2,000 COLOMBIANS PROTEST DRUG WAR

Civilians Said To Flee Coca Region In Fear

PUERTO ASIS, Colombia -- About 2,000 people, including schoolchildren and
farmers, yesterday protested a U.S.-backed anti-drug offensive being
planned for this cocaine-producing region.

Security forces brandishing assault rifles and grenade launchers kept a
close eye on the demonstration in the main plaza of this sweltering
Amazonian town.

One child held a cutout of a dove with the word "peace" written across it.
Another held a sign that read: "Don't kill us -- we are the hope of Latin
America."

Many demonstrators said they feel threatened by President Andres Pastrana's
Plan Colombia, which the United States is supporting with $1.3 billion in
mostly military aid.

Under the plan, which is aimed at eradicating drug trafficking, elite U.S.
soldiers are training Colombian troops.

Ferried aboard 60 combat helicopters provided by the United States,
Colombian soldiers are to seize vast coca-growing areas, which are
protected by leftist rebels and rival right-wing paramilitary squads. Coca
fields seized by the troops would then be fumigated by aircraft.

Farm leader Eber Sanchez said the simple mention of the name Plan Colombia
strikes fear in farmers in this area near the Ecuador border, about 350
miles south of Bogota.

"Between 30 and 40 families have already fled the region," Sanchez said.

His claim could not be immediately verified, but thousands of people are
expected to be displaced when the counter-drug offensive gets fully under
way next year.

Delegates of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees have visited the
Ecuador border region, and are considering building a camp to hold some
5,000 Colombian refugees.