COLOMBIA'S PHONY PEACE

The last-minute intervention of the United Nations has averted a
showdown between the Colombian military and the country's powerful
Marxist guerrillas. But the agreement between the Colombian
government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) to
resume negotiations is unlikely to advance the peace process. All-out
war loomed when Colombian President Andres Pastrana issued an
ultimatum to the FARC to begin serious negotiations to end the
nation's 40-year civil war. In fact, the president gave the FARC two
deadlines to respond positively to his peace overtures, threatening
to send in the army to drive the guerrillas out of the safe haven
granted to the guerrillas three years ago for the purpose of
advancing the peace process. When the FARC ignored the deadlines,
U.N. special envoy James LeMoyne and 10 European and Latin American
ambassadors flew into guerrilla territory, an area that is twice the
size of the state of New Jersey. They managed to persuade FARC
leaders to resume negotiations with the government, and President
Pastrana agreed to hold back the army. But the international
intervention has left an unsettled situation.

The time limit that President Pastrana set for the safe haven three
years ago when he launched his peace initiative expires automatically
on Sunday. It would be a mistake to extend it. Over the past three
years, President Pastrana has tried every possible means to get the
FARC to negotiate seriously.

Time and time again, talks have been broken off and then resumed.

Ultimatums have been issued and then withdrawn.

All the while, the FARC has been acquiring modern weapons. It seems
unlikely that the leaders of the FARC have had a sudden conversion to
peacemaking. For the past three years, they have used the safe haven
as a holding area for thousands of victims of kidnappings for ransom
and to increase production and trafficking of narcotics. President
Pastrana must recognize that his experiment in granting the FARC what
is virtually its own state within a state has failed.

The FARC has increased in size and strength while prospects for peace
have dwindled. The FARC will talk peace seriously when the facts on
the ground tell them that they cannot achieve power by military means.

While they hold such a huge slice of territory, they have no
incentive to put down their guns and form a political party to
contest elections, as their revolutionary comrades in other Latin
American nations have done. President Pastrana will be sorely tempted
to allow the guerrillas to keep their safe haven until his term ends
in six months time. A race against the clock is now on to get
agreement on a cease-fire before the Sunday deadline.

It is more important for Colombia to be one country again.

The army, police and elected officials must regain control over the
area that the guerrillas have put to such ill use.