The FARC isn't finished

The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, the oldest and strongest terrorist group in North or South America, turns 45 this week -- that's 45 years of kidnappings, murders, bombings and drug trafficking. And although the FARC, whose goal is to overthrow the democratically elected government, began terrorizing the country in 1964, many in the United States became aware of the rebels only a few years ago, when they captured three Americans.

Marc Gonsalves, Keith Stansell and Thomas Howes, military contractors with Northrop Grumman Corp., were doing drug surveillance work when their plane crashed in the Colombian jungle. The three men, held along with hundreds of Colombian military, government and civilian hostages, would go on to endure the longest captivity of any Americans. They gained their freedom last year in a daring ruse, when the Colombian army tricked the rebels into turning them over to rescuers, along with other high-profile captives. A group memoir published this year shed new light on the rebels' viciousness. The men were routinely starved and chained by the neck even while eating, sleeping and bathing. Their captors, mostly impoverished teenagers, had orders to shoot them rather than allow a rescue.

Although that event highlighted one connection between the United States and the FARC, the relationship runs deeper. The U.S. has indirectly been waging war against the rebels since 2000, when the multibillion-dollar aid package known as Plan Colombia began. And although the U.S. has little or nothing to show for that effort in thwarting drug trafficking -- coca growth in Colombia rose 27% from 2006 to 2007 -- the aid has directly contributed to the weakening of not only the leftist guerrillas but right-wing paramilitaries. Since 2002, more than 47,000 combatants have demobilized.

Unfortunately, Colombia still is not at a clear turning point. Under President Alvaro Uribe, the rebels have been outmaneuvered time and again. The rescue of the Americans, along with Franco-Colombian politician Ingrid Betancourt, was a major blow, as was the raid on a FARC camp in Ecuador that killed the group's second in command, Raul Reyes. Its founder, Manuel Marulanda, died of natural causes last year, and members have deserted by the thousands. But with an estimated 7,000 fighters and $400 million to $600 million each year from coca production, the FARC remains a serious threat.

Earlier this week, Colombian news reports said that the group had returned to guerrilla warfare: It has killed 10 people and injured 36 in car bombings since the beginning of the year. So although real progress is being made in the fight against the FARC, on this grim anniversary it's also clear that the struggle continues.

Why Colombia's successful president should not seek another term in office

IN SEVEN years Álvaro Uribe has established himself as one of the most successful presidents in modern Colombian history. When he took office, his country was on the verge of failed-state status; under his guidance the government has reestablished control over most of the country, demobilized or defeated guerrillas of the right and left, and revived the economy. Though Colombia remains a major source of cocaine traffic, drug kingpins no longer operate with impunity -- dozens have been captured, killed or shipped to the United States for trial.

Now Mr. Uribe's very success threatens to become his undoing. Four years ago his political supporters led a movement to amend the constitution so that he could serve another term; the president won reelection in a landslide. Now, with his second term due to expire in 2010, another such movement has appeared. Last week, the Colombian Senate approved a constitutional amendment that, if reconciled with a version in the lower house and approved by the country's supreme court, could be put to a public referendum this year. Polls show that Mr. Uribe remains extremely popular and would be likely to win a third term.

That means that Mr. Uribe -- who has not yet said whether he will seek to remain in office -- must be challenged to undertake what might be his most impressive feat yet. He should exercise the check on himself that Colombia voters would forgo and step down after his current term ends. Despite his landmark achievements, his government has been weakened by scandals in the past several years, some of them serious. More than two dozen army soldiers have been arrested for the practice of murdering innocent civilians and depicting them as guerrillas; the intelligence service is under investigation for spying on opposition politicians and journalists. Though Mr. Uribe has not been personally implicated in the scandals, two of his sons have recently been the target of corruption charges.

The most compelling reason for his retirement, however, is to strengthen Colombia's democratic institutions. With its vibrant press, independent courts and active civil society, the country stands out as an alternative to the populist autocracy established in neighboring Venezuela. After two tries, Hugo Chávez recently eliminated the limit on his own tenure and now is seeking to destroy what remains of his opposition. In a region plagued by misrule, Mr. Uribe has demonstrated how much a capable elected president can accomplish; now he has the chance to show the importance of placing institutions and the rule of law above any one leader.

Mr. Uribe said recently that he is conflicted about a reelection bid; while acknowledging that it might weaken democracy, he said he is worried about preserving his "democratic security" policy. But at least one worthy successor is available: Defense Minister Juan Manuel Santos recently resigned and said he would run for president if Mr. Uribe did not. If he remains in office, Mr. Uribe would run the risk of undermining his own successes; some of his strongest supporters could turn against him, and the good relations he has enjoyed with the United States could come under strain. Better that the president choose to step down and give his country a last great gift, by strengthening the political system he has fought so hard to save.

