Otegi rules out a return to armed violence after the arrests in Irun: he considers it "speculation on the part of some media outlets" and "of the Police themselves"

The general secretary of EH Bildu, Arnaldo Otegi, has assured that he does not contemplate “a return today of forms of armed violence”, after two people were arrested last Saturday in Irún for an alleged crime of terrorism, and has stressed that he does not know if there are “nostalgics” of the past, but that they are not “of those”.

In an interview granted to Radio Popular-Herri Irratia, Arnaldo Otegi answered questions about the arrest of a man and a woman, accused of an alleged crime of terrorism, after information about the Security Forces and the possible location of a place with material, presumably weapons and explosives, was seized from them last September.

The EH Bildu leader has stated that, in his opinion, “there is a lot of information missing”, and has denounced that around this issue there is “speculation by some media outlets, but also by the Police itself”.

In this context, he highlighted that the Security Councilor, Bingen Zupiria, still “has not come out to say what is really there”. Arnaldo Otegi has insisted that, from his point of view, “the return today of forms of armed violence in the country is a hypothesis that we do not contemplate even in 0.1% of possibilities”.

However, the leader of EH Bildu wanted to “be prudent”, because he stated that he does not know the data well and that he will not make a political evaluation until they are known.

“15 years of Aiete” and the memory of the end of ETA

Apart from this investigation, Arnaldo Otegi has stressed that, “in contrast to this news there is another, which is 15 years of Aiete, 15 years in which there has been no type of armed action by ETA.”

The general secretary of EH Bildu has maintained that “ETA kept its word in Aiete” and that, since then, “we have come this far”, something that, he said, has contributed to “making a better country, which we all welcome”.

In his final words, Arnaldo Otegi added: “I don't know if there are nostalgics who think the country was better before, we are not among those. I do believe there are nostalgics who think that life was better with Franco, those worry me much more”.