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CONTENTS:

NEWS HIGHLIGHTS OF THE WEEK:

1. World
2. Africa
3. Americas
4. Asia Pacific
5. Europe
6. Middle East
7. South Asia
8. Cyberterrorism and Information Warfare
9. Finance
10 Human Rights
11. Law and Legal Issues
12. Transportation
13. Weapons of Mass Destruction
14. Recently Published

FEATURE ARTICLE:
Forty Years of the FARC

NEWS HIGHLIGHTS OF THE WEEK

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1. World

The International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) published their annual survey of strategic events around the world and challenges predicted in the coming months. The "2003/4 Strategic Survey" finds that "Overall, risks of terrorism to Westerners and Western assets in Arab countries appeared to increase after the Iraq war began in March 2003". Furthermore, "...al-Qaeda had fully reconstituted, set its sights firmly on the US and its closest Western allies in Europe and established a new and effective modus operandi that increasingly exploited local affiliates. Al-Qaeda must be expected to keep trying to develop more promising plans for terrorist operations in North America and Europe, potentially involving weapons of mass destruction. Meanwhile, soft targets encompassing Americans, Europeans and Israelis, and aiding the insurgency in Iraq, will suffice." IISS supported the war. http://www.iiss.org/showdocument.php?docID=361

In a similar vein, Amnesty International's annual report "denounced armed groups and governments for unleashing weapons of terror -- direct attacks, indiscriminate attacks and torture, including rape -- on civilian populations worldwide in what it said was the most sustained attack on human rights in 50 years". This year included a new analysis: "The organization has documented the activity of 177 armed groups in 65 countries over the previous four years. Amnesty International has detailed human rights abuses committed by slightly more than two-thirds (69 percent) of the groups. Governments, too, attracted sharp criticism for committing many of the same violations the groups employed and for justifying their response as initiatives in the "war on terror." In fact, responses by nearly one in three governments (32 percent) to armed group activity led to civilian deaths. Amnesty International warned that by adopting the same methods, governments risked lending dangerous credibility to the very weapons of terror employed by armed groups." http://www.amnestyusa.org/annualreport/index.html

The BBC reports that every minute, two people die in war and brings this statistic to life with an excellent program, "One Day of War" that shows the daily lives of 16 fighters in global conflict zones. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/this_world/one_day_of_war/default.stm

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2. Africa

The African Union has launched the Peace and Security Council intended to provide a mechanism to deal with war between and within African nations.
http://www.africa-union.org/

In Democratic Republic of Congo factional fighting between troops loyal to the regional army commander and those loyal to a former rebel Rally for Congolese democracy (RCD) commander took place in the latter half of the week. About 2,000 people fled the fighting and although details of casualties are still coming out, they include at least two soldiers, three civilians including two children, and a UN peacekeeper.

Eritrean Independence Day celebrations were interrupted by several attempted attacks, only one of which succeeded. That bombing killed at least five and wounded 88. Responsibility for the attacks have been attributed to groups backed by the governments of Ethiopia and Sudan including the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF).

Malawi's Mgwirizano opposition coalition has filed a legal challenge requesting a new presidential poll following irregularities. In protests against the selection of ruling Malawi Congress Party candidate Bingu wa Mutharika four people have been killed. International observers have expressed concern over shortcomings in the elections and the lack of transparency around the vote count.

Somalia's capital, Mogadishu, had been calm for several years until earlier this month when an argument between armed men at a hotel deteriorated into violence that has worsened, particularly in the past week. Rival factions are now battling for control of key infrastructure, including ports and an airstrip. At least 60 people have been killed, many more injured, and thousands have fled the area. A ceasefire has, for the moment, ended the fighting. Somalia has been without a functioning government for more than a decade.

South African police reported they had uncovered a plot to disrupt the April elections. They said they had arrested and expelled a number of people linked to al Qaeda, later leading to arrests in Jordan, Syria and the UK, and had also foiled a planned chemical attack. Some people have questioned the accuracy of the report, saying the details contradicted prior details and did not explain the approach taken by the police.

