Party linked to ETA faces ban

MADRID, Spain -- Spain's left-wing Batasuna party could be outlawed under a bill approved by the lower house of Spanish Parliament and soon to become a law.

The lower house voted 304-16 on Tuesday for the bill, which does not mention Batasuna by name but which would permit the Supreme Court to outlaw parties deemed to promote terrorism, racism, or xenophobia.

Most Spanish politicians accuse Batasuna of promoting terrorism and being the political branch of the outlawed ETA. Batasuna is staunchly pro-independence, but maintains it is not the political wing of ETA

The terror group is blamed for about 800 killings since 1968 in its fight for Basque independence.

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The conservative government introduced the bill, aiming to secure the ban on Batasuna, whose leaders have refused to join mainstream parties in condemning ETA bombings and shootings.

Dozens of Batasuna members have been arrested over the years as suspected collaborators of ETA, which is listed as a terrorist group by the European Union and the U.S.

Batasuna is not on those lists of terrorist organisations.

The main opposition to the bill has come from moderate Basque nationalist parties, who claim that outlawing Batasuna would erode constitutional guarantees installed in 1978 after the long right-wing dictatorship of Francisco Franco, who died in 1975.

The controversy over the bill increased last week when the Roman Catholic bishops of Spain's three Basque provinces warned about the consequences of outlawing Batasuna.

They said dialogue among political parties would be a better alternative.

Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar criticised the bishops' stance as "intellectual and moral perversion."

Batasuna has already changed its name twice in recent years, shedding the earlier names of Herri Batasuna, and then Euskal Herritarrok, in an attempt to avoid legal problems with Spanish authorities.

The party got 142,000 votes, or 10 percent of the total, and seven seats in Basque regional parliamentary elections last year.

But that was down from 224,000 votes, or 18 percent of the total and 14 seats, in Basque regional parliamentary elections in 1998.

The new law would not permit an immediate ban on Batasuna.

A majority in Spain's national parliament would have to specifically propose to outlaw Batasuna, and the Supreme Court would take the case, permitting comment from Batasuna defenders.

The process would take at least several months, and the earliest ban on Batasuna is not expected before next autumn.

The bill now goes to the Senate, which is expected to approve it later this month.