50,000 People Demand Justice for the Altsasu Young People
- On 14 April the biggest demonstration in Pamplona for a long time was held in support of the ten young people from Altsasu, Navarre, who are going to be tried in Madrid. Some people thought it was the biggest demonstration ever held there: the municipal police state that 38,000 people took part, while the organizers say that 50,000 did. Claiming that a brawl in which they were part was "terrorism", the prosecutor has called for them each to be imprisoned between 50 and 62 years.
The loudest chant throughout the demonstration was "Free the People from Altsasu". As well as dozens of thousands of citizens, there were also representatives from the Navarrese parliament and government, as well as people from many trades unions and political parties. These tweets reflect particular moments during the demonstration.
The parents of the young people especially thanked people who had come from all over the Spanish State in support. The tweets below show a group which had come from Madrid with its banners; there were also people from Catalonia.
And we know that several buses have also come from Madrid; especially the solidarity of the escorts; biba you! pic.twitter.com/tJWbH4nDAx
— Xabier Letona (@xletona) April 14, 2018
At the end some improvisational poets performed in Castle Square, which was full of people.
After that members of the Altsasu Libre ('Free the People from Altsasu') platform reminded the crowd that Adur Ramirez de Alda, Jokin Unamuno and Basoan Arnanz had already been in prison for 517 days, which, they said, was absolutely out of proportion. They thanked everybody who had come to Pamplona in solidarity.
Tomorrow, 50,000 people will embrace the young people of Altsasu in Madrid. It's been great! #Altsasu pic.twitter.com/7fIpb9qbY8
— Xabier Letona (@xletona) April 14, 2018
Bel Pozueta and Antxon Ramirez from Alda, among the parents of the prisoners, were the last people to get onto the stage. They were emotional and said that they would now go to Madrid in a different frame of mind. At present children are "caught in a trap", but they said that many other people could find themselves in the same situation. "There are thousands of brawls between citizens and the security forces throughout Spain every year, but a punishment as this had never been called for," they explained.
The prosecutor is calling for a total of 375 years of prison for the young people. Their parents say that it is not a matter of being on one side or the other; the issue here is rights, and standing up for them.
In this thread of Twitter you will find more context:
Basque bar fight trial tests 10 years of fragile peace in the region. Article by @Pascale_Davies at The @guardian on the youth arrested from #Altsasu. Three of them carry 516 days at administrative detention. https://t.co/iukSHv8AE5 THREAD with more info on the case pic.twitter.com/NVmA4VH27F
— Lander Arbelaitz (@larbelaitz) April 15, 2018
This article was translated by 11translations; you can see the original in Basque here.
ARGIA is a news media funded in 1919 in Pamplona and published in Basque language. At first religious – called Zeruko Argia, "light of heaven” –, forbidden during the fascist dictatorship in Spain from 1936 on, in the 1950s and 1960s it had managed to come... [+]
