The Lehendakari, Imanol Pradales, has expressed his concern about the possibility of incidents recurring during the summer festivals in Euskadi, considering that "the tics of the past have not disappeared". In his opinion, Zupiria's warning is "a call for prevention" against "something that can happen again", as already occurred in the last two summers.
During a forum held in San Sebastián and organized by Diario Vasco, Pradales recalled that the Basque Minister of Security, Bingen Zupiria —who warned that there are "youth sectors" preparing the atmosphere to promote confrontations and incidents this coming summer in Euskadi— "is very chastened, from his responsibility at the head of the Department, by what has happened in the last two summers in Euskadi".
In his opinion, by alerting about possible altercations in the festivals of the different Basque towns, "what he has done is a call for prevention". The president of the Basque Government has indicated that "some attitudes and behaviors" are beginning to be detected that also cause him "deep" concern.
He pointed out that, "although there is a stage that we believe has sometimes been overcome, we are again seeing 'tics' of the past, totalitarian behaviors and finger-pointing towards people". That climate, he added, reminds him of those years when, in festive spaces, one could read and hear 'jaiak bai, borroka ere bai' (Festivals yes, struggle too). Against this, he reiterated that "I have always thought that it is 'Jaietan, jai' (In festivals, festival).
Imanol Pradales has insisted on his concern about "some things that are happening and have happened in the last two summers" and that "they may also be reproduced this summer". "Unfortunately, those tics of the past have not disappeared," he remarked.
For this reason, he stressed that the words of the Minister of Security "have a lot to do with the experience of the last two years and with trying to prevent something that could happen again and that hopefully will not happen". He called for the festive atmosphere to be fully inclusive: "Jaietan, jai!. Period. Without finger-pointing, without restricting young people who are ertzainas or local police officers, who were singled out last year, from participating in those festive venues," he reiterated.
Memory and democratic coexistence
In another order of things, the Lehendakari has claimed memory as a "basic pillar of democratic coexistence" in Euskadi, calling to "read it and reread it" because "it is not worth turning the page".
As he has explained, memory must be "fair, inclusive, that speaks of what happened, which is of the truth". He has stressed that "Forgetting cannot be an option. We have generations who have been born in a peaceful Euskadi, fortunately, but we have to read and reread that past so as not to fall into forgetfulness," he concluded.