COLOMBIAN CHIEF WANTS LOYAL MILITARY

BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) -- President Andres Pastrana praised Colombia's armed
forces Monday but also demanded loyalty from his military chiefs following
a general's criticism of his peace initiatives with leftist guerrillas.

Since taking office in 1998, Pastrana has not faced outright challenges or
coup rumblings from the U.S.-backed military. But earlier this month, the
commander of the army, Gen. Jorge Mora, warned that Pastrana's plans to
conduct a prisoner exchange with the leftist Revolutionary Armed Forces of
Colombia, or FARC, would only fuel rebel war plans.

"As your commander I expect maximum loyalty with the country and
democracy," Pastrana said in a speech before top brass at a Bogota military
academy. "Our army cannot confuse a will to make peace with weakness."

Pastrana defended his policy of ceding land to guerrillas as an incentive
to make peace. Military leaders have criticized a safe haven created for
the FARC and one Pastrana plans to cede to a smaller rebel group, the
National Liberation Army, or ELN.

The ELN recently pulled away from peace contacts to protest army operations
in the area of the planned rebel sanctuary. The contacts resumed after
Pastrana ordered his troops to pull back.

Also Monday, the confirmed death toll from Easter week massacres by leftist
guerrillas and rightist paramilitaries in Colombia climbed as troops
located 25 bodies and searched for dozens more.

Troops retaking control of a swath of remote villages in the mountainous
area in western Cauca State raided last week by the rightist United
Self-Defense Forces of Colombia, or AUC, found a trail of bodies and
hundreds of refugees.

Guerrillas and their paramilitary rivals are fighting over territory and
drug profits across this South American country. The victims are mostly
villagers executed by one side or the other after being accused of
collaborating with the enemy.

As Washington expands military aid to Colombia under a $1.3 billion
drug-fighting package, human rights groups accuse the South American
country's military of providing clandestine support to the AUC.