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Thursday, February 14, 2008
23:41 Mecca time, 20:41 GMT
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Dozens arrested at Basque strike
Protesters chained themselves and disrupted traffic by placing cement-filled oil drums on the road [EPA]
Police have arrested 24 people in Spain's Basque region during a strike called by the outlawed Batasuna party in protest at the banning of parties linked to the separatist group Eta.
 
Strikers, mostly teachers and academics according to the regional government, held banners saying "No to the violence of persecution, no to the banning of ideas".
Protesters chained themselves together and attempted to disrupt traffic by placing cement-filled oil drums on the road leading into the northern city of Bilbao.
 
Another two people hung themselves by harnesses from a bridge over a metro line, stopping trains from running.
Spain's high court banned two Basque parties for three years on Friday because of links to Batasuna, the political wing of Eta, preventing their participation in next month's general election.
 
Eta is a major issue in campaigning for the March 9 national elections, with the ruling socialist party under fire from several quarters for having tried to negotiate with the group.
 
Eta has killed more than 800 people in a 40-year fight for independence.
 Source: Agencies
 
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