Artisans of Peace (French: Artisans de la paix, Basque: Bakearen artisauak) is a group of civilian activists and union members from the Northern Basque Country in France, who came to prominence during 2016 and 2017 when they worked as peace brokers in order to obtain the disarmament of the separatist group ETA through disobedience with the French government.
"The Artisans of Peace" worked as peace brokers in order to obtain the disarmament of the separatist group ETA. In the picture some of them waiting for the French Police to arrive to one of the weapons dumps, 172 new artisans remained next to caches as custodians and observers. (2017-04-08)
Press conference in Baiona, April 8th, 2017
In December 2016 five activists were arrested and released four days later. Their activism comes in the aftermath of ETA's 2011 permanent ceasefire and its announced disarmament. Thanks to their work, on 8 April 2017 ETA pinpointed the position of their remaining arm caches located across the western Pyrenees, and were in turn confiscated by the police in presence of the Artisans of Peace.
The members are well known personalities from previous work as activists in environmental, social and labour movements. The six following people listed were the first coming to be known as the 'Artisans of Peace' in the Basque Country:[1]
Jean Noel Etcheverry (Txetx Etxeberri): Ecologist and activist in Demo and Bizi activist organizations.
Mixel Berhokoirigoin: Former president of the Euskal Herriko Laborantza Ganbera (EHLG, it can be translated as 'Chamber of Agriculture of the Basque Country').
Michel Tubiana: Honorary president of the League of Human Rights in France.
Beatrice Molle-Haran: Journalist at Mediabask and Radio Euskadi.
On 5 September 2010, ETA declared a new ceasefire. One year later, on 17 October 2011, six international leaders, including Kofi Annan, Jonathan Powell, Bertie Ahern, Gro Harlem Brundtland, Pierre Joxe and Gerry Adams, presented a road map for the resolution of the armed conflict in the Basque Country. Finally ETA three days later, on 20 October, they announced a "permanent cessation of its armed activity".[2][3] Since then the disarmament of ETA has become a common objective for Basque society.
During the next five years ETA gave several steps towards its disarmament; in February 2014 a small quantity of weapons were delivered to the international committee of verification.[4] ETA declared in July 2014 that they had dismantled their military structure. All these steps were always carried out unilaterally, without any agreement with the Spanish or French governments. During these years, these governments continued to arrest ETA activists, including in several cases those members of the internal structure of ETA responsible for the disarmament.[5]
Faced with this impasse, three civil society figures in the Northern Basque Country contacted with ETA, and offered themselves to carry out the process of decommissioning.
2016: Artisans of Peace arrested
The workshop the Artisans of Peace prepared in the village of Louhossoa/Luhuso to destroy ETA weapons (2016-12-16)
The incipient decommissioning process was thwarted on 16 December 2016, at Louhossoa/Luhuso, when five civilian activists were preparing the deactivation of an important quantity of weapons, about the 15% of ETA's arsenal, and were arrested. Attorneys of the arrested denounced that they were being subject to a 'political manoeuvre' to foil a peace initiative, as well as claiming that they actually planned to neutralize the weapons in order to hand them over to the authorities.
The police operation ignited protests by thousands who took to the streets of Bayonne, Louhossoa/Luhuso, Saint-Jean-de-Luz/Donibane-Lohizune and Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port/Donibane-Garazi to show their support to the activists in demonstrations spareheaded in Bayonne by Jean-René Etchegaray, president of the Basque Municipal Community, flanked by other 20 MPs, a senator, and local councillors; they declared their "unswerving commitment to peace".[6][7] On 23 December, more than 600 elected representatives of the Northern Basque Country (right-wing, left-wing, ecologist, Basque nationalists, etc.) demanded the French government «to get involved in the disarmament process and in the global resolution».[8] It was during those days that the media started to mention the name 'Artisans of Peace'.
This headline can summarize the common feeling shared by many citizens in Northern Basque Country: Kafka in the land of the Basques: five arrested for destroying ETA's arsenal.[9] Four days later, the judge left them free, imposing certain constraints such as not meeting each other, or the obligation to remain in France. Regardless, three months later, the peaceworkers along with dozens of new activists who had joined them unveiled via Le Monde newspaper from Paris a scheduled surrender of its arms caches due on 8 April.
2017: Disarmament in the presence of activists
Tripartite meeting of the three main Basque institutional representatives with peace broker Ram Manikkalingam
On 8 April 2017, ETA revealed details of weapons dumps to The Guardian and to French police via the Artisans of Peace, and ETA became a disarmed organization.[10] The International Verification Commission (IVC), established on 28 September 2011 to verify ETA's declaration of a permanent end of violence, after six years, received from Jean-Noël Etcheverry, an artisan of peace, information regarding the location of ETA’s weapons, ammunition and explosives. This information was immediately conveyed to the relevant French authorities. The Commission believed that this step constitutes the disarmament of ETA.[11] On the night of the 8 April, ETA became a completely disarmed organization.
