washingtontimes.com March 12, 2003 James Morrison

     A former prime minister of Lebanon, who called his country the "first victim of terrorism," believes the only way to stop terrorists is to crush regimes that "teach people to hate and kill."

     Michel Aoun, on a recent visit to Washington, called terrorism a "safety valve" for the dictatorial regimes that support such activity to divert attention from the failure of their own policies.

     "If we are to effectively fight terrorism, we have to understand that it is inseparable from the regimes that harbor it," he told a forum of the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies.

     "Terrorism is a internal safety valve for these regimes and a key instrument of their foreign policy applied as blackmail to others. Therefore, the eradication of terrorism must by necessity begin with the toppling of non-democratic regimes that teach people to hate and kill and that push people to acts of suicide," he said.

     Only democratic governments can bring freedom and respect for human rights, said Mr. Aoun, a Christian Lebanese who was forced from power by Syrian occupation forces in 1990 and now lives in Paris. He, however, noted the "magnitude of the difficulties" involved in promoting democracy in countries that have never known freedom.

     "That ... seems to me to be much harder to achieve than victory on the battlefield, the outcome of which can be sealed in days or weeks," he said.

     "Indeed, democracy is not an infrastructure that one builds in a few months. ... And it cannot be achieved through a simple voting exercise. It is first and foremost an education of concepts.

     "That is why any regime change must be accompanied by a fundamental change in the system of education to facilitate the learning of new concepts and applying them to public life."

      Mr. Aoun also said economic assistance must follow regime change.

     "If democracy is the key to liberate the individual from fear, economic development is key to liberate the individual from need," he said.

     Mr. Aoun blamed Lebanon's problems on Syria, a "regime that is the antithesis of democracy." The State Department classifies Syria as a state sponsor of terrorism.

     He also paid "genuine homage" to the Americans killed trying to bring peace to Lebanon in the 1980s, when terrorists killed 63 persons in an attack on the U.S. Embassy in Beirut and 241 American troops in a strike on U.S. military barracks.

     "They came to Lebanon for peace, and real peace must be achieved," he said. "God bless their souls."      

     Venezuela seeks proof

     Caracas is calling on the United States to provide evidence of terrorist finance networks in Venezuela in response to recent comments from the U.S. ambassador there and a top U.S. general.

     "Whoever has evidence of situations like those described must first give them to corresponding authorities," Foreign Minister Roy Chaderton told the Union Radio station in the capital, Caracas, on Monday.

     "That evidence ... could lead to the opening of an investigation. A simple denunciation isn't enough."

     Ambassador Charles Shapiro told reporters last week of his concerns that terrorists have established bases throughout South America. His comments followed similar remarks by Gen. James T. Hill, head of the U.S. Southern Command.      

     U.S. won't punish Israel

     The U.S. ambassador to Israel is denying news reports that Washington is outraged by Israeli security leaks about a planned date for an invasion of Iraq.

     "I don't know where those press reports came from, but they are without foundation," Ambassador Daniel Kurtzer told reporters Monday, after meeting with Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom.

     The Israeli daily newspaper Ma'ariv, for example, reported that the Bush administration was so angry with Israel that it would withhold information about the actual date of the start of military action.      "The cooperation between our two countries is unbelievably good, and it is unparalleled in the history of our relations," Mr. Kurtzer said. "There's no way we are going to surprise our ally."

     Mr. Shalom on Sunday had a long phone conversation with National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice, United Press International reported.

To contact James Morrison, call 202/636-3297, fax 202/832-7278 or e-mail jmorrison@washingtontimes.com.

www.vheadline.com Posted: Tuesday, March 11, 2003 By: Robert Rudnicki

Venezuela's Ambassador to the Organization of American States (OAS) Jorge Valero has called for the current Friends of Venezuela group to be expanded to include, France, Russia and a number of Caribbean nations.

The group, currently made up of Brazil, Chile, Mexico, Portugal, Spain and the United States, met in Brasilia to renew their discussions and Valero made the call during his address to the representatives.

In January President Hugo Chavez Frias also called for the group's expansion, but this appeal fell on deaf ears.

Foreign Minister's from the six countries also held closed door meetings to discuss how best to end the current political unrest in Venezuela.

english.pravda.ru 14:31 2003-03-05

While President Chavez keeps on searching for a responsible of the attack to the Colombia's Consulate in Caracas, the Government of Alvaro Uribe handles reports that may prove cooperation between Venezuela and the FARC. The Administrative Security Department of Colombia (DAS) said that was after information about rebel groups illegally crossing the Venezuelan border to avoid Security Forces.

The Colombian department of Arauca is an area badly controlled by the Government and has the longest border with Venezuela. According with these reports, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and the Liberation National Army (ELN) usually find shelter in the Venezuelan State of Arupe.

In declarations to the Spanish Press Agency EFE, DAS' Chief in Arauca, Hugo Hernan Jimenez, said that FARC's forces "permanently" crossed the border with Venezuela. Also, other official sources confirmed that this was a normal procedure after guerrilla's actions in the area.

Colombia's President, Alvaro Uribe, had complained last week on the lack of cooperation from neighbor to fight insurgency. In turn, Chavez warned Colombia he might break off diplomatic ties if Uribe insisted in the accusations.

After Chavez warnings, an explosion rocked the Colombia's Consulate in Caracas, but the Government repudiated the actions. Bogota did not complain to its neighbor for the action, but surely expects a clear explanation on what happened.

Both countries share a 2,219 kilometers mountainous border very difficult to control. Colombian rebel groups, mostly the FARC, get benefited from the hard terrain to operate safely.

Last Saturday, Colombia's and Venezuela's Security Forces uncovered, during a joint operation, a truck carrying 1.5 tons of explosives; the cargo was to be used by the FARC to blow up a bridge. Also, Venezuela delivered four Colombian citizens presumably connected with the bombing attack to a nightclub in Bogota.

Alvaro uribe thanked the attitude of the Venezuelan authorities, but asked for more cooperation to fight guerrilla's warfare. However, if Colombia's intelligence services find connections between Chavez and the rebel groups, the political temperature will quickly rise between the left wing Venezuela and the far right wing Government of Colombia.

Hernan Etchaleco PRAVDA.Ru Argentina