International day of women for peace

Today we celebrate the international day of women for peace. The 24th of May is a day to recall that women play an important part in transforming global conflicts; by searching for solutions to end violence, by looking for opportunities for the growth and development of societies, and by contributing in the resolution of political differences.

We want to send the message today to affirm that we can work together in the campaign for peace, and to encourage that even more women get involved.

We are women from Scotland, Wales, Flanderen, Catalonia, and Euskal Herria, who are involved in the debate on the future of our nations. We believe it is essential to use political incentives in order to overcome the present confrontations and conflict.

The respective political struggles that our nations are undergoing are united in that we are stateless nations aiming towards full recognition on a European and international level. We share the desire to recognise the rights of stateless nations, and form a new political landscape within the United Kingdom, Belgium and Spain.
Our aims as nations will be resolved through dialogue, negotiation and involvement of the people.

Our goal is to achieve peace and political standardisation. We believe in defending our nations in a peaceful and democratic manner, and we condemn all violations of human rights and demand justice and equal rights for all people.

We therefore give our full support to this routemap presented by the Basque Government. It is a legitimate and democratic political initiative, based on dialogue and the will of politicians and citizens. We believe that the aims and policies presented in the routemap are the way forward in solving the Basque political conflict.

Coming apart at the seams

In the words of one journalist this week, “Belgium is coming apart at the seams”. We thought it took a long time after the Assembly elections in Wales but it’s now four months since the Belgian elections and they still haven’t been able to form a government.

No agreement can be reached between Dutch speaking Flanders and French speaking Wallonia. There are eleven political parties represented but, interestingly, there is not one “national” Belgian party. Plaid’s sister party in Flanders, Spirit, supports independence. Sooner than any of us imagined, they may just achieve their aim.