After Sudan's government and the Sudan People's Liberation Army reached agreement on three outstanding issues (the status of the disputed regions of Abyei, the Nuba Mountains and Southern Blue Nile regions and the structure of government administration) they signed a peace deal that clears the way for a comprehensive treaty. This bilateral agreement does not affect the ongoing conflict in Darfur. Crisis International says it is "Now or Never in Darfur" in a new report calling for immediate, focused action to " stop the killing and widespread atrocities, prevent mass starvation, reverse ethnic cleansing, and encourage a peace process". They warn that "Without immediate action, 'Darfur 2004' will join "Rwanda 1994" as shorthand for international shame." http://www.crisisweb.org/home/index.cfm?l=1&id=2765

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3. Americas

Chileans have a new opportunity to hold former military dictator Augusto Pinochet responsible for human rights abuses under his rule now that a court has withdrawn his immunity, in connection with an "Operation Condor" lawsuit. (See the National Security Archive for documents about Condor: http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/news/20010306/ and also note their recently released Kissinger telephone transcripts, demonstrating his and Nixon's delight at the successful coup: http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB123/chile.htm)

Colombian rebels of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) marked their 40th anniversary this week with a series of attacks that killed at least 13 and wounded more than a hundred. The largest attack was a discotheque bombing that killed six and injured 82. FARC commander "Patepalo" has been reported killed with one other person in a fight against the army. More information about FARC is in the Feature Article, below.

Cuba and Mexico are restoring their ambassadors and are normalizing relations that had been strained after Mexico accused Cuba of interfering in internal affairs.

US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director Mueller and Attorney General Ashcroft held a press conference regarding increased danger of terrorist attacks during high profile public events in the summer and fall and asked people to "Be On the Look Out" (BOLO) for seven suspects. Ashcroft also issued a warning of an attack but this was later withdrawn, as Homeland Security director Tom Ridge said the available evidence did not warrant changing the terrorism warning level. http://www.fbi.gov/terrorinfo/terrorismsi.htm http://homelandsecurity.house.gov/release.cfm?id=208

The FBI also released preliminary 2003 crime statistics, showing a 3.2 percent decline in violent crime overall but a 1.3 percent increase in the incidence of murder, with a 15.7 increase in homicide in US cities with fewer than 10,000 inhabitants. http://www.fbi.gov/pressrel/pressrel04/ucrprelim2003.htm
The Department of Homeland Security produced "Fact Sheet: A Better Prepared America: A Year in Review". http://www.dhs.gov/dhspublic/display?content=3611

The Department of Homeland Security was the subject of two General Accounting Office reports: "DHS Needs a Strategy to Use DOE's Laboratories for Research on Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical Detection and Response Technologies" and "Homeland Security Should Better Balance Need for System Integration Strategy with Spending for New and Enhanced Systems". http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-04-653 http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-04-509

Venezuelans are participating in a verification process in which they go to an election center to confirm or withdraw their support for the opposition petition calling for a referendum on President Chavez.

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4. Asia Pacific

Australia's senate held hearings regarding security threats in Southeast Asia. Among other things, they heard criticism of the accuracy and conclusions of a report by Rand Corporation that had suggested the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation could have prevented the Bali bombing. http://www.aph.gov.au/Senate/committee/fadt_ctte/bali/index.htm

China and Tajikistan have officially opened their shared border in the Pamir Mountains. It had been closed for nearly a century. China and Nepal have agreed to improve cooperation against criminal activity along their shared border.

In the Indonesian island Ambon a bomb went off at a crowded market, killing one and injuring more than a dozen people. It was the third such incident in three days, connected to resurgent communal violence between Christians and Muslims. In the province of Sulawasi, a prosecutor who handled some of the Bali bombing cases was shot dead.

Japanese authorities arrested five foreigners suspected of immigration violations and connected with a wider al Qaeda investigation.

Malaysia's treatment of terrorism suspects is the topic of a new Human Rights Watch report, "In the Name of Security: Counterterrorism and Human Rights Abuses Under Malaysia?s Internal Security Act". Nearly 100 men have been held without charge or trial under this Act, for as many as three years. The report finds a pattern of abuse and denial of basic rights. Malaysia denies the charges. http://www.hrw.org/english/docs/2004/05/25/malays8610.htm

Philippines government troops killed three Abu Sayyaf rebels on the island of Umapoy and arrested seven others.

