Batasuna -- banned since 2003 for its ties to ETA -- wants to run in local elections in May and plans to present its new formation to Spain`s interior ministry on Wednesday -- including the party`s new name -- two members of the party said at a news conference on Monday.
"In the statutes we will present, the (party) rejects and opposes the use of violence.. or the threat of violence for political objectives, and that includes violence of any kind by ETA," party leader Rufi Etxeberria said at a news conference in Bilbao in the Basque region.
It will be up to the courts to rule whether the new party can contest elections.
"This is important news and a marked improvement, but at the same time I would like to say that Spain`s democracy has to be very demanding with this group," Marcelino Iglesias , a leading member of the ruling Socialist party said.
ETA, which has killed more than 850 people in its half-century armed struggle for an independent state in northern Spain and southwest France, has been crippled by arrests and Basques` rising support for more peaceful methods.
Batasuna and ETA have made a series of gestures toward peace in recent months. In January ETA declared a permanent ceasefire in its half-century armed struggle for an independent state in northern Spain and southwest France, but the Spanish government rejected it as insufficient.
Associations of victims of ETA`s violence and some members of Spain`s largest political parties have accused Batasuna of opportunism in renouncing violence so close to the local elections. (*)
Editor: Kunto Wibisono
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