U.N. HELP FOR CRIME IN GUATEMALA

Guatemala's 36-year civil war ended in 1996, but some former soldiers
and paramilitary allies have turned to drug trafficking, the smuggling
of immigrants, kidnappings and theft. They also attack human rights
advocates, journalists and judges who attempt to bring them to account.

The world is just beginning to recognize the links between armed
conflicts and organized crime, a problem in places as different as
Northern Ireland, Bosnia and Cambodia. In Guatemala, the influence,
resources and weapons held by former combatants make them stronger
than the state's justice system. So Guatemala recently signed an
agreement to set up a United Nations office that would investigate
and, if necessary, prosecute this organized crime.

The accord would set up a special prosecutor's office employing
Guatemalan and international police officers, investigators and
prosecutors. They would have the power to go anywhere in Guatemala,
even showing up unannounced at a military base.

The agreement is a leap for the U.N. The international war crimes
tribunals established for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda address
crimes committed during a defined period of the past. The Guatemalan
office would pursue current cases, using the national judicial system.
Its goal would not only be to combat organized crime, but also to
train and support Guatemalans trying to fight it.

Some Guatemalans are uncomfortable with the extensive powers the
agreement would grant to outsiders. But Guatemala's sovereignty is not
under attack, as the government endorsed the plan and asked the U.N.
for help. Its new president, Oscar Berger, who took office on
Wednesday, supports it.

Still, influential opposition comes from political allies of the
former security forces. They have considerable sway in the new
Congress, which must approve the plan.

Guatemala's new government must lobby Congress strenuously for
passage, then appoint a staff with the energy, skills and commitment
required. If the special prosecutor's office is set up, the challenge
internationally will be to finance it. The project deserves support as
one that could not only diminish the smuggling of drugs and people,
but could also help control crime in a nation suffering a war's
effects long after the fighting is over.