(May, 2002)

The Association for Peace in the Basque Country, Gesto por la Paz, has been working for almost 16 years in denouncing the terrorist violence, for the defence of everyone's Human Rights, for the solidarity with the victims and working to promote a culture of peace in our society.

Its vocation is not therefore to intervene in the ambit that corresponds to the political parties, but rather that of a plural movement, born out of the civilian society and whose work consists of concentrating on the defence of the ethical and democratic principles which precede the legitimate differences between the diverse projects which enrich our political spectrum.

We would like to expressly acknowledge the decisive importance that the undertaking of all those people that work in the different political parties, both as institutional citizen representatives as well as in the organisation of the parties, has for our society. This creates an obligation for those who choose the political undertaking as a job for them to carry it out with dedication and honesty. This recognition is especially important in those cases in which this undertaking also entails, unfortunately, serious threats to life, dignity, security and the basic freedoms to which we all have the right.

The existence in any society of different political parties is positive and enriching, providing that that there is a pacific confrontation between them and a constructive dialogue. However in our society, for approximately three years now, we worryingly witness the extreme tension and disagreement between the different political forces that represent the citizens. Although there have been periods that have been worse, we continue to suffer from a serious shortage of the necessary dialogue between the diverse political parties present in our country and we continue to sense that a significant number of important initiatives are being blocked as a result of the serious conflict between them. In any event this is not intended to be a criticism of the political class as such, but rather a matter of questioning some of the established ways of doing politics that we think are wrong.

Although previously, and on a number of occasions, we have publicly launched our message claiming a reconstruction of the basic consensus, both of an ethical and a political nature, which precedes the legitimate partisan confrontation, we believe that the present situation presents some characteristics that justify a new call in the same direction. However the political parties have begun to meet, both in Madrid and in Vitoria, in work committees with different specific aims. One recent positive result of one of these initiatives is the text recently agreed by Eudel to be debated in all of the Basque municipalities. Also, we can not forget the social protests to condemn the latest attacks by ETA in which the citizens and the political representatives have demonstrated together under common banners.

The aim is not to demand an impoverish political uniformity, but rather to demand the pre-partisan ethical and political consensus that are the basis for our society to head towards its political normalisation and, what is even more important, to more effectively defend the fundamental Human Rights of all of the citizens. A defence that must be done by democratic procedures and respectful of these same Human Rights. In all of these tasks the responsibility of the parties is all important, but the civilian society as a whole can and must collaborate in them. It is advisable that no citizen of our country forgets that in the freedom, the dignity and in the threatened life itself of so many of our society's citizens, the freedom, dignity and future of all of us is at play.

Lastly, we wish to finish this introduction by indicating that in this document we are trying to keep a propositive tone. It is not a stubborn criticism of the errors that may have been committed in the past, whether in the political or social ambit, but rather it aims offer some assistance which allows for the construction of a future in which terrorism is coming close to its end and, while this moment arrives, in which the victims feel more protected, in which the exercise of the fundamental rights of all people are guaranteed to the maximum, in which there is progress towards the end of the social legitimisation of the use of violence and in which, in this way, there is progress towards social normalisation and reconciliation.

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