Spanish state riot police attacked Basque protesters with tear gas and rubber bullets as they tried to stop an October 12 hard-right Falange demonstration in San Sebastian, a large city in the Basque region.
The repression comes just over a week after the arrest of 25 leaders of Batasuna, the political wing of the Basque liberation group Euskadi Ta Askatasuna (ETA). “We are going to respond and go forward with even greater political initiatives,” a Batasuna statement said in response to the arrests.
The Falangists supported the fascist regime of General Francisco Franco following the Spanish Civil war, yet they enjoy government support for their ultra-nationalist displays, while Basque liberation forces are labeled falsely as terrorists. Although bourgeois-democratic governments publicly repudiate fascism, they often find fascist organizations to be handy tools against workers and oppressed peoples.
