The Socialist Deputy Ramón Jauregui declared yesterday in Euskadi Irratia that the two Basque independentist lists of candidates are to be contested. Jáuregui made such statement despite the Official Basque Gazette has not published the lists which are to run elections on March 1st until today. Mariano Fernández Bermejo, Spanish Minister for Justice, insisted on banning both lists arguing that they are headed by people involved in parties formerly banned by the Spanish State.

Amparo Lasheras, arrested last week, is heading D3M's list in the province of Alaba; Itziar Lopategui, former spokeswoman for Basque Nationalist Action (BNA), is running for Biscay, while Idoia Ibero, who had already headed a list for BNA, leads D3M for Guipuscoa.

As regards Askatasuna, Juan José Basterra heads the list for Alaba, Daniel Campo for Biscay and José Manuel Leunda for Guipuscoa. According to Astekari Digitala on-line newspaper, it will not be that easy to prevent Askatasuna list to run elections, since their candidates do not seem to be involved in any of the lists previously banned. However, as El País newspaper reports today, Alfredo Pérez Rubalcaba, Spanish Interior Minister, has said that the Spanish police has found "obvious connection" betwen Askatasuna and Batasuna.

Only yesterday some Socialist leaders declared that D3M and Askatasuna would face serious problems to register as candidates. Not only Jáuregui believed that "the Public Prosecutor's Office, the [Spanish] government and the Government Attorneys Office will request the courts not to allow the lists in the forthcoming elections", but also the Socialist general secretary in the Basque province of Guipuscoa, Iñaki Arriola, insisted that the leftist pro-independence movement "will not get away with it".

PP puts pressure on Zapatero

Eagerness to prevent D3M and Askatasuna to run elections is even greater in Spanish nationalist right-wing parties such as PP and UPyD. PP's candidate for the presidency of the Basque Country, Antonio Basagoiti, said yesterday that "it is obvious" that D3M and Askatasuna "are Batasuna, ETA's political wing". Basagoiti put pressure on José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, Spain's Prime Minister, by stating that in the case any of the two lists is finally eligible, "there won't be antiterrorist agreement" with PSOE. UPyD keeps on delivering its usual remarks: "ETA must be kicked out from institutions" and "we won't stop ‘till we beat them" are the two most common slogans by Rosa Díez, UpyD's spokeswoman and MP in Madrid, who has also declared in her blog that "there must be only one-nation account of history" in spite of considering herself as "non-nationalist".

The judiciary is also besieging pro-independence lists of candidates. According to El Correo newspaper, Judge Baltasar Garzón, from the 'Audiencia Nacional' -the court reserved for terrorist cases in the Spanish justice system- holds that D3M and Askatasuna make up what he would call "terrorist network within institutions". Meanwhile, Cándido Conde-Pumpido, the Director of Public Prosecutions, has said that "we are working hard to stop heirs to Batasuna from running elections".

Further information in Basque Country profile.