US MEETS WITH COLOMBIA REBEL GROUP

WASHINGTON (AP) A U.S. representative met with a Colombian guerrilla group
accused of terrorism after the Colombian government requested the session, a
U.S. spokesman said Monday.

The meeting somewhere in Costa Rica in mid-December with representatives of
the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, was "to demonstrate our
support for the Colombian peace process" and to press the group to account
for kidnapped U.S. citizens in Colombia, said spokesman James Rubin.

He said the U.S. representative at the meeting also urged the group to halt
further attacks against U.S. citizens and businesses in Colombia and advised
the rebels that U.S.-Colombian counter-narcotics efforts, including crop
eradication by aircraft "are nonnegotiable and will be continued."

Rubin declined to say exactly when or where the meeting took place. It was
first reported by Colombian news media over the weekend. He said no further
meetings are scheduled but further encounters might be considered.

The U.S. representative in the meeting was Phil Chicola, director of the
State Department's Andean affairs office in Washington, officials said.

The spokesman said that although FARC is designated by the State Department
as a foreign terrorist organization, this does not preclude meeting with
FARC "or any other foreign terrorist organization if we determine that such
a meeting is consistent with our interests, including bringing an end to
Colombia's long-running civil conflict and to the terrorist attacks that
accompany it."

Rubin said U.S. officials do not expect the first contact with the rebels to
generate immediate results but viewed it as an opportunity to carry a
message of U.S. policy directly to the rebels. He said it did not include
any negotiation with the group.

FARC, with a force of 15,000, is opening talks with the Colombian government
on Thursday, and U.S. officials see it as an opportunity to stem cocaine
production in the country. FARC, which officials say has been protecting the
drug trade, has indicated it might help attack drug traffickers as part of a
peace settlement.

When questioned repeatedly by reporters about U.S. dealings with groups
accused of terrorism, Rubin said, "I think we are second to none in terms of
the seriousness and the firmness with which we approach the problem of
terrorism."