>From: Jessica Sundin <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >MIME-Version: 1.0 >Mailing-List: list [EMAIL PROTECTED]; contact >1. Venezuela's Chavez urges Colombia to revise anti-drug strategy 12/8 >2. Rebel Control of Large Zone in Colombia Is Extended 12/7 >3. Colombia Approves Prisoner Exchange 12/7 >4. Colombian military chief calls for state of emergency 12/6 >6. UN Human Rights Chief Urges Colombia To Stop Right-Wing Militias 12/5 > >7. Ground zero in the Colombian drug war 12/5 > _____________________________________________________ > >December 8, 2000, Associated Press > >Venezuela's Chavez urges Colombia to revise anti-drug strategy >By Fabiola Sanchez, Associated Press > >CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) � A U.S.-backed anti-drug offensive in Colombia >will ruin any chance for peace in that country, Venezuelan President >Hugo Chavez said while urging Colombia to "reflect'' on its strategy. > >"Does anyone think that negotiations for peace will be strengthened with >more weapons, armed men and munitions?'' said Chavez, an outspoken >leftist president who has ruffled U.S. feathers since taking office last >year. His comments Thursday stepped up criticism he claims has made him >the target of a campaign to link him with leftist rebels and dissidents >in several countries. > >Washington is slated to contribute $1.3 billion to Colombia's anti-drug >plan, which calls for U.S.-trained troops using U.S.-made helicopters to >wrest away rebel-held areas producing cocaine and heroin. > >Chavez says the plan will force rebels, refugees and drug traffickers >into neighboring countries, including his own. He suggested one way to >end Colombia's 36-year conflict would be to recognize its leading >leftist rebel groups as political parties. > >Chavez has allowed Colombian rebel leaders to travel and meet in >Venezuela. Colombia recently recalled its ambassador for several days to >protest. > >But Chavez said his government does not sustain relations with the >rebels. During a three-hour press conference, he claimed the foreign >media are involved in a smear campaign to connect him to the Colombian >guerrillas and dissidents elsewhere in South America. He accused news >outlets with "connections in Washington and Miami'' of demonizing him >because he opposes the military component of Plan Colombia. > >Recent news reports in Colombia and the United States have accused >Chavez of having contacts with separatists in Bolivia and supporting >rebellious army officers in Ecuador. > >The president singled out the Colombian magazine Semana, which reported >that a cache of Venezuelan arms was found recently in the hands of >rebels and that Venezuelan officers visit the guerrillas inside >Colombia. He said no Venezuelan weapons have gone to the rebels since he >took office. > >Chavez also denied a report by The Miami Herald that he met with >Bolivian rebel Felipe Quispe in August � shortly before separatist >violence in Bolivia � and that he gave financial support to Ecuadorean >military officers who staged a coup in January. > >In the Herald report, Peter Romero, the State Department officer in >charge of Latin America, was quoted as saying there were "indications of >Chavez's government support for violent indigenous groups in Bolivia. In >the case of Ecuador, it included support for rebellious army officers.'' > >Chavez said he had asked U.S. Ambassador Donna Hrinak to determine >whether the comments attributed to Romero represented official U.S. >policy. He called Romero an "international agitator'' and said he hopes >the next administration in Washington "rectifies these things and >doesn't have agitators, professional liars ... as high officials.'' > >Bolivian President Hugo Banzer recently approached Chavez to express >"his concern about Chavez's intrusion in the internal affairs of the >country,'' Bolivian Minister of the Presidency Walter Guiteras said. > >But rebel leader Quispe denied any contact with or support from Chavez. >And former Ecuadorean Col. Lucio Gutierrez, who led the coup that helped >topple former President Jamil Mahuad in January, said he admired Chavez >but has never met with him or received financial support. > > _____________________________________________________ > >NEW YORK TIMES, Thursday, 7 December 2000 > >Rebel Control of Large Zone in Colombia Is Extended >By Juan Forero > >BOGOTA - Despite flagging support for his peace efforts, President >Andres Pastrana opted today to give the nation's largest rebel group an >eight-week extension on