User:Grnrchst/Askatasuna (newspaper)

Askatasuna ( Freedom in Basque) was an anarcho-independentist newspaper, circulating in the Basque Country during the 1970s. The magazine was made by a collective of the same name, composed of exiles in Brussels who had escaped from the Franco regime. They began publishing in Bilbao in 1976.

These were initially members of the CNT but their intention to form a specific organization in the Basque Country was frustrated when anarchist unions dismissed them.

Freedom advocated a global libertarian struggle, adding to their discourse the conceptions of struggle that were not confined to revolutionary nationalism or to union policy. In December 1977 the group announced an "assembly convergence" featuring other groups in the Basque libertarian-left, but the project was canceled.

The collective had a workshop in Bilbao, in which they published the magazine and other materials. This workshop suffered an arson attack by the right-wing group Guerrilleros de Cristo Rey on August 24, 1978. The resulting fire destroyed the workshop and its archives. Losses were estimated at six million pesetas at the time. In September of the same year, Freedom released a special issue in response to the attack, printing 25,000 copies.

After the issuing of a court order, Freedom moved away from anarchist approaches, instead showing "critical support" to the Herri Batasuna. Over time it became a left-wing magazine with no specific affiliation and released its last issue on August 1980.