty waves that overwhelm everything can cause floods”. “Next year the Basque People’s Army will come to Bilbao by boat to defend sovereignty,” he ironically commented.
Lastly, he has defended that EH Bildu is “the bloc of hope in this country”, a bloc that he has described as “popular, national, Euskaldun and profoundly anti-oligarchic”.