The Spanish government has condemned as an "attack on democracy" the refusal by regional Basque leaders to enforce a legal ban on the activities of the pro-independence Batasuna party.
Deputy Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy said the refusal by leaders of the moderate PNV to implement the ban on Batasuna, the political wing of the armed Basque separatist group ETA, was "a legal absurdity and a political error with incalculable consequences".
Mr Rajoy said the Basque leadership was "seeking to protect Batasuna" by flouting the rule of law. "Anyone who does not apply a judge's decisions is commiting the most serious attack possible on democracy," he said.
The PNV-dominated parliament of the autonomous northern Basque region declared on Tuesday that the ban on Batasuna was "legally null", as the region's government issued a legal challenge against the ruling by judge Mr Baltasar Garzon.
The neighbouring region of Navarra has implemented the ban, and confirmed today that Batasuna had been dissolved and its funds frozen.
Police arrested a man and a woman suspected of having links with ETA early today in Hernani, northern Spain, Spanish Interior Minister Angel Acebes said.
Police said Mr Felipe Goizueta Altamira (30) and Ms Virginia Jaca (28) were arrested in dawn raids on their homes and a computer seized.
Mr Acebes said the arrests were the result of a French crackdown against the ETA leadership which saw the group's alleged military leader Mr Juan Antonio Olarra Guridi arrested on Monday.
AFP