Uribe edges towards autocracy

ONCE a country with a healthy, even exaggerated, distrust of executive power, Colombia is on the brink of allowing Álvaro Uribe to seek an unprecedented third consecutive term as president. The Senate is due to vote on May 19th on a bill to call a referendum on the required change in the constitution. Once the text is reconciled with a version already approved by the lower house, it would be reviewed by the Constitutional Court, and could be put to the people in November. Mr Uribe has still not said whether he intends to run in the election due in May 2010, but he has done nothing to discourage the idea. If he is a candidate, on present trends he would win. But some influential Colombians—and outsiders—believe a third term would be a huge mistake for both Mr Uribe and his country.

Many Colombians credit Mr Uribe with transforming their homeland from a near-failed state to a buoyant, if still violent, place. Their gratitude won him a second term in 2006, after the constitution was changed to allow a second consecutive term. After seven years in office, he still enjoys an approval rating of 71%, according to Invamer-Gallup, a pollster. In a poll this month, 59% said they would turn out for a referendum; of those, 84% said they would back Mr Uribe’s right to run again.

The president has said that his overriding concern is the continuation of his “democratic security” policies, which have curbed violence, weakened leftist guerrillas and demobilised many right-wing paramilitaries. But in the same breath he suggested that he alone can ensure that this progress will continue: “Perpetuating oneself in the presidency troubles me, but I cannot be politically irresponsible,” he declared.

Some of those who oppose a third term have been among Mr Uribe’s closest aides. They include Fabio Echeverri, who ran both his presidential campaigns. There is some hesitation among government legislators: the Senate vote was postponed this week, though the main stumbling block involved demands for political favours.

“No to re-election”, declared Semana, Colombia’s leading newsweekly (which has generally been critical of the president), on its cover this week. Its main argument was that the checks and balances in the constitution are designed for a four-year presidential term and that an erosion of the separation of powers under Mr Uribe would be aggravated by a third term.

Such worries are all the greater because Mr Uribe’s rule has not been free of abuses and scandals. These include the army murdering innocent civilians and disguising their corpses as guerrillas killed in combat. This prompted the government to sack 30 officers last October, including three generals. So far 22 soldiers, including three colonels, have been arrested over these crimes. The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights last year complained of “widespread and systematic” killings of civilians by the army. Prosecutors at the attorney-general’s office are investigating 1,296 such allegations since 2002.

The government insists that it is committed to ending and punishing such abuses, which it says are isolated. But its allies abroad seem to be becoming more sceptical. Mr Uribe enjoyed a close friendship with George Bush. The Democrats who control the American Congress have held up ratification of a free-trade agreement with Colombia, ostensibly because of worries about the killings of trade unionists. In March Britain announced that it was ending a scheme under which it trained Colombian soldiers in human rights (though it is maintaining counter-drug aid and giving money to civic groups and the judiciary). David Miliband, the foreign secretary, expressed concern that “there are officers and soldiers of the Colombian armed forces who have been involved in, or allowed, abuses.”

Another running sore involves the civilian intelligence service, known as DAS. Three successive directors of this body, each chosen by Mr Uribe, are being questioned by prosecutors over claims that DAS illegally spied on opposition politicians, journalists and Supreme Court justices. On May 8th the first of the three, Jorge Noguera, was charged with conspiracy and murder. He is accused of colluding with paramilitaries and helping to plan the murders of an academic, a journalist, a union leader and a politician.

Mr Uribe will shortly have the chance to propose a new attorney-general, who critics worry may be less zealous than Mario Iguarán, the incumbent. In a third term, the president could fill the Constitutional Court with his nominees. Senior judicial appointments must be ratified by Congress, but the president has enjoyed a comfortable legislative majority.

A second argument wielded by opponents of a third term is that national priorities have changed. Polls find that the economy tops security as a public concern. That is partly a tribute to Mr Uribe’s success, and partly a consequence of gathering recession. Third, Mr Uribe risks aggravating a worrying regional trend. In Venezuela, Hugo Chávez recently won a referendum abolishing term limits and followed it up by harassing opponents.

Assuming that Mr Uribe is not simply bluffing, and that his supporters in the Senate do not have second thoughts, would he really win? A deteriorating economy is probably the biggest threat to a third term. But Michael Shifter of the Inter-American Dialogue, a Washington think-tank, says that because he is seen as a “crisis president”, this could even help him.

