Pierre Ducass planted the Tatoyas and the plants of Aiete centuries and four years ago. I wanted to make a landscaped garden, plagiarism of the environment, without violating nature. This type of gardens was successful during the French revolution, as it was a way of liberating itself from the absolutist order and from symmetrical gardens. The Declaration of San Sebastian of 17 October 2011 seems to point to the spirit of the garden of Ducasse: it is clear that this is a time without violence. In Aiete, renowned international leaders called on the actors who perpetuate the conflict that we live in the Basque Country to definitively abandon the parterres of absolutism and to break the irritating path of peace and dialogue.

On 11 October, the International Conference was presented to promote the resolution of the conflict in the Basque Country. The presentation included Lokarri's coordinator, Paul Ríos, International Contact Group (GIC) member Pierre Hazan and Tony Blair's chief of staff, Jona­than Powell. Powell, very committed to the 2007 Geneva negotiations, remained silent until 11 October: "The time has come to put an end to the last armed conflict in Europe," he said at an event at the European Palace. The words of POWELL and the possible presence of Tony Blair ignited all the alarms and served to scale the conference. The Basque parties, the trade unions and the other agents immediately confirmed that they would be present at the Aiete concentration.

On the other hand, the hostile attitude of the Government of Spain, the PSOE and the pp before the conference did not leave much room for hope. Minister Ramon Jáuregui has assured that the Spanish Government "had no link" with the conference. Lehendakari, Patxi López, also announced that he will not attend the House of Peace on a trip that will take him to the United States. Thus, the newspaper El País put in capital letters that the conference was “doomed to failure.” Moreover, taking advantage of the “national holiday” of October 12, the Spanish media welcomed with contempt the event of Monday, in which they gave hardly any lines.

But on Thursday, October 13, the news jumped back to the media: The PSE, for its part, announced that it would send a delegation for the meeting. The Socialist Party once again showed that the Aiete conference was going to come on a slow fire. However, two days later, Paul Ríos and Silvia Casal (HNT) announced to which international politicians would be attending on 17 October in Donostia-San Sebastián: Former UN Secretary Kofi Annan, former Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern, President of Sinn Féin Gerry Adams, former Norwegian Prime Minister Gro Harlem Brudtland, former French Interior Minister Pierre Joxe and Jonathan Powell himself. Tony Blair was scheduled, but due to agenda issues, the organizers explained that Powell would eventually replace him.

Expectation in Aiete

At 13:00 a.m. on October 17, the official cars of international leaders were already at the gates of the Garden of Aiete. The organizers made them pass by one to one, maintaining a strict protocol of action. Initially, the host work was reserved for lehendakari, Patxi López, but since the Mayor of Donostia-San Sebastián, Juan Karlos Izagirre, was not present, and the General Representative of Gipuzkoa, Martin Garitano, were in charge of welcoming the guests. Great expectation at the palace door. There were over 200 journalists registered and about 50 cameras, according to the cigarette talks. The photographers were forced to pass through the interior of the palace, inaccessible, and there was a great restlessness on the day when the presence of the historical was noticed.

There was a lot of speculation about the way out of the conference. The context also contributed to this. It had already been announced that the conference would appeal to ETA to lay down the arms in the Basque Country. Andoni Ortuzar of the PNV was one of the first to address this line: “After the ETA conference you will have to say something round,” he announced a few days earlier. On the other hand, that same week the Abertzale left held a national assembly in which it organized popular assemblies in many villages under the name of Zutik Euskal Herria. These meetings also dealt with the commitments made by both parties to the conflict and it was noted that the conference would indicate “five points”. On the day of the conference, the newspaper The Guardian published an article in which it assured that ETA would announce its final "just this week." But in the midst of this civics salsa, the organizers locked away the conclusions of the conference and the draft final declaration.

Once the journalists dispersed to the bars of the area, inside the palace, in the “armoured” room on one side – with the doors of windows closed – the conference began. At the main table, six international personalities, and before it representatives of all political, trade union and social actors. Each of them had less than three minutes for their small speech, in which they could present their arguments, their ideas and their points of view. Also in this case, the protocol remained very rigorous: “Perhaps the only one who has passed the time limit to speak has been Jesús Egiguren,” said an internal representative at the end of the act. Apparently, Egiguren followed the official discourse of the PSOE, but nuanced the thesis of “defeated and defeated”: “Democracy is the winner and the one who loses violence,” said the PSE’s lehendakari.

Garden trails

In the afternoon, as the tables of bars and restaurants were emptied, the natural universe of Ducasse began to fill up again. The calm of the coffee was at its peak, the sun's rays were warm, the sea wind was blowing soft. Favorite comment of all: “With time too!” However, around 16:00 in the afternoon, harmony gave way to some confusion. Some photographers rushed to the entrance. The Covite victims' association had already announced its intention to go to the House of Peace to present its decalogue, not for impunity. Rubén Múgica, son of Fernando Múgica Herzog, said: “The biggest attack on Spanish democracy since the Transition is taking place in the Aiete Palace.”

Before 5 p.m., the back of the palace was packed with journalists. Hand translation devices, dancing smartphones and goals in search of the best encoding. Rumor: the conference was delayed and the conclusions would be read at 17:30. The organizers who were out knew nothing, only that “it might be a little delayed.” At about five o'clock in the afternoon, in the window of the palace door, you see several faces and the curtains move. They're coming. GARITANO is the first, followed by Izagirre and the other representatives. Six international leaders have stepped down the stairs with quiet passage and gazing at the photographers, who have not failed. Bertie Ahern: “Today we have come to Euskal Herria because we believe that the time has come to definitively overcome the last armed confrontation in Europe and that it is possible”, and he has continued to speak in good faith, courage, head of state, dialogue and lasting peace. In the end he has read the five points of the statement (see attached table). Basically, they call on ETA and the Spanish and French governments to take the path of peace and dialogue, a travagant, but sensible, non-violent path.