The Basque Government admits “provocations” and regrets the Ertzaintza charges during the arrival of the Flotilla in Bilbao

The Basque Government's Security Advisor, Bingen Zupiria, regretted this Sunday the incidents registered at Bilbao airport during the arrival of several activists from the Global Sumud Flotilla and acknowledged that the situation “was not managed as planned”. The Basque leader also assured that both the actions of the Ertzaintza and the behavior of some people present at the terminal will be investigated.

Zupiria assumed “in the first person” political responsibility for what happened and explained that the police operation aimed to guarantee both the welcome of the activists and the normal functioning of the airport. “Given the images, we achieved neither one nor the other,” he admitted before participating in an event of the Partido Nacionalista Vasco in Durango.

The advisor pointed out that conversations had previously been held with airport security officials and with representatives of those gathered to agree on how the reception should proceed. However, he stated that “provocations” and pushes occurred which ended up triggering police charges and arrests made by the Ertzaintza.

The operation ended with four people arrested and several scenes of tension in the airport's arrivals area. The images disseminated on social media generated strong political controversy and criticism from parties such as EH Bildu, Podemos and Sumar, who denounced the police action and demanded explanations from the Basque Executive.

Despite this, Zupiria defended the trajectory of the Ertzaintza and stressed that it is one of the institutions “that generates the most trust” in Basque society. The advisor also acknowledged the special social and political sensitivity surrounding the conflict in Gaza and assured that the images recorded in Bilbao “worry him” both at an institutional and social level.