The Spanish parliament was due to vote today on a law banning the Batasuna, the political wing of the separatist organisation ETA which has been waging a violent campaign for an independent Basque homeland for more than three decades.
The bill, part of a campaign led by the conservative government of Prime Minister Mr Jose Maria Aznar to ban parties deemed to be supporting terrorism, was backed overwhelmingly by the lower house of parliament three weeks ago and is due to go before the Senate, the upper house, later today.
If approved, the law will allow Spain's supreme court to ban - at the request of the government or 50 or more members of parliament or the senate - any political party whose activity aimed to "deteriorate or destroy the system of freedoms or eliminate the democratic system".
The bill, which states that "active or tacit support of terrorism" is a legitimate reason to dissolve a party, is seen as being directly aimed at Batasuna, which won 10 percent of the vote in last year's regional elections in the Basque region of Spain.
Several Batasuna members, including elected officials, have been arrested in recent years for collaborating with ETA.
Batasuna and its supporters have branded the bill as an attack on political liberty and freedom of expression. ETA has carried out a violent campaign over the past 30 years for an independent Basque homeland in northern Spain and southwestern France, sporadically targeting the Spanish coast, one of the world's top tourist destinations.
AFP