AFP. 10 January 2002. Residents prepare to flee rebel zone, fearing a blood bath.
SAN VICENTE DEL CAGUAN -- Some residents of this small town -- the unofficial capital of the rebel safe haven -- were preparing to leave Thursday, fearing imminent violence after a rupture in peace talks between the government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). "We're afraid there could be a bloodbath," said the owner of a clothing shop, who was closing his store and preparing to send his children to a town outside the rebel zone. Flights in and out of San Vicente have been cancelled until further notice, according to the town's mayor, Nestor Leon Ramirez. "There's a lot of tension here, people are on pins and needles and have more questions than answers about what an end to the peace process would bring about," Ramirez said. President Andres Pastrana announced Wednesday that the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) had 48 hours to leave the safe haven, following a breakdown in talks. The FARC denied responsibility for the impasse and, through the UN envoy to Bogota, said they were prepared to continue negotiations. Top military commanders met Thursday to review strategies to reoccupy the 42,000-square-kilometer (16,216-square-mile) zone, should they be ordered to do so, a military spokesman told AFP. Some 100,000 people live in the Switzerland-size zone, making their living off agriculture and livestock. The FARC-controlled zone comprises five main towns in two Colombian departments: San Vicente del Caguan, in Caqueta Department, and Mesetas, La Macarena, La Uribe and Vistahermosa, in Meta Department. [N.B.] Residents said they were most worried that barring a breakthrough in the standoff, right-wing paramilitaries would descend on the town and slaughter suspected FARC sympathizers. Members of the 8,000-strong United Self Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC) have been active on the borders of the safe haven for months, local officials said. The FARC numbers about 16,500 fighters, while the Colombian government has a total of 300,000 soldiers and police at its disposal. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Barry Stoller http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ProletarianNews
