From: "Stasi" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: [Peoples War] Colombia: FARC Blocks "Peace Convoy" - BBC Sunday, 30 September, 2001, 02:40 GMT 03:40 UK RealPlayer Audio Link: http://news.bbc.co.uk/olmedia/1570000/audio/_1571145_mcdermott0035.ram FARC blocks peace convoy =================== http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/americas/newsid_1571000/1571145.stm Serpa is taking a tough stance against the rebels A leading Colombian presidential candidate has been forced to stop a peace procession he was leading into rebel-controlled territory after guerrillas said the road to the region was mined. Horacio Serpa and thousands of his supporters in a 112-bus convoy were barred from entering Balsillas, 200km (125 miles) south of the capital Bogota, by the leftist Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC. Today's events without a doubt have serious implications for the peace process President Andres Pastrana The rebels control an area about the size of Switzerland, which was ceded to them in 1998 by the current government of President Andres Pastrana, in an attempt to launch peace talks. President Pastrana has announced that that he plans to visit the demilitarised zone on Sunday, for emergency talks with the FARC. He has to decide by 8 October whether to renew the region's autonomous status. 'Democracy has lost' Mr Serpa's convoy aimed to pressure FARC into making peace concessions and halt human rights abuses inside its safe haven. "It's not Horacio Serpa who has lost," the candidate, who has been leading polls ahead of presidential elections scheduled for May, told reporters. "What has lost is democracy." The government has been talking to FARC rebels to little avail Before the procession set out, the 16,000-strong FARC announced that it had blocked a road along the route due to fighting with troops in the area. An army spokesman in Bogota confirmed that there had been clashes in that area on Saturday. And FARC warned that it could not guarantee Mr Serpa's safety if the caravan proceeded. 'Campaign tactic' Rebel chief Manuel Marulanda has accused Mr Serpa trying to gain votes by taking a tough stance against the guerrillas. Car bombs and kidnappings are a feature of Colombia's unrest After metal spikes were put on the road, causing flat tyres in some of the convoy's vehicles, Mr Serpa and his supporters had no choice but to proceed to the southern city of Neiva, to spend the night. The 37-year-old civil war waged by the FARC and a smaller leftist rebel army against the government and a rival right-wing paramilitary army has claimed at least 3,000 lives every year. Mr Pastrana began negotiations with FARC in 1999, but the talks have made no progress. He is constitutionally barred from seeking a second term in the upcoming election, which is likely to be dominated by FARC and the stalled peace process. Mr Serpa is currently leading the polls ahead of next May's vote. His Liberal Party is a traditional opponent of Mr Pastrana's Conservatives, although Mr Serpa had consistently backed the president's peace negotiations with the guerrillas. However independent presidential candidate Alvaro Uribe has been gaining support with his call for a crackdown on the rebels. Mr Serpa has now started to toughen his own position on the FARC. _________________________________________________ KOMINFORM P.O. Box 66 00841 Helsinki Phone +358-40-7177941 Fax +358-9-7591081 http://www.kominf.pp.fi General class struggle news: [EMAIL PROTECTED] subscribe mails to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Geopolitical news: [EMAIL PROTECTED] subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] __________________________________________________
