Euzkadi has openly thrown itself into struggle. And with even more force and organization than during the Burgos trials of December 1970. The united call for the general strike launched by the workers commissions and the politsave the lives of garmendia & otaegui ical organizations (with the exception of the Nationalist party) was followed broadly. In Vizcaya (Biscay, one of the three provinces of the Basque country) 5,000 workers of the big factories of Margen went on strike on Thursday (August 28), and many workshops of the Altos Fornos, Babcock-Wilson, Nava General Electrica, and other companies went on strike with them. At Margen, on the right bank, many large factories also stopped work: Westinghouse, Mecanica la Peña, Franco Española. Also in the Basauri region: There were stoppages at Firestone, Echeverria, Edesa, Bandas, Ripolin, In many centers of Bilbao the bank employees joined in the strike, and the police sacked the Bank of Biscay. The general strike with the closing of shops and very large demonstrations set the general tone in most of the other cities and villages of the province; in Lekeito and Basiko the police fired on demonstrators to disperse them. There were also demonstrations in Bilbao: 1,000 people in Algorta; 400 people armed with iron bars in Erandio, demonstrations in Portugalete and Santurce, 1,000 people in the center of Bilboo. On Friday (August 29) the strike was total in all
EUZKADI the big factories and the general strike continued in the villages, with demonstrations getting even larger in some places (San Salvador, for example). Bodies to coordinate and lead the struggle began to emerge everywhere, In those factories where a number of different bodies exist, they came together to direct the strike. Strike committees emerged, as in Sestos (the heart of big industry in Biscay) made up of workers commissions, the neighborhood and teachers committees, and the workers organizations. A technical committee was formed throughout the big industrial zone in which the workers commissions of all the zones, the neighborhood commissions, the bodies of teachers, the organs against repression, and the workers organizations participated. Guipüzcoa is the province in which the struggle reached the highest level. Beginning on Thursday the stoppage was general throughout all the factories of the province and the strike was general in the great majority of the entire zone. The banks joined in the struggle in Central, Hispano, Cajas de Ahorro, and other places, as did the insurance companies. The hospital workers and physicions also joined the strike. Some shopkeepers organized pickets to extend the strike, which paralyzed trade. Demonstrations took place on Thursday and Friday: 3,000 people in Zarauz, where women and children and the entire village participated and barricades were built; 1,000 people in Renteria; in Hernani the entire village took to the streets, setting up barricades at the entrances to the village and spreading broken glass in the streets to prevent the advance of police cars; in Lasarte there were assemblies in the village; in Mondragon even the cooperatives stopped working, the strike was total and the mothers of political prisoners organized a silent vigil; there were also barricades in Elgoibor; there was a demonstration of 1,000 people in Azpeita. As in Biscay, the strike developed even more broadly on Friday, and the demonstrations continued. The general strike was complete. In addition to a united provincial bureau, the struggle in each village was directed by coordinating bureaus composed of the workers commissions, factory commitfees, the neighborhood organs, teachers committees, and the political workers organizations. Today (Sunday, August 31) many very broad assemblies are taking place nearly everywhere throughout the zone in order to prepare for continuing the strike. In spite of the fact that there have already been four people wounded by gunfire, in spite of the "antiterrorist law, "and in spite of the brutality of the police and the arrests, the working class and the people of Guipüzcoa are preparing to continue the fight. In Navarra (the third province of the Basque country) there were work stoppages and assemblies in many factories on Thursday and Friday. Perfectly organized demonstrations, the marchers carrying placards and iron bars, took place on both days, attended by more than 2,000 people. On Saturday there were broad assemblies of the workers commissions in each factory; ofter that, assemblies were held by sectors. That night, pickets from sev6 eral workers commissions blanketed Pamplona with leaflets. Today, Sunday, there is a general assembly in the city, convoked by the workers commissions, with the support of militants from all sectors, in order to press forward with the general strike. A central strike committee has been functioning since the beginning, composed of workers commissions, neighborhood and teachers committees, and the political organizations. In Aleva on Thursday there was a stoppage at Aceros de Lledo, one of the main factories of the province, and demonstrations took place at Vitoria. On Saturday the strike spread to several factories and a demonstration of 1,000 people was organized. That is the road that must be followed. That is the sort of struggle that can release Garmendia and Otaegui from the grip of the Francoists. Euzkadi must not stand alone at this moment. The mobilization is beginning to extend to other regions: stoppages in the construction industry throughout the zone north of Madrid and assemblies in various factories, as well as commandos in the center of the city; stoppages in some naval shipyards of Gijon (El Dique") and intense agitation in the factories and mines; demonstrations in Barcelona, Seville, and other places in the Spanish state, International solidarity is also spreading: demonstrations and occupations of embassies in Stockholm, Paris, Rome, Bayonne, Hendaye, Toulouse, Amsterdam, and other places. But we have to act fast. The struggle must be activated. Unity in action, the united front of all the workers organizations against the murderous repression, is the best road for the struggle, as the example of Euzkadi shows. There is no room for doubt, waiting, or hesitation. It is time to act, and to act in a united manner. Euzkadi must be able to count on all the peoples of the Spanish state and on the whole international working class, not just for symbolic support, but for effective unity in the direct struggle to save the lives of Garmendia and Otaegui. And for that, in order to break the silence of the official press, it is necessary to popularize the example of the struggle of the workers and the people of Euzkadi. Moreover, it is necessary to popularize the example of the political prisoners, who, in a united manner, have begun a hunger strike in all the Francoist prisons. Follow the example of Euzkadi! Everyone on strike, everyone in struggle, everyone in the streets! As the political prisoners of Segovia said in their appeal: Let us transform this attack by the dictatorship into an irreversible defeat and into a workers and people's victory that accelerates the definitive overthrow of the dictatorship! FREE GARMENDIA AND OTAE GUI! FREE ALL POLITICAL PRISONERS| DISSOLVE THE REPRESSIVE CORPS AND THE FRANCOIST COURTS! TRY THE FRANCOIST CRIMINALS | DOWN WITH THE MURDEROUS DICTATORSHIP!