Madrid - The Basque regional government said yesterday it was barring the separatist guerrilla group ETA's political wing from going ahead with a demonstration on Saturday for fear it would turn violent.
Millions of Spaniards have protested peacefully against ETA and its political wing, Herri Batasuna, in outrage at the killing of a young politician at the weekend, but there have also been sporadic attacks on ETA sympathisers. Herri Batasuna demonstrations in the past were flashpoints of violence.
Tensions have been running very high in the Basque region of northern Spain since ETA abducted Basque town councillor Miguel Angel Blanco last week and killed him after the government refused its demand for a prisoner transfer.
In Berlin yesterday, Spain's King Juan Carlos said that the murder was "as contemptible as the terrorists who killed him".
Meanwhile, a rift within ETA deepened yesterday when two more of its prisoners openly condemned the weekend murder. A Herri Batasuna town councillor resigned on Monday over the attack.