Basque party withdraws support from Spanish government

Basque party withdraws support from Spanish government

2011-05-03 21:30:47 GMT+7 (ICT)

BILBAO, SPAIN (BNO NEWS) -- The Basque National Party (PNV) on Tuesday withdrew its support towards the Spanish minority government after a Court banned the Bildu coalition from participating in the May 22 elections.

According to the Gara newspaper, Spain's Supreme Court on Monday ruled that the Basque coalition Bildu was not allowed to participate in the municipal elections in various regions including Burgos, Navarra and Vizcaya.

In response, PNV chairman, Iñigo Urkullu, informed Vice President Alfredo Perez Rubalcaba of the party's decision to break relations with the government led by President Jose Luis Zapatero.

Urkullu remarked that this decision could be reversed if the Bildu coalition is allowed to participate in upcoming May 22 electoral process. The recent events will not affect the accords reached so far between Spain and the Basque party.

"It does not make sense that in the current political and social context, the competent authorities decided to annul all of the Bildu candidatures," said Urkullu. "PNV strongly rejects the Court's ruling against the coalition."

Meanwhile, the Bildu called for a massive demonstration for Thursday in Bilbao. The intended nationwide protest is a response to the authorities' actions which the coalition labeled as a "crime against democracy."

The action is similar to the one taken against the Basque separatist group Batasuna which was banned from politics in 2003 after Spanish authorities determined that the organization had links to the terrorist group ETA.

This year, Batasuna launched a new political party after claiming no ties with ETA and will be eligible for the spring municipal elections. The main opposition Popular Party (PP) disapproved the new party and expressed its doubts over the intentions of the Batasuna group.

On January 10, The Basque separatist group ETA announced a permanent ceasefire to the armed conflict as part of its commitment to reach a definitive solution. ETA decided to commit towards a peaceful solution with the Spanish government and announced the ceasefire as proof of its intentions.

Spain refused to engage in a dialogue with ETA after the separatist organization announced a ceasefire in November 2010. Spain said that the group had broken two similar agreements in the past and did not trust the organization anymore.

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