Moderator, please delete. I'd like to post this item in another thread. n/t

[Judi Lynn]

Mockus rejects support of parapolitician Rocio Arias
Tuesday, 25 May 2010 10:41 Brett Borkan

Green Party presidential candidate Antanas Mockus rejected on Tuesday the support for his campaign by disgraced ex-Senator Rocio Arias, one of Colombia's most infamous "parapoliticians," who was convicted of ties to paramilitary groups.

Speaking to W Radio, Mockus responded to the question of "What do you think of the support that was expressed by former Senator Rocio Arias towards your campaign," by answering, "Thank you, but no! I do not want the support of the ex-Senator, because of what she represents and has done. We have checked all of our records and we have nothing on file of her giving any financial support to our campaign, nor from her daughter."

Earlier on Tuesday, the ex-Senator, who was released from prison in October of 2009 after serving 27 months for making pacts with paramilitary death squads, offered her support for Mockus in his bid for the presidency.

"I believe that the conditions are right for him to be an excellent president. He is a transparent, clean, sincere, honest and capable man, and those are sufficient reasons to support him," Arias said in an interview with El Espectador.

Arias, clarifying that her support is completely "voluntary" and that she has no official relations with the Green Party campaign, went on to explain that to her, Colombia is at a point in its development in which it needs a change, and a "breath of fresh air."

More:
http://colombiareports.com/colombia-news/2010-elections/9880-mockus-rejects-support-of-parapolitician-rocio-arias.html