IN TWIST, REBELS HELP DRUG EFFORT IN COLOMBIA

GAITANIA, Colombia - The warnings were dire as President Andres
Pastrana's government, flush with American money, began an ambitious
plan late last year that called on farmers to eradicate fields of
coca and heroin poppies in exchange for economic aid.

Many officials in Bogota and Washington said the rebels of the
Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia might resort to threats and
even violence to stop farmers from cooperating. Rebel taxes on
illegal crops are a major revenue source that helps finance rebel
operations.

But late in April, here in the cloud-shrouded mountains where the
rebel force, known as FARC, was born in 1964, farmers agreed in
principle to replace poppy fields with legal crops in exchange for
subsidies and technical assistance. Rebel leaders from this region of
southern Tolima Province watched closely as a letter of intent, the
first step toward an agreement, was signed with officials.

"They said we would not let the farmers cultivate their own crops,"
said a rebel leader who is in the political wing and was involved in
discussions.

"But we don't reject help just because it is from the state," said
the leader, whose nom de guerre is Marta. "We just want to be able to
see the state support the farmers."

Although the revolutionary armed forces have not used violence to
halt voluntary eradication, the rebels are apparently deeply involved
in talks between the government and farmers, said local officials and
farmers.

"They seem to be getting more involved, to see if something works, if
it does not," said Ruben Dario Gomez, who heads a farmers'
cooperative. "They say that if something is happening in an area they
control, they want to be involved. Everyone knows it."

Local officials said that in meetings rebels give opinions, offer
suggestions and, in some cases, shape programs. Agreements, including
the one here, are forwarded to top rebel commanders for approval.

"The FARC has its positions, its own criteria, in regard to
discussions about these farmers' fields," said Gerardo Montoya, a
provincial official involved in the negotiations. "In the points they
made, they said that the people had been cheated before and that the
state has never had a presence here."

Much of the rebels' concern, said those who attended meetings, was
directed at Plante, the agency that uses money from a $42 million
American grant for what are called alternative development programs.
The programs are intended to give farmers a year to stop their
illicit crops in exchange for $900 in seeds, pesticides and technical
aid to help switch crops. The government has also promised to market
products and build public works.

The rebels, however, see Plante as a tool of an American policy that
counts on extensive fumigation to eradicate most of the illegal crops
here. In interviews here and in the coca-growing heartland of
Putumayo Province, farmers also said the agency had reneged on past
agreements.

The quality control coordinator for Plante, Joaquin Gomez, disagreed,
saying the agency had forged bonds with farmers. He also said the
rebel force had not been an impediment. "We've been able to come in,"
said Mr. Gomez, who was at the meetings here. "We have had access to
all the zones."

Still, among some negotiators here the sense remained that the rebels
could have halted the letter of intent. That is worrisome to people
like Hoover Mora, a town councilman who said the rebels' forceful
comments left open the possibility that they would take punitive
steps.

"They say they will not stop the program," Mr. Mora said. "But they
are getting involved in the oversight, and I think that is a big
contradiction."

Some experts on the rebels said they were in a difficult position
because they had to choose between allowing eradication and losing
financing or stopping eradication programs popular with farmers and
risking alienating their base of support.