ECA received the following information from Jorge Bosso, General Secretary of the Spanish Federation of Artists:
On March 24th, 2006, the terrorist group ETA announced a “Permanent Cease Fire”.
On April 24th the Women of the Actors’ Union of Madrid, gathered recently as Secretary for Women’s Affairs of the Union, decided to give a White Rose to each Spanish Parliament representative requesting to support the peace process in SPAIN. Some politicians from the conservative Partido Popular in the opposition rejected the roses claiming that had thorns with blood from the victims of terrorism.
The right-wing press responded with cruel attacks, saying that the flowers were really for the terrorists. The confusion began to spread along with comments to the effect that we were in favour of terrorism and “funded by the Socialist Government”.
On May 29th, the Actors’ Union celebrated its 15th Annual Prize Ceremony honouring work by professionals during 2005, widely covered by the media as the prizes are voted on and awarded by fellow professionals without influence of commercial interests. At that ceremony, the Secretary for Women's Affairs awarded a Special Mention to Ahotsak, the association of Basque women promoting peace, grouping 32 political parties of all colours (except PP), unions, professional, cultural and religious associations of the Basque Country. Twelve women representing the association travelled to Madrid to receive the Special Mention on stage and each one received a white rose as well, just like the other prize winners during the Ceremony.
The right-wing press published only one photo the following day: that of the lady representative of the Bar of Basque lawyers, who has at times defended some of the politicians accused of supporting ETA. She has never defended terrorists nor
prisoners convicted of terrorism.
Nonetheless, the damage was done. Since then, the Actors’ Union has received some 250 e-mail threats per day accusing it of being pro-terrorist. Anonymous phone calls threaten Union employees and executives, specially attacking me and the “women of the white roses”. The extreme right-wing has launched a fervent campaign with numerous counter demonstrations with roses with red paint pretended to be blood stained, backed by the PP which cannot forgive the Union’s involvement in the No a la Guerra campaign against the Irak War which led to the downfall of the PP’s government of President Aznar.
We receive messages of support, too, though in lesser quantity, and we have received the support of EUROFIA and Latin American actors’ unions.
We would like to request ECA’s solidarity as well, especially for the under threat women-actresses who have taken the decision as mothers, wives and daughters to express the desire for peace of the majority of the Spanish people.
ECA sent the following statement to the Spanish Federation and The Actors' Union of Madrid on 6 of July:
The European Council of Artists (ECA), representing professional artists’ umbrella organisations in 25 countries across Europe is shocked at, and expresses its abhorrence of, the numerous e-mail messages and anonymous phone calls threatening our sisters from the Actors’ Union of Madrid for having distributed white roses in the parliament in support of the peace process designed to put an end to the decades of bloodshed and terrorism in their country. Rejecting all forms of violence used to achieve political goals and convinced that conflicts must be settled only by peaceful means, the ECA maintains that artists in the vanguard of civil society aiming at breaking vicious circles must not earn hatred and intolerance for their concerned civic efforts.