Basque Country

[Seabird]

http://www.baskinfo.org/

2 representatives of the Jericho Movement from New York City traveled to
the Basque Country (Euskal Herria) last weekend at the invitation of our
Basque comrades. We were invited as part of an international delegation to
attend a presentation to the Basque people of a “New Initiative” to move
the ceasefire forward. This meeting was banned by the Spanish State on
Saturday 1/06/07 and the organizers of the meeting called for a
demonstration that evening.

While on the way to the demonstration in Donostia on January 6 with our
international comrades, the bus was detained by the Spanish Civil Guard.
We were taken off the bus and our passports were pulled. One of our
French comrades, Parisian radio journalist Sebastién Bedouret, was
detained and subsequently arrested. He has been remanded to a prison in
Madrid, apparently based on a false confession he signed following three
days of torture. Below are some articles translated from the Basque
newspaper “Gara” and from the internet relating to Sebastién’s
imprisonment.

There is a call out on the internet from the French Basque Solidarity
movement to send telegrams and postcards to the imprisoned journalist as a
gesture of international solidarity. They explain that letters can be held
for up to two weeks, but postcards are supposed to be given to prisoners
immediately. We urge everyone to send cards to:

Sebastien Bédouret
C.P. Madrid V
Ctra. Comarcal 611, km 37,6
26770 – Soto del Real
Madrid, España

Journalist Detained on Saturday Denounces Torture
January 10, 2007

The Civil Guard detained a bus on its way to Donostia and, after making
everyone get off the bus, they said to Bedouret, currently in prison, that
they had found a Zutabe (a magazine) in his backpack. He denied that it
was his, but they detained him anyway.

Paris Radio Txalaparta journalist Sebastien Bedouret, detained last
Saturday as he traveled by bus to the demonstration called by the
pro-amnesty movement in the Anoeta Velodrome in Donostia (San Sebastián),
has denounced that he was the victim of torture during his detention.

According to today’s edition of Gara, the Civil Guard detained him after
stopping the bus on its way to Donostia. According to what the journalist
told his lawyer, they made everyone get off the bus. After collecting
everyone’s identification, they searched the bus, and when the passengers
returned to the bus, they asked Bedouret if the backpack that had been on
his seat belonged to him.

He replied that it was, and the Civil Guard made him get off the bus
again. Bedouret affirms that the civil guards told him they had found a
copy of Zutabe magazine and some CDs on top of his pack. He assured them
that they did not belong to him, but they detained him anyway and took him
to Intxaurrondo.

Bedouret has stated that he suffered torture during the three days he was
incomunicado. He says that he was insulted, threatened and beaten until he
signed a false declaration. He also denounced that he suffered from
extreme cold and was not allowed to sleep.

The entire article may be read on the Basque site in their latest newsletter! Please respond to this man's cry for help, many of you know the brutality of the police and truly what they are capable of. By responding we continue to let the government know that their actions do not go unnoticed. Let your voice be heard in solidarity with the Basque people!

[pogo,]

I have turned away from my shamful past and decided that the majority of what I wrote in the past was wrong and insulting and offensive.

I recognise that my blind blanket defence of the crimes against humanity perpetrated not only by my own government in the UK wrong and I apologise for my previous comments.

Let us all wear daisies in our hair and sing songs of rainbows and lollipops ans sunshine and stop all the hate.....

HA! As if....the pogomeister hate express continues anabated....like agent smith in the 'Matrix' I now have the power to propagate electonically until all your base are belong to us.....ha ha ha ha......