Spain:The Spanish high court yesterday banned two Basque parties for three years because of their links to separatist guerrilla group Eta, preventing them from taking part in next month's general election.
Eta is a big issue in campaigning for the March 9th elections, and the ruling Socialists are under fire from various quarters for having tried to negotiate with the group, which has killed more than 800 people in its 40-year fight for independence.
The Spanish attorney general had asked the high court to declare the two parties illegal, and the court's ruling against Acción Nacionalista Vasca (ANV) and Partido Comunista de la Tierra Vasca (PCTV) had been widely expected.
The decision will now go before the supreme court, which has already banned and declared illegal Batasuna, previously Eta's political wing. Investigators said the ANC and PCTV had taken over representing the guerrilla group from Batasuna.
"This is not a case of illegalising a political party but taking preventative measures to stop this political party being used to carry out serious crimes," judge Baltasar Garzón said in the court ruling.
The judge ordered that the ANV and PCTV bank accounts be blocked, that the parties stop receiving any state funds and personal donations, and that they close their offices, which the court said were being used by Eta and Batasuna.
The ban, which could be extended for two more years, will not affect the positions members of the two parties already hold in town halls and the regional government in the Basque Country.
Hours before the ruling was handed down, Eta detonated a bomb in the coastal town of Bergara, damaging buildings but injuring no one.
The bomb hidden inside a backpack exploded outside a courthouse in the early hours of the morning. Police suspected it was the first attack of 2008 by Eta.
Located in the Basque region, Bergara is about 100km (62 miles) southwest of San Sebastian.
Emergency services received a warning call that a bomb had been planted and security guards were evacuated after the backpack was discovered.
It was not the first attack on the courthouse in Bergara, a town run by the ANV. The attack followed the arrest on Monday of the two most senior leaders of Batasuna.
- (Reuters)