Bush (right) welcomes Iraq war ally Aznar (left) to White House

WASHINGTON, May 8 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) - The United States said Wednesday, May 7, it had added the Basque separatist group Batasuna to its “list of terrorist organizations”, targeting it for U.S. sanctions and drawing effusive thanks from visiting Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar, in addition to lifting all sanctions imposed on Angola’s UNITA movement.

Both Spain and Angola are among the states that support the U.S. war on Iraq, Agence France-Presse (AFP) said.

Batasuna and the others were a front for ETA, which has staged several attacks in Spain and France. ETA is already on the U.S. blacklist, U.S. secretary of state Collin Powell told AFP on Wednesday.

The State Department order adding Batasuna to the blacklist was signed by Powell and published in the U.S. Federal Register on April 30.

"I want you all to know that President (George W.) Bush has today scrupulously met his commitment in a very fundamental support in the struggle against terrorism," Aznar said at a joint news conference with Bush.

"And I, as president of the government of Spain, as a Spaniard and as a friend, would like to thank him most especially."

Bush said, "Today the United States took steps to cut off financing for the Batasuna organization because of its ties to the ETA.

"We believe the people of Spain like people everywhere have a right to live free from the threat of terror," he added.

The ETA's political wing has changed names several times in efforts to maintain political respectability and avoid sanctions such as those that may now be imposed by Washington, according to AFP.

Good News

Batasuna, which demands independence for the Basque region of northern Spain and southwestern France, was outlawed by the Spanish supreme court in March.

"This is good news for Spain...good news in the fight against terrorism...very good news for everybody," Aznar said before meeting with Bush.

Aznar would not be drawn, however, when asked whether the blacklisting of Batasuna was a quid pro quo for Spain's strong support of the U.S.-led war on Iraq.

He cut short the question from a Spanish journalist, saying the State Department's action was "an example of real, material collaboration in the fight against terrorism, and that's the most important thing."

But White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said the United States and Spain "have a very strong relationship and the President is very grateful to Spain for the leadership they took in helping to free the world from the threat of the Iraqi regime."

State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said the addition to the blacklist was "something we have been looking at for a long time with Spain."

Lifting Sanctions Against Angola

Meanwhile, Bush has decided to lift economic sanctions against the former rebel National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA), the White House announced on Wednesday.

"Keeping sanctions against Angola will have adversary repercussions on UNITA development as an opposing political party, and hence on democracy," Bush said in a message to the Congress published by the Qatari Gezira internet website.

The White House enlisted Angola among 49 states that expressly declared its support to the U.S. war against Iraq, AFP reported.

"With the successful implementation of the Lusaka Protocol and the demilitarization of UNITA, the president has determined that the circumstances that led to the declaration of a national emergency (sanctions) on September 26, 1993 no longer exist," the White House said in a statement.

"UNITA no longer poses an unusual and extraordinary threat to the foreign policy of the United States," it said, adding that Washington "applauds the deeply held commitment of all the Angolan people to bring about an end of 28 years of war, and stands ready to assist with the building of a brighter future for Angola."

The United Nations also decided in December 2002 to lift its sanctions, aimed at depriving the former rebel group of funding and international support during the country's civil war.

The war ended on April 4, 2002, when the army of the People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola signed a peace pact with UNITA rebel officers.