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5. Europe

Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili said he would begin peace talks with the breakaway regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, including a federal state model that could give a special status to the two regions to reduce tensions.

The Greek Atomic Energy Commission and International Atomic Energy Agency will provide joint security at the Olympic games to "detect illicit trafficking and malicious use of radioactive materials, and to ensure that emergency response forces are effective and efficient". http://www.iaea.org/NewsCenter/PressReleases/2004/prn200404.html Greek authorities also plan to shot down any aircraft threatening the Olympics.

Irish Prime Minister Ahern held talks with Colombian President Uribe to see if the release of James Monaghan, Niall Connolly and Martin McCauley, (who were acquitted of charges of training FARC rebels and have been held pending an appeal), could be accelerated.

In Kosovo, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) issued a report finding that the violence of March 17-19 violence complicated the situation for smaller communities in the areas of security, access to justice, property rights, and access to educational and health services. http://www.osce.org/news/show_news.php?ut=2&id=4099

Portugal has implemented temporary border controls, including other European countries, to help improve security for the Euro 2004 football championships in June.

The Russian interior minister reports that in the first quarter of this year, 109 people were kidnapped in Chechnya and there were 81 murders, including 11 police officers. Chechen separatists last week ambushed Russian forces, killing nine soldiers.

Slovak police discovered bags of explosives in the capital, Bratislava, ahead of a NATO meeting is scheduled for next week. They believe the material had been smuggled in from the former Yugoslavia.

A Spanish constitutional court ruled that Basque nationalist party Herritarren Zerrenda (HZ) could not run in the European election this year because it was merely a reformation of the outlawed Batasuna party. Basque separatist group ETA listed 60 companies that have refused to pay its "revolutionary tax" and should therefore be boycotted.

Turkish paramilitary Kurdistan People's Congress (Kongra-Gel, formerly the PKK) has announced that the ceasefire it declared in 1999 will end next week.

In Northern Ireland a judge ruled that the Real IRA is not a proscribed organization and cleared four men of being members. He said the only listed organization was the IRA and that it did not include the Real IRA. The British government plans to close any loophole under which Real IRA could be considered a legal organization.

Nearly two weeks of attacks related to a feud between rival loyalist groups the Ulster Volunteer Force and the Loyalist Volunteer Force have reportedly ended. LVF units believed responsible for starting the feud will be disbanded. The fighting and attacks led to one death and forced several families to leave their homes.

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6. Middle East

During Israeli Defense Forces raids this month in the Gaza Strip nearly 2,000 Palestinians were made homeless. Israeli forces partially withdrew, but continued operations in an area they said militants were operating. There were a number of shooting incidents, including a man digging near a border fence, apparently to plant a bomb. A car bomb exploded near a bus, killing the driver and injuring two soldiers. That attack was claimed by Islamic Jihad, al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades and the Popular Resistance Committees. In another Israeli operation, a helicopter fired missiles into the city, killing Hamas commander Wahel Nassar and two other people, while injuring seven.

In Iran, demonstrators protesting the war in Iraq have been signing up for "martyrdom operations" against the coalition forces that have been operating in holy Shia religious sites. The campaign is apparently being managed by a special unit connected with the Republican Guard.

The Iraqi Governing Council, in a surprise announcement, nominated Iyad Allawi as interim Prime Minister but US Secretary of State Powell reiterated that the final decision will be made by the UN. Insecurity continues across the country, with serious fighting taking place in the holy city of Najaf despite the ceasefire. US troops battling at holy sites has grown more controversial as damage to the sites increases.

Israel's Supreme Court issued guidelines for Israel Defense Forces to protect Palestinian lives and honor in accordance with international humanitarian law.

In Lebanon, demonstrators protesting fuel prices were violently dispersed by soldiers who shot and killed five and injured at least 40. After the soldiers action, demonstrators set the Labor Ministry building on fire.

The Saudi Arabian city of Khobar was the scene of a 25-hour hostage crisis that ended with the death of at least 22 people. A group of gunmen went on s shooting spree, attacking oil company offices then moving to the Oasis luxury housing compound where several dozen people were taken hostage and those identified as Muslims released. When the gunmen began executing hostages, Saudi special forces stormed the complex and freed the captives. Three of the militants escaped and one was arrested. Further details will be forthcoming.

