Lhasa, desagertzear dagoen hiria

Tibeteko hiriburua da Lhasa, gaur egun Txinaren menpeko Tibeteko Eskualde Autonomoko (TAR, ingelesez) hiri nagusia. Tibetarrentzat, antza, Ü-Tsang probintziako hiriburua eta hiri sakratua da, Songtsän Gampo enperadoreak VII mendean inperioko gobernuaren egoitza han finkatu zuenetik. Izan ere, gaur egungo Qinghai probintzia ia osoak, Sichuan probinziaren erdiak eta Gansu eta Yunnan probintzien zati batek historikoki Tibet izan dena osatzen dute, aintzinako Amdo eta Kham eskualdeak hain zuzen.

 

Esan bezala, Songtsän Gampok eman zuen Lhasa eraikitzeko agindua, Yarlung ibaiaren bailaran zegoen Rasa (ahuntzen lurra) herriaren gainean. Kondairak dioenez, bera ere izan zen Jokhang tenplua eraikitzeko agindua eman zuena. Inperioa amaitu ondoren bere garrantzia mantendu zuen, batez ere V. Dalai Lamak Potala jauregia eraiki eta bere gobernuaren egoitza han finkatu zuenetik. Hura ere bada budismo tibetarrarentzako leku santua, Tibeteko monastegi nagusiak (Sera, Drepung eta Ganden) haren inguruan kokatzen direlarik. Horregatik, milaka tibetar abiatu izan dira harantz peregrinazioan Kora delakoa burutzeko, bai Ü-Tsang-ekoak baita Amdo eta Kham-ekoak ere.

Hala, mendeetan zehar bere izaera sakratua eta tibetarrentzako nagusitasuna kontserbatu zuen, unean uneko egoera politikoa edozein zelarik ere. Berean iraun zuen guda zibilei edota atzerriko okupazioei aurre eginez, harik eta Qing dinastiak XVIII. mendean Tibet lehen aldiz menperatu zuen arte. Dinastia horren gainbeherak ahalbidetuko zuen Tibetek independentzia berreskuratu izana. Izan ere, Taping matxinadak, Opioaren gerrateek izandako ondorioak eta txinatarrek Qing dinastia atzerritartzat hartu izanak Txinako populazioarengan herra piztu baitzuen, 1912ko Xinhai-ko matxinadak hura erortarazi eta errepublika finkatu zuen arte. Egoera hori aprofitatuz, XIII. Dalai Lama Indiatik Tibetera bueltatu zen, Txinarekiko gatazkak 1910ean hara erbesteratzera behartu zuen ondoren. Orduan, Tibeteko gobernua indartu eta 1913an independentzia aldarrikatu zuen. Herrialdea de facto independentea izan zen 1949an Mao Tse-Tungek eta haren armadak Txinako Herri Errepublika aldarrikatu eta Tibeten okupazioari ekin zioten arte. 1959an, gaur egungo Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso buru zuen matxinada jazo zen Lhasan; hori izan zen Txinak Tibeten aurkako errepresioa indartzeko arrazoia. Horren ondorioz, Dalai Lamak Indiara ihes egin behar zuen ehunka tibetarrekin batera. Bertan geratu zirenentzako egoera ankerra izango zen, batez ere Iraultza Kulturalaren garaian. Eta horretan dirau...
Tibetek azken 60 urteotan bizi duen egoera kontutan hartuta, norberak imajina dezake tibetarrek euren herrian jasan duten jazarpena. Iraultza Kulturalak haien ondare erlijioso eta kulturalaren adibide ziren eraikin asko eta askoren suntsipena ekarri bazuen ere, gaur egungo "garapenak" haientzako ingurumenaren eta tibetarrren antzinako bizimoduaren desagerpena ere dakar. Horren adibide argia Lhasa hiria jasaten ari den eraldaketa bortitza litzateke. Izan ere, Tibeteko hiriburua turistentzako erakargarria izan daitezen moldatzen ari dira, hango ondare kulturala suntsituz. Horrela, Jokhang tenplua inguratzen duen Barkhor kalean, herrialdeko leku guztietatik hara erromesaldian joaten direnek igaro beharrekoan hain zuzen, zenbait merkatal gune eraikitzen ari dira, aparkaleku eta guzti. Gainera, Lhasako alde zaharreko zenbait auzotan bizitzen zen jendea (tibetarrak batez ere) hiriko beste auzuneetara kanporatzen ari dira hiria "garatzeko" beste zenbait proiektu direla medio. Egoera latz hori azaleratzen duten argazkiak Tsering Woeser idazle eta ekintzaile tibetarrak bere blogeko argitalpen batetan ikusgai daude. Testua ingelesez irakurri nahi izanez gero, High Peaks Pure Earth webgunean eskuragai dago.
Garapenaren izenean, herri oso baten nortasuna ezabatzen ari dira. Gainera, indar okupatzaileek hango biztanleak preso balira bezala tratatzen dituzte. Izan ere, Lhasatik kanpo jaiotako tibetarrek hainbat dokumentu eskatu behar dituzte hara joateko; behin hara heldu direnean, hainbat kontrol pasa behar dituzte, non dokumentuak erakutsi beharrean daude. Jakina, txinatarrek edonondik hara joateko eta hirian barrena mugitzeko askatasun osoa dute, hango populazioaren gehiengoa Han etniakoa izateraino. Hara joaten den jendea, besteak beste, laguntza ekonomikoa jasotzen du Tibeten bizitzearen truke, migrazio mugimendu hau erakargarri bilakatuz. Tibetarrentzat, aitzitik, ez dago laguntzarik haien bizimoduari eta hizkuntzari uko egiten ez badiote: marginalitatea besterik ez zaie gelditzen.

