Andy Carl, Independent adviser on peace processes and Co-founder and former Executive Director of Conciliation Resources (UK)
Ten years ago I represented the London-based international organisation, Conciliation Resources (CR) as one of the international sponsors of the Aiete Peace conference. We were adding our voice to those of the organisers in Basque civil society and political parties as well as the group of prominent international leaders and other international peacebuilding organisations. If some processes are ‘ripe’ for reaching an agreements, in that moment, the historic venue of Aiete had become a humid greenhouse of action, cultivating genuine political momentum and calling on ETA to publicly declare a cessation of all armed action and for all of the conflict parties (including the governments of Spain and France) to join in talks to find political solutions to the conflict.
I remember that I was briefly on the front page of the online edition of El Pais in a photo of being greeted by one of the lead organisers, Paul Rios of the Lokarri association, until the paper realised I was not one of the more prominent internationals, and I returned to an appropriately less visible role. Of course, some important international supporters of the process remained even less visible. This was a moment of political-drama, and the organisers were very deliberately setting the scene from which ETA could subsequently and with a conscious sense of history, exit the stage in this theatre of violent conflict. Everyone present knew of the significance of the event. It was not just another call for an end to the violence. There was no doubt this call would be answered. It was only a matter of time. It was a good example of what it means in practice to ‘create a conducive environment for peaceful change’.
CR was following in a long line of mediation professionals for whom the efforts to transform the Basque conflict had become, like those in Northern Ireland, a go-to point of reference for our developing field. Our engagement had been modest in scale. Even so, there was a strong antagonism from the Spanish state towards any independent international engagement. Even playing a minor role required a degree of reputational courage – but nothing like the chances being taken by the local organisers. We did not offer added security guarantees by our presence, we only brought a little international attention and perhaps legitimacy.
We learned that not every effective peacemaker needs to be a mediator trying to stand, like the Red Cross, in the neutral middle space. The Basque peace process has shown us that it is possible to pursue dialogue and justice in times of violence, but it has also shown us that these alternatives are not only constructed by independent mediators but also by the stakeholders themselves. The Aiete experience and all that let up to it highlight the importance of the roles and potentials for peacebuilding from local leaders and communities.
The Basque process reminds us of the important work that needs to be done to build a consensus to pursue political agenda through exclusively peaceful means within communities that have a stake in the conflict. Bridging differences between groups who may share the same goals and grievances but cannot find ways of working together can be as hard or even harder than a finding ways to dialogue between the main protagonists. We are seeing this in Catalunya today.
Looking back on this last decade since the conference, what has looked like a very stuck transformation process can also be seen as a process in slow motion. ETA, for its part, ended its armed struggle in 2011, disarmed in 2017 and ceased to exist in 2018. There have been many significant shifts in the behaviour of the Spanish government and judiciary. EH BILDU is a legal party enjoying a healthy slice of public support. Exiles have been allowed to return. Some prisoners have been released, and there is a new, if tentative, openness across Spain to addressing its sovereignty conflicts and their legacy through dialogue and negotiation. While we have yet to see a new political settlement – we are seeing conflict transformation achieved through a series of unilateral steps, incremental agreements, and truly innovative initiatives. Peacebuilders in the international community will continue to look to the Basque country for ideas and inspiration.