Chavez asks Uribe to recognize FARC and ELN

Caracas,<?xml:namespace prefix = st1 />Venezuela. During his yearly speech at the National Assembly on Friday, January 11, 2008, President Hugo Chavez asked his Colombian counterpart, Alvaro Uribe to resume talks to liberate other hostages. He added that such negotiation would require the recognition of guerrilla groups like the Arm Forces of Colombia (FARC) and National Liberation Army (ELN) as beligerant. Chavez also asked European and regional governments to remove FARC and ELN from their terrorist list; they are not terrorists and their inclusion is due to the US pressure, Chavez said. This requests underpins a  long debate over the use of violence for political purposes. There has been thin line between liberator fighters and terrorist in the past.  No wonder Israeli leaders of Etzel and Lehi were once called terrorist by the British authorities during their mandate over Palestina (1920-1948); this happened before the Israel became a Nation State in 1948. Yasser Arafat also endured such label. However, Colombian government immediately rejected the request as disproportionate. In a communiqué, the Colombian Presidency stated it would not accept such request.

During his Speach to the Nation, Chavez also suggested he could use a recall Referendum in 2010 to ask Venezuelans over his no limit term for the Presidency.

Sources: Globovision, VTV, BBC, Unionradio,Telesur, Caracol, RCN, El Mundo.es, Aljazeera, El Pais, PressTV, Venezuelanalysis, VOA, RFI,

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