the demilitarized zone that the government ceded >to the rebels two years ago. > >Mr. Pastrana had until midnight to decide whether to let the rebels keep >control of the zone - totaling 16,000 square miles in southern Colombia, >the size of Switzerland -or retake it by force. With the extension, Mr. >Pastrana is banking that government negotiators will be able to restart >peace talks that have been all but dead since mid-November, when the >rebels froze the talks to protest what they said was the government's >inability to control right-wing paramilitary forces. > >The extension will last until January 31, said Camilo Gomez, the >government's lead negotiator. "It is clear the extension is aimed at >resolving the frozen dialogues and to advance humanitarian accords that >we had been working on," he said. > >Mr. Gomez cautioned, however, that the extension came with conditions, >namely restrictions on the entry of people and supplies into the >demilitarized zone. > >News of the extension was made public about 15 minutes before midnight, >after Mr. Pastrana met with members of the Colombian Congress, >government ministers and foreign ambassadors, including Anne Patterson >of the United States. > >"It's not an easy decision, but the president has a strong commitment to >the peace process," Ms. Patterson said. "We all agree that a negotiated >peace is the only way for Colombia." > >Mr. Pastrana's decision comes two years after his government, hopeful >that the 36-year war could be ended, created the zone for the >Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC. In November 1998, the >government pulled 2,500 troops out of the area in Caqueta Province. > >But that area has become a political liability for Mr. Pastrana. As >peace talks sputtered, rebel attacks across the country mounted, many of >them started from inside the territory, the government has said. > >The rebels are also accused of forcefully recruiting teenage fighters >who lived in the zone and using the territory as a safe place to hold >kidnapping victims. This week, a Colombian newsmagazine reported that >Venezuelan military officials visited FARC leaders inside the zone, >without Colombian government approval. Colombian and United States >government officials have also accused the FARC of reaping millions of >dollars inside the zone by taxing coca farmers and drug traffickers and >running coca-processing labs. > >During his visit to Colombia last month, Gen. Barry R. McCaffrey, the >United States drug policy coordinator, said that what happened in the >FARC-controlled area was predictable. > >"It has been turned into an armed bastion of the FARC," Mr. McCaffrey >said. "They're building roads, airfields. They're processing cocaine." > > Copyright 2000 New York Times >________________________________________________________________ > >ASSOCIATED PRESS, Thursday, 7 December 2000 > >Colombia Approves Prisoner Exchange >By Jared Kotler > >BOGOTA -- Colombia announced an imminent prisoner exchange with leftist >guerrillas Thursday, a day after renewing a much-criticized concession >granting rebels a huge southern territory where peace talks are being >held. > >The exchange would be the most significant advance in nearly two years >of largely fruitless negotiations between President Andres Pastrana's >government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC. > >``We have an agreement and we are going to continue working on its >implementation,'' presidential peace commissioner Camilo Gomez told a >congressional session in Bogota. ``The exchange could take place at any >moment.'' > >The FARC, the largest rebel group fighting the government, holds more >than 500 police and soldiers captive and have hundreds of its members in >government jails. > >Gomez said the exchange would involve prisoners who are seriously ill, >but could expand into a broader swap. He did not indicate when the swap >would occur, nor how many security force members and rebels it would >include. > >There was no immediate comment from the guerrillas. However, U.N. peace >envoy Jan Egeland, of Norway, said after a three-hour meeting with FARC >chief Manuel Marulanda Thursday that the prisoner exchange appeared to >be ``well on its way.'' > >Both sides had been under pressure to produce some sign of progress as >Thursday's deadline loomed for renewing the so-called ``demilitarized >zone'' - ceded by Pastrana to the FARC at the outset of talks. > >Gomez announced late Wednesday that the five-township area in Colombia's >southern plains would remain in guerrilla