Egoera hau bidezkoa al da? Zer egin behar dugu hau gerta ez dadin? Bidegabekeria hau lehenbailehen saihestu beharrean gaude denak, ez Txinako gobernua soilik. Lhasa bezalako hiri baten galera gizateriaren kalterako izango litzateke, milaka urteetako kultura galduko baitzen.

Europako "navajoak" eta Wert. English translation.

This is the English translation of an article written by Basque journalist Martxelo Otamendi for today's printed edition of the newspaper Berria. It is an excellent reflection on the so-called "Wert Law" and its attacks against Basque and Catalan languages, so I have decided to translate and share it.

European Navajo and Wert

By Martxelo Otamendi

The work made by the school is basic when building or destroying a people. Here and everywhere. And History has let us uncountable examples showing this, either in our own lands or in many others all around the world.  

How many schools in Basque or Catalan have French or Spanish states put along our lands, both in Catalan Countries or the Basque Country, since the public schooling system was spread a century and a half ago? Any school, neither a single classroom; even if they had put them as an experiment to prove that studying in Catalan or Basque could carry heavy mental problems... Not even for this.

During the formation of the USA, if Washington had decided to create schools in Navajo language for the students of this ethnic group, today Navajo nation could have had another strenght, and Mathematics could be taught in that language at universities along the Navajo land. But the creators of the nation, those white Europeans, those who have made history as exemplary men and women, did not commit that error. Nobody plays with the nation, and the school is the first step to make a nation change.

The same thing did France and Spain to the Navajo people of our land, to our ancestors. What happened then can be seen in the song Eskolan (at the school), by Gorka Knörr.

Eskolan dirade

gutaz trufatu

eta bortxa askoaz

hizkuntza bat ukatu.

Nik nahi dut hizkuntza bat

euskara gurea,

ez eta iñola ere

beste horiek ezarrita.

Note: this would be the translation of the lyrics:

At the school, they have

laughed at us

and by a huge violence

denied us a language.

I want a language

our euskera,

by no means

the one imposed by the others.

Spanish minister Wert, leaving aside differences, in background, is not so far from those attitudes against Navajo. The times have changed, also the methodes. Preventing it is in our hands, in Navajo's hands. The time has come to paint our faces. 

Europako "navajoak" eta Wert

Aquesta és la traducció al català d'un article publicat per Martxelo Otamendi, director del diari basc Berria, a l'edició impresa d'avui. És una excel·lent reflexió sobre la Llei Wert i els seus atacs a les llengües catalana i basca, per la qual cosa he volgut traduir-lo al català i compartir-lo.

