translated by Todd Prane with Elizabeth Bright
On Aug. 24, at 8 p.m., one of the most unprecedented and brutal repressions was unleashed on 4,000 demonstrators in the Montevideo neighborhood of Jacinto Vera. The demonstrators were gathered in front of the Filtro Hospital to support Basque prisoners on a food and water strike, and to demand political asylum for them. Women with children in their arms, the elderly, reporters, doctors and nurses attending to the wounded were beaten and shot. More than 500 police troops participated in the repressive operation, shooting to kill, and tens of demonstrators were shot. One of them died and three more were seriously injured.
On May 15, 1992, 13 Basques who were supposedly members of the Basque organization ETA were detained in "La Trainera" restaurant in Montevideo. They were booked on possession of false documents. Speculation began regarding possible connections between the ETA members and former Tupamaro guerrillas, as well as speculation regarding the eventual extradition or political asylum that might be granted the arrested.
On Mar. 19, 1993 a solidarity demonstration in favor of freeing the Basques, and against their extradition to Spain was carried out. Spain solicited the extradition of eight of the Basques, and the remaining five were set free. Extradition was denied for five of the Basques, but granted for three: Luis María Lizarralde, Jesús María Goitia and Miguel Ibañez Oteiza.
On Aug. 10, the three Basques detained in the Central Jail declared a hunger strike, and the Uruguayan Committee for Asylum for Basques began meetings with parliamentarians of all political parties to try to secure their freedom. In addition, they began to denounce the acts of the Uruguayan government as related to the possible granting of loans by Spain.
While some legislators publicly argued that people could not be detained for crimes such as these, which did not merit imprisonment, the prosecuting attorney demanded bail of $50,000 for each of the Basques.
In a document made public, the Basques sought that the executive power maintain neutrality, and that it grant them political asylum, and that they be freed. In the same document, they denounced the increase in loans by Spain to Uruguay, and gave as proof of their criticism a loan of eight billion pesetas [almost $60 million] in exchange for modifications in the Asylum Law.
On the other hand, Uruguay adheres to international conventions that would have permitted them to not hand over prisoners who might be submitted to judgment in a foreign state where prisoners are tortured. The last report by Amnesty International established that Spain tortures prisoners and violates their human rights.
In spite of arguments such as these by the defense attorney, the executive power did not change its position.
The three Basques, because of their health, were transferred to the Filtro Hospital, where hundreds of people permanently protested in solidarity with the hunger strikers, supporting their fight for political asylum.
While politicians of various sectors revived in political declarations the Uruguayan tradition of political asylum (at the beginning of the century, anarchists who were persecuted in Argentina took refuge in Uruguay), the PIT-CNT, the Broad Front (Frente Amplio) and militants of all parts of the left called demonstrations at the doors of the hospital. These demonstrations were accompanied by shut-downs in several sectors and a general shut-down on Aug. 23.
Since Aug. 20, the Basque prisoners refused to drink water, having learned of the willingness of the judiciary to proceed with the extradition.
On Aug. 24 at 6 p.m., and in the presence of hundreds of people, several demonstrators were beaten in order to increase the police siege in the area; everyone knew of the arrival of the Spanish plane, and that in less than 24 hours the extradition would go forward.
At approximately 8 p.m., when almost 5,000 people had concentrated in the area, street lights were shut off, telephone service to the area was interrupted and the most brutal and savage operation in memory began. Paratroopers and street cops fired on the crowd. Mounted cops pursued those who tried to escape. A total of over 500 soldiers, with a zeal worthy of nazi fascism, set themselves against children, women, and elderly people alike.
The result was tragic: one death, Fernando Morroni, age 24, a poor worker and student; three serious injuries, which at the time of this writing were still in danger of death (one was a nurse who was caring for a wounded person on the street when soldiers shot him four times in the back); 75 wounded of various degrees; many arrested and three disappeared.
The Lacalle government demonstrated with this action that they adhere to the new international order. Not only do they send military missions under the United Nations' flag, but they also deport and expel all of those who are suspected of terrorism to their country of origin, leaving aside the traditions of political asylum of the country. Nevertheless, military dictators from Argentina can still seek asylum here.
Spain, who pretends to be the privileged liaison between the European Economic Community and Latin America, has pressured the Uruguayan government with no respite to extradite the Basque prisoners. That is to say, after 500 years, they continue to try to perpetuate the colonization of the third world by the first by means of economic, technical, and technological "cooperation" with Latin American countries. This, without a doubt, places the European Common Market in a position of greater influence.
The mobilization against the extradition was born at the margins of the official leftist structures (the Broad Front—Frente Amplio), and of the union structures (PIT-CNT). One of the reasons is that the theme of human rights is difficult to negotiate with parties in power, since the memory of the tortures and hundreds of disappearances during the dictatorship for which there was never any justice is still fresh. Another reason is that human rights and public freedoms are themes that important sectors of Montevideo are very sensitive to. Finally, there is also the memory for many of the foreign solidarity received during the struggle against the Uruguayan dictatorship.
That movement, nevertheless, grew day by day, in numbers of people, until finally the Frente Amplio and the PIT-CNT were obligated to show their support, and their representative board authorized a general strike in support of the mobilization.
The government accused the demonstrators of being a violent mob of terrorists, and accused the Frente Amplio and the PIT-CNT of giving haven in their ranks to extremists. On the other hand they prepared to criminalize these emerging movements of economically marginalized people, as a consequence of neoliberal politics and Mercosur, and of all of those who do not move through the hallways of "parliamentary democracy," as well as those leftist sectors that questioned the moderate politics of the Frente Amplio.
The result of the massacre at Jacinto Vera, where the people were criminally stopped from expressing their opinion at the margins of the established institutions and powers, with three Basques extradited and one expelled, with the closing of Pan-American radio CX44 (a station tied to the Tupamaros) accused of being responsible for agitation at the Filtro Hospital, it is evident that now many Uruguayans feel less free, and that on the other hand the government will continue down this path.
Source: @-Infos de Uruguay