Cease-fire offer from Mexican rebels rejected

MEXICO CITY, Mexico (CNN) -- Mexico's ruling party has rejected calls for a cease-fire from a small rebel group blamed for last year's bomb attacks on gas and oil pipelines.

The Popular Revolutionary Army proposed a cease-fire and the creation of a commission to mediate its dispute with the federal government.

But the president of the ruling National Action Party rebuffed the rebels.

"I think that you can't have dialogue with someone who has a pistol at the table," German Martinez said, "nor can you have dialogue with someone who blackmails from the table."

Others, such as writer Carlos Montemayor, took a different view, arguing that the offer amounted to a positive step that could avoid future violence.

The Popular Revolutionary Army took responsibility for bombing gas and oil pipelines in July 2007.

Those attacks led to the suspension of operations at more than 1,500 companies -- including Nissan's massive manufacturing plant in the Mexican state of Aguascalientes -- and resulted in increased security around government installations, the government said.

The rebels proposed a negotiating commission after federal authorities detained officials in the state of Oaxaca with supposed links to the disappearance of two rebels in early 2007. E-mail to a friend

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