"Navajos" europeus i Wert

Per Martxelo Otamendi

El treball de l'escola és bàsic a l'hora de fer o desfer un poble. Aquí i arreu. I la història ens ha deixat multitud d'exemples, tant als nostres pobles com arreu del món.

Quantes escoles en català o en basc han posat els estats de França i Espanya als nostres pobles, als Països Catalans i a Euskal Herria, des que implantaren el sistema d'escola pública fa un segle i mig? Cap escola, ni tant sols una aula; fins i tot com un experiment, si les haguessin implantat per demostrar els greus problemes mentals que provoca estudiar en català o en basc... Tampoc amb aquesta finalitat.

En el procés de formació dels EUA, si Washington hagués decidit implantar escoles en llengua navajo per als estudiants d'aquest grup ètnic, actualment la nació navajo hauria tingut una altra força, i s'impartirien classes de matemàtiques en llengua navajo a les facultats d'universitats situades en aquest territori. Però els formadors de la nació, els blancs vinguts d'Europa, els mateixos que han passat a la història com homes i dones modèlics, no van cometre aquell error. Amb la nació no s'hi juga, i l'escola és el primer pas per influir en la transformació d'una nació.

Això mateix els van fer Espanya i França als navajos dels nostres pobles; als nostres avantpassats. La cançó Eskolan (a l'escola) de Gorka Knörr ho recull perfectament:

Eskolan dirade

gutaz trufatu

eta bortxa askoaz

hizkuntza bat ukatu.

Nik nahi dut hizkuntza bat

euskera gurea,

eta ez iñola ere

beste horiek ezarrita.

Nota: Aquesta seria la traducció al català de la cançó:

A l'escola

s'han rigut de nosaltres

i amb molta violència

ens han negat una llengua.

Jo vull una llengua

el nostre euskera,

i de cap manera

la imposada per aquells altres.

El ministre espanyol Wert, deixant de banda les diferències, no és massa lluny d'aquella actitud contra els navajos. Els temps són uns altres, també els mètodes són diferents. Impedir-lo és en les nostres mans, en les mans de nosaltres els navajos. Ha arribat el temps de pintar-nos la cara.

Praising the wrong ones

The Spanish government will spend more than 280,000 euros in the restoration of Valle de los Caídos, the mausoleum where former dictator Francisco Franco was buried after his death. Franco himself ordered its construction on 1 April 1940, when he was celebrating the first anniversary of his victory in the Spanish Civil war. It would not be finished until nearly 20 years later. It would also serve to "perpetuate the memory of those who fell in our glorious Crusade (sic)". In fact, José Antonio Primo de Rivera, the founder of Falange Española de las JONS (the Fascist party which would be one of the ideological pillars of Franco's dictatorship, especially during the first years) was one of the people whose remains would be housed there.
However, Primo de Rivera and Franco would be an exception: the people buried in the Valle de los Caídos were mainly civilians and military soldiers or cadres without any political relevance. Moreover, some of them were members of the Republican Army who fought against Franco during the war, whose remains were transferred to the mausoleum without the authorization of their relatives. Furthermore, the relatives of the majority of the buried there were not aware of that, as shown at the documentary "Avi, et trauré d'aquí" (Grandpa, I'll get you away from here), broadcast by Catalan television TV3.

NO-DO, the official newscast for the propaganda of the regime, admitted that thousands of political prisoners took part in the construction of such a mausoleum. Indeed, forced labour was one of the means used by Francoist to punish opposition and political resistance against the regime. In this particular case, thousands of prisoners took part in the works during nearly 19 years under the strict commands of the Central Board for the Redemption of Sentences through Labour. This board was directly commanded by the Head of State and had the purpose of "praying to God for the souls of all the Fallen (those who died fighting alongside Franco during the Civil War) as well as for Spain".

The video below shows an extract of a reportage broadcast by No-Do praising the regime for "giving the political prisoners a chance to redeem the damage they could have done before".

