We Basques know that the State apparatus is prepared to take advantage of repressive forces of all colours and repressive mechanisms in all forms, in order to maintain social order within a system based on domination, even if to do so they have to infringe a law created to their advantage.

After the end of the political cycle marked by the political-military strategy, Euskal Herria is in a very different socio-political context. That is, without military confrontation, it seems that they want to keep in the box of oblivion the systematic torture, illegalization or mass incarceration, essential to the states (as if they had never happened). But that does not mean that the repression has disappeared, nor that they refuse to use in the near future the techniques they used against the revolutionary movement of yesterday (let us not forget that today, as yesterday, Euskal Herria is still a militarily occupied territory, subject to laws, courts and imposed armed forces).

However, while in this new political cycle the messages in favour of coexistence prevail, the Spanish and French States, responding to the historical European and global context, have updated different types of repression, both in the legal area (through the Moorish law or the reform of the penal code, among others) and in the social sphere (by multiplying investments and laundering campaigns for the supply of repressive forces, or by using technological development to create new instruments of robust artificial control. ).

However, in this opinion article, I do not come to present a superficial analysis of the reality that we all know. Repression, in our case, is nothing more than revealing some examples that repression is far from being eradicated. In the Old Part of Donostia-San Sebastián, and despite being a particularly small neighborhood, this is the repressive balance of the last two or three months:

We have had dozens of young people in the neighbourhood who have been fined for taking part in the initiatives for the freedom of Aitor and Galder or in the march to Zaballa in favour of Amnesty. During the pandemic, the disturbances caused by the Cipayans have led to the petition for five years of severe imprisonment of six young people to be tried in the coming months (others recently had to admit false accusations against them in order to avoid prison sentences). We have recently received requests from 1.5 to 2.5 years in prison for trying to hang at Plaza Nueva the banderola that he was putting at home on the eve of San Sebastian. Another four youths have been summoned to police for facing Spain in the streets of the neighborhood, in order to report the opening of a judicial process that is charged with a hate crime. In addition to harshly repairing those who approached to face the ammunition that identified and threatened the youth playing football in the Plaza de la Trinidad, the detained youth has been sentenced to four months ' imprisonment. As has been publicly denounced on numerous occasions, there are not many people who have received threats, follow-up or requests for collaboration.

I do not think I have forgotten anyone, but rest assured that the list would be longer if we were to say further back or if this opinion article were to be written in a few weeks. Thousands of euros in fines, serious prison petitions, police montages and false accusations, media campaigns of criminalization… This list is only formed in recent months by cases against neighbours and/or neighbours and, of course, the Old Party of Donostia is not an isolated case.

It is clear, therefore, that despite the “new times” (and after decades, for the first time we can say that there are no neighbours and prey for political reasons at this time), state apparatuses will continue to criminalise committed youth and political militancy in the name of false peace and security. However, and if, as previous generations have shown, they believe that they are going to stop us despite the modification or hardening of repression, they have parties (whoever wants to be free cannot allow us to live under the imposed chains). If it does not respond to repression collectively and through organized solidarity, that is, if it does not respond jointly to each of the blows it receives, we have stayed. And that requires the unity of the working people over and above the political differences or contradictions between the revolutionary movements.

Eñaut Alvarez Loidi