PRIEST SHIELDS HIS PARISHIONERS FROM DRUG WAR DEATH SQUADS

An Irish priest who risks death by defying Colombian drug lords last night spoke of his determination to continue in South America protecting the poor.

Franciscan priest Fr Brendan Forde has been subjected to death threats over his stance, but last night he insisted on remaining in the troubled hotspot.

"It is not the poor who are our enemy or who are responsible for our drug problems," he said. "Other people are responsible for our drug problems but it is the poor who get punished."

Fr Forde, whose sister lives in the family home on Clontarf, Dublin, lives in constant danger after refusing to bow to violent intimidation from right wing paramilitary death squads to leave the South American country.

Paramilitary death squads and left wing guerrillas are locked in an on going conflict for control of the highly lucrative narcotics trade.

On July 8, 20 masked paramilitaries entered La Union, the village where he lives, killed six local men and told the rest of the people to leave within 20 days. But the people of the area, members of a neutral peace community, refused to go. Fr Forde, due to leave for Costa Rica, decided to postpone his departure and stand by his parishioners

Last month when Fr Forde opened his door he found what's known in Colombia as a necktie -- the decapitated corpse of an 18 year old woman.

Fr Forde fears for the safety of his parishioners if he leaves. One foreigner, especially one who can get international support at home, can provide real security -- even in remote La Union.

Speaking by telephone from La Union, he asked: "Do we care about the poor?"

This weekend political support continues to grow at home for Fr Forde's stand. Indeed, his courage has led to the launch of a major national campaign to draw attention to injustice in Colombia. The campaign also opposes the US Plan Colombia, which is a military aid package ostensibly geared to wiping out Colombia's massive drugs trade.