Unfortunately, this has not been the first nor the only action taken by the Spanish government in memory of the victors of the Spanish Civil war. Whereas nearly anyone who dares either to oppose the budget cuts which are making many citizens endure poverty or to claim that Catalan people have the right to decide on their own future are described as Nazis, the representative of the central Government in Catalonia participated in an event whose purpose was to honor former members of the Blue Division, a body of volunteer Spanish soldiers which fought in the Eastern front alongside Nazi troops during the Second World War. In addition, the State still subsidizes National Francisco Franco Foundation, an organization which preserves the memory of the dictator and praises him.

Spain is the only "democratic" state in which a dictator is worshiped almost like a hero instead of punishing the crimes committed by his regime. Meanwhile, dozens of victims are seeking a justice they will not find in the country. The government keeps on praising the wrong ones.

UPDATE (5/25/2013): Hermann Tertsch, a Spanish journalist and son of a Nazi soldier, has written a tweet justifying the execution of Catalan President Lluís Companys i Jover. Companys flought to France when the Spanish Civil war was about to end, then Nazi authorities detained him (according to most historians, they were agents from the Gestapo who caught him, despite historian Josep Benet says he would be detained Wehrmacht), filling a complaint issued by the ambassade of Francoist Spain. He would die after an unlawful council of war at Montjuïc Castle, Barcelona, on 15 October 1940.
In his tweet, Tertsch complained about the lawsuit that Catalan party Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya is about to fill before an Argentinian court regarding Companys' execution. Literally, he says: "ERC (Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya) will fill a lawsuit against the State because of the shooting of Companys. One of the few executions commited by Franco which would be praised by every democracy".

ERC se querellará contra el Estado por el fusilamiento de Companys. De las pocas ejecuciones de Franco que habría aplaudido toda democracia.
— Hermann Tertsch (@hermanntertsch) 2013 maiatza 25

Spain may be the only state in the world where such statements are unpunished. Could the execution of a democratically-elected president be praised by any democracy?

We shall not forget Ondarroa

A crackdown has broken up another exercise of peaceful resistance against an unfair detention, this time in Ondarroa (Bizkaia, Basque Country). Many people gathered there five days ago in order to prevent the Autonomous Police from detaining Urtza Alkorta, a woman who was sentenced to a 5-year prison term on charges of collaboration with ETA with no evidence than a self-incriminating statement she made while in custody. However, Urtza has always claimed that she and the other 6 people who were detained at the same time endured torture while in detention. In fact, they were all held incommunicado and at least one of them had to be transferred to a hospital due to the beating he suffered in the hands of Ertzaintza. Alkorta herself denounced those tortures during the trial.

Even though the most important has not been the detention itself (everyone knew it would take place despite its unfairness) but the attitude shown by the police during the eviction of the nearly 1000 people who were gathered at Alameda bridge in Ondarroa. As many as 28 police vans to detain a single person. Their deployment has been far from being peaceful or typical of a State ruled by law despite the fact that those in front of them had not been violent at any time. In fact, people of all ages were solely sitting on the ground and trying to pick each other as tightly as possible in order to prevent Ertzaintza from reaching Urtza. 

Several video footages have recorded what was going on there: police expelling elderly people from the bridge as well as showing aggressiveness against Basque MPs Maribi Ugarteburu (who has been threatened with detention for protesting the way Ertzaintza was conducting the eviction) and Laura Mintegi. However, they have been much more violent against lay people who were simply sitting on the ground and refusing to move away from the bridge. Some polices have even threatened them with rubber bullet shotguns whilst the remembrance of the death of Iñigo Cabacas (who was murdered by Ertzaintza in a crackdown on Athletic Club supporters after a UEFA match in Bilbao) is still alive among Basques. Men and women of all ages have been beaten with batons, kicked, trodden, caught by the hair. Thus there have been many wounded among protesters, also some policemen (the question is, how?) during the three hours that the crackdown on Ondarroa has lasted. 

Basque police might see an evidence of crime in this picture. By whom?

Here are some of the video footages of the most tense moments before and after the detention of Urtza Alkorta:



Some protesters shouting "that's the way they killed Iñigo (Cabacas)" whilst being targeted by Ertzaintza with rubber bullet shotguns.



