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| Patience with Colombia Rebels Thin Before US Visit |
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Posted by FoM on August 27, 2001 at 16:27:45 PT By Phil Stewart Source: Reuters 
Colombian President Andres Pastrana could have a hard time this week defending his peace strategy to an arriving U.S. diplomatic team, as long-standing U.S. gripes about rebel abuses gain ground in Bogota and abroad.The Marxist-inspired Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia -- known by the Spanish initials FARC -- faces growing accusations of using its demilitarized enclave in the country's wild south to train for war and to hold hostages. The most damaging allegations came earlier this month, when the Colombian army captured three suspected members of the Irish Republican Army. They are charged with training FARC rebels to build bombs during a five-week visit to the enclave, which Pastrana temporarily ceded to the guerrillas 2-1/2 years ago to launch peace talks. Washington has long accused the FARC of a laundry-list of abuses, including direct involvement in global cocaine trafficking. And Washington's hard-line against the rebels is winning support in Europe and among war-weary Colombians. The United States is sinking $1 billion in mostly military aid into the ``Plan Colombia'' anti-drug offensive, and news reports here have speculated Washington will use the visit this week to press for a firm stand against the rebel fighters. The delegation will be led by U.S. Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs Marc Grossman. He will be joined by representatives of the Defense Department, the Justice Department, the White House's National Security Council, the Office of National Drug Control Policy and the Agency for International Development. The group will meet with Colombian officials Wednesday through Friday. ``It would be naive to think that the visit of Grossman and Co. will not attempt to warn Colombia's government that its policy of peace is souring, regardless of the fight against drugs,'' read an editorial in Monday's El Espectador -- http://www.elespectador.com/ -- newspaper. Meanwhile, the U.S. Embassy has toughened its line against the FARC ahead of the visit by the first high-level delegation to visit Colombia under the Bush administration. ``They (the rebels) continue to hold and abuse kidnap victims and to engage in narcotics trafficking. Such activities are not consistent with the peace process,'' the embassy said in a statement late last week. A Tougher Stand This followed fiery declarations from the White House and State Department last week aimed at the FARC, which has recently threatened to take its 37-year-old war to Colombia's cities. European nations are also threatening to kick FARC representatives out of Europe, and stop mediating peace talks over the rebel group's July kidnapping of three Germans. The United Nations is still smarting over the FARC's kidnapping of an ex-Colombian provincial governor, who was abducted last month from a clearly marked U.N. vehicle. And Colombians, tired of escalating FARC violence, sent hard-line presidential candidate Alvaro Uribe Velez to the top of an opinion poll for May 2002 elections for the first time last week. ``The people are tired of violence and disorder,'' Uribe said in this week's edition of news magazine Cambio. ``Every day they understand more about my concept of order and execution of democratic authority.'' The demilitarized FARC enclave has always been a tough sell for Pastrana. But the 47-year-old president is seen renewing the enclave's status when it expires in October, since it is one of the only concrete steps toward peace taken during his administration. Analysts warn that Pastrana -- now in his last year in office -- may be a bit more unpredictable. They point to his August decision to break off contact with the smaller ELN rebel force, saying they were not serious about peace. He also recently granted the military sweeping new powers in their campaign against the guerrillas. Source: Reuters Related Articles & Web Site: Colombia Drug War News Peace Effort in Colombia Near a Standstill U.S. Officials Weigh Colombia's Aid Needs U.S. Delegation To Support Colombia Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help |
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| Comment #1 posted by dddd on August 28, 2001 at 05:33:38 PT |
| ...Yes,,,yet another noteworthy piece of carefully rendered propaganda.... ..This is a goody,,because it lacks the suggestion of two sides,or points of view.....It assumes that "we are good,,they are bad",style of indoctrination,, ....no question as to who is "bad",,and who is "good" ,here......The article leads the reader into a space,and frame of mind.....;"bad is the ones who are not good"?? ...As you may know,,,I say that the best,and worst enemy of freedom in the If you own the press,,,you own the world......The public is supposed to own the Oh well,,,,,the bad people dont know JAH,,,,,,,,They are the Losers.....dddd [ Post Comment ] |
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