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| Ecuador probes President Correa 'link' to Farc rebels | Ecuador probes President Correa 'link' to Farc rebels |
| (40 minutes later) | |
| Prosecutors in Ecuador have said allegations that President Rafael Correa's election campaign accepted funds from Colombian rebels in 2006 will be investigated. | Prosecutors in Ecuador have said allegations that President Rafael Correa's election campaign accepted funds from Colombian rebels in 2006 will be investigated. |
| A London think tank said last week that there were links between between the Farc rebels and Mr Correa. | A London think tank said last week that there were links between between the Farc rebels and Mr Correa. |
| Their report was based on documents from the laptop of a Farc commander killed by Colombian troops in 2008. | Their report was based on documents from the laptop of a Farc commander killed by Colombian troops in 2008. |
| Mr Correa denies having had any dealings with the left-wing rebels. | Mr Correa denies having had any dealings with the left-wing rebels. |
| He said the allegations, which surfaced several years ago, were a "hoax". | He said the allegations, which surfaced several years ago, were a "hoax". |
| "My hands are clean," he said after the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) published research on ties between the rebels and neighbouring Venezuela and Colombia.. | |
| "I'll take a lie detector test to prove I never received funds from the Farc," he added. | |
| 'Awareness of negotiations' | |
| The IISS report is based on a two-year study of e-mails and documents recovered during a raid by Colombian forces on a Farc camp in Ecuador in March 2008 and testimony provided by a former rebel who later defected. | |
| The IISS said the rebels recounted being approached by Mr Correa's campaign team before the presidential elections. | |
| Contact was made first with an intermediary, then by telephone and in person with Ricardo Patino (currently Ecuador's finance minister). | |
| Finally there was contact between the Farc and Mr Correa himself "in a series of three telephone conversations in which Correa clearly showed an awareness of ongoing negotiations between his subordinates and Farc", the IISS report said. | |
| Both Ricardo Patino and President Correa have vehemently denied they have ever had dealings with the Farc. | |
| Meanwhile, preliminary results from a referendum held on 7 May indicate support for Mr Correa's proposed changes to the judiciary and media law have lessened from earlier counts. | |
| With more than 90% of the votes counted, a measure to regulate the media was approved by 44.7% of voters against 42.3% against, the National Electoral Council (CNE) said. | |
| A proposal to overhaul the judiciary was ahead with 45.9% of the vote, with 42.8% against, the CNE said. | |
| The vote has been seen as a popularity test for Mr Correa ahead of the 2013 elections, in which he is expected to run for a third term as president. |