Supreme Court says Sortu cannot register as party due to ETA links

The leaders of Basque separatist grouping Sortu on Thursday called a Supreme Court ruling preventing it from registering as a legal party "a political decision" and announced that they would appeal the resolution.

"[The ruling] is a product of defined strategies between Socialist and Popular Party leaders," Sortu said in a statement. In a divided nine-to-seven ruling, the Supreme Court late Wednesday said that Sortu cannot register as a party because it would serve the terrorist group ETA's interests.

Sortu, which the Court ruled was a successor to the outlawed Batasuna, had tried to register last month after presenting its statutes, in which it renounced violence. The Interior Ministry asked the attorney general to file a complaint with the Supreme Court after it came up with police reports showing that ETA was behind the launch of Sortu.

"We want to denounce that instead of analyzing legal arguments [the Supreme Court members] based their ruling on a political decision," the party's statement said. Sortu leaders say they will file an appeal with the Constitutional Court in a last-ditch bid to try to field candidates in the May 22 Basque municipal elections.

Legal experts are divided over the Supreme Court's decision. Gregorio Peces-Barba, one of the so-called seven architects of Spain's modern Constitution, said he believes the ruling "embraces the law." But another constitutional expert, Javier Pérez Royo, disagreed. "I know that Sortu has complied [with the Political Parties Law] to the core," he said.

Among the political responses, Basque Socialist regional premier Patxi López has called on the Constitutional Court to hand down a decision before the May race. The Basque nationalist parties were upset by the ruling, but most appeared to have been expecting an unfavorable decision. Justice Minister Francisco Caamaño said that the government "considers that Sortu is a continuation of Batasuna." The Popular Party in the Basque Country celebrated the decision but said it would have been stronger if the Supreme Court's ruling had been unanimous.

The Association of Victims of Terrorism, who wanted Sortu to be declared illegal, said they will keep a watchful eye on the group's intentions to get their candidates on the May ballot. Some members have reportedly discussed forming alliances with other leftist nationalist parties that are legal.