Arnaldo Otegi

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Arnaldo Otegi (2016)

Arnaldo Otegi Mondragon (born July 6, 1958 in Elgoibar , Guipúzcoa province , Spain ) is a Basque politician. In his youth he was a member of the Basque underground organization ETA . Since 2017 he has been the main coordinator ( coordinador general ) of the left-wing nationalist party EH Bildu .

Otegi as a member of ETA

In 1977 Otegi fled to France as a member of ETA politico-militar , after he was never held responsible in his hometown as a member of an ETA commando for the explosion of a gas station, armed robbery, the liberation of prisoners and the attack on a military facility in San Sebastián has been convicted. After a split from ETA politico-militar, he belonged to a group that joined the more radical ETA militar in 1984. In 1987 the French authorities extradited him to Spain.

In January 1989 he was acquitted of the charge of having been involved in the kidnapping of ex-parliamentarian Javier Rupérez. The same happened in the case of the indictment of alleged participation in the kidnapping of Gabriel Cisneros, a confidante of the last head of government under the dictator Franco, Carlos Arias Navarro.

On February 21, 1989, however, the National Court of Justice found him guilty of having been involved in the 1979 kidnapping of Basque businessman Luis Abaitua. For this he was sentenced to six years in prison by the special court, but was provisionally released in October 1990 after serving half of his prison term. However, he was arrested again a year later to serve the remainder of the sentence. Eventually Otegi was released from Huesca prison on May 4, 1993 .

Otegi as a politician

After his release, Otegi was one of the leading members of the left-wing nationalist Basque party Herri Batasuna , which was considered the legal arm of ETA militar. Since 1995 he has been a member of the Basque regional parliament as a member of Herri Batasuna . In the elections on October 25, 1998, he was a candidate for Euskal Herritarok , a party alliance dominated by Herri Batasuna in Guipúzcoa. In August 2000, the Basque Country Chief Public Prosecutor charged him with aiding terrorism. He paid tribute to four members of an ETA commando who were killed in a premature bomb explosion in their car.

In 2001 Herri Batasuna was re-established under the name Batasuna . Otegi was elected spokesman for the new organization. After the Madrid train attacks of March 11, 2004, he denied any responsibility of the first accused ETA. Otegi was interrogated and then arrested on May 25, 2005. He was accused of still being an active member of the ETA and was questioned about the funding of the ETA. In November 2005, the Spanish Supreme Court sentenced Otegi to one year in prison for denigrating King Juan Carlos . On June 8, 2007 Otegi was arrested for “glorifying terrorism”. The Spanish Supreme Court had previously upheld a court ruling in which Otegi was sentenced to 15 months in prison. In 2003 he took part in a commemorative event for the 25th anniversary of the murder of Jose Miguel Bañaran Ordeñana (called "Argala") in the Argala Square (Plaza Argala) in the Basque city of Arrigorriaga, which was named after him. Argala was an "ETA-m" member and was involved in the assassination attempt on Franco's designated successor, Luis Carrero Blanco , in 1973 in Madrid. In 1978 he fell victim to an assassination attempt by the neo-fascist Spanish terrorist organization "Batallón Vasco Español". Argala is seen by many Basque anti-Franco opponents as a resistance fighter, while most Spaniards see him only as an ETA terrorist.

Interview with Otegi in 2009 (Basque, English subtitles)

An indictment against Otegi during the 2006/2007 peace process, which he was in charge of initiating, did not go as planned. He should have "glorified terrorism" again. But the public prosecutor withdrew the indictment in the trial before the National Court of Justice and saw no further offense, which is why Otegi must be acquitted. The allegation went back to a funeral service for a killed ETA militant in 2001, at which Otegi remembered everyone who fell in the "long struggle for independence".

In October 2009 Otegi and with him almost the entire Batasuna leadership were arrested again for illegally continuing the activities of the now banned Batasuna party. In 2011 he was sentenced to ten years in prison. In May 2012, the sentence was reduced to six and a half years. On October 17, 2015, a large demonstration (18,000 participants) took place in San Sebastian, which, among other things, demanded the release of Otegi. On March 1, 2016, Otegi was released from Logroño Prison after completing his sentence.

In February 2013, Ortegi was elected general secretary of the newly founded Sortu party, which is the de facto successor organization of Batasuna , in absentia . Since June 2017 he has been the main coordinator ( coordinador general ) of the left-wing nationalist party EH Bildu .

Web links

Commons : Arnaldo Otegi  - Collection of Images

literature

  • The Basque Country - Paths to a Just Peace: A conversation with Arnaldo Otegi , Pahl Rugenstein: 2007.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Google Maps : Argala Platz in the city map of Arrigorriaga
  2. ↑ La Vanguardia : Aplazado el juicio a Otegi por el homenaje al etarra 'Argala' from March 15, 2006.
  3. ↑ Herri Batasuna et Batasuna c. Espagne , press release European Court of Human Rights of June 30, 2009 (.doc, French)
  4. ^ Otegi, elegido coordinador general de EH Bildu con el 84% de los votos
personal data
SURNAME Otegi, Arnaldo
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Spanish-Basque nationalist politician
DATE OF BIRTH July 6, 1958
PLACE OF BIRTH Elgoibar , province of Guipúzcoa , Spain