UN General Assembly
2007

financed by illicit drugs. We have a long-lived, respectable and ever-deepening democracy. We are approaching the fifth electoral contest presided over by my Government, and the transparency and effectiveness of the guarantees offered to all contenders are increasingly evident. There are 86,347 registered candidates of 235 different political origins to fill 18,332 posts by direct election. This is happening in a country that, five years ago, was facing 60,000 terrorists, and where about 11,000 still remain. To fight them, we deepen democracy instead of restricting it, protect liberties instead of suppressing them, and stimulate dissent instead of silencing it. Our fight against terrorism is being observed by national and international critics, who can be in the country and say what they please without restriction. Our democratic practice gives us the political authority to say that those who take up arms financed by illicit drugs are not insurgents against oppression but terrorists against liberty. We will not refuse to negotiate with them if they cease their violent actions, but we will not allow for negotiation to become a trap