Pubdate: Sat, 21 Oct 2000 Source: Corpus Christi Caller-Times (TX) Copyright: 2000 Corpus Christi Caller-Times Address: P.O. Box 9136, Corpus Christi, TX 78469-9136 Feedback: http://www.caller.com/commcentral/email_ed.htm Website: http://www.caller.com/ Author: Andrew Selsky, Associated Press U.S. SAYS COLOMBIAN REBELS READY FOR WAR Chicola, In A Bleak Assessment Of Nation's Situation, Says Guerillas Rejected Accord BOGOTA, Colombia - A U.S. diplomat who tried to maintain a secret dialogue with Colombian rebels two years ago now says the guerrillas have turned their backs on peace initiatives as all sides gird for a wider war. As Colombia, backed by $1.3 billion in U.S. aid, prepares a new offensive against rebels protecting drug crops, envoy Phillip Chicola on Thursday gave details for the first time on how his attempt to establish contacts with the rebels fell apart. His assessment of the current situation was bleak, a far cry from the optimism he felt after holding secret meetings in December 1998 with Colombia's largest guerrilla group, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC. Since then, Washington has severed its contacts with the FARC, which it blames for the deaths of three Americans, and talks between the Colombian government and the rebels have collapsed over the failure of the rebels to hand over one of its members who hijacked an airliner this year. "It is clear that the FARC has totally failed to take any steps or make any gestures that indicate even a willingness on their part to be forthcoming as part of the peace process," Chicola, the State Department's Director of Andean Affairs, told a small group of American journalists. Two years ago, Washington was feeling out whether the rebels were serious about making peace in their 36-year war with the Colombian government. After his secret talks with FARC leader Raul Reyes in Costa Rica on Dec. 14-15, 1998, Chicola had high hopes he had opened a fruitful dialogue. Chicola's guidelines for the meeting: describe U.S. policy on Colombia, especially in drug trafficking and human rights, emphasize America's support for the peace process and stress the importance of "the safety and well-being of American citizens." In addition to the U.S. troops training Colombian troops here, there are dozens of American diplomats, business executives, journalists, students, researchers and social activists in the country. Chicola was particularly concerned about the fate of three American missionaries who had disappeared in 1993 and were believed to have been held by the FARC. Only months before the Costa Rica meeting - sensitive because the FARC was on the State Department's list of terrorist groups - the rebels kidnapped three American birdwatchers in the mountains of Colombia. The birdwatchers were freed unharmed, but not before a rebel commander threatened to kill them if he determined they were CIA spies. Chicola recalled that Reyes responded particularly well to his concerns about the lives of Americans. "He said 'Well, we'll work on it but it's very difficult, we have people all over the country - command and control is always a problem, but we will make it a policy (not to kill Americans),'" Chicola recalled. "It was relatively a positive meeting." Chicola felt so good about the tone of the first meeting that he was about to suggest a second one a few weeks later. But then, three American pro-Indian activists were kidnapped by FARC rebels in the plains of eastern Colombia in February 1999. Chicola was confident the Americans would be released unharmed. Instead, on March 4, 1999, their bodies were found, bound and blindfolded. Each had been shot to death. - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake