France snubs Chavez

PARIS: France’s Foreign Ministry says it has issued a “firm” response to Venezuela’s ambassador after President Hugo Chavez praised the inmate known as Carlos the Jackal as a revolutionary fighter. A ministry spokesman says “Carlos will only ever be a terrorist to us.” Spokesman Bernard Valero said on Wednesday that the ministry communicated with Venezuelan enjoy after Chavez’s remarks to indicate that the French court system had convicted Carlos of terrorism and assassination. Chavez said on Friday that “they accuse him of being a terrorist, but Carlos really was a revolutionary fighter.” Carlos, whose real name is Ilich Ramirez Sanchez, is serving a life sentence in France for the 1975 murders of two French secret agents.

Plea for 40-yr jail term

PHNOM PENH: Prosecutors in the genocide trial of a former Khmer Rouge prison chief demanded a 40-year jail sentence on Wednesday for a man they described as responsible for snuffing out innocent lives and spreading terror across Cambodia. Victims of the Khmer Rouge regime called the requested sentence for Kaing Guek Eav unacceptable, with many saying prosecutors should have demanded a life sentence for the 67-year-old former school teacher. Kaing Guek Eav, also known as Duch, commanded the notorious S-21 prison where those accused of disloyalty to the xenophobic communist regime were held. He oversaw the torture and execution of about 16,000 men, women and children during the Khmer Rouge’s 1975-79 rule.