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Date Posted: 17:55:53 12/28/08 Sun GMT
Author: Lynn
Subject: Colombia, Spain probe rebel ties to ETA, FARC, IRA (Washington Times)

Colombia, Spain probe rebel groups' ties
Reports say they plotted bombings, assassinations
Martin Arostegui
Tuesday, December 9, 2008

SANTA CRUZ, Bolivia
Spain's government is investigating links between the Basque separatist group ETA and Colombian FARC rebels, following reports by Colombian officials that the groups have trained together and jointly planned assassinations and bombings.
Associated PressAbove: Relatives of a 71-year-old Basque slaying victim hold a banner, saying in Basque, "ETA, Get Out," after a Requiem Mass in Azpeitia, Spain, on Friday. Below: A Colombian man holds a flag and a sign that reads "No more FARC" during a march in Bogota.
"We need to investigate because these connections, this alliance, between terrorist groups, as are ETA and FARC, are a reality," said Spanish Chief Prosecutor Javier Zaragoza.
He submitted a 17-page report to Spain's highest anti-terrorism court last week accusing ETA members of instructing the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) in explosives and car-bomb techniques at rebel camps in the Colombian jungle.
The report, quoted by the Spanish news agency EFE, also mentioned accusations that ETA and FARC may have planned the assassination of top Colombian officials visiting Spain and that the groups also smuggled cocaine into Europe.
ETA, whose acronym stands for Homeland and Liberty in the Basque language, is responsible for more than 800 deaths in Spain during its 40-year struggle for Basque independence.
It has at various times been linked with Cuba and other revolutionary movements in Latin America, according to the U.S. State Department.
FARC has similarly fought a half-century-old war against the Colombian government and has extensive international connections.
Three explosives specialists of the Irish Republican Army, who were contracted by FARC to teach bomb-making techniques, were arrested in Colombia in 2001.
Spain's most recent investigations have targeted five Basque terrorist suspects, who have been accused of "implementing training courses" and "providing information in the handling of explosives" at rebel camps in Colombia's southern province of Narino between 2003 and 2007.

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Copyright 2008 The Washington Times, LLC

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