Fw: U.S. steps up criticism of Sandinistas ahead of elections

["Nello Margiotta" <animarg at tin.it>]

 Associated Press
 
 
     WASHINGTON -- The Bush administration warned
 Saturday that the leftist Sandinista party in
 Nicaragua, which hopes to return to power in elections
 next month, has maintained ties over the years with
 Iraq and Libya.
 
     It was the second time in three days that the
 administration sought to link the Sandinistas to
 international terrorism.
 
     The Sandanistas have maintained contact with the
 leftist FARC rebels in Colombia and the ETA separatist
 movement in Spain, State Department spokeswoman Eliza
 Koch said.
 
     Both groups are on the State Department's list of
 foreign terrorist organizations.
 
     The Sandinistas, who ruled Nicaragua from 1979 to
 1990, are seeking a comeback in elections on Nov. 4.
 Sandinista presidential candidate Daniel Ortega is
 running neck-and-neck with conservative candidate
 Enrique Bolanos, according to polls.
 
     The U.S. statements suggest the Sandinistas cannot
 be counted on to support the international
 anti-terrorism coalition the administration has been
 attempting to forge since the Sept. 11 attacks in New
 York and Washington.
 
 This article published in the Athens Banner-Herald on
 Sunday, October 7, 2001.