The Supreme Court ruled yesterday to ban the Basque Communist Party (EHAK-PCTV) on the grounds that it is intrinsically linked to the ETA separatist terror group and the continuation of the HB-EH-Batasuna party that was declared illegal in March 2003.

Last Wednesday, the court reached the same conclusion about the radical left wing nationalist Acción Nacionalista Vasca (ANV) party, which has also been banned.

In the three and a half years since the PCTV first gained representation in the Basque parliament at the last round of regional elections, it has consistently failed to condemn ETA violence.

The archive photo from April 29th, 2005 shows PCTV leaders Maite Aramburu, Nekane Erauskin, and Karmele Gerasategi (left to right) at a press conference in San Sebastián.

EHAK is Basque for PCTV, which, in Castilian Spanish, stands for Partido Comunista de las Tierras Vascas.

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Supreme Court upholds ANV ban
By: thinkSPAIN
Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Spain's Supreme Court has declared the left-wing Basque nationalist ANV party illegal and has ordered for it to be dissolved. Tomorrow, it will consider the case against the Basque Communist EHAK-PCTV party.

The tribunal of senior judges upheld the findings of High Court anti-terror judge, Baltasar Garzón, who suspended the activities of both parties on the grounds that they are the direct successors to the already-banned Batasuna party, and therefore ultimately controlled by ETA.

The decision has been applauded by the government and the opposition Partido Popular, though a spokesman for the moderate Basque nationalist PNV party described it as "extraordinarily serious," adding that the Supreme Court will have to "provide a thorough justification for a decision that is without precedent in the European arena."

At a press conference in San Sebastián, ANV representative, Arantxa Urkaregi (second photo, right) reacted by saying that the ban was just another example of the government's "repressive madness."