SPAIN: Spain's public prosecutor has given the go-ahead for the suspension of the radical Basque nationalist party Batasuna, backing a senior judge's allegations that it supports and funds armed the separatist group ETA.
Investigative High Court Judge Baltasar Garzón is now expected to order the suspension of the party for up to five years on Monday, in what would be the toughest move so far in Spain's crackdown on the militant wing of Basque nationalism.
The court crackdown is running parallel to a government effort to declare Batasuna illegal.
Police in the turbulent Basque region of northern Spain were braced for possible street violence and ETA reprisals after Batasuna leader Mr Arnaldo Otegi warned the regional government this week a prohibition would have "undesirable consequences".
The prosecutor's ruling approved "the suspension of its [Batasuna's\] activities and the closure of its premises to prevent it from pursuing its criminal activities".
The Basque region's ruling nationalist government is expected to send police to close the party's headquarters and local offices early next week.
Several thousand Batasuna supporters demonstrated yesterday outside the town hall of Bilbao, an industrialised stronghold of nationalism on the coast of the Bay of Biscay.
"Stop Fascism. Freedom for the Basque Homeland," read a banner unfurled by the demonstrators, who shouted slogans in favour of Basque independence.
"If anyone thinks that Garzón, or the Popular Party or the Socialists can finish us off, they are wrong," said Mr Joseba Permach, coordinator of Batasuna's national committee. "This ban will find an appropriate response on every street in the Basque region."
The suspension is only one of the legal processes under way in Spain to shut down Batasuna, which shares ETA's aim of a Basque homeland in north Spain and southwest France and refuses to criticise attacks by Western Europe's most active guerrilla group.
On Monday, Spanish Prime Minister Mr José María Aznar will ask the government-controlled parliament to begin judicial proceedings to outlaw the party under a controversial new law which allows parties to be banned simply for not condemning terrorism.
While the move is popular among ordinary Spaniards weary of ETA violence, jurists have questioned whether Batasuna can be banned on those grounds and warned this may infringe the rights of the one in 10 Basque voters who support the left-wing party.
In 23 years since Batasuna's creation, over 400 active or former Batasuna militants have been arrested for collaborating with ETA, branded as a terrorist group by Spain, the European Union and the United States. Batasuna has already changed its name twice to avoid prohibition.
Judge Garzón, noted for investigations into human rights abuses in Chile during the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet, gave Batasuna until Monday to reply in writing to his allegations that it provides money, technical assistance and manpower to ETA.
After a meeting with Judge Garzón yesterday, Batasuna's lawyer Ms Jone Goirizelaia said the party would appeal against the decision, which she said was "exaggerated" and contravened several aspects of Spain's 1978 constitution. - (Reuters)