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7. South Asia

In Afghanistan, a new election law attempts to limit the influence of the warlords before voting takes place. An operation against Taleban near the Pakistan border killed 20. Meanwhile, the militant insurgence has grown stronger. The death toll of humanitarian workers has increased, attributed at least in part to blurring the line between civilian support and the military. Most recently, four US soldiers were killed, raising the total number of violent deaths since August to more than 700. The expanding drugs trade and shortfall in international aid contribute to the resurgence.

India's new Congress-led coalition government plans to eliminate the Prevention of Terrorism Act they say was misused and unfairly targeted Muslims.

Following last weekend's attack against a bus that killed 33 people, officials in Indian-administered Kashmir have promised to increase steps against militants.

In Pakistan a number of bomb attacks in various locations injured dozens of people and forcing increased security around foreign embassies and other locations. One of the attacks in Karachi was more serious. Two car bombs exploded, killing a policeman and injuring 25 people. Also in Karachi, gunmen shot dead senior Sunni cleric Mufti Niazmuddin Shamzai, leading to riots by his followers.

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8. Cyberterrorism and Information Warfare

Legal actions against virus writers last week included the arrest by Canadian police of a 16-year-old charged with writing and distributing the Randex worm and investigators in Taiwan who tracked down engineer Wang Ping-an, who allegedly wrote the Peep Trojan horse that gave Chinese hackers access to Taiwanese networks.

The US Financial and Banking Information Infrastructure Committee (FBIIC) and the Financial Services Sector Coordinating Council (FSSCC) have a new report, "Lessons Learned by Consumers, Financial Sector Firms, and Government Agencies during the Recent Rise of Phishing Attacks".
http://www.treas.gov/offices/domestic-finance/financial-institution/cip/pdf/fbiic-fsscc-report-2004.pdf

The US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Office of Inspector General released "The FBI DNA Laboratory Report: A Review of Protocol and Practice Vulnerabilities". It provides "a comprehensive assessment of he misconduct of former DNA technician Jacqueline M. Blake as well as a review of the FBI DNA Laboratory's protocols and practices". http://www.fbi.gov/pressrel/pressrel04/oigdna052704.htm http://www.usdoj.gov/oig/special/0405/final.pdf

A vulnerability in Apple Mac OS X related to the Help View application could permit malicious code execution. A patch has been released. http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2004/may/21security.html

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9. Finance

The World Customs Organization and Interpol are holding the First Global Congress on Combating Counterfeiting. One of their findings is the increased trend for global terrorist organizations to use counterfeiting to help finance their activities.
http://www.anti-counterfeitcongress.org/wco2004/website.asp?page=home

The US Treasury issued an interagency advisory reaffirming protection from civil liability to financial institutions for the reporting of Suspicious Activity Reports. http://www.fincen.gov/specialalert.pdf
http://www.fincen.gov/advis35.pdf

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10. Human Rights

Note Amnesty International's new annual report on human rights http://www.amnestyusa.org/annualreport/index.html

Two conferences last week addressed the connections between poverty and the need for trade liberalization:
World Bank, "Scaling Up Poverty Reduction" http://www.worldbank.org/wbi/reducingpoverty/
UN Conference on Trade and Development http://www.unctad.org/Templates/webflyer.asp?docid=4816&intItemID=1634&lang=1

A Japanese High Court judge has overturned the lower court ruling that the Mitsui Mining Company must pay compensation to Chinese men used for forced labor during the Second World War.

The US Supreme Court unanimously ruled that David Larry Nelson, sentenced to execution, can pursue a claim that lethal injection is cruel and unusual punishment in his case. It would require special "cut-down" procedure to install a catheter because his veins were too damaged by drug use to be otherwise accessible. http://www.supremecourtus.gov/opinions/03slipopinion.html

The International Day of Peacekeepers was marked on May 29. http://www.un.org/depts/dhl/peacekeepers/

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11. Law and Legal Issues

Nicolas Rodriguez Bautists ("Gabino"), leader of the Army of National Liberation (ELN) in Colombia, and nine other ELN members, have been sentenced to 40 years prison for the 1998 pipeline bombing that killed 84 and injured 30.

