The “yes” of the Congress to the provision which declared illegal the Basque separatist party Batasuna obtained 295 votes in favour, 10 against and 29 abstentions. The debate only underlined the division of opinion between MPs on the matter. The leader of the PNB (Basque Nationalist Party), Iñaki Anasagasti, is of the view that to declare Batasuna illegal will force thousands of electors into ‘clandestinity’. The Spanish Congress is now asking the Spanish government that the supreme Court declare Batasuna illegal by applying the so-called “law of the parties”, recently approved. The process is likely to be long and complex. The suspension of Batasuna for a period of three years is justified by judge Garzón on account of its alleged links with ETA, which has so far caused the death of 836 and the injury of 2,367, acts considered by Garzón as “crimes against humanity”. At the present time all Batasuna’s activities are prohibited and the forcible closure of its offices and web page has begun. On 17 September, the autonomous Basque parliament decided to oppose the order of judge Garzon and refused to suspend the activity of the Batasuna group. The order of judge Garzon, declared the president of the autonomous parliament, Juan Maria Atutxa, is “devoid of juridical value” since the regulations of the assembly make no provision for the suspension of a party.
