MEPs back new Basque party's legal bid to contest elections in May

Sinn Féin's Alex Maskey MLA at a Sortu press conference last month

TWENTY-ONE MEPs – including Sinn Féin MEP Bairbre de Brún – have backed this week’s legal bid by new Basque pro-independence party Sortu to contest local elections in May.

Sortu says it rejects political violence by all organisations, including the separatist group ETA.

Spain's Supreme Court started hearings on Monday and is expected to announce its ruling this week or early next week.

The new party was launched on February 7th and wants to take part in the local elections in the Basque Country that are being held across Spain as well.

The Spanish Government is opposing Sortu’s move, claiming it is a repackaged version of ETA’s outlawed political wing, Batasuna (banned since 2003), and does not really reject violence.

ETA declared a permanent ceasefire in January but the Spanish Government insists it lay down its weapons.

The MEPs said Sortu’s rejection of all political violence “takes us closer to a lasting and sustainable peace in the Basque Country”. They added:

We don’t necessarily share the presented political project but we understand that such a political party has the right to be legal and contest elections as any other party.

We call on the Spanish authorities not to put [up] any additional barriers.

We understand that, for a resolutive dialogue to be set up, all the parties should take part on equal conditions, and so the Abertzale Left should be legalised.

We want to call on all parties to make an effort for the resolution of the conflict.  Peace in the Basque Country is peace in the very heart of Europe and so we must understand it.

The 21 MEPs who support Sortu’s right to contest the elections are:-

• François Alfonsi, Corsica,  EFA/Greens
• Izaskun Bilbao Barandica, Euskadi, ALDE
• José Bové, France, EFA/Greens
• Frieda Brepoels, Flandres, EFA/Greens
• Bairbre de Brún, Ireland, GUE/NGL
• Nikolaos Chountis, Greece, GUE/NGL
• Pat the Cope Gallagher, Ireland, ALDE
• Catherine Grèze, France, EFA/Greens
• Marian Harkin, Ireland, ALDE
• Oriol Junqueras, Catalunya, EFA/Greens
• Jürgen Klute, Germany, GUE/NGL
• Marisa Matias, Portugal, GUE/NGL
• Jiří Maštálka, Czech Republic, GUE/NGL
• Miloslav Ransdorf, Czech Republic, GUE/NGL
• Raül Romeva i Rueda, Catalunya, EFA/Greens
• Alyn Smith, Scotland, EFA/Greens
• Csaba Sógor, Rumania, EPP
• Bart Staes, Flanders, EFA/Greens
• Eva-Britt Svensson, Sweden, GUE/NGL
• Marie-Christine Vergiat, France, GUE/NGL
• Tatjana Ždanoka, Latvian EFA/Greens