December 17, 2007

Abstract: (Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Almost two-thirds of people in Spain want a political party allegedly tied to separatist armed group Basque Motherland and Liberty (ETA) to be outlawed, according to a poll by Instituto Opina released by Cadena Ser. 64.6 per cent of respondents support a ban on the Basque National Action (ANV) party.

(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Almost two-thirds of people in Spain want a political party allegedly tied to separatist armed group Basque Motherland and Liberty (ETA) to be outlawed, according to a poll by Instituto Opina released by Cadena Ser. 64.6 per cent of respondents support a ban on the Basque National Action (ANV) party.

In March 2006, ETA announced a "permanent ceasefire" and urged the "authorities in Spain and France" to "approach the issue in a positive manner, and leave repression aside." ETA has killed more than 840 people since 1959, in the fight to form an independent state encompassing the Spanish regions of Navarra and the Basque Country, as well as areas in southwestern France.

On Dec. 30, 2006, a car bomb exploded inside Madrid’s Barajas International Airport, killing two people. On Jan. 11, Spanish president José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero confirmed that his government’s talks with ETA were over.

Batasuna—considered as ETA’s political wing—was declared illegal in 2003 by Spain’s Supreme Court. ANV was originally formed in 1930. Since the 1960s, it has supported ETA and has placed candidates in elections through the Basque National Liberation Movement (BNLM).

Earlier this month, Spanish attorney general Cándido Conde-Pumpido announced his intention to outlaw both ANV and the Basque Communist Party (PCTV), which was endorsed by former Batasuna leader Arnaldo Otegi in the 2005 Basque election. Conde-Pumpido revealed that there might be "sufficient evidence" to link ANV and ETA.

On Dec. 1, ETA was deemed responsible for the murder of two Spanish policemen in France. ANV did not condemn the attack. On Dec. 9, Zapatero announced that Spain and France will create a joint police force to fight ETA.

On Dec. 14, ETA issued a communiqué and claimed responsibility for five recent attacks—including the murder of the two Spanish policemen in France—accused the Spanish government of "practicing state terrorism against Basque militants" and vowed to battle the "forces of the Spanish state anywhere."

Polling Data

The Basque National Action (ANV) party has not condemned the latest attack by Basque Motherland and Liberty (ETA). Do you think the government should outlaw the ANV?

Yes	64.6%
No	21.8%
Not sure	11.5%

Source: Instituto Opina / Cadena Ser
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 1,000 Spanish adults, conducted on Dec. 4, 2007. Margin of error is 3.1 per cent.