SPAIN:The Spanish government said yesterday it would block a plan by authorities in the Basque Country for a referendum-style vote on ties with the rest of Spain and on ending a decades-long conflict with Eta rebels.
The head of the Basque Country's regional government, Juan José Ibarretxe, said he wanted Basques to vote Yes or No on October 25th on whether to seek peace talks with Eta.
He would also ask them whether there should be a political debate on the "right to decide" of the Basque people - a coded reference to the issue of whether the Basque Country should remain in Spain.
"We want to have the right to decide and the right to live together in peace," Mr Ibarretxe said in a statement.
Spain's Socialist government said it would seek a court order to prevent the vote from going ahead, if the Basque regional parliament authorised the referendum plan over the next few weeks.
"We'd hoped not to get to this stage," said public administration minister Elena Salgado, who said that Mr Ibarretxe's proposal violated the Spanish constitution.
If the courts overturn the referendum plan, Mr Ibarretxe is expected to call early elections in the Basque Country.
His Basque Nationalist Party is split between members who want differing degrees of autonomy within Spain and those who want outright independence, but it condemns violence by Eta.
Polls show most Basques do not want to leave Spain. - (Reuters)