Ertzaintza beating Erlantz Alkorta, Urtza's brother.



A 12 minute video of the last moments before Urtza Alkorta was detained and the first ones after her detention.

These three footages are only a sample of the police violence deployed by Ertzaintza yesterday. Those who are supposed to preserve the security and Human Rights of Basque citizens, treating their own peers in this way in order to fulfill orders issued by Madrid. Regardless if Urtza was guilty or not (a sentence based in a self-incriminating statement issued under torture should have no value), Basque autonomous police shown a shameful espectacle, much more given the circumstance that Basque society has made a commitment for peace.

I hope Ertzaintza will stop following orders by Spain and make a commitment for peace too.

Everyone is Nazi or ETA supporter

Telemadrid, a local TV corporation based in the capital city of Spain, broadcasted a programme called "La imposición y perversión del lenguaje" (The imposition and perversion of the speech) a few days ago. It aimed to criticize that Basque and Catalan "nationalists" manipulate the speech for propaganda purposes, such as to impose their goal to break up with Spain. In fact, Catalans and Basques were accused of "semantic manipulation", as the whole video wants to show. They do not even hesitate to compare them with Hitler and Stalin because of that supposed exercise of propaganda, as anyone can see at the begining of the video. Furthermore, when talking about the "imposition of their idiom by Basque separatists", they claim it succeeded due to the pressure exercised by ETA to impose its own rhetoric. Moreover, the authors of the documentary deny the existence of Basque political prisoners and accuse the members of Abertzale left of being terrorists.

The video below is a 30-second extract of the video with English subtitles courtesy of Help Catalonia, an advocacy group whose aim is to expose the attacks suffered by Catalonia:

Unfortunately, this is not the first example of banalization of Nazism and Stalinism, either an attempt to assimilate Basque language and culture to terrorism. Such accusations are frequent among Spanish media, social networks (try to search "putos vascos" -fucking Basques- or "putos catalanes" -fucking Catalans- on Twitter) and even high-profiled politicians. For instance, journalist Isabel San Sebastián claimed that Basque was a language spoken only by "separatists, nationalists and ETA supporters". On the other hand, Spanish Minister García-Margallo linked Catalan nationalism with Nazism and Marxism. Someone can read or hear such speeches nearly every day in Spain.
However, the problem is not only that such insulting comments are perfectly legal (they have always been tolerated by the power and never have been punished so far) but that other comments which are likely to be much more aggressive also remain unpunished. Moreover, authorities try to relate not only separatism but also other civil rights defenders to Hitler and ETA's violence: the last one was the Spanish Interior Minister, who said that "avorting had something to do with ETA, but not too much".
Furthermore, those who are trying to identificate protesters of separatists with Nazis are precisely the heirs of Franco and his dictatorship, which succeeded due to the military support of Hitler's Germany. In fact, the Spanish dictator would send the so-called División Azul to fight alongside German troops in the Eastern front. What is more, they are the only ones imposing their language, culture or way of thinking while trying to punish or marginalise those who act in a different way. As an example, Aragonese government has removed from regional laws any protection to Catalan language (spoken in the North-East of the region) and even changed its name into LAPAO while Aragonese has being called LAPAPYP. This is an example of cultural genocide like several others which are taking place every day.
A State in which those who are different are unfairly accusated of being terrorists and nazis cannot guarantee neither coexistence between its citizens nor the respect of their human rights. Spain has to learn many things yet.

Even more forgotten

The Spanish Foreign Ministry has finally managed to prevent some people who were punished during Franco's dictatorships and relatives of other victims from giving their testimonies before Argentinian judge María Servini de Cumbría, who was appointed to launch a probe on those crimes after a lawsuit was filled by several victims in the country in 2010. In fact, the ministry issued a note of protest to the Argentinian Embassy in Spain, claiming that such an action supposed a vulneration of diplomatic treaties between both countries and thus the statements "could be invalid and vulnerate the rights of Spanish citizens". So that, Servini decided to suspend the video conferences in which three relatives of people murdered during the dictatorship were to provide their declarations. Those who have been affected by such a decision are Mercè (or Merçona) Puig Antich, Fausto Canales and Pablo Mayoral.
Like many other people, they sought justice in Argentina after the most mediatic Spanish judge Baltasar Garzón tried unsuccessfully to get those crimes punished, being even prosecuted because of such an investigation. He is currently the lawyer of Julian Assange and has his figure has been controversial over his role in the persecution of Basque, Catalan and Galician separatist movements over the last years.  

