argia.eus
INPRIMATU
Thousands of demonstrators and two arrested on the anniversary of the 3 March massacre
  • As every year, thousands of people gathered on Friday in the streets of Gasteiz to remember the workers who died on 3 March 1976, denouncing the deterioration of living conditions and claiming the workers’ struggle. Many policemen on the street created tensions and arrested two young people.
Zigor Olabarria Oleaga @zoleaga1 2023ko martxoaren 06a
Argazkia: Hala Bedi

The afternoon event organized by the association 3 March and the unions ELA, LAB, Steilas and ESK is, year after year, the most massive of the initiatives organized around 3 March. At 18:00 they were honoured that day of 1976 to Pedro María Martínez Ocio, Francisco Aznar, Romualdo Barroso, José Castillo and Welcome Pereda, killed by the police, and the demonstration came half an hour later. Thousands of people of all ages traveled from the Zaramaga District Square to the Plaza de los Fueros, mostly Vitorians, but also came from other places of Álava and Euskal Herria.

During the tour, protesters exclaimed messages against the police, in memory of the 1976 labour movement, or in favor of the labor struggle. The shop window of several banks and department stores was painted or painted, breaking some glass. The claim of the church of San Francisco as a memory center also had a prominent presence.

Call to fight

Against the destruction of living conditions, the present to guarantee the future has been the motto of the manifestation of the 47th anniversary of the 1976 labour struggle. To begin the closing ceremony, the artist MICE sang a song in tribute to the women who fought in the then strike movement. Subsequently, union representatives denounced the deterioration of working and living conditions and claimed the need to fight to reverse this trend: “47 years later, class awareness makes us understand that the assemblies and the same reasons for the organization of popular movements are still in force today. That same awareness reminds us that they have not given us anything to the workforce and that everything we have achieved has been possible thanks to the organization and struggle.”

Many police officers and two detainees

The demonstration showed the presence of police on the street among protesters. To them must be added dozens of uniform ertzainas, spread throughout the journey. In fact, two young people were arrested by police officers in street clothes, one during the demonstration and another just completed, generating tension with the protesters. Other youths were also acetated and identified. So Bedi spread the images of the time of the second arrest:

 

 

Hours after the two detainees were taken to police station, the Ertzaintza left them free. He accuses two young people of disorder and one of aggression to authority. To denounce the arrests, demonstrations were held at noon on Saturday in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Amurrio and Lemoa convened by the Young Block, as the detainees belong to the latter two villages.

"Throughout the demonstration we suffered the aggressive attitude and threats of the Ertzaintza. Dozens of policemen dressed on the street surrounded us at all times, suffering one of the largest police presence in recent years," Gazte Blap spokesmen denounced in the mobilization of Vitoria, as Hala Bedi collected.