CARACAS, Nov 14 (Reuters) - Colombia's military chief welcomed on Friday a proposal that Cuban President Fidel Castro join talks to end Latin America's longest civil war.
Gen. Jose Manuel Bonett said Castro may still hold some sway over Colombia's second largest rebel group, the Cuban-inspired National Liberation Army (ELN).
"If Mr. Castro has some authority with the ELN, then his influence is welcome,'' Bonett told a news conference in Caracas during a conference on Venezuelan-Colombian relations.
Colombian President Ernesto Samper invited Castro to join future talks with Marxist rebels during the Seventh Ibero-American summit held in Venezuela last weekend.
Samper's proposal was immediately shot down by Colombia's largest guerrilla army, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).
While lauding Castro as "a beacon of freedom in Latin America,'' a FARC spokesman urged the Cuban leader not "to be manipulated by Samper who is using the banner of peace for his personal benefit.''
Bonett, who narrowly escaped death last month when a rebel bomb hit his armor-plated staff car, said international help was essential to kick-start the flagging peace process.
Spain, Mexico, Costa Rica and Venezuela have already agreed to join the so-called "Group of Friends'' seeking to bring an end to the conflict which has cost 35,000 lives in the last decade.
FARC and ELN leaders have been frequent visitors to Havana since Castro's 1959 revolution, although only the ELN draws its inspiration directly from Cuba.
05:37 11-15-97