In the middle of the Basque conflict, weeks of loud protests (7)
I believe the answer is:
squawks
'protests' is the definition.
The answer and definition can be both related to communication as well as being plural nouns.
Maybe there's an association between them I don't understand?
I cannot understand how the rest of the clue works.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for squawks that I've seen before include "Complaints" , "(Of bird) makes harsh noise" , "Parrots' raucous cries" .)