Colombia defends crackdown on rebels

www.upi.com From the International Desk Published 3/7/2003 6:01 PM

BRASILIA, Brazil, March 7 (UPI) -- Colombia's president defended his nation's crackdown on leftist rebel groups during a diplomatic visit to Brazil Friday, saying there was no other alternative to ending the nation's nearly four-decade-old civil war.

Alvaro Uribe was also searching to bolster his support base among Brazilian leaders for his war against the groups.

The Colombian leader said there was no other choice for dealing with rebel groups than by force, alleging that the time for negotiation has long since past.

"There is no defect in our road to defeating them," said Uribe, adding that the rebels -- which he referred to as "terrorists" -- have an insatiable appetite for destruction and no regard for human rights or the law.

The strife-torn nation bordering Brazil to the northwest is currently engaged in a multi-billion blitz of rebels like the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, Colombia's largest group.

Known as Plan Colombia, the country has received $2 billion in equipment and other military assistance from the United States to bolster its combat capacity.

Brazil has been critical of Plan Colombia saying it allows the United States to meddle in regional affairs and could lead to the expansion of the U.S.-led war on terror in both nations.

Despite the nation's difference of opinions on Colombian rebels, Uribe and Lula did agree in a 23-point joint statement that they need to combat terrorism "by all means possible."

Leading up to Friday's meeting analysts assumed that on Friday Uribe once again would ask his Brazilian counterpart, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, to classify FARC and other rebel groups as terrorists, a notion that Brazil has declined to do in recent weeks.

The U.S. State Department has bestowed the terrorist group moniker on the groups for their ties to violent insurgences and use of narcotics trafficking to fund their activities.

Uribe however, didn't make the request, though he stressed there is no other way to classify groups that use car bombs and other explosive devices. "It is not a value judgment, it is terrorism."

Earlier this week, Brazilian Minister of Foreign Relations Celso Amorin said Brazil would not label the groups as terrorists.

Brazil's reluctance to classify FARC and others as terror groups falls in line with its professed desire to serve as a mediator between the Uribe administration and the rebels, a move that some analysts say could ultimately cause a rift between the bordering nations.