Security paradigms and the ban on nuclear and autonomous weapons. Jokin Alberdi Bidaguren and María Oianguren Idigoras (eds.). Doc 22. 2021

VI, VII and VIII Gernika Conference on Anti-Militarism and Historical Memory in Astra

In recent times, there has been growing debate regarding the control and trade in arms from the Basque Country, and its links to the arrival of thousands of people displaced by war and violence. In April 2017, coinciding with the 80th anniversary of the bombing of Guernica, a mass demonstration took place against war and in welcome of migrants and refugees. That city, which manufactured weapons used in countless military conflicts of the 20th century and was, in turn, destroyed on 26 April 1937 during the Spanish Civil War, reinforces its symbolism of peace through solidarity and protest activities such as those mentioned.

That same year, a firefighter’s refusal to escort a shipment of weapons bound for Saudi Arabia at the port of Bilbao alerted social groups to the fact that weapons were being regularly sent from our territory to Saudi Arabia. They were destined for the conflict in Yemen and were being used against the civilian population.

The ‘La Guerra Empieza Aquí’ (The War Starts Here) committee of the Ongi Etorri Errefuxiatuak-Bizkaia platform produced a film documenting the history of arms production in the Basque Country, and the stories of Ignacio Robles, the ‘Rebellious Firefighter’2, and Faten T., the Yemeni woman who is one of the founders of a small Catalan NGO, Solidarios sin Fronteras, which distributes food and installs water tanks in a country ravaged by war. This documentary features protests outside the port of Bilbao by anti-militarist, feminist and immigrant and refugee support groups, who denounced the governments’ involvement in this ‘chain of death’ through the sale of weapons manufactured in the Basque Country and sold to countries embroiled in armed conflict.

Whilst humanitarian aid is being channelled through official development assistance funds, government authorities are fortifying borders to hinder the arrival of people fleeing wars and in need of international protection. Arms production and trade with undemocratic regimes, such as Saudi Arabia, violate basic human rights standards. These weapons are being used in the war in Yemen. Such inconsistencies lay bare the governments’ commitments to peace and human rights.

The Spanish government, through its opaque Interministerial Committee for Trade and Control of Defence Material and Dual-Use Technologies (JIMDDU), continues to authorise the sale of Spanish arms to Saudi Arabia. Meanwhile, in the Basque Country, anti-militarist and pacifist groups have for years been denouncing the subsidies provided by the Basque authorities to the arms industry, whilst other productive and socially beneficial sectors face cuts.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• PRÓLOGO
  Paso a paso hacia el final de la producción y comercio de armas y la prohibición de armas nucleares y autónomas
  Jokin Alberdi Bidaguren y María Oianguren Idigoras
• Paradigmas de la seguridad en el marco del 70.° aniversario de la declaración de los derechos humanos
  VI Jornadas antimilitaristas y de memoria histórica de Gernika en Astra (2018)
• Verdad, desmilitarización y construcción de la memoria y de la paz
  VII Jornadas antimilitaristas y de memoria histórica de Gernika en Astra (2019)
• Hacia la prohibición de armas autónomas: ¿es posible un mundo sin guerras?
  VIII Jornadas antimilitaristas y de memoria histórica de Gernika en Astra (on line, 2020)

The content of this publication is based on the project ‘Territories in Conflict: Research, Training and Action for Capacity Building and the Development of Alternative Lifestyles’, which focuses on initiatives aimed at fostering a culture of peace and disarmament.

The publication of this document has been made possible thanks to funding from the Basque Agency for Development Cooperation (AVCD-Elankidetza) of the Basque Government, Gernika-Lumo Town Council and the Gernika Gogoratuz Association for Peace Research.

Jokin Alberdi Bidaguren and María Oianguren Idigoras (coord.)

RED GERNIKA COLLECTION
DOC. 22

Director of the collection Red Gernika: María Oianguren Idigoras.
Editorial coordination: Mercedes Esteban.
Cover design and illustration: goikipedia.

Layout: eMeriel.

Jokin Alberdi, Luis Arbide, Iñaki Etaio, Alex Carrascosa, Fernando Cruz, Emérita Cuéllar, Rodrigo Andrés Méndez, Nora Miralles, María Oianguren, Joaquín Rodríguez, Zuriñe Rodríguez, Pamela Urrutia, Nuria del Viso, 2021

Legal deposit: BI-641-97
ISSN: 1136-5811