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[Hmmm, with a grain of Salt?...]
"While the United States does not plan to step up its military involvement
here, U.S. Ambassador to Colombia Anne Patterson said Washington would seek
to extradite to U.S. courts FARC rebels involved in drug trafficking.
Patterson compared the FARC, led by veteran guerrilla commander Manuel
"Sureshot" Marulanda, to Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda network. "
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Europe considering punishments for Colombian FARC
By Ibon Villelabeitia
BOGOTA, Colombia, Dec 3 (Reuters) - European Union officials, angered by the
kidnapping of European citizens by Colombia's leftist guerillas and the slow
pace of peace talks, will meet on Tuesday in Brussels to consider barring
rebel leaders from travel to Europe, diplomatic sources say.
The ban, which diplomats say might signal a new, tougher stance toward the
rebels, would apply to the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia. Commanders
of the rebel army, branded a "terrorist organization" by the United States,
have traveled to Europe to seek political support and aid in peace talks.
Some European diplomats say the punitive action, which could be the first of
several such measures, may also be a reflection of the eroding tolerance
toward armed groups following the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States.
European countries are spending millions of dollars in social aid to promote
peace in Colombia, gripped by a 37-year war that has killed 40,000 people in
the last decade.
Europeans are also participating as observers in the plodding, three-year-old
peace talks between the government and the Marxist-inspired FARC, known by
its Spanish acronym.
But an escalation of rebel violence and the recent kidnapping of three German
aid workers have caused some European diplomats to question the FARC's
commitment to peace.
"There is extreme disappointment in Europe over the slow pace in the peace
talks," a senior European official in Brussels told Reuters. "We want to help
Colombians build a new society but some ways of fighting are unacceptable."
FARC rebels kidnapped three German aid workers in a mountain area in July,
prompting Europeans to threaten to suspend aid to Colombia. One of the
Germans escaped in September and the other two were freed by rebels in
October.
"We condemn all kidnapping but the abductions of the Germans was a direct
attack against one of our member states," said one European diplomat in
Bogota.
POLITICAL SETBACK FOR FARC
The suspension of travel visas would be a political setback for the
entrenched 17,000-strong FARC. In 2000, a group of seven FARC guerrillas went
on a "Euro tour" that included Sweden, Norway, Italy, the Vatican,
Switzerland, Spain and France. Accompanied by Colombian government
negotiators, they were received by parliamentarians and political party
chiefs.
Britain has suspended the travel visas of FARC and the smaller Cuban-inspired
National Liberation Army. Following the Sept. 11 attacks on the United
States, Britain froze the groups' assets and wants its European partners to
follow suit.
"If a group is behaving like a terrorist organization we have to consider
imposing restrictions on travel to Europe. We are entitled to consider the
kidnapping of our citizens as a gesture of bad will toward us," the European
official said.
Asked if European countries might eventually consider holding back already
pledged aid, the official said: "Let's put it this way: We've pledged money
for the peace process. If there is no peace process, there is no need for the
money."
The October kidnapping and killing of Consuelo Araujo -- a former culture
minister and a popular folk music promoter -- have also strained Europe's
patience, observers say.
The unpopular talks are at a standstill. Pastrana, a close friend of the late
Araujo, says he will not renew an agreement to give FARC control of an
enclave in southern Colombia, granted to the group to induce them to enter
into peace talks, unless rebels call a cease-fire by Jan. 20.
US HARDENS STANCE AGAINST REBELS
The United States, which has allocated $1 billion in mostly military aid to
Pastrana's anti-drug Plan Colombia, hardened its stance against the FARC
after the September suicide attacks killed nearly 4,000 people.
While the United States does not plan to step up its military involvement
here, U.S. Ambassador to Colombia Anne Patterson said Washington would seek
to extradite to U.S. courts FARC rebels involved in drug trafficking.
Patterson compared the FARC, led by veteran guerrilla commander Manuel
"Sureshot" Marulanda, to Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda network.
Although the United States and Europe share frustration over the faltering
peace talks, their approaches to resolving Colombia's conflict differ widely,
European diplomats said.
"The world has changed a lot since Sept. 11 but we are not going to lose our
patience now after being involved in Colombia for so long," said a European
diplomat in Bogota.
10:08 12-03-01
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