Egin (newspaper) facts for kids
Egin was a newspaper from the Basque Country in Spain. It was written in both Spanish and Basque. The newspaper started in 1977 and was published until 1998. It was closed by the Spanish government.
Contents
The Story of Egin Newspaper
The very first issue of Egin came out on September 29, 1977. The newspaper was printed in a town called Hernani. It was run by a company named Orain SA. This company also had a radio station called Egin Irratia.
Egin was quite popular. In 1993, about 51,366 copies were printed each day. The newspaper also played a big part in a music style called Basque Radical Rock. In 1987, Egin released a music album called Bat, Bi, Hiru... Hamar. Many people think this album was very important for that music style.
Over the years, some people believed Egin was connected to a group called Euskadi Ta Askatasuna (ETA). One of the newspaper's main editors was Josu Muguruza. He was a politician from a group called Herri Batasuna. Sadly, he was killed in 1989. Another editor, Xabier Galeano, was also killed in 1985.
In 1994, the Ertzaintza, which is the Basque police, searched the offices of Egin.
Why Egin Was Closed
On July 14, 1998, a judge named Baltasar Garzón ordered that Egin newspaper and its radio station be closed. Several people who worked for the company that ran Egin were also arrested.
Many people in the Basque Country were worried and upset. They felt this action was politically motivated and not fair. There were big protests and demonstrations in the streets. The Spanish president at the time, José María Aznar, said it was "an attack on terrorism." He even said, "Did someone think we did not dare do it?" This made people in the Basque Country even more concerned.
The leader of the Spanish Socialist party, Alfredo Pérez Rubalcaba, thought the president was trying to gain votes. Another political leader, Julio Anguita, believed the government directly ordered the closure.
In August 1999, the judge said the newspaper could reopen. But by then, the printing machines were broken or unusable. The people who owned the newspaper also had no money left. Their funds had been used to pay legal fees and fines. So, the newspaper stayed closed.
This event in 1998 started a time when many groups and media outlets with Basque nationalist ideas were investigated. Judge Baltasar Garzón led these actions.
Later Decisions About the Closure
After more than 10 years, in 2009, a high court in Spain made a new decision. The court said that Egin newspaper and its radio station had not done anything illegal. This meant there were no real reasons for them to have been closed.
After Egin was shut down, a new newspaper called Gara started. It was first supported by people who subscribed to it. In 2004, another Basque language newspaper called Egunkaria was also closed in a similar way. Later, a court also found that Egunkaria had done nothing wrong. However, both newspapers had already stopped publishing. No money has been given to them for damages, and no public apologies have been made by the government.
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