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Spainâ€™s Constitutional Court Lifts Ban on Basque Separatist Alliance in May Election

06 May 2011 03:29 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. Spain’s Constitutional Court has lifted a Supreme Court order barring a new Basque separatist coalition to run in local elections later this month, APA reports quoting voanews.com website.
The tribunal late Thursday voted to reverse the ban on Bildu, the alliance of pro-independence Eusko Alkartasuna and Alternatiba parties.
The Supreme Court Sunday ruled Sunday that Bildu cannot run in May 22 local elections, supporting the government’s argument that Bildu’s lists included candidates linked with the armed Basque separatist group ETA.
The government’s lawyers argued that ETA and its political arm, Batasuna, were using Bildu to circumvent a 2003 ban on Batasuna, which bars it from participating in the Basque region’s political life.
But the Constitutional Court said there was no sufficient evidence that Batasuna is the driving force behind Bildu.
ETA has killed more than 820 people in its four-decade-long campaign for Basque independence in northern Spain and southern France. The armed group declared a cease-fire in January. But the Spanish government rejected it, saying ETA made no pledge to disarm.
Spain, the European Union and the United States regard ETA as a terrorist group.