Pubdate: Thu, 05 Oct 2000
Source: Miami Herald (FL)
Copyright: 2000 The Miami Herald
Contact:  One Herald Plaza, Miami FL 33132-1693
Fax: (305) 376-8950
Website: http://www.herald.com/
Forum: http://krwebx.infi.net/webxmulti/cgi-bin/WebX?mherald
Author: Andres Oppenheimer

COLOMBIAN GUERRILLAS, DRUG TRAFFICKERS POSE A THREAT BEYOND COUNTRY'S BORDERS

Amid fears of a growing spillover of Colombia's armed conflict into Panama, 
Ecuador, Venezuela and Peru, the bishop of a Panamanian jungle province on 
the border with Colombia says the problem is already much worse than 
governments are willing to admit.

Monsignor Romulo Emiliani, the Roman Catholic bishop of Panama's border 
state of Darien, told me in a telephone interview this week that Colombian 
guerrillas, arms dealers and drug traffickers have turned his sparsely 
populated region into a safe haven where Panamanian security forces don't 
dare to enter.

Emiliani left Panama a few weeks ago, following death threats presumed to 
have come from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) or their 
allies in the drug business. He is now in a U.S. city, which he asked me 
not to identify.

``Governments always seek to portray the image that everything is under 
control, because they fear that saying otherwise would scare off foreign 
investors,'' the bishop said. ``But the fact is, the situation is serious.''

FARC rebels and right-wing paramilitary forces are moving freely in an area 
stretching from the border to nearly 50 miles inside Panama, an area that 
is almost inaccessible by land because there are no roads.

Until recently, Emiliani visited the area by canoe, on horseback or walking.

``They come and go, buying food, weapons, everything they need,'' the 
bishop said. ``They pay with drugs, and the drugs stay in Central America.''

In addition to ``infecting'' Darien with drugs and the corruption stemming 
from drug and arms trafficking, the presence of FARC rebels is prompting 
hit-and-run attacks by Colombia's paramilitary groups into Panamanian 
territory.

The violence is resulting in growing numbers of Colombian refugees moving 
into Panama.

In recent months, about 600 Colombians have sought refuge on the Panamanian 
side of the border, and there are reports that about 2,000 are about to 
move in coming weeks, Emiliani said.

Emiliani wants the United Nations High Commission for Refugees to help deal 
with the refugees, but says the Panamanian government has failed to make an 
official request so far.

Like most Panamanians, the bishop says he doesn't want U.S. military 
involvement in Panama.

What he wants is international help to arm and train Panama's police, so 
that the Panamanian government can reassert its control over Darien.

While President Mireya Moscoso of Panama is more willing to admit the 
problem than her predecessor was, the government still refuses to request 
international support, the bishop says.

In addition, he wants Panama to devote more resources to Darien, a 
long-forgotten area, to keep drug and arms trafficking from becoming its 
people's main source of income.

Is he exaggerating the situation?

Nobody seems to dispute that the FARC rebels have been coming and going in 
Darien for the past 30 years. And Emiliani's statements are not taken 
lightly by U.S. and European diplomats.

The good news is that a recent Gallup poll in Panama revealed that 62 
percent of the Panamanian people consider Darien to be the country's 
biggest security problem. Perhaps the government -- and authorities in 
neighboring countries -- will soon see it the same way and get involved in 
a regional peace effort to solve Colombia's war.
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