hands at least until Jan. 31, >while negotiators work to ``defrost'' talks the FARC suspended last >month. He vowed tighter government controls on foreigners traveling in >and out of the zone, overflights, and the entry of chemicals used to >process cocaine. > >Critics called the extension a sign of Pastrana's weakness vis-a-vis the >15,000-strong insurgents. But forcing the rebels to hand back the >territory might have scuttled peace negotiations for good, triggering >even wider fighting. > >Colombia's 36-year conflict claims some 3,000 lives annually and has >created hundreds of thousands of internal refugees. > >``The government had no other choice,'' said Rodrigo Pardo, a former >foreign minister. ``Not extending the zone would have put an end to the >peace process.'' > >Thus far, the talks have given the guerrillas ample publicity while >yielding few tangible results. > >The FARC has stepped up kidnappings and attacks outside the area of >control, while rival rightist paramilitary groups have continued to >massacre suspected rebel sympathizers. A blistering rebel attack >Wednesday leveled three-story buildings in a small northwestern town >Wednesday, killing at least three police and two civilians. A separate >rebel attack in western Valle state killed three more police. > >The United States recently approved a $1.3 billion package of mostly >military aid to the South American country aimed at ousting rebels from >drug plantations they protect in return for payoffs from traffickers. > >Though U.S. official have expressed serious skepticism about the peace >process, American Ambassador Anne Patterson on Thursday applauded >Pastrana's ``courage'' in renewing the demilitarized zone. > >Critics charge the FARC has feigned its interest in peace and used the >area - a region of ranch land and rolling hills twice the size of New >Jersey - to train fighters, stage attacks, hold kidnap victims, and >profit from the cocaine trade. > >Reports have surfaced in recent days that the FARC used the zone to >arrange a cocaine sale to a major Mexican drug cartel. And left-leaning >President Hugo Chavez of neighboring Venezuela confirmed that he sent >envoys into the area to help negotiate hostage releases with the FARC. > >The guerrillas say they are victims of a smear campaign, but the >Colombian public increasingly doubts the FARC's sincerity. A poll >published last weekend found that 83 percent of Colombians do not >believe the FARC wants peace. The telephone survey of major cities had a >3.7 percentage point error margin. > > Copyright 2000 Associated Press > > ________________________________________________ > >AGENCE FRANCE PRESSE, Wednesday, 6 December 2000 >Colombian military chief calls for state of emergency > >BOGOTA -- The chief of Colombia's armed forces Wednesday urged the >government to declare a state of emergency and decree special laws to >fight the wave of kidnappings, killings and drug trafficking and >increased rebel and paramilitary power nationwide. > >"I think the president (Andres Pastrana) needs to tend to the internal >commotion in the country and issue emergency legislation now," General >Fernando Tapias said in an interview published in the daily El Tiempo. >"We have never asked as vehemently as we do now, but it is urgent >because the problems are out of control." > >According to Tapias, there are more than 3,000 kidnappings each year in >Colombia, some 60 percent of the world total. He said the country also >suffers 70 percent of the world's terrorist acts and is the largest >producer of narcotics. > >"Doesn't that merit special legislation? Please, if that does not, then >nothing ever will," Tapias said. > >Other high-ranking officials Wednesday slammed the "arrogance and >defiance" of the country's largest guerrilla group, the Revolutionary >Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), for having said Tuesday it would >continue to suspend peace talks even if the president extends the >time-frame for the FARC-controlled demilitarized zone in the south of >the country. > >"The guerrilla group does not want to give an inch, but continue to >demand more from the government," one official said on condition of >anonymity. > >Pastrana must decide by Thursday whether to continue to demilitarize the >42,000 square kilometer zone that was in effect handed over to FARC >control in November 1998 to jump-start peace talks. > > Copyright 2000 Agence France Presse >________________________________________________________________ > >AGENCE FRANCE PRESSE, Tuesday, 5 December 