Enayet Karim Chowdhury was arrested at the international airport in Bangladesh for questioning in connection with a grenade attack on the British High Commission.

David Courtailler, Mohamed Chaouki Baadache and Ahmed Laidouni were found guilty in French court for links with Islamic militants, including a Madrid bombing suspect, and sentenced to prison terms of two years suspended, ten years and seven years respectively.

Abu Hamza al-Masri, a radical Muslim preacher, has been arrested in London on eleven terrorism charges on a US extradition warrant. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/low/uk_news/3753341.stm
http://image.guardian.co.uk/sys-files/Guardian/documents/2004/05/27/hamzaindict.pdf

Guy Harrison was fined GBP600 for throwing a condom filled with purple flour at British Prime Minister Tony Blair. Patrick Davis, also accused of the offense, pleaded not guilty and will return to court in June.

Yoshihiro Inoue has been sentenced to death for his coordination of the 1995 sarin gas attack in the Tokyo subway. A Japanese judge overruled the lower court decision that he was not subject to capital punishment because he had not released the gas.

Naji Antoine Abi Khalil was charged in US court with attempting to export night-vision goggles to Hezbollah. http://newyork.fbi.gov/pressrel/2004/khali052504.htm

Brandon Mayfield has been absolved of any connection to the Madrid bombings following the FBI's acknowledgement that their fingerprint identification was erroneous. http://www.fbi.gov/pressrel/pressrel04/mayfield052404.htm

Terry L Nichols has been convicted for the second time of participation in the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing. The second case was brought in state court to pursue a penalty of execution in place of the life sentence he is currently serving. The trial will now move on to the sentencing phase.

Mirko Norac, former commander of the Ninth Guards Motorized Brigade in Croatia, has been indicted in the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia on charges of murder and inhumane treatment connected with a 2-day attack on the Medak Norac. http://www.un.org/icty/indictment/english/nor-ii040529-e.pdf

Jack Roche, midway through his trial in Australian court of conspiracy to bomb the Israeli embassy, changed his plea to guilty. Sentencing will be next week.

Anibal Antonio dos Santos ("Anibalzinho") has been arrested by Interpol in Canada after he escaped from Mozambique jail where he was awaiting trial for the murder of journalist Carlos Cardoso. It was his second jail break, both apparently aided by the police.

Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty USA (SHAC-USA) and seven of its members have been indicted in a US grand jury with animal enterprise terrorism and interstate stalking. http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/nj/publicaffairs/NJ_Press/files/shac0526_r.htm http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/nj/publicaffairs/NJ_Press/files/pdffiles/shac2.ind.pdf

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12. Transportation

The International Maritime Organization focused on security measures at their May meeting. They approved the draft ILO/IMO code of practice on port security. http://www.imo.org/home.asp?topic_id=881 An anti-terrorism law coming into force in July requires tough new standards for comprehensive security, but less than a quarter of ports have submitted security plans and only a small fraction of those have been approved. http://www.imo.org/
Related to this, the US Department of Homeland Security provided a statement on maritime security to congress. http://www.tsa.gov/public/interweb/assetlibrary/Maritime03-24-04.pdf

The EU and US have signed the agreement to collect passenger data, effective for three years, including specific guidance on data use and retention. http://www.dhs.gov/dhspublic/interapp/press_release/press_release_0420.xml

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13. Weapons of Mass Destruction

The new Global Threat Reduction Initiative (GTRI) will help reduce the possibility that nuclear materials could fall into the hands of terrorists. US Energy Secretary Abraham announced the new plan at a meeting with the International Atomic Energy Agency.
http://www.doe.gov/engine/content.do?PUBLIC_ID=15956&BT_CODE=PR_PRESSRELEASES&TT_CODE=PRESSRELEASE
http://www.iaea.org/NewsCenter/News/2004/GTRI_Initiative.html

