Ecuadoran president denies ever harboring FARC

QUITO, March 13 (Xinhua) -- Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa on Thursday denied accusations that the country has harbored Colombia's anti-government group.

Correa stated the denial when addressing hundreds of students who support the Ecuadoran government in the presidential palace.

Those accused the Ecuadoran government of harboring the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), Colombia's largest anti-government group, were telling lies. They attempted to destabilize Ecuador and force Ecuador to join Plan Colombia, Correa said.

Speaking of the diplomatic crisis between Colombia and Ecuador sparked by Colombia's attack on FARC in the Ecuadoran territory, Correa said the whole world has recognized Ecuador as the victim instead of the trouble-maker.

While saying the Ecuadoran government does not want to see FARC's activity in the Ecuadoran territory, the president criticized Colombia for being unwilling to restore its diplomatic ties with Ecuador as Bogota continues to provide untruthful information to international news media.

Ecuador broke off diplomatic ties with Colombia after the Colombian government troops entered the Ecuadoran territory on March 1 to attack FARC, calling the raid a violation of its territorial sovereignty.

At the Rio Group Summit last Friday, Colombian President AlvaroUribe apologized to Correa and promised to abstain from similar raids in the future if his neighbors cooperate in the fight against FARC.

Plan Colombia is a package deal reached by the United States and the Colombian government in June 2000 to help Colombia stamp out drug dealing in the country. It was then extended to military fields to suppress Colombia's anti-government groups.

Ecuador has refused to join the plan. And according to local reports,the United States and Colombia have used large quantity ofpoisonous chemicals to eliminate coca plantations along the Colombia-Ecuador border and caused serious environmental pollutionon the Ecuadoran soil.