‘Swimming against the tide’

Eneko Goia, the mayor of Donostia/San Sebastian, officially opened the Forum by acknowledging the protesters outside as a sign that his is “a vibrant city with people expressing their opinions”. And with a nod to a difficult past among groups including Basque separatists, the city leader declared that “we are swimming against the tide, making a commitment to peaceful co-existence which is difficult to achieve in so many parts of the world today”.

Later, his colleague Duñike AgirrezabalagaExternal link of Donostia’s city council said that the region had been able to shake off the threat of terrorism and “do away with the use of violence to achieve political objectives”. She also echoed that those demonstrating the metro project outside have the right to protest decisions made by her council. However, she pointed out that she “never saw many of those outside now protesting when one of their adversaries was assassinated” in the past.

swissinfo.ch recently spoke with Agirrezabalaga about San Sebastian’s democratic path in the article below.