By IPS Correspondents
BOGOTA, Mar 13 1999 (IPS)

The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), which admitted the “error” of killing three indigenous rights activists from the United States, says it will bring the culprits to justice itself.

But authorities here and in the United States have turned on the heat to get the insurgent groups to turn the perpetrators in.

The case adds a new international dimension – the murders were committed in Venezuela – to the already complex process in which the government of conservative President Andres Pastrana, with U.S. support, is seeking a negotiated solution to Colombia’s decades-old civil war.

The General Staff of the Eastern Bloc of FARC admitted Wednesday that the murders of Ingrid Washinawatok, Lae’ena’e Gay and Terence Freitas, committed just across the Colombian border in Venezuela on Mar 5, were an “error,” and announced that the perpetrators would be brought to justice within the organisation.

The three activists, who were kidnapped on Feb 25, had come to Colombia to support the U’wa indians’ fight against the U.S. oil giant Occidental Petroleum’s plans to drill for oil on their land.

Five days after the murders, the 15,000-member FARC said Commandant Gildardo of the 10th Front was responsible for the murders, and would be tried and punished – and perhaps executed.

But Defence Minister Rodrigo Lloreda and armed forces chief Gen. Fernando Tapias believe Dildardo is being used as a scapegoat. They say FARC is trying to protect the real culprit, Commandant Grannobles of the 45th Front, whose real name is German Briceno.

Grannobles is the brother of the rebel group’s No. 2, Jorge Briceno, known as ‘Mono Jojoy’.

“The recognition of the crime committed by FARC is a positive step for the peace process in Colombia, but we must not tell half- truths,” said Tapia.

Tapia had already given the Prosecutor-General’s Office a military intelligence recording in which Grannobles is supposedly heard giving the order to take the three hostages to Venezuelan territory.

The recording was also handed over to U.S. Ambassador to Colombia Curtis Kaman, who in turn gave it to the Department of State in Washington.

The U.S. Embassy had no comment with respect to FARC’s admission of guilt.

Other sources say the murders were more than a “circumstantial error,” as stated in the communique issued by FARC.

“Underlying the incident was a political error that demonstrates internal fissures regarding the peace negotiations, a matter in which up to now they had presented themselves as homogeneous and on the offensive,” a political observer who preferred to remain anonymous told IPS.

But “the acknowledgement of that would weaken FARC’s position vis-a-vis the government,” he added.

The president of the Senate, Fabio Valencia Cosio, said “this episode demonstrates the urgency of clearing up doubts regarding the unity of the FARC leadership.”

Senator Gustavo Petro of the legalised former guerrilla ‘Movimiento 19 de Abril’ said FARC “does not understand the differences of indigenous people, because (the rebels) lack democratic conditions.”

Senator Jesus Pinacue, a member of the Paez indigenous community, said he had “always suspected” that FARC “had a hand in that crime. It is not the only case committed by the various left and right-wing armed groups.”

U’wa leader Roberto Cobaria called on FARC and all armed factions to respect his group’s culture and territorial autonomy.

The U’wa need U.S. non-governmental organisations, he underlined, pointing out that he didn’t speak English and needed support and translators in negotiations with Occidental Petroleum.

The touchy question of extradition is also mixed up in the case. The United States has indicated its intention to seek the extradition of the murderers, on charges of “international terrorism.”

In its communique, FARC said “it is not our policy to make Colombians or people of other nationalities disappear.” But it added that “we will not turn over our combatants to any state.”

The execution of Gildardo by FARC would exemplify the old motto of another faction involved in the violence here, Colombia’s drug barons: “we prefer a tomb in Colombia to a prison in the United States.”

Before the announcement of the cancellation of a meeting between Pastrana and his Venezuelan opposite number Hugo Chavez Thursday, Venezuelan Foreign Minister Jose Vicente Rangel had pointed out that the case of the three indigenous activists involved a violation of Venezuelan territory.

The Bogota daily ‘El Espectador’ cited sources from the U.S. Department of State that were inclined toward a local trial of the murderers in Colombia.

The fact that FARC admitted the murders is “a good sign,” and now we hope the rebels turn the culprits over to government authorities, a U.S. official was quoted as saying.

Former Colombian foreign minister Augusto Ramirez Ocampo, a member of the National Conciliation Commission, said “I hope FARC can be committed to acting in accordance with international humanitarian law.”

Prosecutor Alfonso Gomez insisted that Colombian courts should try those responsible for the murders. He called on the guerrillas to turn them over, “in order not to commit an equally condemnable crime.”

A communique released by High Commissioner for Peace Victor Ricardo said “the individual responsibility of the authors of the crime should be judged according to the law and with the guarantees characteristic of a state of law.”

The government “is confident that the insurgents will clearly express their real will for peace. Only by acting in accordance with the truth will the necessary conditions for real peace be created,” he added.

The murders of the three U.S. activists and future developments are expected to have an impact on Pastrana’s tour of Spain, Italy and the Vatican, which begins this weekend.

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