The recognition, by Arnaldo Otegui, that the suffering of the victims of ETA “It should never have happened” is another step in the difficult but necessary overcoming the damage produced by the terrorist organization for more than forty years. Pronounced on the eve of tenth anniversary of the historic declaration with which ETA put an end to its bloody armed activity, the words of the general coordinator of EH Bildu represent the most unequivocal criticism of ETA’s trajectory by the Basque pro-independence left. It is true that Otegui did not use the verb to condemn, as claimed by the associations of victims of terrorism, but he expressed his regret and pain for the suffering suffered by the victims of terrorism, specifying that he was referring to those of ETA. “Nobody can satisfy that all that happened, or that it had lasted so long,” concluded Otegi, in a statement that will go down in the history of the end of violence in Euskadi.
It is appropriate to positively value statements that can help heal wounds caused by more than forty years of terrorism that left a terrifying toll of about 864 dead and more than seven thousand victims. However, for the words of the EH Bildu leader to have a sustained impact on overcoming the collective trauma caused by ETA’s criminal activity, they must be followed by political gestures on the part of the aberzale left that they go in the same direction. Among others, the cessation of the acts of reception of some ETA prisoners in some Basque populations that take the form of tributes incompatible with respect for the victims.
The evolution of Otegi is the result of multiple causes, in particular the military defeat suffered by ETA and that led the organization to lay down its arms on October 20, 2011 and to disband on May 3, 2018. José Luís Rodríguez Zapatero is undoubtedly the politician who can most appropriately set himself up as the architect of the strategy that has facilitated this evolution, first from the general secretariat of the PSOE and then from the presidency of the Government. This role was recognized by the recent PSOE congress, when Zapatero raised the delegates to their feet by recalling that “Spain is already a democracy without terrorism, but a democracy with memory, that of the victims, their families, those who suffered murder. or kidnapping “, and concluding that” the strength and moral superiority of democracy always prevails. “
The disposal of arms by ETA and its subsequent dissolution effectively meant, a victory for Spanish society over terror. As is also, in a way, the recognition of Otegi, which, not because it is late, ceases to have great significance. To ignore it, as the parties of the right do, is to undervalue the strength of our society and our democracy. However, the steps taken so far by the aberzale left do not heal all the wounds caused by the pain and persecution suffered by many Basques who did not agree with the ideas of ETA, and even less with its methods. Ending this persecution, which has recently been addressed by Basque literature and cinema, requires patient work, within Basque civil society, in favor of a free coexistence. A task in which all democratic forces must commit themselves.
Reference-www.elperiodico.com