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has announced new goals and integrated operations to support "... two overarching health protection goals: 1) Preparedness: People in all communities will be protected from infectious, environmental, and terrorists threats. 2) Health Promotion and Prevention of Disease, Injury and Disability: All people will achieve their optimal lifespan with the best possible quality of health in every stage of life". The new organization will have five coordinating centers for Infectious Diseases; Health Promotion; Environmental Health, Injury Prevention, and Occupational Health; Global Health; and Terrorism Preparedness and Emergency Response. http://www.cdc.gov/od/oc/media/pressrel/r040513.htm

The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) has agreed to significantly strengthen export controls for man-portable air defense systems (MANPADS) to help reduce risks to civil aviation, crisis management, and counter-terrorism. http://www.osce.org/news/show_news.php?ut=2&id=4103

The US Department of Defense has released its annual report to Congress on military power in China. http://www.defenselink.mil/pubs/d20040528PRC.pdf

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14. Recently Published

Jagdish Bhagwati, "In Defence of Globalization" Oxford University Press

David Cohen, "People Who Have Stolen From Me: Rough Justice in the New South Africa" St. Martin's

Philip Gordon and Jeremy Shapiro, "Allies at War: America, Europe and the Crisis Over Iraq" McGraw-Hill

Robert Guest, "The Shackled Continent: Africa's Past, Present and Future" Macmillan

John Keegan, "The Iraq War" Knopf

Rana Mitter, "A Bitter Revolution" Oxford University Press

Rafi Segal and Eyal Weisman, "A Civilian Occupation: The Politics of Israeli Architecture" Babel

Barbara Victor, "Army of Roses: Inside the World of Palestinian Women Suicide Bombers" Rodale

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FEATURE ARTICLE: Forty Years of the FARC

Colombia is the fourth largest country in South America and the only one with coastlines on both the Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea. Its rich natural resources include petroleum, natural gas, coal, iron ore, nickel, gold, copper, emeralds, and hydropower. These resources were first exploited by the Spanish conquerors and then by their descendents. Today, Colombia remains highly stratified between the wealthy descendents of the Spanish and the vast majority of a very mixed population. This stratification combined with weak economic development and commensurate limitations on social mobility has led to repeated conflicts including two civil wars. The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarios de Colombia, FARC) has its roots in the second.

In 1948 George Eliever Gaitan was assassinated. The mayor of Bogota and a progressive liberal who fought for landless rights, Gaitan was running for president when he was killed. His death led to riots against the Conservatives (who were backed by the rich landowners and industrialists) and in turn to "La Violencia", Colombia's second civil war. During the ten years of The Violence more than 250,000 people were killed.

To protect themselves during the civil war, the landless peasants formed self-defense groups of rural communities that were called "independent republics". Operating against the peasants were government forces and conservative peasants in paramilitary forces. (These later evolved into the right-wing militia group the AUC, Self-Defense Forces of Colombia.) At the end of the civil war the Liberals and Conservatives governed under a power-sharing agreement under which all other parties were banned.

In 1964 they began taking military action against the peasants, now sparking a guerilla war. Most of the rural camps -- the "independent republics" had been disbanded and the occupants dispersed into mountain havens. From these remnants, guerilla members began to regroup. The National Liberation Army (ELN), a leftist group, and the People's Liberation Army (EPL) of Maoists were established. The Colombian Communist Party set up their own military wing, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) on May 27, 1964.

FARC's operations began with the kidnapping of former Minister Harold Eder in March 1965. Kidnapping and extortion was a major source of revenue for FARC. Nearly 200 kidnappings have been attributed to FARC. As well as a source of revenue, kidnappings are usually attacks against foreign interests, mostly US. For example, in August 1985 46 construction workers were kidnapped. US students, humanitarian workers, and missionaries have also been taken hostage with some held for more than a year. In a minority of cases the hostages were killed, including three US Indian rights activists in 1999.

Guerillas in FARC also carry out their campaigns against government supporters and security forces. In 1988 the rebels attacked and seized the towns of San Pablo, Puerto Wilches, and Cantagallo, kidnapping 17 policemen, while 45 police were kidnapped and 80 dead, as well as ten civilians during an attack on Mitu. In 1996 a military base was seized and 60 soldiers were captured. In April 2002 guerillas disguised as an army bomb-disposal squad entered an assembly in Cali. Under the guise of an evacuation they led 12 assembly members into a bus and captivity. In May 2003 regional Governor Gaviria, former Defense Minister Echeverri, and eight soldiers held captive by the FARC were murdered.

