Aznar's fury at Basque separatists

Residents gather in the town of Santa Pola

MADRID, Spain -- Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar has called the leaders of Basque separatist party Batasuna "human trash" after a car bomb which killed two people.

The six-year-old daughter of a Civil Guard member and a man in his 50s died in Sunday's attack near a bus stop in front of a Civil Guard barracks in the resort of Santa Pola on Spain's southeastern Mediterranean coast.

Authorities said they suspected the Basque separatist group ETA was responsible for the attack.

His voice cracking with emotion, Aznar threatened to hasten the already contemplated banning of Batasuna, considered by many to be ETA's political wing.

"I am not prepared for us to carry on burying victims while the leaders of Batasuna, who are human trash and as responsible as ETA for these crimes, are walking freely through the streets," he told reporters.

He said this situation was "unbearably repulsive."

Aznar broke off his annual holiday to attend the funerals of the two victims of the latest bomb blast. Some 45 people were injured.

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Hundreds of people took part in a silent protest against ETA in the centre of the town on Monday, and more protests were expected across Spain.

Santa Pola is on the Mediterranean coast, about 12 miles (20 kilometres) from the city of Alicante.

The killings are the first since a law was passed in June establishing that political parties that support, justify or excuse terrorism, racism or xenophobia are themselves responsible for those crimes.

Batasuna says it is an independent organisation, although it shares ETA's aim of independence for the Basque area of northwestern Spain.

While some of its activists are former ETA members, the party says it does not use violent methods -- although it refuses to condemn ETA attacks.

Asked if he would take steps to outlaw Batasuna, Aznar said, "That is something contemplated by the law and as for me I hope and wish that this can happen as soon as possible."

ETA has frequently targeted installations of the Civil Guard, a paramilitary national police force, and it has also targeted Spain's lucrative tourist industry in its 34-year fight for Basque independence. The outlawed group is blamed for about 800 deaths.

ETA, which stands for Basque homeland and liberty, most recently exploded a series of bombs near southern beach towns and other targets in June.

Sunday's bomb was the first lethal attack blamed on the Basque separatists since Socialist politician Juan Priede, 69, was shot dead in a bar in March.

ETA is listed as a terrorist organisation by the United States and the European Union, which includes Spain.