Spain's parliament has overwhelmingly passed a bill to outlaw Batasuna, the political arm of militant Basque separatist group ETA.
The bill is "concrete instrument to declare as illegal and to dissolve parties that, like Batsuna, are part of a terrorist movement," Justice Minister Angel Acebes said.
Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar's conservative Popular Party holds an absolute majority in parliament, and the opposition Socialist Party threw its support behind the text after making amendments, ensuring the bill's passage.
The bill must now be submitted to the Senate for its approval on June 25th.
The bill will allow Spain's supreme court to outlaw or dissolve any political party whose activity involves "deteriorating or destroying the system of freedoms or eliminating the democratic system."
The bill explicitly states that "active or tacit support of terrorism" is a legitimate reason to dissolve a party.
The government bill is seen as being directly aimed at Batasuna, which won 10 per cent of the vote in last year's regional elections in the Basque region.
Several Batasuna members, including elected officials, have been arrested in recent years for collaborating with ETA, which has been waging a campaign for over three decades for an independent Basque homeland in northern Spain and parts of southwest France.
AFP