Merçona Puig Antich is the youngest sister of Salvador Puig Antich, a Catalan militant from the left-wing organization MIL (Movimiento Ibérico de Liberación) who was executed on 2 March 1974 for having allegedly murder a police officer during a shooting which left Salvador seriously injured. Even though during the martial court which tried him some circumstances of the incident were unclear and the fact that Puig Antich could have murdered anyone while being injured was unlikely, he was condemned to death penalty. In fact, he and Heinz Chez were the two last detainees being executed trought the garrotte.

Pablo Mayoral is a former FRAP member who was about to be executed in 1975, after a martial trial sentenced him and other fellow militants to death penalty. However, his sentence was changed hours before the execution and he had to serve a 30 year prison term instead. Others like Xosé Humberto Baena were finally shot to death only two months before Franco died.

Fausto Canales is the son of a man who was executed by a gang of falangists during the Civil War alongside other Republicans from his town. His corpse was later transferred to the mausoleum called Valle de Los Caídos, where Franco's remains were buried. His family was never warned that their relative's remains would lie alongside the dictator.

These are three different stories which are not uncommon in Spain. Stories of sorrow, repression and oblivion. The heirs of those who ruled during the dictatorship do not want people to remember, neither to ask for justice. They claim that doing so would reopen old wounds and break up a peaceful society which was built during the Transition. But the reality is that no transition took place: the current powers are the same who ruled during the dictatorship, nothing changed. Even the king was directly appointed by Franco and swore the Principios Fundamentales del Movimiento Nacional (Fundamental Principles of the National Movement), different laws which had been configurating Francoism since 1958. Meanwhile, the corpses of thousands of people who were executed either with or without any trial lie in massgraves all around the country, but there are no funds to fundraise their exhumation and identifications. Neither is there a real willingness to repair the pain they suffered after decades of punishment, repression and negation of their suffering. The victims have not been allowed to make an account of the grievances they suffered because of a law issued by Spain at the beginning of the transition.

Spanish government claims that the Amnesty Law issued in 1977 was applied to all the people who had been sentenced during the previous years, but the truth is that their sentences had never been canceled. Nobody paid for the dozens of unfair political trials and executions. Even though the relatives of some victims have tried to get these crimes punished, only a few of them have managed to. Dozens of others remain unpunished like the execution of Catalan president Lluís Companys i Jover, who was sentenced to death penalty after a council of war in 1940. In fact, he was the only democratically elected president in Europe to have been executed.

Given those circumstances, does a State like that have any legitimacy to rule the lives of their citizens? Would it have the right to prevent any attempts by Basques or Catalans to regain their independence? Is Spain a true democracy?

When torture happens in Europe: an account by Beatriz Etxebarria

«They throw a blanket on the floor. 'Commissar' shouts and tells me that they will rape me again». This is one of the most representative sentences used by Beatriz Etxebarria, a Basque political prisoner, to explain the tortures she suffered while in detention. Here is the English translation of her first hand account. The original in Spanish can be read here.

They burst my door by 4:00 AM on 1 May 2011. They catch me from the hair and take me in a twinkling to the living room. I am in bra but they do not let me put on any clothes during the registration. Once in the living room, they reduce me violently and they try to put me the handcuffs on the sofa. They get angry because they do not fit me. They tell me while I am sitting on the sofa: "you will see how you will spend the next five days".

I got a bit dizzy during the registration of the storage room. They catch me very strongly from my arm, they leave me marks. They put me handcuffs made of robe, tighter and tighter. 

While leaving home they threaten me: do not look neither talk to my partner. They lead me to the place where the car was and prevent me from looking at the registration.

