SOLIDARITY Message from the
Basque Movement in Solidarity with Political Prisoners to the Iranian Political Prisoners and their Support Movement

Basque Country, 07/07/05

Dear comrades,

We have known that you will celebrate the first international seminar on massacre of Iranian political prisoners in Cologne, Germany from 15.- 17 July 2005. The Basque Movement in Solidarity with Political Prisoners would like to express our support and solidarity because of the importance of your Conference and the exemplary struggle carried out by Iranian political prisoners -which we were able to hear about in length during the first International Conference on Political Prisoners, held in the Basque Country, in May 2004 -.

Our hearts will be with you even if we cannot be there in the flesh. The strength of these hearts, the strength of solidarity and the strength of our reasons will overcome and defeat all their attempts to maintain repression, criminal military and unjust economic power.

We suffer also this situation in our Country. In the name of supposedly democratic systems, Spain and France have denied our Nation's most basic rights, beginning by the right to a distinct identity. Euskal Herria, the Basque Country, is one of the most ancient nations in Europe. It has protected and maintained its identity throughout history until the present day. The Basque people have a right to build its future in peace and freedom. However, we are not recognised as such and our civil and political rights are constantly trampled, we are refused the right to be heard and to decide. This political conflict has produced that thousands of people has suffer repression in the last years. Nowadays there are more than 2000 Basque political refugees, and nearly 700 political prisoners, from a population of 3 million inhabitants.

Their frustration -resulting from their inability to eliminate those who struggle for freedom and dignity and for fair relations among the peoples of the earth, despite all their military and economic power- leads them to the terrible mistake of jailing and attempting to destroy everything that comes from the people.

This is why, as a conclusion of the debates of the International Conference celebrated in the Basque Country, we demand the prisoners are allowed to take part in the resolution of the conflicts that drove them to struggle and to suffer the terrible conditions in jail. The first step is to acknowledge their political status. We also believe it is so important to work and struggle every day for the implementation of political status, for their dignity, their life and their release. We know that without them a true and just peace for everyone is impossible.

As long as a single people has a single political prisoner, no people on this earth will be free.
Long live internationalist solidarity
Freedom and long life to all political prisoners