Interview with Josu Etxaburu, spokesperson for Gure Esku Dago, in Faktoria, of Euskadi Irratia, on June 30, 2022

Euskaraz irakurri: Josu Etxaburu: “Pirinioetako Bidea best mugarri bat izango da burujabetzaren prozesuan”

The Pyrenean Roadan initiative launched by, among others, the Gure Esku Dagoand which will take place on Saturday will be “another milestone on the road to sovereignty”, in the words of Joshua Etxaburu, spokesman for Gure Esku. Etxaburu stressed in an interview with Euskadi Irratia’s ‘Faktoria’ program that it is essential that the debate on the right to decide “returns to the fore”: “If the states give a negative answer, ours must be positive”, he said. pointed out.

On Saturday, organized by Gure Esku and several social entities in Catalonia, the Vía Pirenaica initiative will take place. In it, more than 300 peaks of Euskal Herria and Catalonia are highlighted, with the aim of making the self-determination of Euskal Herria and Catalonia more visible than ever. According to Josu Etxaburu, everything is ready to be implemented: “It has had a spectacular reception; it has become clear that Basque citizens are joining the initiative,” he said, before recalling the human chain of 2014 to anticipate that the Via Pirenaica You can leave images like those of then: “Thousands of people have registered; in addition, there is the possibility to register until Saturday”, he indicated.

“We’ll be in the mountains at 9:00 PM,” the Gure Esku spokesman said, “and we’ll turn on the lights at 9:30 PM or 9:45 PM. It will be beautiful,” he said, “to be in keep the heart”. As he explained, the act will be followed in several ways, “but the best thing is to participate,” he encouraged.

Reply to Javier Lambán

The President of Aragon Javier Lambán criticizes Saturday’s act, and has warned that the government he leads is ready to give a “determined” response once it is implemented; In that sense, Josu Etxaburu has indicated that Gure Esku is “not going” in that debate: “If Lambán believes that claiming the right to decide in the mountains is something outside the law, then he has the problem”, he has argued. “The mountain,” he continued, “is a precise place, which offers a great opportunity to perform this kind of act; we are not going to attach any importance to this discussion”.

In this context, Etxaburu has underlined that Gure Esku’s lecture is that the debate on the right to decide needs to come to the fore again: “We need to make a paradigm shift and think as a people, so that all citizens have the floor,” he claimed.

“We have not been able to finalize the issue of the new political status,” he stressed: “The self-government paper has paved the way, which is not yet completed. Citizens must participate; in 21st century Europe, nations without state have a lot to say, and so do we,” he said.

In Scotland, Prime Minister Nicola Sturgeon has already set a date for a second independence referendum, now scheduled for October 19, 2023. Etxaburu has recalled that, in the view of a section of the citizenry, “agreed referendums are impossible; but what until now has been, does not have to be what it will be in the future. We should all try as much as possible. If the answer of the states is negative, ours should be affirmative.”

Finally, Etxaburu has emphasized that there is a special call for Mount Jaizkibel on Saturday; there will be buses to get to the top so they can be used by those who need them. Jaizkibel will be the first Basque peak, in the event on Saturday.