San Sebastian, Spain - Members of the Basque regional government are planning to sue Spain at the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg for blocking a referendum-like vote on the self-determination of the northern region, regional Prime Minister Juan Jose Ibarretxe said on Monday.

Ibarretxe urged Basque citizens to join the legal move in defence of the referendum foreseen for October 25.

The Spanish government and the conservative opposition People's Party (PP), which regard the vote as unconstitutional, have lodged a complaint against it at the Constitutional Court, which has blocked it for five months.

If the court does not decide in favour of the vote by September 15, it cannot take place on the set date, a likely development after which Ibarretxe intends to sue Spain in Strasbourg.

The Basque region forming part of Spain, its government cannot sue the Spanish state, but individual members of the Basque government can do so, Ibarretxe explained.

Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero's government fears the referendum would encourage separatism in the region of 2.1 million people.

Ibarretxe, on the other hand, believes that an open discussion about options including independence would help to solve the problem of the militant Basque separatist group ETA, which has killed more than 820 people in its campaign of four decades for a sovereign Basque state. (dpa)