A new Basque pro-independence party that says it rejects violence by the armed group ETA meets conditions for gaining legal status, the Basque branch of Spain''s ruling Socialists said Sunday.

The party called Sortu, which is Basque for ''create'', was unveiled last week amid suspicions by many in Spain, especially conservatives, that it is just a repackaged version of banned Batasuna. Even the government has expressed wariness.

The day it filed papers with the government to apply for legal status, Sortu representatives avoided calling on ETA to dissolve.

But in a radio interview Sunday Jesus Egiguren, leader of the Basque branch of Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero''s party, said he himself had read Sortu''s charter and thinks the party meets the key legalization condition of rejecting political violence.

Batasuna was outlawed by the Spanish Supreme Court in 2003 under a law crafted specifically to go after it. The court said the party was essentially a part of ETA. Batasuna made a habit of refusing point-blank to condemn ETA or its attacks.

The so-called political party law says that in order to obtain legal status, parties must explicitly reject political violence, like that of ETA. Sortu says its charter repeats several times the party rejects ETA violence.

Sortu unveiled itself in the conclusion of what appears to have been a carefully choreographed process.

After consultations at the grassroots level Batasuna said a year ago it opted for strictly peaceful means as the way to work for Basque independence; ETA declared a cease-fire in September, then went further in January by declaring it permanent and open to verification by international observers. It is understood that ETA has also halted its practice of financing itself by extorting money from businesses.

The so-called Basque leftists are desperate to gain legal status and a voice in Basque politics after years of ostracism. Municipal elections are being held nationwide May 22, including in the Basque region. Failure to field candidates would mean not just political but also financial oblivion, because in Spain political parties that win seats in legislatures also obtain funding from the government.

Egiguren''s comments contrast with those of Interior Minister Alfredo Perez Rubalcaba, who last week cast suspicion on Sortu''s roots but said it was ultimately up to the Supreme Court to rule on whether to give it legal status or ban it.

"It is not a party that simply dropped out of the sky. It is the banned Batasuna and its promoters have not hidden this," he said Friday.

Egiguren said Sunday that important thing is not whether Sortu is legalized or not but rather that a political movement long associated with ETA "has decided to opt for politics and rejects the armed struggle."