( dpa ) - The Spanish government Friday moved to outlaw two Basque political parties as the successors of the illegal Batasuna, regarded as the political arm of the separatist militant group ETA.
The government authorized the state judicial service to launch measures to prevent the Basque Nationalist Action (ANV) and the Communist Party of Basque Lands (PCTV or EHAK) from contesting the March 9 parliamentary elections.
The two parties had been found to have "clear" links with Batasuna, Deputy Prime Minister Maria Teresa Fernandez de la Vega said. Batasuna was banned in 2003 for collaborating with a terrorist organization.
The PCTV has nine legislators in the 75-seat Basque regional parliament. The ANV is represented on the municipal level, with more than 400 councillors in the Basque region and neighbouring Navarre.