There are other strong candidates. Juan Manuel Santos, the defence minister, is expected to resign soon in order to run, though he says he would not do so against Mr Uribe. Another contender is Sergio Fajardo, an independent who was a reforming mayor of Medellín, Colombia’s second city. If he doesn’t quit while he is still ahead, history may judge that Mr Uribe began to undo his own achievement.

Mexican teams barred from Bogota

Colombia has denied Mexican football clubs Guadalajara and San Luis permission to stage home Libertadores Cup ties in Bogota because of the swine flu outbreak.

"This decision has been taken on the recommendation of the World Health Organisation," the Bogota city government's sub-secretary for health Juan Varela told reporters.

"The decision has been taken because we are in stage five of a pandemic. The World Health Organisation is very demanding. They say we cannot have events with more than 40 people, when a country or origin of the virus is involved,"

"Unfortunately the teams come from a positive country and we are following the recommendation."

The South American Football Confederation (CSF) earlier announced the teams would stage their home matches at the Campin stadium on May 6 after barring them from playing in Mexico.

Guadalajara, Mexico's most popular club, are to due face Brazilian champions Sao Paulo in their second round, first leg tie, while San Luis are due to play Uruguay's Nacional.

The swine flu virus has killed up to 176 people in Mexico.

The Colombian Football Federation and the CSF have yet to comment on the decision.

The Libertadores Cup is the region's equivalent of the European Champions League competition.

Mexico is not a CSF member but three teams from the country take part in the Libertadores every year under a special agreement.

UK ends bilateral military aid to Colombia

Britain has quietly ended nearly a decade of military aid to Colombia's armed forces after accusations of gross violations of human rights, including the murder of civilians who were shot and reported as guerrillas killed in combat.

The Colombian government was "extremely surprised" by the decision to cut off the bilateral cooperation programmes, the deputy defence minister, Sergio Jaramillo, told the Guardian.

The British foreign secretary, David Miliband, announced the move in a written statement to the House of Commons last month, stating that the government "shares the concern … that there are officers and soldiers of the Colombian armed forces who have been involved in, or allowed, abuses".

"Our bilateral human rights projects with the Colombian ministry of defence will cease," the statement said.

The projects included a landmine clearance programme that had been under way since 2000 and a human rights training project that began in 2006. Together, funding for the programmes totalled £190,000 a year.

While the financial value is relatively small, the termination of British military aid has symbolic significance for Colombia. Jaramillo called the decision a "severe blow" to the armed forces from a "great ally".

"No other European country has worked as closely with the army as the United Kingdom," he said.

Colombia's military had long been accused of colluding with illegal rightwing paramilitary groups. Investigators are looking into 1,296 cases since 2002 of reported executions of civilians by army soldiers who dressed the victims in rebel uniforms and planted weapons on them to present them as legitimate guerrilla casualties.

The UN high commissioner for human rights described the practice as "widespread and systematic". Many of the cases came to light after a public outcry over the fate of 11 men missing from a poor suburb of Bogotá who were then reported as combat deaths thousands of miles away, days after their disappearance. Twenty-seven officers, including three generals were discharged over those killings.

A Foreign Office spokesman said none of the aid had gone directly to any of the units involved in the killing of civilians, adding it would be "extremely unfortunate" if they had, since the UK training programme had been aimed at raising awareness of human rights.

Jaramillo said that precisely because of the situation, "it makes no sense whatsoever to cut support for human rights at this critical time."

In November, the US, Colombia's largest military aid donor at about $500m (£340m) a year, suspended the eligibility for funding to several army units that were believed to be involved in the extrajudicial executions, known as "false positives".

While welcoming the UK's decision as "a step in the right direction", the London-based group Justice for Colombia said that the "more offensive" elements of British military aid, labelled counter­-narcotics assistance, was not affected.

The Foreign Office spokesman acknowledged it would continue to work with "some members of the armed forces" on anti-drug programmes. The UK does not reveal the financial value of that assistance due to "security concerns", he said.

The UK will also continue to fund landmine clearance projects through the UN office in Colombia, as well as more than £1m for civilian human rights projects, £900,000 to support UN drugs projects, and £250,000 to fight what has been described as rampant impunity from prosecution enjoyed by some Colombians.

In the statement to the Commons, Miliband said: "The challenge for the Colombian government is to ensure the strategic human rights principles we have helped to promote are embedded and consistently practised by all members of their armed services."

Bogotá: Building a Sustainable City

Enrique Peñalosa, the former mayor of Bogotá, Colombia, transformed one of the world's most chaotic cities into a model of civic-minded and sustainable urban planning. He reformed public transportation, added greenways, built mega-libraries and created the longest stretch of bike-only lanes in the world. But along the way, he met tremendous opposition from the very people he was attempting to help.

Peñalosa describes the environmental and social importance of minimizing automobile culture.