The Hindu : International / Globescan : I didn't mean it, says evangelist

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Friday, Aug 26, 2005

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International - Globescan

I didn't mean it, says evangelist

WASHINGTON: Amid the furore caused by his remarks, American evangelist Pat Robertson on Thursday apologised for calling for assassination of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez after initially denying he made any such comment. ``I didn't say assassination. I said our special forces should `take him out,''' Mr. Robertson said on Wednesday on his show asserting that his remarks had been misinterpreted by a news agency. " `Take him out' could be a number of things including kidnapping.'' He later issued the apology on his Web site. ``Is it right to call for assassination? No, and I apologise for that statement. I spoke in frustration that we should accommodate a man who thinks the U.S. is out to kill him,'' the religious preacher said. Mr. Chavez, whose country is the world's fifth-largest oil exporter, has emerged as one of the most vocal critics of U.S. President George W Bush. On Monday's telecast of his Christian Broadcasting Network show ``The 700 Club,'' Mr. Robertson had said, ``You know, I don't know about this doctrine of assassination, but if he thinks we're trying to assassinate him, I think that we really ought to go ahead and do it. It's a whole lot cheaper than starting a war, and I don't think any oil shipments will stop.'' The State Department had dissociated itself from Mr. Robertson's remarks and termed them as ``inappropriate.'' Department spokesman Sean McCormack, however, did not reply to a question whether a person who calls for the assassination of a head of state is a terrorist. — PTI

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