The Professional Union of the Ertzaintza (SiPE) has made public that a group of "around 200 violent people," some of them "hooded," has managed to prevent "by force" the holding of an information event by the PP in the Old Town of Hernani (Guipúzcoa). The trade union organization calls for "responsibilities" for what it considers an "insufficient" deployment of the Basque regional police.
In a statement released this Sunday, the SiPE maintains that "what happened is a genuine democratic disgrace and once again highlights the serious planning and forecasting deficiencies that the Ertzaintza has.".
The union reports that "a group of violent people has launched rockets, eggs, and bottles at the participants, has tried to attack them, and has managed to prevent a political formation from carrying out a public activity."
In the opinion of the SiPE, all of this was possible due to "an initial police deployment of only four patrols to deal with around 200 people, some of them hooded and with a clearly intimidating attitude." It adds that "four patrols whose members, according to the information received, did not even have anti-trauma vests and had to face the incidents with clearly insufficient resources."
The union also explains that, "in view of the increased tension and the throwing of objects, the officers had to request reinforcements, which finally arrived from Donostia, Tolosa, and Errenteria," so that, as it criticizes, "once again, it has been shown that the initial response capacity was not scaled to cope with a situation of these characteristics." "The violent impose their law and the democrats have to leave escorted," the SiPE denounces.
In its assessment, the union considers that "in full 2026 there are political representatives who need to be evacuated by the Police in order to avoid an attack while they try to set up a simple information tent" is a very serious sign of deterioration in democratic coexistence.
The trade union organization states that it condemns "without any reservations these behaviors" and emphasizes that "no group of radicals can decide through threats, coercion, or aggression who has the right to express themselves and who does not." It also warns that "what happened in Hernani cannot be normalized or dismissed as just another incident."
For SiPE, the Basque Security adviser, Bingen Zupiria, "has to assume his responsibility" and, as a consequence, requests his "immediate resignation", understanding that his management "is not offering effective answers to the real problems of the Ertzaintza, nor guaranteeing the necessary conditions for professionals to be able to carry out their work with safety".
Likewise, the union demands of the lehendakari, Imanol Pradales, that "he stop looking the other way and assume the political responsibility that corresponds to him" and calls for "an immediate investigation into the planning of the police device deployed in Hernani, explanations about the prior assessment of risks and the information available to the police officers in charge, and that the reasons be clarified why only four patrols were initially deployed".
It also asks that "it be determined why the agents lacked antitrauma equipment and adequate means to deal with the incidents and that the corresponding responsibilities be clarified and measures be adopted to prevent similar situations from happening again".