-Caveat Lector- Colombian Guerrillas Invade Panama By JUAN ZAMORANO .c The Associated Press LA MIEL, Panama (AP) - Nelson is lonely. He sits on a block of concrete, surrounded by 100-odd houses, the lapping of the surf on a deserted beach and the jungle. The only other person in town is an old man too sick to leave. His neighbors, his friends, the children who play soccer in the dirt streets - all have fled, terrified of the guerrillas who crossed over from Colombia and appeared two weeks ago. They are also terrified of the paramilitary groups they fear will soon follow. Nelson, 40, was too afraid to give his last name. He is paid to keep an eye on the wooden houses, the school and the health clinic in the village, 150 miles east of Panama City. But when the sun begins to drop in the sky, even Nelson gathers his things and sets out for the nearest town, Zapzurro, a mile away across the Colombian border. ``You can't sleep peacefully here,'' he said. La Miel, a tiny border outpost, has no soldiers. Panama hasn't had any army since shortly after the 1989 U.S. invasion to drive out Gen. Manuel Noriega. And La Miel's police station was closed 17 years ago. So there is little to stop armed Colombians from crossing into Panama on raids for food and supplies, or even just a little rest on the pristine beaches. The increasing incursions have caused alarm among the villagers in Panama's remote Darien province, in the capital and even in the United States, where officials have expressed concern about Panama's ability to defend itself. On Dec. 31, the United States will complete a pullout from its military bases in Panama and turn over its territory and the Panama Canal to Panama. Many U.S. officials have worried privately - and some publicly - about security threats to the vital waterway. Some Panamanians, meanwhile, believe the incursions are a plot orchestrated to discredit them and give the United States a way out of its withdrawal. ``They just need the right excuse - the incapacity of the police to protect the border - to justify the maintenance of the military bases,'' said sociologist Olmedo Beluche, a critic of the U.S. military presence. To the villagers of La Miel, the guerrillas presence is simply frightening. Two weeks ago, Colombian guerrillas mounted an attack on Zapzurro, then crossed the border and entered La Miel. Armed men sat on porches, and some rebels took food and shoes. Many villagers fear paramilitary groups supported by Colombian landowners will follow the guerrillas and take revenge on La Miel. In Colombia, those groups have mostly targeted civilians they accuse of sympathizing with the rebels. ``The guerrillas were diplomatic, but what will happen to us if the paramilitaries come and accuse us of collaborating with them?'' Nelson asked. ``Quite simply, they'll kill us.'' Up the coast in Puerto Obaldia, the biggest town in the region, men who claim to be members of Colombia's FARC guerrillas wander into town to buy food, drink in the bars and listen to Colombian Vallenato music. In the hills near town, the same men can be found in camps. They confirm their allegiance to the FARC, the largest of Colombia's guerrilla groups, but refuse to talk in detail to reporters. ``We're here to rest. We don't want to bother the Panamanian police,'' said a young man holding a semiautomatic rifle in the jungle outside Puerto Obaldia. He wouldn't give his name. Colombia's war has crossed the border before. In 1997, a paramilitary unit attacked La Bonga village and killed five people. Seven months later, men attacked a police barracks in Boca de Cupe and took weapons. One policeman was killed. But never before have the incursions inspired such fear - and such controversy. Hundreds of people have fled their villages, and opposition groups in the capital are demanding action from the government. The Roman Catholic bishop of Darien province has appealed for a special police force to protect the border. ``We don't want to be dragged into a foreign armed conflict,'' Bishop Romulo Emiliani said. ``It's a question of sovereignty that Panama must address.'' Panama has already begun to respond. This week, it sent more than 300 officers from the capital to Puerto Obaldia. They planned to spread out to places like La Miel soon. That comforts former residents of La Miel, including 28-year-old Eder Quintana, who has taken refuge in Zapzurro. ``I haven't lost hope that things will get better and we can go back without fear,'' he said. DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion and informational exchange list. Proselyzting propagandic screeds are not allowed. Substance—not soapboxing! 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