Archives

WASHINGTON, Friday (AFP)

The United States will offer its full support to Colombian President Andres Pastrana's decision to call off peace talks with leftist rebels and launch a military offensive against them, the State Department said.

"We have always expressed our support for Pastrana and his decisions on how to move forward," State Department Richard Boucher told reporters.

"We have always supported Pastrana in his decisions," he said. "We've always said that these were decisions for him to make. "We've always supported the government of Colombia," Boucher said.

A formal statement on the development by the United States will be issued later Thursday, he said. Boucher spoke as Colombia's military launched a major offensive to reclaim a Switzerland-sized swath of territory controlled by the country's largest insurgency, hours after Pastrana called off the peace talks.

Military aircraft dropped bombs on 85 targets inside the area controlled by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), military sources said.

Jets packed with 500-pound (225-kg) bombs flew at least 200 sorties during the night and early morning against FARC rebel targets in the countryside around the town of San Vicente in the heart of what had been the guerrilla safe haven.

The few guerrillas in the town of San Vicente drove off into the jungle after seeing Pastrana's televised address at night, local residents said. Troops outside the enclave's borders told Reuters they were awaiting invasion orders, but there were no tanks or unusually large numbers of soldiers visible.Pastrana, who had dedicated his presidency to peace talks with the FARC, said soldiers would do their best to ensure the safety of the roughly 100,000 civilians in the rebel region.

The offensive came after Pastrana told the country late Wednesday that three years of peace talks with the FARC had ended, and rebels had until midnight (0500 GMT Thursday) to abandon the safe haven.

The move came after suspected FARC members hijacked a Bogota-bound commercial plane with 37 people aboard early Wednesday, forcing it to land on a remote highway near the town of Hobo, in southern Huila department. The hijackers released most of the passengers and crew aboard the Colombian-owned Aires plane, airline officials said, but abducted two passengers, including opposition Senator Jorge Eduardo Gechen Turbay.For its part, the European Union expressed disappointment at the failure of the peace process, as EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana said he "deeply regretted the collapse of the peace process" while he "understood" Pastrana's decision to end it.

Solana offered "Europe's solidarity with his (Pastrana's) unquestionable endeavour to bring peace to Colombia" but his statement gave no hint of support for the government's decision to take military action.

News | Business | Features | Editorial | Security
Politics | World | Letters | Sports | Obituaries |

Produced by Lake House
Copyright 2001 The Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Ltd.
Comments and suggestions to :Web Manager