There around January 2009, more than 300 police officers under the orders of Judge Baltasar Garzon assaulted numerous homes and meeting places to arrest and isolate citizens who promoted an Abertzale and leftist electoral offer before the elections of the Basque Autonomous Community. As the rule states in these cases, they were criminalized and later imprisoned. The then candidate for the PSE Patxi Lopez justified that action as avoiding a “new front for ETA”. Garzon admitted that the idea was to stop the Abertzale Left from being present in the elections. The immediate consequences of that operation are well known: Lopez was made Lehendakari by taking advantage of an opportunity that was put on a platter for him. The massive legal amputation of political rights and the ejection of hundreds of thousands of voters did the rest.

Three and a half years later, the people charged in the process against D3M and Askatasuna have been acquitted. According to the sentence, they only exercised the political rights which belong to them, without any unlawful behaviour at all. There won’t be any reparation for all the injustice and pain they have suffered – as had already occurred in the “Egunkaria” case, Udalbiltza and so many other indictments -, but the news is a motive for great joy. First, for those accused, their families and friends. And in second place for a country, the Basque Country, which is so “accustomed” to all these insane, illogical judicial acts, motivated by desires for revenge, for political calculations and electoral interests, and so much in need of good news that pave the way for a scenario of complete normalization.

It’s desirable that yesterday’s sentence is followed by another in the same sense with regard to Sortu. And there on, successively until all the exceptional judicial activity in politics is eradicated. Solving this problem is indispensable, because it affects basic principles, the foundations of freedom and the future development of Basque society. But on the way in this present situation to a sought-after future, it would be imprudent and sterile to trust everything to the will of Madrid.