U.S. REQUESTS IMMUNITY FOR SOLDIERS POSTED IN COLOMBIA

BOGOTA Senior U.S. officials have asked President Alvaro Uribe to shield
American military trainers in Colombia from prosecution by the
International Criminal Court for any accusations of human rights abuses
that may arise in connection with their work.

The request, made by Marc Grossman, undersecretary of state for political
affairs, is part of a global campaign by the United States to prevent U.S.
nationals from being tried at the international court. Arguing that future
military aid hangs in the balance, U.S. diplomats have begun working here
and with other allies to arrange such immunity agreements, which are
allowed under the treaty setting up the court.

Under anti-terrorism legislation signed by President George W. Bush this
month, U.S. military aid would be cut off from countries that have ratified
the treaty, except those granted a waiver by the White House. The United
States has made it clear that governments granting an immunity pledge to
U.S. citizens will continue to receive aid.

"That turns out to be the way people advised us to protect ourselves," a
senior U.S. official said here before meeting with Uribe. "We'd like to get
it signed as soon as possible."

The Bush administration has opposed the treaty and is seeking the immunity
agreements, U.S. officials have said, because it fears that Americans
abroad could be subjected to politically motivated prosecutions.

The issue has special importance for the Colombian government, which
formally recognized the court Aug. 5. Uribe, who was sworn into office two
days later, is relying on U.S. aid to help him wage a broader military
campaign against leftist guerrillas who have been fighting for years to
replace the government with a Marxist state.

Colombia's 38-year war, rooted in social inequality and a culture of
impunity, is being fueled by drug profits in the security vacuum left by a
weak central government. The conflict matches the Colombian Revolutionary
Armed Forces, or FARC, and a second, smaller Marxist- oriented insurgency
against the U.S.-backed military and a privately funded paramilitary group.
Last year, 3,500 people died as a direct result of the war, most of them
civilians.

Colombia, the third-largest recipient of U.S. military aid, has received
nearly $2 billion in U.S. assistance over the past two years. The nearly 80
transport helicopters and hundreds of U.S. military trainers, among other
aid, were initially meant to help the Colombian government attack the drug
trade.

As part of the anti-terrorism package signed this month, the military
equipment donated by the United States can now be used directly against
guerrilla forces. The package also included $6 million to train a Colombian
army unit to protect an oil pipeline in eastern Colombia that is a frequent
target.

Another $500 million in aid has been proposed for Colombia in the 2003 budget.

Only two countries, Israel and Romania, have agreed to immunity pledges.