ETA-linked party hardens stance

NAVARRE, Spain -- The party widely considered to be the political wing of Basque separatists ETA has reshuffled its leadership.

The move, which was revealed on Saturday, comes six weeks after Euskal Herritarrok suffered a crushing defeat in regional elections in Spain's Basque Country.

Euskal Herritarrok made the changes at a meeting held in Navarre, northern Spain.

There are fears that the reshuffle is a precursor to a more radical position, especially as some less radical veterans, who are more critical of ETA, left the party as a result of the reorganisation, state radio reported.

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In the May 13 regional elections its number of seats was halved to seven.

Arnaldo Otegi, a senior member of the party, said it would press ahead with its bid to carve an independent homeland in Basque-speaking regions of northern Spain and southern France.

State radio said the addition of Imanol Iparragirre, a member of the defunct pro-ETA youth movement "Jarrai," made the party "even more radical, if that is possible."

Otegi and a number of his colleagues spent time in jail for offences related to ETA, continental Europe's last major active guerrilla group.

Around 800 people have been killed in the group's violent campaign for an independent Basque state which has spanned more than three decades.

In the May election, more than half the voters supported parties favouring greater self-rule or independence, but the region's 2.2 million people overwhelmingly reject ETA violence.

The moderate Basque Nationalist Party, which seeks a negotiated solution to ETA violence, won by taking 43 percent of the vote in conjunction with a coalition partner.

Since the poll, ETA has been blamed for five attacks and has been accused of planning a bomb attack on a ferry in a bid to undermine Spain's tourism industry.