From: Colombian Labor Monitor <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Date: Thu, 7 Jun 2001 10:55:44 -0500 (CDT)
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: MH: Colombia's civil war may become more violent
==========================================
The paramilitaries have avoided engaging
police and military forces, which they see
as allies in their fight against leftist
rebels. Ties between some units within the
armed forces and the AUC have won the
government international criticism.
____________ ==========================================
MIAMI HERALD
Thursday, 7 June 2001
Colombia's civil war may become more violent
Paramilitary force to get new leadership
--------------------------------------------
By Sibylla Brodzinsky
BOGOTA -- Colombia's right wing paramilitary force, responsible for some
of the country's most brutal crimes, confirmed on Wednesday that its
notorious leader, Carlos Castano, had stepped down in a power shake-up
that could signal a more violent turn for this nation's 37-year-old civil
conflict.
The United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia, known as the AUC, said in a
communique that the central command had accepted Castano's resignation,
made public last week in a brief Internet message that fueled speculation
about infighting among the commanders of the paramilitary group.
Castano, who unified regional paramilitary groups under the umbrella of
the AUC in 1996, will now take on ``political responsibilities,''
according to the statement issued at the close of a three-day national
conference.
The general command of the group, meanwhile, will be led by a nine-member
central council that includes several commanders seen as toeing a harder
line than Castano in their fight against leftist rebels, which observers
said could lead to increased violence in the war-torn country.
Under Castano's leadership, the AUC grew from several hundred fighters a
few years ago to about 8,000 members who target villagers suspected of
collaborating with leftist rebels in mass killings throughout the country.
Paramilitary forces were responsible for the murder of 577 civilians in 83
massacres last year, according to the Defense Ministry, and they were
recently included on the State Department's list of terrorist groups.
The shake-up reportedly followed clashes between Castano and several
lieutenants over whether to begin fighting government forces after a
recent series of setbacks at the hands of the military and police.
Castano addressed the dispute in his letter of resignation: ``Companions
in the cause, we in the AUC are `friends and respectful of the state's
institutions.' This principle is inviolable: Respect it.''
The paramilitaries have avoided engaging police and military forces, which
they see as allies in their fight against leftist rebels. Ties between
some units within the armed forces and the AUC have won the government
international criticism.
Under pressure from the international community and human rights groups,
the government intensified actions against the paramilitaries in recent
months, capturing 70 AUC members accused of massacring 40 villagers in
Cauca province over Easter, arresting several top commanders in the
northeast, and raiding the homes of suspected paramilitary supporters in
the northern city of Monteria.
However, while Castano was sidelined from the command structure, he
apparently won the battle over attacking the government. In its statement
Wednesday, the AUC ratified its ``will to respect the state and its
institutions'' and reaffirmed its ``unwavering commitment to fight
subversion.''
The AUC acknowledged divisions within the group, but denied it was due to
a rift among commanders. ``They are the product of the rapid growth of the
organization,'' the statement said.
Former national security advisor Alfredo Rangel said Castano's move to
political tasks could herald the creation of a formal political arm of the
AUC that would push for government recognition and inclusion in peace
negotiations.
President Andres Pastrana has refused to recognize the paramilitaries as a
political group and has repeatedly rejected suggestions that the
government will be forced to negotiate with the AUC.
The AUC accused Pastrana of ``dark pacts'' with the nation's most powerful
insurgency, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, with
which the government is engaged in slow-moving peace talks.
``We know that [the government] has been in complicity with the subversion
and has prevented the armed forces from eradicating them. Today, the
government and the guerrillas fear that we of the AUC will do it because
our triumph would represent a defeat for both of them,'' the AUC statement
said.
Copyright 2001 Miami Herald
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