MADRID (Rooters) - Spanish police on Monday arrested at least 14 Basques suspected of trying to reorganize the separatist Batasuna party, which is banned because of its links to ETA rebels, a court spokesman said.Well-known Batasuna campaigner Karmelo Landa was among those held in the raids, which came as Spanish authorities are in the process of banning two small parties said to have been used as Batasuna fronts.
Batasuna was banned in 2003 because of its links to ETA, which has killed more than 800 people since the 1960s in its fight for independence of the Basque Country, which covers parts of northern Spain and southwestern France.
The Socialist government, facing elections on March 9, has been criticized by the opposition for its attempts to negotiate with ETA, but Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero now says the guerrillas must lay down their arms without conditions.
Landa and the other suspects are believed to have been trying to form a new Batasuna governing council following the arrest of its former members in October.
Police broke up a demonstration by Basque nationalists in Bilbao on Sunday, arresting several protesters. A police officer was injured in the disturbances, during which protesters smashed shop windows and set rubbish bins on fire.
Polls show most Spanish Basques do not want independence, although the region's government, controlled by moderate nationalists, wants to hold a referendum-style vote on whether to begin talks about the Basque Country's relations with Madrid.