Spain's MPs to debate Basque plan
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Spain's parliament is predicted to reject a plan to give more independence to the Basque country.
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MADRID (International Herald Tribune) - The Spanish government on Tuesday dismissed a proposal by the head of the Basque regional government to let Basques vote on whether to continue being part of Spain. The plan presented to Prime Minister JosÃ© Luis RodrÃ­guez Zapatero by Juan JosÃ© Ibarretxe, head of the Basque government, revived debate about the status of the Basque region amid a crackdown by the authorities on the separatist movement's radicals as well as questions of nationhood threatening to dominate general elections in March.  Zapatero rejected the proposed referendum as unconstitutional and said it was a rehash of a similar plan, floated by Ibarretxe in 2005, that was rejected by Parliament. That plan called for Basques to vote on becoming a "free associated state" within Spain and for separate representation before bodies like the European Union. Ibarretxe, a leading member of the Basque Nationalist Party, which governs the region as part of a coalition, denied that a referendum would be illegal and vowed to press ahead with it in October 2008. He said it would be the first step in a "Basque-style Downing Street process," referring to the 1993 declaration by the governments of Ireland and the United Kingdom that paved the way for peace in the British province of Northern Ireland.
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Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero ruled out any further dialogue with the armed Basque separatist group ETA if re-elected in March elections, in an interview broadcast Monday.
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Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero on Saturday called on all parties to present a united front against  separatist group ETA following Friday&#39;s car bomb attack in the northern Basque region which injured two policemen.
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Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero will become  the first Spanish prime minister to be questioned by a  parliamentary commission on Monday when he gives his version of  events surrounding the Madrid train bombings.
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Spain's prime minister is due to hold talks in Senegal which are expected to centre on the issue of illegal immigration.
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Batasuna, the banned political wing of the Basque separatist group ETA which has ended its ceasefire, urged the European Union Wednesday to play a greater role in Spain&#39;s Basque Country conflict.
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The Spanish government Monday called general elections for March 9, launching what is shaping up as a close race between Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez's ruling Socialists and opposition conservatives.
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Thursday evening's parliamentary session focused on next year's budget attention on Gozo.
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Spain said Thursday it was seeking the extradition from France of an alleged leader of the Basque separatist group ETA to face charges of attempted murder of two policemen.
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In European papers on Monday, Spain sounds the death knell of the Basque movement ETA and French papers blast an MP's unofficial attempt to free the two French hostages in Iraq.
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The armed Basque separatist group Eta says it is ready to enter dialogue with the Spanish government.
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Spain's banned Batasuna party, widely considered the political mouthpiece of the armed Basque separatist group Eta, offered last night to open a process of negotiations and dialogue to achieve peace in the ...
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MADRID, Spain  - The governing Socialists accused Basque nationalist legislators Friday of teaming up with terrorists to win passage of a proposal seeking to make the Basque region virtually independent from Spain.
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The radical Basque separatist party Batasuna, which has close links with ETA, called for the start of a peace process on Sunday, raising hopes again to end the 36-year-old conflict.
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Spain's ruling Socialists face a battle to win back support in Madrid before next year's general election after the capital voted in favor of the opposition in regional polls.
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Spain's ruling Socialists and the conservative opposition held their ground on Sunday in regional polls that test the waters before a general election next year.