AGENCE FRANCE PRESSE
Monday, 20 September 1999
 

FARC criticizes suspected alliance of US, Colombian governments 

BOGOTA -- The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) have criticized an alleged alliance between President Andres Pastrana and the US government to fight the rebels, saying it casts doubt on Colombia's peace efforts to end the country's decades-old conflict.

"Pastrana's alliance with the United States of America to intensify the war in Colombia against FARC, which has been disguised as an attempt to fight drug trafficking together, casts doubt on the government's intentions for peace," the rebel group said in a statement Sunday obtained by AFP. FARC said the US and Colombian governments were applying "pressure to close us into a political position where we are forced through intimidation to accept conditions for coming to the negotiating table."

Peace talks between the guerrillas and Andres Pastrana's government collapsed after the FARC threw out a government demand for an international force to monitor rebel activity in a 42,000-square-kilometer (16,000-square-mile) demilitarized zone under FARC control.

The zone has been under rebel control since last November when Pastrana handed it over to the rebels in a bid to advance the peace process. Both sides resumed direct talks on September 10, but the issue remains unresolved. Peace commissioner Victor Ricardo said Saturday that the government was trying to bridge the gap over the zone. Earlier on Tuesday, the Colombian army deployed a US-trained anti-drug unit to cut the ties between rebels and drug trafficking in the southern part of the country.

Many believe the army's greater involvement in the drug trafficking fight marks the start of larger military action against the rebels with participation of Washington.