They take me to the medical examiner in Bilbo: they look at me well, I have some marks on wrists because of the handcuffs, I had my veins swollen and some scratches. My arms are red because of the way they are cathing me, also stiff.

They ride me on a Patrol. They forced me to close my eyes and even blindfold me using their hands. I listen to them talking about meeting another car.

They stop the car. A Civil Guard, called himself 'Commissar', comes for me and we change the car. This time it is not a Patrol, it is a normal car considering the space and height to enter. Commissar starts to shout in my ear and to menace me: «I am military and I am trained to kill». He tells me that I have to options: to start talking since the begining or not. I notice how they take a bag and put it on my hands. During the journey to Madrid they beat me in the head and menace me constantly. They tell me that they are about to stop the car and that "I am going to undress you, I drop you to the snow and I am going to open you in canal". Commisar put his jacket out and starts scrubbing himself against my body. The other policeman beside him tries to "calm down" Commissar but also threatens me. They make me "the bag" (a technique of torture consisting in applying a bag to the detainee in order to make him think he is choking)  twice on our way to Madrid.

There are two different rooms inside the commissariat: from the first I heard the screams of the rest of detainees, but there was another below which I had the feeling it was isolated, the treatment there was even worse. I will call the first "harsh room" and the other "very harsh room".

The menaces go on and Commissar gets me into a cell and tells me to think well what I am going to do. They get me out the cell and take me to the medical examiner.

It is Tuesday at around 20:30. I tell him that I am being tortured. Then, they get me back into the cell.

I am transferred to the "harsh room". Once there, I could heard the screams of the rest of detainees. They sit me down in a chair and wet my hands, whilst I hear a noise of something like electrodes. When I was inside the cell I heard he same noises. They tell me that I must talk and start undressing me until I am totally naked. While naked, they throw cold water on me. They put me "the bag" on until three times more. They threaten me with making me "the bath" (another technique which consists in putting the head of the detainee inside a bath full of water so that he feels choking). While naked, I am put on all fours on a sort of stool. They put vaseline into my anus and vagina and start introducing me an object. I am still naked and they wrap me with a blanket and beat me. I am caught, buffeted and finally raised from the floor.

They take me back into the cell until Wednesday morning, when I visit the medical examiner again. I tell he something about the treatment I was undergoing but and his reaction was bad.

I come back to the cell and then I try to "rest" a bit. After a while, Commissar comes and takes me to the "very harsh room". Once there, they undress me again. He pulls my hair, beats me on the head and shouts in my ear that he is a military and he has been trained to kill and "I will shatter your inside so that you cannot have little terrorists".

They bring me back to the cell and, after being there, to the medical examinator. I tell him nothing after seeing that during the last visit he questioned the account on tortures I had suffered.

There were many people during the questioning. Once I counted to seven different voices. They threaten me constantly with my partner (to whom I listened that he was being tortured). They also menace me with detaining my brother. They tell me that, if there is not any treat, they will detain not only my parents, but they will also take my grandmother "in panties and that he will fuck her".

The penultimate day, Commissar undresses me again. He throws a blanket on the floor, shouts and tells me that they will rape me again. I get the impression that he starts putting his clothes off, I hear how he removes his belt. Then, a man who is referred to as Garmendia tries to calm him down, he gets him out of the room where they were and I hear how they talk. Garmendia enters the room again and makes me promise that I am going to declare.

I had until six questionings the last day. I made my second policial statement on Saturday at around 5:40 AM. After that they do not undress me again and are less aggressive, they even told asked me if I wanted to see Iñigo (her boyfriend).

The threats did not cease until we arrived in the National Court. Inside the van, Commissar, who was sitting besides me, told me that I had to ratify my statement before the judge.

During all the incommunicado period, except when visiting the medical examinator, I staid blindfolded with different masks. There were some made by latex with a sort of dust which could make me blind if I opened my eyes, according to them. I noticed that when they removed it my eyes itched for a while. When I was with Commissar, they put me another mask made by something like velvet.

During the incommunicado period I was mainly with three policemen (Commissar, Inspector and Garmendia, who was less savage), althought there used to be many people in the room during the questionings.

Before the judge I denied the statement I had made to the police and denounced that I had been tortured.