MAYORS IN COLOMBIA TO GET BODYGUARDS

BOGOTA - The Colombian government said yesterday it plans to assign
bodyguards to town mayors to counter a campaign of death threats by Marxist
FARC rebels aimed at driving civil authorities out of the war-torn
countryside.

But the security measures announced by President Andres Pastrana, whose
armed forces are already stretched to the limit by a 38-year-old war, fell
short of requests by mayors that he declare a state of emergency to combat
the new threats by Latin America's most powerful insurgent army.

"If a state of commotion were the solution, we would already have enacted
it," Pastrana told a news conference, referring to the limited package of
emergency laws available under current Colombian law.

Declaring an emergency would allow the government to restrict certain civil
rights and raise taxes, but would make little real difference in the most
exposed areas of the country, where the government simply does not have
enough soldiers.

Death threats by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia - a
17,000-strong band known by the Spanish initials FARC - have sparked panic
among mayors and other officials in dozens of towns in a countryside where
police and army struggle to project authority beyond fortified barracks.

For years, the FARC concentrated on attacking the security forces, but has
now changed strategy to concentrate on a softer civilian target in a war
that takes thousands of lives a year.

Over the weekend, about 25 mayors announced they were quitting, after
receiving letters from the FARC telling them to resign or be declared
military targets.

Sitting ducks in small towns prowled by rebels or far-right paramilitary
outlaws, Colombian mayors are often the targets of intimidation. Eight have
been killed so far this year, at least one of them after being placed on a
hit list by the FARC.

The government has asked mayors to stand firm in the face of threats and
keep working, but many have said they value their lives, and those of their
families, too much to ignore the threats.

The FARC campaign has been strikingly successful so far, forcing many
mayors to flee and take refuge in the capital.

Although polls show the FARC - which, like far-right paramilitaries,
obtains much of its money from cocaine - has almost no popular support,
analysts say the rebels hope to alienate country people from the elected
authorities. Any heavy-handed military response might also turn civilians
against the government and help the rebels, the analysts say.

The FARC offensive also throws down the gauntlet to President-elect Alvaro
Uribe, who will take office on Aug. 7 after winning by promising increases
in military spending to take on the rebels.