UN adviser snubs USA ... "FARC is NOT a terrorist group"

<a href=www.vheadline.com>Venezuela's Electronic News Posted: Monday, May 19, 2003 By: Patrick J. O'Donoghue

Special United Nations (UN) delegate for Colombia, James Lemoyne has set the cat among the pigeons, announcing that the 30+ year old Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) should be NOT be considered a terrorist group. 

"Despite the methods the group uses, it's is an error to think that FARC are just terrorists as the Colombian government calls them or narco-traffickers because the backbone of the guerrilla movement consists of persons ideologically committed." 

Lemoyne says he is in favor of a dialog between the government and guerillas and hasnot ruled out a UN role as a Good Officer because he says the UN's job is to facilitate dialog and communication. "The FARC has a political project and so does the Colombian government. ... the Self-Defense Units of Colombia lays no claim against the State that legitimizes them as a political force."

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez Frias has not yet defined his position towards the conflict and has fallen short of accepting the FARC as a belligerent group, while recognizing that Colombia is in a state of civil war. 

During the presidency of Andres Pastrana, Chavez Frias said Venezuela was prepared to act as facilitator in peace talks.

Venezuelan governments since Carlos Andres Perez (second administration) have allowed FARC to set up an office in Venezuela also based on the belief that Colombia was in civil war ... since 9/11 the tide has turned against the Colombian guerrillas as regards their generally recognized status among Latin American States as semi-belligerent. 

Colombian President Alvaro Uribe and George Bush have initiated a campaign to have FARC declared as a terrorist organization and therefore to be treated as such with an influx of massive USA military aid.