The protest, called by the feminist assemblies of Errenteria and Oiartzun and supported by the City Council, took place in the central Plaza de los Fueros behind a banner reading 'Stop to impunity. Feminist self-defense against aggression'.
Two spokespersons for the organizing groups read a statement announcing they would occupy public space to identify "the aggressor and his accomplices," believing that "an environment existed that enabled this behavior".
They stated that the bertso teacher "systematically used his position of power and prestige to build power relationships, manipulate, and assault," following a pattern: "isolating young girls from their groups, making them believe they are special, convincing them they need him to advance in bertsolaritza, and then harassing and assaulting them".
"For years, these aggressions have been repeated over and over in bertso schools, in informal spaces linked to them, and in broader circles of the bertsolaritza world," said representatives from Oreretako Asanblada Feminista and Oiartzungo Feministen Asanblada.
They explained that after a complaint of gender-based violence was filed with Bertsozale Elkartea, measures were agreed upon to remove the aggressor. They asserted that the accused admitted the assaults and agreed in writing to disappear from that sphere, but this was not fulfilled, as "he was allowed to re-engage with the world of bertso" and "has continued time and again with the harassment and manipulation of young girls".
Alianza patriarcal que perpetúa estas agresiones
The two feminist associations denounced a "patriarchal alliance that perpetuates these aggressions," clarifying that this information was not widely known at the time and not everyone in the Bertso Eskola was a "accomplice." They also criticized the "interested use that most political parties have made of these aggressions," as well as the treatment by some media outlets seeking "visibility and sensationalism".
Neither spokesperson referred to the case of Jon Maya, director of Kukai Dantza, who on Friday requested "prudence and respect" after public complaints emerged against him for "sexist behaviors" towards some women in the company, based in Errenteria.
The dancer and choreographer explained in a statement that upon receiving testimonies from "several women about inappropriate behaviors," he assumed "the responsibility to reflect and ensure they were not repeated".
The Errenteria City Council, for its part, stated it had acted "with prudence and discretion from the beginning." Given the "dimension and the different news and interventions," it deemed it necessary to "make its position public and explain the steps taken with full transparency" at a press conference on Monday, June 1.
