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About FORO ERMUA

The FORO ERMUA (Ermua Forum) is an association of Basque citizens consisting mainly of university lecturers and other professionals that was established on 13 February 1998, a few months after ETA murdered the young councillor for Ermua (Vizcaya) Council Miguel Ángel Blanco on 12 July 1997.

The two weeks that followed the heinous kidnapping and murder witnessed a spontaneous and massive reaction from the people of the Basque Country and the rest of Spain, as several million citizens took to the streets all over the country. People from all walks of life expressed their indignation at the sinister string of terrorist attacks committed in a fully democratic state that is a member of the European Community.

These millions of demonstrators furthermore appealed to the democratic political parties and state institutions for a united and firm stance, not only to combat but to eventually defeat ETA and its accomplices in Herri Batasuna. So emerged and was forged the Ermua spirit, which marked a decisive turning point in the history of the Spanish democrats’ struggle against ETA’s nationalistic fascism.

Among the founders of FORO ERMUA on 13 February 1998, we may mention the following: Vidal de Nicolás, poet; Agustín Ibarrola, sculptor; José Luis López de Lacalle, journalist ; Carlos Totorika, mayor of Ermua; Jon Juaristi, writer and ETA member in the `60s; Mikel Azurmendi, university lecturer; Iñaki Ezkerra, writer; Edurne Uriarte, university lecturer; Fernando Savater, university lecturer; Cristina Cuesta, her father was assassinated; Javier Corcuera, university lecturer; Raul Guerra, writer; Francisco Doñate, university lecturer and Txema Portillo, university lecturer.

The FORO ERMUA, which by no means aims to be a substitute for the action of the political parties, bases its action on the following four principles:

-- Radical opposition to and denouncement of terrorism in the Basque Country and of all political or supposedly social or cultural organisations that justify, back and mask terrorist strategies. These are organisations such as Batasuna, its youth wing Jarrai-Haika, the prisoner support association Gestoras Pro-Amnistía and many others that have now been banned by Spanish justice. Support and recognition of victims of terrorism has always been an area of the Foro Ermua’s activity. Unfortunately, the Foro itself is among these victims, as our colleague journalist José Luis López de Lacalle was murdered in May 2000.

-- The political and institutional framework for possible solutions to the so-called “Basque problem” can only be that which is defined by Spain’s democratic Constitution and by the Basque Statute of Autonomy that is derived from the Constitution and grants our part of Spain the highest degree of regional self-government that exists in Europe.

-- Rejection of any political negotiations by the state and the various Spanish and Basque public institutions with the ETA terrorist group. No political scheme, no possible amendment to the Statute or Constitution can be agreed on with criminals as a prior requisite for their possible disappearance. The only necessary and legitimate negotiation with ETA would be to establish the conditions for its surrender and disbandment: decommissioning of weapons, the future of its prisoners, social reintegration measures, etc.

-- Finally, the FORO ERMUA considers that an essential requirement for combating terrorism once and for all is a closer unity between the constitutionalist Spanish and Basque forces, that is, those which fully accept the framework of the Constitution and Statute of Autonomy as the irreplaceable basis for achieving a lasting and peaceful coexistence between Basque citizens and between Basques and other Spaniards. Unity to act in the Basque Country -and in the national Parliament- while terrorism persists, even though logically these forces compete politically elsewhere of Spain and in all issues other than terrorism (health care, education, foreign policy, etc.). The nucleus of this unity can only be that which is established by the Socialist Party (PSOE) and the Popular Party (PP), the only two groups capable of leading Spain’s government in the short and medium term.

For some years now the president of the Foro Ermua has been Vidal de Nicolás, one of the organisation’s founders. He is a poet and was imprisoned on several occasions on the 50s for participating in anti-Francoist activities and for establishing the Workers’ Commissions (CC OO) trade union in Vizcaya. Vidal de Nicolás has been constantly protected by two bodyguards since 2000.

In June 2005 Mikel Buesa became the new President of Foro Ermua. Mikel Buesa is university lecturer. In 2000 his brother, Fernando Buesa, one of the leaders of the Socialist Party of Euskadi (PSE-PSOE) was assassinated by ETA, just after the end of a so called “truce”.