Some of "the Artisans of Peace" waiting for the French Police to arrive to one of the weapons dumps (2017-04-08)
Waiting for the French Police to arrive to all the weapons dumps, 172 new artisans remained next to caches as custodians and observers, even though that work a priori was not strictly correct from the point of view of law. The week ahead of the deadline was full of expectations, contacts, public statements and debate programs in the media. On 8 April, the civil society turned out to the streets in support of ETA’s decision to hand over arms and celebrate peace, with thousands of people attending a mass rally in central Bayonne. Some days before, a secret tripartite meeting was held reuniting the three chief Basque institutional representatives and peace broker Ram Manikkalingam.
^. Evening Express. Archived from the original on 2017-04-27. Retrieved 2017-04-21.
^"Basque group Eta says armed campaign is over". BBC News. 2011-10-20. Retrieved 2017-04-21.
^"Ending ETA's Armed Campaign: How and Why the Basque Armed Group Abandoned Violence (Hardback) - Routledge". Routledge.com. Retrieved 2017-04-21.
^"Basque Eta militants hand in part of weapons arsenal", BBC News, 2014-02-21, retrieved 2017-04-21
^Kassam, Ashifa (2015-09-22). "Senior members of Basque separatist group Eta arrested in France". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2017-04-21.
^"Armes d'ETA : les cinq personnes interpellées mises en examen". Le Monde.fr (in French). 2016-12-20. ISSN 1950-6244. Retrieved 2017-04-21.
^"Protests in French Basque Country over peace activists' arrests". RFI. 2016-12-18. Retrieved 2017-04-21.
^Maju (2016-04-08). . artisansdelapaix. Archived from the original on 2017-04-27. Retrieved 2017-04-21.
^Maju (2016-12-18). "For what we are... they will be: Kafka in the land of the Basques: five arrested for destroying ETA's arsenal". For what we are... they will be. Retrieved 2017-04-21.
^Tremlett, Giles (2017-04-08). "Exclusive: Eta documents reveal details of weapons dumps as group disarms". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2017-04-21.
^"STATEMENT OF THE INTERNATIONAL VERIFICATION COMMISSION (8 April 2017)". Berria.eus. 2017-04-08. Retrieved 2017-04-21.
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Artisans of Peace French Artisans de la paix Basque Bakearen artisauak is a group of civilian activists and union members from the Northern Basque Country in France who came to prominence during 2016 and 2017 when they worked as peace brokers in order to obtain the disarmament of the separatist group ETA through disobedience with the French government The Artisans of Peace worked as peace brokers in order to obtain the disarmament of the separatist group ETA In the picture some of them waiting for the French Police to arrive to one of the weapons dumps 172 new artisans remained next to caches as custodians and observers 2017 04 08 Press conference in Baiona April 8th 2017 In December 2016 five activists were arrested and released four days later Their activism comes in the aftermath of ETA s 2011 permanent ceasefire and its announced disarmament Thanks to their work on 8 April 2017 ETA pinpointed the position of their remaining arm caches located across the western Pyrenees and were in turn confiscated by the police in presence of the Artisans of Peace Contents 1 The Artisans of Peace 2 2011 2016 Ceasefire of ETA with hidden weapons 3 2016 Artisans of Peace arrested 4 2017 Disarmament in the presence of activists 5 See also 6 References 7 External linksThe Artisans of Peace EditThe members are well known personalities from previous work as activists in environmental social and labour movements The six following people listed were the first coming to be known as the Artisans of Peace in the Basque Country 1 Jean Noel Etcheverry Txetx Etxeberri Ecologist and activist in Demo and Bizi activist organizations Mixel Berhokoirigoin Former president of the Euskal Herriko Laborantza Ganbera EHLG it can be translated as Chamber of Agriculture of the Basque Country Michel Tubiana Honorary president of the League of Human Rights in France Beatrice Molle Haran Journalist at Mediabask and Radio Euskadi Stephane Etxegarai Freelance cameraman Mixel Bergouignan Winegrower from Baigorri All of them were arrested on 16 December 2016 at Louhossoa Luhuso except for Michel Tubiana since he happened to be absent that day 2011 2016 Ceasefire of ETA with hidden weapons Edit In Donostia San Sebastian International Peace Conference from left to right Jonathan Powell Pierre Joxe Kofi Annan Gro Harlem Brundtland Bertie Ahern eta Gerry Adams On 5 September 2010 ETA declared a new ceasefire One year later on 17 October 2011 six international leaders including Kofi Annan Jonathan Powell Bertie Ahern Gro Harlem Brundtland Pierre Joxe and Gerry Adams presented a road map for the resolution of the armed conflict in the Basque Country Finally ETA three days later on 20 October they announced a permanent cessation of its armed activity 2 3 Since then the disarmament of ETA has become a common objective for Basque society During the next five years ETA gave several steps towards its disarmament in February 2014 a small quantity of weapons were delivered to the international committee of verification 4 ETA declared in July 2014 that they had dismantled their military structure All these steps were always carried out unilaterally without any agreement with the Spanish or French governments During these years these governments continued to arrest ETA activists including in several cases those members of