Violence threat to campaign

Press, 25 May 1977, Page 8

Violence threat to campaign

NZPA - Reuter Madrid ; I 'lhe three-week campaign < for Spain’s first democratic elections in more than 40 1 years opened yesterday ’ under the threat of violence from Basque extremists. ( The Basque separatist , movement, E.T.A., which is '■ fighting for an independent , state in the northern Basque 1 country, has claimed respon- ( sibility for the kidnapping of , a Right-wing businessman , and the shooting of a policeman last week. I The guerrilla movement, Il jaccusing the Prime Minister;: |(Mf Suarez) of deceiving the) ) people w’ith false political! (reforms, said it would fight! ithe Government as long as) 'the Cabinet ignored the aspi-l (rations of Basques and'i (maintained its “provocative; (and anti-democratic atti-): 'tude.” ! The country’s political) 'parties have three weeks in! ! which to outline their pol-; iicies to an electorate which) .was deliberately kept in a 1

state of political ignorance during the long dictatorship of the late General Franco. The campaign will end at midnight on June 13, with voting on June 15. Many parties do not have the economic or human resources to reach the electorate of 23 million individually, and have therefore attached great importance to the influence of the Statecontrolled radio and television during the campaign. The Government began the campaign by promising that the State media would remain neutral. Television and [radio would limit their re- ) porting on the activities of ) the parties to information (supplied by the parties (themselves, an official statement said. ■ But a number of parties, .from the Left to the far 'Right, have complained that (Mr Suarez will win an unifair advantage for the Centrist alliance he is leading (through television coverage 'of his official duties.