By Xinhua,
Quito : Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa has said he would step down from office if it is proved that he had ties with Colombia’s largest leftist insurgency group.
“If I had the most minimal relation with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), I will resign as president,” Correa said in his weekly radio address Saturday.
“We have never received illegal (campaign) contributions.”
The president said he handed over proof of his innocence to the Organisation of American States amid accusations that he had received financial contributions from FARC during his presidential campaign in 2006.
Colombian President Alvaro Uribe was leading a smear campaign against him, Correa said.
Colombian troops bombed a FARC base in Ecuadorian territory March 1 and seized computers belonging to the group’s No. 2 leader Raul Reyes, who was killed in the raid.
Ecuador broke relations with Colombia after the incident, claiming that the raid violated its sovereignty.
Colombia filed a petition urging Interpol (international police agency) to inspect the computers, which supposedly has contents showing links between Venezuelan and Ecuadorian governments and the rebel group.
Interpol Thursday released a report confirming the authenticity of the computer documents, which Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez called a “clown show”.t