New Basque Nationalist Party to be launched

 

The banned political wing of Basque militant group ETA is to announce the formation of a new political party on December 10th, it has emerged.

ETA's political wing, Batasuna, has been banned since 2003. Under Spanish law, any party which does not condemn militant attacks carried out by separatist groups can be accussed of "supporting terrorism" and therefore banned.

It is understood that the group will be called Abertzale Left and will support Basque Independence through purely peaceful and political means. The timing of the announcement is expected to tie in with an expected ETA statement in December which will announce a permanent end to the groups armed struggle.

Jailed Batasuna leader Arnoldo Otegi has said that peaceful means is the only way to achieve independence. Otegi is serving a two year sentence for "glorifying terrorism".