Thugs in Colombia try to thwart democracy

international | anti-war / imperialism | news report Thursday July 24, 2003 08:17 by joe ranii

Aware that they would receive perhaps 2% of the vote if they ran for election in Colombia, FARC's answer is to threaten to kill decent men and women who have the guts to seek a mandate from the people. This crude intimidation provides further evidence of the FARC's ideological disarray and moral bankruptcy.

From Reuters:

Colombia's largest guerrilla army, the Marxist FARC, has threatened to kill all candidates for October municipal elections, saying they and their families will be declared military targets.
In a letter sent to the nation's mayors, obtained by Reuters news service over the weekend, FARC — the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia — said the threat extended to candidates for mayor, governor, city council and provincial legislatures.
The nationwide vote, the first election under the government of President Alvaro Uribe, is slated for Oct. 26. The president took power last year promising to make Latin America's most violent nation safe again.