The time has come: The “procession” is about to start and the people gathered in Easo Square begin to meet in the surroundings of the Askabide clinic. The image remembers that 86 years ago, in 1936, the barricade raised by citizens in the same place. On this occasion, however, the wall is made of citizens and speaks loudly: “They will not happen.” And they haven't happened, they haven't started.

They're new times, but old struggles. This time the victory has been for the citizens, the Donostians, the Gipuzkoans, and especially the feminist movement. Let us therefore celebrate victory and be proud, but let us not fall into the calm: the war is long ahead, and last Saturday, just a battle.

In fact, the Rooted Association announced a long time ago its intention to go out to protest every first Saturday of each month, “until the fall of the rule that prohibits recruiting to clinics performing abortions”, that is, until the “fall” of the law of April 12, 4/2022. Its ultimate objective, therefore, is to repeal the law that protects the fundamental rights of women and allows for the free exercise of our rights. And, at least in Madrid, they do so calmly, without any kind of hindrance; moreover, the police forces that last Saturday were identifying feminist activists present in claiming their rights in the vicinity of the Dator clinic, who acted as Protestant bodyguards, supporting protesters against abortion. An image as regrettable as that of San Sebastian on 2 April, and if the same thing did not happen last Saturday, was clearly the strong response of the citizens.

Faced with this situation, the concern is clear: How long will the institutions continue to accept such initiatives? How long are projects that violate women’s fundamental rights allowed? How long do they protect protests that violate women's sexual and reproductive rights? And with us, the City Council of San Sebastian and the Basque Government, what will your position be from now on in the face of such calls? Will you continue to give permits for this kind, so that it will then be annulled at the last minute? Why not, then, ban it from the very beginning? Will you continue to make the defence of our fundamental rights available to the public, as it has been up to now? When are they going to start taking effective action so that this does not happen?

That is enough. We citizens should not go out on the streets every day to fight for our fundamental rights, that is their job. Let us remember once again what is laid down in Law 4/2022 of 12 April: “Anyone who persecutes a woman for annoying, vexatious, intimidating or coercive acts, in order to prevent the right to voluntary termination of pregnancy, to the detriment of her freedom, shall be punished by imprisonment for three months to one year or work for the benefit of the community of thirty-one to eighty days.”

Current legislation should have sufficient guarantees that these shows could definitely leave our streets. But that is not the case today, and we citizens are not reassured – that was made clear on Saturday in Donostia. Therefore, to the Basque Government’s Department of Security, enforce the law, as they have done on other occasions in such an effective way, and take real steps to ensure that these illegal initiatives finally get out of our streets: stop authorising these types of projects and give them absolutely nothing.

And to the citizens: let's stay tuned, willing to fight so they don't go back to our streets. They have not been passed or will be passed, neither now nor later.