Banning a political party is a serious step in a democracy, as the Spanish ambassador to Ireland recognised in a thoughtful article published in this newspaper last Saturday.
Many people in Spain now believe that the moment has now arrived to ban Batasuna, a party believed by all serious observers to be closely linked to the Basque terrorist group ETA. Others, however, fear that such a measure may make the long conflict in the Basque Country even more intractable, and could even reverse the sharp decline in support for both Batasuna and ETA itself.
Spanish and Basque democrats have little cause to sympathise with Batasuna, and every reason to fear Basque terrorism. Since ETA ended its ceasefire in 1999, its new campaign has shown all the elements of totalitarianism referred to by the ambassador. Its list of "legitimate targets" includes defenceless local councillors for both Spain's major parties, as well as any journalist, academic or public figure who disagrees with ETA's programme. Ordinary citizens are also at risk, as the death of a young girl and a middle-aged man from a no-warning ETA car-bomb earlier this month have demonstrated yet again.
Batasuna has consistently refused to condemn these murderous assaults on democracy and pluralism, and has regularly treated ETA members as patriots. Irish people will understand all too well the bitter frustration that such a display of contempt for elementary human rights provokes among democrats. But they may also wonder why the Spanish government should feel it necessary, or beneficial, to take a step never used against Sinn Féin at similar moments by either London or Dublin.
The arguments against are clear enough. Banning Batasuna may give just sufficient substance to its leaders' claims to be the victims of undemocratic oppression to regain them widespread sympathy among the Basque nationalist population. It may also make police work more difficult, and make any future negotiation with ETA problematic. It should also be asked why the Spanish government is moving to ban Batasuna under new legislation, at the very moment when the Spanish courts are finding sufficient evidence of criminal conspiracy within the organisation to take very strong measures against it. It must be hoped that Madrid has considered very carefully indeed the risky road it is taking, and is not unduly influenced by considerations of short-term popularity.