2000 >UN Human Rights Chief Urges Colombia To Stop Right-Wing Militias > >BOGOTA -The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Mary Robinson, meets >with civil rights activists here Tuesday in her investigation of human >rights conditions in war-torn Colombia. > >Robinson, who is wrapping up a two-day visit, met Monday with Pastrana >and top government officials to hear their report on human-rights >conditions in the war-torn country. > >The Colombian officials told Robinson that illegal armed groups are the >main violators of human rights in Colombia, and they said they were >holding firm to their commitment to resolve armed conflict through >negotiation. > >Robinson expressed support for the government's peace efforts with >leftist rebels but said she was concerned about paramilitary groups and >the escalation of violence in Colombia. > >She condemned the slaughter last week of some 50 fishermen in northern >Colombia by members of the Self-Defense Units of Colombia (AUC) and >urged Pastrana to take concrete steps to deactivate such groups. > >After their meeting, Vice President, Gustavo Bell, who is in charge of >human rights policy, said Pastrana had agreed to a UN recommendation for >independent monitoring of his government's human rights defense program. > >In an interview Sunday with the Bogota daily El Tiempo, Robinson said >the government should "continue to sever and prosecute any ties that >might exist between public servants" and paramilitary groups. > >Pastrana said his government had taken steps to neutralize the >right-wing death squads, to sanction state agents linked to them and to >protect people intimidated by such groups, including humanitarian and >union leaders, politicians and journalists. > >Colombian Defense Minister Luis Fernando Ramirez admitted Saturday that >some former soldiers had joined the AUC. > >Rebel and paramilitary violence, meanwhile, continued unabated Monday. > >Former development minister Fernando Araujo was kidnapped in the >Caribeean port city of Cartagena late Monday by six unknown assailants, >according to police reports quoted by Caracol radio. > >Araujo served for a year-and-a-half after Pastrana was elected in August >1998. He was the latest in a long list of local and federal officials to >have been killed, kidnapped or intimidated by armed groups. > >Paramilitaries are waging a bitter war with leftist rebels in several >regions of Colombia. > >Civilians are often targeted, as each side perceives them as being >allied with the other. > >Humanitarian leaders have charged that paramilitary groups exist in >Colombia because top army leaders and business executives promote and >finance them. > >They claim the violence has spiraled out of control of the state, which, >they say, paramilitary groups and their supporters view as weak. > >Robinson is scheduled to leave later Tuesday for Santiago, Chile, where >she is to attend a meeting in preparation for a world summit on racism. > > Copyright 2000 Agence France Presse >________________________________________________________________ > >SALON.COM, December 5, 2000 > >Ground zero in the Colombian drug war >By Ana Arana > >BOGOTA-An hour after Mayor Carlos Rosas publicly described the "terror" >that plagued his town of Orito in the southern coca-producing province >of Putumayo, he was dead. Gunmen shot the mayor at point-blank range in >front of his home in broad daylight and sped away. They were never >identified or caught. > >In the radio address he gave just before his assassination, Rosas >described the fear that the citizens feel in an area that produces most >of the world's cocaine and has felt the full force of the nation's civil >war. "Corpses are appearing, cars are being burned, and this terrifies >everyone," he said. > >As Colombia stands on the brink of a major counter-narcotics campaign, >most of which will be concentrated in Putumayo, the terror shows no >signs of letting up. > >Last month, just as the Colombian government and the guerrillas of the >Colombian Revolutionary Armed Forces (FARC) were about to begin the most >serious conversations of the 2-year-old peace process-the possibility of >a bilateral cease-fire-the FARC froze those talks, setting the tone for >a possible intensification of the civil conflict that has torn at this >Andean country for more than three decades. > >The FARC was angered by a meeting between a high-level representative of _______________________________________________________ KOMINFORM P.O. 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