On the eve of the European Parliament elections, protests have been held against EU and Member State migration policies in different parts of Europe: Barcelona, Athens, London, Italy, Serbia, Sweden... Also in San Francisco in the United States. In the Basque Country, in Durango (Bizkaia), in San Juan de Luz, in Biarritz and in Hazparne (Lapurdi), an event took place the day before yesterday in Pamplona. Agents who have joined the Hug of Peoples, People and Human Rights have warned that the extreme right and neo-fascist ideas are strengthening and have denounced that their speeches, together with some sectors of the centre-left and right, intensify unjust migration policies. Over 200 organizations and platforms have joined the call.

"They promote hatred of migrants and refugees", explained the organizers, who criticized the blame for the "diseases" of indigenous societies such as unemployment, low wages, the social and economic crisis, crime or machismo... They have also denounced that EU policies "violate human rights, life and the right to migration".

In Durango, neighbors have concentrated on Ezkurdi Square, convened by ongi Etorri Errefuxiatuak and Caravana Abriendo Fronteras. The march, which has begun with lightning, has been divided into eight columns, in silence, while several women read the names and surnames of the deceased migrants along the way. Previously, a young woman from Durango, of Palestinian origin, had read a text written by bertsolari Unai Iturriaga in connection with the manifesto. There has been the first hug of the day, between him and a woman who lived through the bombing of Durango.

In each column there have been different movements related to the message they wanted to spread: refugees and migrants and welcoming; feminists; culture and Basque; unions; baserritarras and ecologists; human rights; pensioners; memory, truth, justice and reparation... The victims of the Durango bombing have also been present, as one person has hugged the group on his behalf. The columns have surrounded the camp and, after entering it, have begun to meet in a spiral, in which songs such as Txoriak TXORI, Bella ciao and others have been heard. The event has ended with an irrintzi and a gigantic hug has been staged, with the participation of ETB.

"It's the responsibility of elites, not migrants."

"Those responsible for this crisis are the elites that govern Europe, not migrants and refugees," the summit called for. They remember that the responsibility is also yours at the origin of the migrations: The EU, governments and the largest transnational. They have therefore called for the "rigorous" implementation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the "externalisation of borders, the manufacture of European arms and sales, the capture of resources and the theft of land" and the promotion of migratory policies in line with human rights.

"Solidarity with refugees and migrants is criminalised in Europe," said the organizers of the march, who shouted out. "That is why we commit ourselves, as a standard of coexistence, to rejecting policies of hatred and exclusion and to defending humanity and solidarity as forms of life in Europe."

Saturday in Pamplona/Iruña

[ARGIA information] On May 4, the Iruña Harrera Herria initiative organised a hug between the peoples on the Paseo de Sarasate in Pamplona. Hundreds of people gathered there, as can be seen from Ahotsa’s video, and denounced the European Union’s immigration policies, which are discriminatory and punitive. They also denounced the living conditions and exploitation of migrants in Europe. They also claimed that human rights should be equal for all people, whether European or not, and recalled that the same assistance should be provided at sea to citizens travelling by boat or to those travelling on a luxury cruise.

This news was published by the Berria newspaper and we brought it to ARGIA thanks to the CC-By-SA license.