Ambrosio Spinola
01-21-2006, 08:17 AM
http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=oddlyEnoughNews&storyID=2006-01-20T195143Z_01_N20338998_RTRIDST_0_OUKOE-UK-COLOMBIA-DENMARK.XML&archived=False
http://www.fightersandlovers.com/images/pink_farc_lady.jpg
BOGOTA, Colombia (Reuters) - The Colombian government asked Denmark on Friday to investigate a company that makes T-shirts with the logo of a Marxist rebel group and donates a share of its proceeds to the rebels.
The company Fighters and Lovers says on its Web site (www.fightersandlovers.com) that it gives part of the money from its T-shirt sales to radio stations and graphic workshops run by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia.
The rebel army, which is known by its Spanish initials FARC and has about 17,000 members, has been fighting for socialist revolution since 1964 and has been classified as "terrorist" by both the European Union and the United States.
The Fighters and Lovers Web site shows male and female models posing with T-shirts emblazoned with the logos of the FARC and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.
"Fighters+Lovers is greatly in debt to the stylish classic coolness of Palestinian fighter Leila Khaled and the funky outrageous style of Colombian guerrilla commander Jacobo Arenas. Our collection 2006 is inspired by the style and principles of these legendary fighters," the Web site reads.
Colombian Foreign Minister Carolina Bardo said, "This is unacceptable and violates international norms. Financing terrorist groups is an international crime."
"We've sent a note of protest and asked for an investigation," she said.
Thousands of people are killed in Colombia's conflict every year.
In addition to money provided by Danish T-shirts, the FARC funds itself with the cocaine trade and kidnapping. Opinion polls indicate almost no support for the FARC in the cities where most Colombians live.
Fighters and Lovers warns customers to expect trouble.
"When you buy Fighters+Lovers products you might experience legal problems because of U.S. or EU 'antiterrorist' legislation," it says on its Web site.
"But anyway, when was the last time you listened to someone who told you what you couldn't wear?"
http://www.fightersandlovers.com/images/pink_farc_lady.jpg
BOGOTA, Colombia (Reuters) - The Colombian government asked Denmark on Friday to investigate a company that makes T-shirts with the logo of a Marxist rebel group and donates a share of its proceeds to the rebels.
The company Fighters and Lovers says on its Web site (www.fightersandlovers.com) that it gives part of the money from its T-shirt sales to radio stations and graphic workshops run by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia.
The rebel army, which is known by its Spanish initials FARC and has about 17,000 members, has been fighting for socialist revolution since 1964 and has been classified as "terrorist" by both the European Union and the United States.
The Fighters and Lovers Web site shows male and female models posing with T-shirts emblazoned with the logos of the FARC and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.
"Fighters+Lovers is greatly in debt to the stylish classic coolness of Palestinian fighter Leila Khaled and the funky outrageous style of Colombian guerrilla commander Jacobo Arenas. Our collection 2006 is inspired by the style and principles of these legendary fighters," the Web site reads.
Colombian Foreign Minister Carolina Bardo said, "This is unacceptable and violates international norms. Financing terrorist groups is an international crime."
"We've sent a note of protest and asked for an investigation," she said.
Thousands of people are killed in Colombia's conflict every year.
In addition to money provided by Danish T-shirts, the FARC funds itself with the cocaine trade and kidnapping. Opinion polls indicate almost no support for the FARC in the cities where most Colombians live.
Fighters and Lovers warns customers to expect trouble.
"When you buy Fighters+Lovers products you might experience legal problems because of U.S. or EU 'antiterrorist' legislation," it says on its Web site.
"But anyway, when was the last time you listened to someone who told you what you couldn't wear?"