the internal structure of ETA responsible for the disarmament 5 Faced with this impasse three civil society figures in the Northern Basque Country contacted with ETA and offered themselves to carry out the process of decommissioning 2016 Artisans of Peace arrested Edit The workshop the Artisans of Peace prepared in the village of Louhossoa Luhuso to destroy ETA weapons 2016 12 16 The incipient decommissioning process was thwarted on 16 December 2016 at Louhossoa Luhuso when five civilian activists were preparing the deactivation of an important quantity of weapons about the 15 of ETA s arsenal and were arrested Attorneys of the arrested denounced that they were being subject to a political manoeuvre to foil a peace initiative as well as claiming that they actually planned to neutralize the weapons in order to hand them over to the authorities The police operation ignited protests by thousands who took to the streets of Bayonne Louhossoa Luhuso Saint Jean de Luz Donibane Lohizune and Saint Jean Pied de Port Donibane Garazi to show their support to the activists in demonstrations spareheaded in Bayonne by Jean Rene Etchegaray president of the Basque Municipal Community flanked by other 20 MPs a senator and local councillors they declared their unswerving commitment to peace 6 7 On 23 December more than 600 elected representatives of the Northern Basque Country right wing left wing ecologist Basque nationalists etc demanded the French government to get involved in the disarmament process and in the global resolution 8 It was during those days that the media started to mention the name Artisans of Peace This headline can summarize the common feeling shared by many citizens in Northern Basque Country Kafka in the land of the Basques five arrested for destroying ETA s arsenal 9 Four days later the judge left them free imposing certain constraints such as not meeting each other or the obligation to remain in France Regardless three months later the peaceworkers along with dozens of new activists who had joined them unveiled via Le Monde newspaper from Paris a scheduled surrender of its arms caches due on 8 April 2017 Disarmament in the presence of activists Edit Tripartite meeting of the three main Basque institutional representatives with peace broker Ram Manikkalingam On 8 April 2017 ETA revealed details of weapons dumps to The Guardian and to French police via the Artisans of Peace and ETA became a disarmed organization 10 The International Verification Commission IVC established on 28 September 2011 to verify ETA s declaration of a permanent end of violence after six years received from Jean Noel Etcheverry an artisan of peace information regarding the location of ETA s weapons ammunition and explosives This information was immediately conveyed to the relevant French authorities The Commission believed that this step constitutes the disarmament of ETA 11 On the night of the 8 April ETA became a completely disarmed organization Some of the Artisans of Peace waiting for the French Police to arrive to one of the weapons dumps 2017 04 08 Waiting for the French Police to arrive to all the weapons dumps 172 new artisans remained next to caches as custodians and observers even though that work a priori was not strictly correct from the point of view of law The week ahead of the deadline was full of expectations contacts public statements and debate programs in the media On 8 April the civil society turned out to the streets in support of ETA s decision to hand over arms and celebrate peace with thousands of people attending a mass rally in central Bayonne Some days before a secret tripartite meeting was held reuniting the three chief Basque institutional representatives and peace broker Ram Manikkalingam See also EditDonostia San Sebastian International Peace Conference International Contact Group Basque politics International Verification Commission Basque Country Brian Currin Basque Country Spain FranceReferences Edit Peace activists arrested over Eta weapons trove in France Evening Express Evening Express Archived from the original on 2017 04 27 Retrieved 2017 04 21 Basque group Eta says armed campaign is over BBC News 2011 10 20 Retrieved 2017 04 21 Ending ETA s Armed Campaign How and Why the Basque Armed Group Abandoned Violence Hardback Routledge Routledge com Retrieved 2017 04 21 Basque Eta militants hand in part of weapons arsenal BBC News 2014 02 21 retrieved 2017 04 21 Kassam Ashifa 2015 09 22 Senior members of Basque separatist group Eta arrested in France The Guardian ISSN 0261 3077 Retrieved 2017 04 21 Armes d ETA les cinq personnes interpellees mises en examen Le Monde fr in French 2016 12 20 ISSN 1950 6244 Retrieved 2017 04 21 Protests in French Basque Country over peace activists arrests RFI 2016 12 18 Retrieved 2017 04 21 Maju 2016 04 08 Press dossier We are all peace workers artisansdelapaix Archived from the original on 2017 04 27 Retrieved 2017 04 21 Maju 2016 12 18 For what we are they will be Kafka in the land of the Basques five arrested for destroying ETA s arsenal For what we are they will be Retrieved 2017 04 21 Tremlett Giles 2017 04 08 Exclusive Eta documents reveal details of weapons dumps as group disarms The Guardian ISSN 0261 3077 Retrieved 2017 04 21 STATEMENT OF THE INTERNATIONAL VERIFICATION COMMISSION 8 April 2017 Berria eus 2017 04 08 Retrieved 2017 04 21 External links EditWebsite of the Artisans of Peace permanent dead link Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Artisans of Peace amp oldid 1101911430, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
