- Around 2,000 people gathered on 26 January during the march from Irun to Hendaye to denounce Europe’s “murderous” migration policies. They have supported activists prosecuted for helping several migrants cross the border when they ran. The activists will be tried in Bayonne on January 28 and demand that the charges be dropped.
The March of 26 January is organized by the J’accuse platform. The J’accuse campaign was launched to protect people who helped 36 migrants of African descent cross the border during the inauguration of Corrika. Seven activists were accused of helping migrants cross the border illegally and the trial is on January 28. The platform launched a self-incriminating campaign.
Sunday’s march had two objectives: to denounce the “murderous and racist” immigration policy imposed by Europe, and to support the seven activists who have been prosecuted.
The EITB reports that prior to the start of the demonstration, a collection of signatures for self-incrimination has been carried out. More than a thousand citizens have signed the self-incrimination. Then, a member of the Antiracist Network of Bilbao reads the names and surnames of the nine migrants who have died crossing the Bidasoa River and in the area, after which they make a noise period of one minute.
The march departs from the Ficoba exhibition in Irun and reaches the European bridge in Hendaye. 50 social, political and trade union actors have joined the demonstration.
The right to walk with security and legality
Seven defendants have published an opinion piece in kazeta.eus. The media has indicated that on January 28, they will appear before the judge “in the name of defending equal rights.”
The right of Europeans to move from one place to another has been proclaimed for every other inhabitant of the world: “We have the right to live wherever we want, the right to move here and there, and therefore the right to move safely and lawfully without being subject to constant checks, arrests, closures, etc. because we are Europeans, a right that is denied to a large part of the world’s population.”
They explain that the citizens of the West have certain privileges and that freedom, equality and solidarity are not mere slogans for them: “We proclaim equal rights and, as a result, we must show full solidarity to those who do not have equal rights, who seek a better life, who put their own life at risk.”