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Learning English - Words in the News 09 June, 2008 - Published 10:56 GMT Chavez calls for FARC to end fight | ||||||||||||
The Venezuelan President, Hugo Chavez, has called on the Colombian rebel group, FARC, to end its decades long rebellion and free the hundreds of hostages it's holding. This report from the BBC's Emilio San Pedro: President Hugo Chavez of Venezuela is a man known for his surprising and often headline grabbing announcements but this latest one is extraordinary even by his standards. He's called on the left-wing Colombian FARC rebels to lay down their arms and release their hostages. It amounts to an all-out about-face in policy for the man who, only a few months ago, called on Colombia and the international community to stop branding the group a terrorist organisation and instead recognise the FARC as a legitimate rebel army. Now, Mr Chavez says he believes that the era of guerrilla movements in Latin America is history and he's called on the FARC's new leader, Alfonso Cano, unilaterally to release the hundreds of hostages the group is holding. He said this could lead to a peace process between the rebels and the Colombian government. Mr Chavez's critics will no doubt wonder whether this drastic change in policy is related to the accusations against him by the Colombian President, Alvaro Uribe, who has accused President Chavez of giving the rebels three-hundred-million dollars, something which the Venezuelan leader denies. Emilio San Pedro, BBC headline grabbing announcements to lay down their arms an all-out about-face in policy branding legitimate the era of guerrilla movements is history unilaterally drastic change in policy denies |
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