Pubdate: Thu, 05 Oct 2000
Source: New York Times (NY)
Copyright: 2000 The New York Times Company
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Author: David Gonzalez

BISHOP IN EXILE PRAYS FOR PANAMA'S POOR

A rough ink sketch of Moses, encircled by prayers and petitions, covers the 
small window in the living room of Bishop Romulo Emiliani, a prominent 
Roman Catholic cleric in Panama who has ministered to a rugged jungle 
diocese along the border with Colombia. It is a fitting image these days as 
he ponders his own hurried exodus from the country he loves.

But the violence from Colombia's long-running civil conflict has 
increasingly crept into Panama, and with it came the death threats against 
Bishop Emiliani, who has spoken out against the violence. Now he fears that 
the increased American anti-drug efforts in Colombia may unintentionally 
make life worse for Panama and its neighbors.

While he once journeyed regularly by jeep, boat or foot through his remote 
diocese - a pastor in a lawless wilderness - he now lives in exile in a 
dark, two-room basement apartment. He went from being Panama's most visible 
and outspoken critic of the Colombian conflict - which threatened the 
stability of the Darien jungle in Panama - to living quietly in a city 
whose location he prefers not to disclose.

By day he studies theology and ministers to a congregation that does not 
even know he is a bishop. At night he relaxes with poetry, including the 
writings of Saint John of the Cross, the 16th century Spanish mystic whose 
poem "The Dark Night of the Soul" seems an apt choice for his uncertain status.

"We all have our dark nights," said Bishop Emiliani, 52. "I feel like 
someone who was scoring the most goals and now I'm on the bench. Now I see 
my team falling behind. It's hard to know that although I was once the 
voice of conscience, I had to be taken out because of fears for my safety."

He fears that darkness may also envelop Panama and the rest of Central 
America with the increased aid the United States is giving the Colombian 
government to help fight the drug that has enriched both the guerrillas of 
the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, known as the FARC, and the 
paramilitary groups there. The conflict has already spilled over into 
Panama's relatively unprotected border, bringing violence and refugees, 
kidnappings and the smuggling of weapons and drugs.

Should the violence in Colombia escalate, Bishop Emiliani said, it will 
only further weaken Central America - which has yet to fully recover from 
its own wars during the 1980's - as more Colombian criminals and combatants 
turn to the region for weapons and a safe haven.

"The big business now is the arms that come from Central America left over 
from the various wars in the area," he said. "The situation is very 
conflicted because the region has high unemployment, underdevelopment and a 
lot of people who were left with nothing after the wars. Given the present 
conditions in Central America, I think that in 10 years the zone will 
become a highly dangerous dictatorship of the underworld."

In recent weeks, Panamanian authorities have arrested 20 people after 
intercepting several weapons caches - from assault rifles to 
rocket-propelled grenades - that they believe came from Nicaragua and were 
destined for Colombian guerrillas. Panamanian police uncovered the largest 
such cache in the nation's history in the city of Chame in early September, 
which included 271 AK- 47 assault rifles, 318 grenade launchers, 73,000 
rounds of ammunition and more than a ton of TNT. Other caches have included 
cocaine, which the police believe was in partial payment for the weapons.

The discoveries have led the government of neighboring Costa Rica to set up 
checkpoints along the Pan American Highway and call for a regional effort 
against the arms trade. Panamanian officials have pledged to help, and have 
begun by asking United States law enforcement agencies for assistance.

The situation is delicate for Panama, whose leaders have insisted that they 
wish no part of the Colombian conflict. Carlos Bares, the director of 
Panama's National Police, said that the border with Colombia has been quiet 
for now, although there have been press reports of growing activity in the 
area by Colombian paramilitary troops. He admitted that the Panamanian 
border police could use more training and equipment.

"The problems of Colombia are Colombia's problem," he said. "But if arms 
come through here, wherever they are headed, it is our obligation to stop 
them."

But a FARC commander said recently that the Colombian guerrillas would 
continue buying weapons in Panama and that they refused to rule out the 
possibility of violence spilling into the country once the 
American-supported antinarcotics effort begins.

"We have to buy arms," Commandante Andres Paris was quoted as saying in the 
Panamanian newspaper El Panama America. "Or do you think we are going to 
defend ourselves throwing popcorn?"

Such talk represents the kind of escalation that Bishop Emiliani had been 
warning about in Panama in his sermons, pastoral letters and radio 
addresses for years. His worries had earned him a reputation for being 
alarmist, but he refused to keep quiet since his network of missionaries, 
lay people and aid workers in the diocese gave him an almost unrivaled 
perspective on the Darien jungle region.

"Is it a war against the drug traffic or against the guerrillas that could 
become worse than Vietnam?" Bishop Emiliani said. "The fear is that it 
would become a war against the guerrillas, and then the conflict would be 
internationalized."

Bishop Emiliani has noted that over the years the FARC had been accustomed 
to using the jungle for rest and resupply, for checking in with friendly 
Panamanian informants and to buy food, clothing and arms. But the recent 
arrival of paramilitary groups bent on seeking vengeance has increased 
violence and tensions, themes that came to dominate sermons where he 
exhorted "those groups of armed Colombians" to "keep your hands off the 
Darien."

Before long friends were telling him to watch out, since they had heard 
troubling talk about retaliations. Then came the anonymous phone calls, 
including one he received shortly after accompanying a group of Panamanian 
police as they tried to intercept a drug shipment.

"It was an ugly call where they said they were tired of me speaking out," 
he said. "They said I should dedicate myself to the temple. That they would 
slit my throat if not. But for me, the temple of God is the people, not 
that I was going to get into that over the phone. To say I should be inside 
some little church saying Mass, that is a very poor vision of what the 
church should be."

It was, however, frightening enough to have the Vatican suggest that he 
leave Panama for at least six months out of concern for his safety. His 
departure in July has left his fellow clergy fearful, while others who are 
also concerned about the border worry that the Panamanian government 
officials will ignore or play down the troubles.

"Bishop Emiliani was very important because he had the best network of 
information in the Darien," said Otilia Tejeira, a human rights advocate in 
Panama City. "Now nobody knows what's going on. Now all you hear is what 
the government says."

Inside his small apartment, Bishop Emiliani grows restless as he grapples 
with being so far away from the jungle he loves. He said that the region's 
governments have yet to look beyond their borders to the threat posed by 
the arms merchants who enlist local help in ferrying weapons and drugs.

Recently, he has begun to send messages to Panama, urging not only more 
regional cooperation but also a renewed effort by the authorities to 
alleviate the poverty and hopelessness that prevails on the margins of 
society, whether in the jungles or the slums.

"This is a Central American problem, and people have not been too 
creative," he said. "In the church, we have not reached the people. The 
governments do not have too many tools at their disposal. They lack the 
capacity and talent and are too burdened with foreign debt. The governments 
are preoccupied with keeping themselves in power through little battles 
without making any clear plans for development."

He writes these messages on a desk cluttered with papers and books 
including a biography of Pope John Paul II and "100 Ways to Motivate 
Yourself." Not that he needs any further prompting, considering one to-do 
list he has taped to the window, alongside the religious drawings. It 
reads, "Heal Central America."

"It's a big goal, granted," he said. "Someone once said you need to aim 
your arrows at the moon so at least you might miss and hit a star."
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MAP posted-by: Jo-D