BISHOP IN EXILE PRAYS FOR PANAMA'S POOR

A rough ink sketch of Moses, encircled by prayers and petitions, covers the
small window in the living room of Bishop Romulo Emiliani, a prominent
Roman Catholic cleric in Panama who has ministered to a rugged jungle
diocese along the border with Colombia. It is a fitting image these days as
he ponders his own hurried exodus from the country he loves.

But the violence from Colombia's long-running civil conflict has
increasingly crept into Panama, and with it came the death threats against
Bishop Emiliani, who has spoken out against the violence. Now he fears that
the increased American anti-drug efforts in Colombia may unintentionally
make life worse for Panama and its neighbors.

While he once journeyed regularly by jeep, boat or foot through his remote
diocese - a pastor in a lawless wilderness - he now lives in exile in a
dark, two-room basement apartment. He went from being Panama's most visible
and outspoken critic of the Colombian conflict - which threatened the
stability of the Darien jungle in Panama - to living quietly in a city
whose location he prefers not to disclose.

By day he studies theology and ministers to a congregation that does not
even know he is a bishop. At night he relaxes with poetry, including the
writings of Saint John of the Cross, the 16th century Spanish mystic whose
poem "The Dark Night of the Soul" seems an apt choice for his uncertain status.

"We all have our dark nights," said Bishop Emiliani, 52. "I feel like
someone who was scoring the most goals and now I'm on the bench. Now I see
my team falling behind. It's hard to know that although I was once the
voice of conscience, I had to be taken out because of fears for my safety."

He fears that darkness may also envelop Panama and the rest of Central
America with the increased aid the United States is giving the Colombian
government to help fight the drug that has enriched both the guerrillas of
the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, known as the FARC, and the
paramilitary groups there. The conflict has already spilled over into
Panama's relatively unprotected border, bringing violence and refugees,
kidnappings and the smuggling of weapons and drugs.

Should the violence in Colombia escalate, Bishop Emiliani said, it will
only further weaken Central America - which has yet to fully recover from
its own wars during the 1980's - as more Colombian criminals and combatants
turn to the region for weapons and a safe haven.

"The big business now is the arms that come from Central America left over
from the various wars in the area," he said. "The situation is very
conflicted because the region has high unemployment, underdevelopment and a
lot of people who were left with nothing after the wars. Given the present
conditions in Central America, I think that in 10 years the zone will
become a highly dangerous dictatorship of the underworld."

In recent weeks, Panamanian authorities have arrested 20 people after
intercepting several weapons caches - from assault rifles to
rocket-propelled grenades - that they believe came from Nicaragua and were
destined for Colombian guerrillas. Panamanian police uncovered the largest
such cache in the nation's history in the city of Chame in early September,
which included 271 AK- 47 assault rifles, 318 grenade launchers, 73,000
rounds of ammunition and more than a ton of TNT. Other caches have included
cocaine, which the police believe was in partial payment for the weapons.

The discoveries have led the government of neighboring Costa Rica to set up
checkpoints along the Pan American Highway and call for a regional effort
against the arms trade. Panamanian officials have pledged to help, and have
begun by asking United States law enforcement agencies for assistance.

The situation is delicate for Panama, whose leaders have insisted that they
wish no part of the Colombian conflict. Carlos Bares, the director of
Panama's National Police, said that the border with Colombia has been quiet
for now, although there have been press reports of growing activity in the
area by Colombian paramilitary troops. He admitted that the Panamanian
border police could use more training and equipment.

"The problems of Colombia are Colombia's problem," he said. "But if arms
come through here, wherever they are headed, it is our obligation to stop
them."

But a FARC commander said recently that the Colombian guerrillas would
continue buying weapons in Panama and that they refused to rule out the
possibility of violence spilling into the country once the
American-supported antinarcotics effort begins.

"We have to buy arms," Commandante Andres Paris was quoted as saying in the
Panamanian newspaper El Panama America. "Or do you think we are going to
defend ourselves throwing popcorn?"

Such talk represents the kind of escalation that Bishop Emiliani had been
warning about in Panama in his sermons, pastoral letters and radio
addresses for years. His worries had earned him a reputation for being
alarmist, but he refused to keep quiet since his network of missionaries,
lay people and aid workers in the diocese gave him an almost unrivaled
perspective on the Darien jungle region.

"Is it a war against the drug traffic or against the guerrillas that could
become worse than Vietnam?" Bishop Emiliani said. "The fear is that it
would become a war against the guerrillas, and then the conflict would be
internationalized."

Bishop Emiliani has noted that over the years the FARC had been accustomed
to using the jungle for rest and resupply, for checking in with friendly
Panamanian informants and to buy food, clothing and arms. But the recent
arrival of paramilitary groups bent on seeking vengeance has increased
violence and tensions, themes that came to dominate sermons where he
exhorted "those groups of armed Colombians" to "keep your hands off the
Darien."

Before long friends were telling him to watch out, since they had heard
troubling talk about retaliations. Then came the anonymous phone calls,
including one he received shortly after accompanying a group of Panamanian
police as they tried to intercept a drug shipment.

"It was an ugly call where they said they were tired of me speaking out,"
he said. "They said I should dedicate myself to the temple. That they would
slit my throat if not. But for me, the temple of God is the people, not
that I was going to get into that over the phone. To say I should be inside
some little church saying Mass, that is a very poor vision of what the
church should be."

It was, however, frightening enough to have the Vatican suggest that he
leave Panama for at least six months out of concern for his safety. His
departure in July has left his fellow clergy fearful, while others who are
also concerned about the border worry that the Panamanian government
officials will ignore or play down the troubles.

"Bishop Emiliani was very important because he had the best network of
information in the Darien," said Otilia Tejeira, a human rights advocate in
Panama City. "Now nobody knows what's going on. Now all you hear is what
the government says."

Inside his small apartment, Bishop Emiliani grows restless as he grapples
with being so far away from the jungle he loves. He said that the region's
governments have yet to look beyond their borders to the threat posed by
the arms merchants who enlist local help in ferrying weapons and drugs.

Recently, he has begun to send messages to Panama, urging not only more
regional cooperation but also a renewed effort by the authorities to
alleviate the poverty and hopelessness that prevails on the margins of
society, whether in the jungles or the slums.

"This is a Central American problem, and people have not been too
creative," he said. "In the church, we have not reached the people. The
governments do not have too many tools at their disposal. They lack the
capacity and talent and are too burdened with foreign debt. The governments
are preoccupied with keeping themselves in power through little battles
without making any clear plans for development."

He writes these messages on a desk cluttered with papers and books
including a biography of Pope John Paul II and "100 Ways to Motivate
Yourself." Not that he needs any further prompting, considering one to-do
list he has taped to the window, alongside the religious drawings. It
reads, "Heal Central America."

"It's a big goal, granted," he said. "Someone once said you need to aim
your arrows at the moon so at least you might miss and hit a star."