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(The following is continued from the main article listed above.) Finally! The ETA Declaration of October 20, 2011 I believe sincerely that all the people of peace and well-being, from everywhere, be it the Basque region, or Galicia, or other Spanish nationalities, or France, or other countries of the world, today, must be moved and full of happiness. The Declaration made public the 20 of October of the 2011, on the part of ETA, announcing definitive end of its armed activity, is extraordinary news! Our great happiness is dimmed, of course, by the memory of all the victims (so many!) , who are gone forever, as a result of this interminable armed conflict that lasted more than 50 years. Some lived all their existence with the violence on ETA constantly present in their life. Perhaps we do not yet perceive the complete significance of this Declaration. We cannot yet evaluate, in a way that is rigorous and calibrated, its relevance, because we are so deeply affected by the influence of the news, by so many emotions that come together, positive and negative, because we can only barely imagine the ways of hope for the repair of the damage that has been caused, for the reconstruction of so many broken lives, reconciliation for the democratic coexistence, routes that are not easy but that are essential, both personally and collectively. Peace, or more precisely \"peaces\", in plural, all the aspects of peace, now must be constructed, every day, all days, on the base of confidence, security, dialogue, nonviolence and freedom. The Declaration of ETA, in its terms and contents, cannot completely satisfy us. That would be impossible. The manner of its presentation was, once again, lamentable. Some of its paragraphs are even unacceptable. Nevertheless, we do find new appeals to the future, to hope, to responsibility, to courage. We would like also to see some reference to pardon, because, without pardon, it will be difficult to find reconciliation. However, the end of armed violence that is now visible (other invisible violences exist), means a triumph of the state of rights and democracy, as well as the civil societies, first of all, of the Basques. There are many institutions, organizations, and individuals who have consecrated their lives (even given their lives) so that this moment could finally arrive. Also there are many good people, silent and generous, who have built bridges, searching for understanding and accord, who have facilitated the peace and the end of the violence. They deserve our recognition and gratitude, particularly, the social organizations who made possible this result, from Gesto por la Paz to Lokarri, not to mention many others, many of them grouped in the Coordinator of Organizations of Peace and Human rights of Euskadi presided by Gorka Ruiz. And I must make a special reference to the international mediators who met last Monday in the House of Peace, in the Palace of Ayete, San Sebastián, so insulted by the right-wing media, on the initiative of Lokarri and of Paul Rios, in order to show a viable exit to the Basque labyrinth of violence. What merit they deserve! Over time we will have to continue speaking and reflecting. Now, we are in a time of cheer. Soon new problems, new challenges will come, but through dialogue, which is a better way to approach conflicts of all type, it will be possible to solve these challenges, with generosity, because, finally, that which we most wanted, an end to the violence, is today an irreversible reality. With the Declaration of ETA the problems, the differences, the conflicts do not disappear. Nevertheless, one fundamental thing has been overcome, the armed violence that broke our coexistence in such a dramatic and brutal form. There remain other questions, many in fact, but today we are already in a situation far better to approach them, with more freedom, with more security, for all men and women. Finally! Manuel Dios Diz is President of the Galego Seminary of Education for Peace and vice-president of the Council of the Culture of Peace Foundation. |