Gure Esku proclaims more sovereignty and more rights for citizens

November 5 is a special day for Gure Esku. At an event held this Wednesday in Getxo, the platform recalled that as today, in 1933, the referendum on the status of autonomy was held in Álava, Bizkaia and Gipuzkoa, and eight years ago, in Getxo, the popular consultation promoted by Gure Esku.

Taking advantage of the ephemera, the platform held an event this afternoon in Getxo to claim the need to give Euskal Herria "more instruments of sovereignty" and to stress that this sovereignty must serve to guarantee all the rights of all Basques.

The event was attended by dozens of people, including Oier Errementeria on behalf of Gure Esku, UPV/EHU professor Helena Franco Ibarzabal and Xabier Agirre Arizmendi, niece of the first lehendakari, as well as former Mayor Iñaki Zarraoa, lawyer Arantza Itsasmendi, PNV member Imanol Goirigolzarri, Head of the EH Group, Member of the

In his agreement, the spokesman of Gure Esku has stressed the legacy left by the generation of Aguirre: "These people put the people and the rights of the people above their interests, and we have received from them three fundamental ideas: dignity, rejection of hatred and hope."

"It's time to move from words to deeds."

"It is time to move from words to deeds. It is time to start deciding," said UPV professor Helena Franco, who reflected on the need for greater sovereignty. She recalled that "Euskal Herria is a nation made up of seven territories" and that throughout history she has sought and developed various ways of governing herself. That is why, in her view, the country needs "greater decision-making power, guaranteeing a dignified life for all Basques."

Franco has stressed that the French Basque Country, Navarre and the Basque Autonomous Community are immersed in different dynamics of progress in self-government and has called for a further step: "It is time to move from words to deeds. Let us put the people, put them above their own interests and seize the opportunity. With a clear objective: greater sovereignty, a more cohesive Basque Country and, ultimately, the construction of a free people."

Sovereignty and Rights

They recall that in the 1993 referendum women were able to vote for the first time, and Gure Esku has taken the opportunity to link sovereignty and self-government with the rights of citizens.

José Antonio Aguirre was one of the promoters of the Statute, and his nephew, Xabier Agirre, has called for hope in the current context, ensuring that self-government and sovereignty are essential tools to ensure a dignified life for people.

Aguirre also recalls his uncle's reflection in 1949: "This Europe is not understood in peace, and with its own order, if men and peoples are imprisoned in it." He also reaffirms his shared commitment to "build a free people made up of free citizens from our diversity and our daily work."