Pubdate: Wed, 03 Jul 2002
Source: Post and Courier, The (SC)
Copyright: 2002 Evening Post Publishing Co
Contact:   http://www.charleston.net/index.html
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/567

BOGOTA'S COURAGEOUS MAYOR

One of the most surprising discoveries that awaits a visitor to Colombia is 
that the capital city of Bogota is a delight.

Despite the three-way war being waged against the country by leftist 
guerrillas, right-wing paramilitaries and ruthless drug cartels, and the 
fact that city is literally under siege, Mayor Antanas Mockus has made 
Bogota one of the most attractive and enjoyable cities in the world. It is 
his success and popularity that has made the mayor and more than 100 of his 
fellow mayors, who have also bravely defied the triple terror that menaces 
Colombia, targets for assassination.

Mayor Mockus has been warned that unless he resigns, he will be murdered by 
the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, known by their initials, FARC. 
In all, 110 mayors have received death threats from the FARC, a guerrilla 
army that controls a large but isolated area of Colombia. Some have also 
been threatened by the right-wing, self-styled Auto-Defense Forces, which 
have been likened to death squads.

To their credit, many of the mayors and more than 100 other municipal 
government officials defied the death threats. The FARC and the 
second-largest left-wing group, the National Liberation Army, have been 
intensifying terrorist attacks on civilian targets and innocent civilians. 
This reflects the frustration of the guerrillas over their failure to win 
power by military means.

The targeting of Colombia's mayors, who are civic heroes, is a warning that 
the three and a half decade-long civil war is increasing in its 
viciousness. The reason is that the newly elected president, Alvaro Uribe, 
who takes office next month, has declared his intention to return Colombia 
to rule of law, and has announced that he will give no quarter in battling 
the guerrillas. By threatening civil authority at the mayoral level, the 
guerrillas/terrorists hope to destabilize an already weakened democracy and 
thwart Mr. Uribe's intention to bring peace to Colombia through strength.

In a landslide election victory, he was given a clear mandate by the 
Colombian people to scrap fruitless peace negotiations and take the war to 
the strongholds of the guerrillas. In a display of determination and 
courage that is reminiscent of New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani's leadership 
when terrorists struck the twin towers of the World Trade Center, Mayor 
Mockus has announced that he is staying on, despite the threats to his life.

Mayor Mockus and President-elect Uribe are with us in the fight against 
terrorism. We must be with them.
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