Protesters in Bilbao call for return of separatist prisoners

Tens of thousands of people have taken to the streets in the northern Spanish Basque city of Bilbao, calling for the return of over 400 prisoners linked to the Basque separatist group, ETA, who are being held outside the autonomous region.

The Saturday rally in Bilbao was led by families of the inmates scattered across 73 prisons in France and Spain, which have the policy of keeping the detainees in jails away from the Basque homelands in the two countries.

Carrying banners that read, “Basque prisoners in the Basque country,” the protesters demanded that those being held away be brought home.

Joseba Azkarraga, spokesman for a group defending the rights of ETA-affiliated prisoners, urged politicians “to end the suffering of thousands of families who are affected by the dispersion,” and release the convicts in ill health.

A simultaneous march, attended by some 10,000 people, was also held in Bayonne, the largest city in the French Basque country.

The ETA (Euskadi ta Askatasuna, or Basque Fatherland and Liberty in Basque) has fought a bloody campaign over the past four decades for an independent homeland in the areas in northern Spain and southwest France.

Traditionally, the ETA had used France as a safe rear-base for violent attacks on Spain.

In recent years, Madrid and Paris have strengthened cross-border police cooperation and cracked down on the group.

In 2011, the ETA announced it had stopped its armed activities. However, the group has refused to dissolve the organization or hand over its weapons, as demanded by governments in both countries.

The ETA is listed as a banned terrorist group by the United States and the European Union. It has claimed responsibility for the deaths of 829 people in bombings and shootings since the late 1960s.

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