Politicians are favored targets. Former Culture Minister Consuelo Araujonoguera was kidnapped and murdered in 2001, and presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt was kidnapped the next year. President Uribe has survived several attempts against his life, including a bombing in April 2002 that left five others dead.

Kidnapping and extortion are not the FARC's main source of revenue, however. This honor belongs to the lucrative drugs trade. FARC was first associated with the coca industry in 1984 during a police investigation in which a cocaine laboratory was found near a rebel camp. FARC offered protection to the drug cartel. Since then they expanded their activities to include all aspects of the trade, from extortion to protect the peasants cultivating the crops through manufacturing and distribution. Proceeds from the trade, numbering in the hundreds of millions, provide operating capital and are laundered to acquire other assets, including weapons and military equipment. It is important to note that this is an international trade, involving significant levels of transnational crime. Evidence of these activities came to light in 2002 when US drug enforcement authorities charged seven defendants, including three FARC members, for drug trafficking.

Sometimes FARC attacks defend this interest. For example, in February 2003, an airplane was shot down while on an anti-drug operation. One US and one Colombian citizen were executed, and three from the US were kidnapped.

Nor are kidnapping, ransom, extortion, narcotics trafficking and murder the FARC's only operational methods. Other activities include bombings, mortar attacks, and hijacking. In addition, they use traditional military tactics primarily against Colombian state targets. FARC is also known for creating the "cadaver bomb" in which the bomb is planted inside a dead body (human or animal). The first such incident was in February 1998. It killed two soldiers and wounded five. A horse was used in September 2003. That attack killed eight civilians and injured 45.

FARC has been involved in at least three hijackings. Arnubio Ramos forced a plant to fly to San Vicente del Caguan in 2000. The next year a National Territorial Air Service plane was hijacked with 26 passengers and in 2002 an Aires flight with 37 passengers, (including Senator Jorge Eduardo Gechem, who was kidnapped), was hijacked.

The FARC's first attack with gas cylinder bombs was on April 15, 2001. It left 25 people dead. This paled by comparison to the massive attack on May 2, 2002 against a church where civilians had taken refuge from fighting between FARC and AUC. This killed 119 people, including 45 children.

Other bombings include the August 2002 mortar grenade attack near Government House during President Uribe's inauguration. It killed 21 and injured 70, leading to a state of emergency declaration. A car bomb outside a nightclub in Bogota killed 37 and wounded 170 in February 2003 while in September of the same year a motorcycle-bomb in Florencia killed 12 and injured 56.

Urban attacks such as these were new and contributed to suspicions that FARC received training from members of the Irish Republican Army. Three IRA members were arrested in 2001 after leaving the demilitarized zone controlled by FARC and were tried in this connection. This year they were found not guilty but remain in detention while prosecutors pursue an appeal.

Peasants are not immune from FARC violence. In an attack on their homes in May 1966, ten were killed. Similar incidents occurred in July 1975 when eleven people went to recover the body of a farmer and all but one was killed or in February 1984 when 14 peasants were massacred. In 1994 a series of massacres eliminated 54 people accused of collaborating with the AUC.

These examples are not isolated. FARC is the largest guerilla group in Colombia, with more than 18,000 members and thousands more supporters, mostly rural peasants. It carries out some 3,000 kidnappings each year and has been responsible for more than a third of non-combatant deaths or disappearances (some 3,500 per year).

The FARC insurgency has continued for 40 years. There have been sporadic efforts to reach a negotiated peace but for much of this time, the campaign to defeat FARC has been a military campaign and for nearly twenty years has been tied to the effort to defeat drug trafficking. Peace talks in 1998 led to the creation of a FARC safe haven while talks continued but the effort fell apart in February 2002.

To resolve this conflict, more than policing is necessary. Colombia must develop sources of economic security for the majority population that do not rely on the drug trade. It must sever the connections between wealthy landowners/industrialists/government and the drugs trade. It must attend to social welfare needs that today are too often met by criminals, rather than social services. Without such measures, Colombia could face another 40 years of insurgency.

Further Reading:

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