The ETA terrorist organisation laid into the Spanish Government by accusing Madrid of “trampling on the rights of the Catalans” after the planned October 1 Catalan independence referendum was declared illegal by Spain’s Constitutional Court.
Now the group has signalled next months result will emulate their steps into the future of the Basque Country.
In a statement published by the Basque newspaper Gara, ETA said: “We want the Spanish Government to recognise the right to decide, but also to be able to exercise it.
“The Spanish state is a prison for the people, and this is shown by denying the national identity of the Catalan countries.
“The Spanish state has also become a prison for democracy, since it has trampled on the rights of the Catalans.”
It comes after tensions reached boiling point following armed police raids on homes, offices and Government buildings in Catalonia during a crackdown against the independence bid.
Criticising Mariano Rajoy’s government, ETA said it was “the use of armed forces to repress popular will” and said that “the gap between Euskal Herria and Spain is now bigger than ever.”
The statement added “the independent process is a democratic road”.
ETA has long campaigned for independence in the Basque Country region.
It was blamed for the deaths of 829 people after a decades-long campaign for independence in the Basque region, which is close to the Spanish-French border.
It carried out its last attack in 2010 before disarming in April this year.
Now support is growing for Franco-Spanish Basque political party Sortu, which campaigns for “full freedom” for the region’s 2.2million people.
Pro-independence crowds have formed outside the regional ministries to protest against raids and searches in Catalonia.
And Catalan President Carles Puigdemont warned his people would “exercise their right to decide” on October 1 “whatever the actions of central government”.