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Spain's Supreme Court bans Basque nationalist party

06 May 2007 10:17:02 GMT
Source: Reuters

MADRID, May 6 (Reuters) - Spain's Supreme Court has banned Basque nationalists from standing in regional elections on May 27 because of links to outlawed separatist party Batasuna, court documents showed on Sunday.

The judges, after 18 hours of overnight deliberation, banned the Abertzale Sozialistak (AS) party, saying it was a front for Batasuna, banned since 2002 for links to armed group ETA.

Batasuna has the support of about one in seven voters in Spain's northern Basque Country, but the party has refused to meet government demands to condemn violence to be able to participate in the May local government elections.

On Wednesday, Batasuna had said banning its supporters could wreck chances for a peaceful solution to the four-decade-old Basque conflict.

In addition, the court banned 133 lists of candidates standing for Basque Nation Action (ANV), a group which the government believes has been infiltrated by ETA's political ally.

The court ruled that another seven lists of independent candidates, which the Spanish government also wanted to ban because of links to Batasuna, were free to run for election, the documents showed.

During the Basque conflict, ETA has killed more than 800 people in its campaign for Basque independence. The government scrapped peace talks with ETA in December, when the armed group bombed Madrid airport, killing two people in its first fatal attack since May 2003.

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Last updated:Sun May 6 10:19:32 2007