Date: Tue, 16 Apr 2002 18:24:13 +0200 From: Vladimir =?iso-8859-1?Q?T=E1mara?= To: elbarcino@laneta.apc.org, tematicosfarcep@hotmail.com Cc: champagnat90@yahoogroups.com, tampat@yahoogroups.com, tocancipak@yahoogroups.com Subject: Carta a las FARC-EP. Atentado a Uribe Velez Señores y señoras FARC-EP Con copia a grupo de Usenet soc.culture.colombia y otros grupos colombianos. He recibido información (adjunta) que los señala como posibles responsables del reciente atentado al señore Alvaro Uribe Velez en Barranquilla, en el que murieron 3 personas y resultaron heridas 15 (entre ellos una niña de 3 años). En mi humilde opinión, de ser ustedes los autores, sería mejor que asumieran la responsabilidad (aún mejor arrepentirse de corazón). Como en cartas anteriores a ustedes, a las AUC, al gobierno nacional y al mismo Uribe Velez (de las cuales he enviado con copia al grupo de Usenet soc.culture.colombia) les pido respeto a la vida, no sólo a la propia sino a la de todos. La paz de Dios se construye haciendola. Acudo a su conciencia para entender y hacer lo que Dios pide, que es dar amor a todos como Él nos lo da (quienes estamos vivos somos testigos), también pide decir la verdad y cuidar la vida de todos. Por favor no más muerte. Por favor busquemos una solución dialogada. Un recurso que creé desde el 12 de Enero de este año aún sigue vigente y aún espera apoyo de quienes queremos hacer la paz con paz: http://www.tamarapatino.com/vladimir/paz/continuar_dialogos.shtml Un colombiano que quiere la paz de Dios: Vladimir Támara ------ ATENTADO CONTRA URIBE VÉLEZ THE WASHINGTON POST ? AP Colombian Candidate Vows to Continue Jared Kotler Associated Press Monday, April 15, 2002; 5:10 AM BOGOTA, Colombia ?? Colombia's leading presidential candidate said an apparent assassination attempt against him that killed three bystanders will not deter his drive to bring law and order to this violent and chaotic South American nation. Alvaro Uribe, who has pledged to crack down on leftist guerrillas, was unhurt after a bomb placed under a bridge was set off by remote control Sunday as his caravan passed by in the Caribbean coastal city of Barranquilla. City officials said the powerful blast killed three bystanders and injured another 15, including five police officers ? two of whom were listed in serious condition. A three-year-old girl walking on the road nearby lost a leg in the blast, said Uribe campaign spokesman Ricardo Galan. "We'll review how we go about campaigning, but we have to continue because our commitment to the fatherland, democracy and all our compatriots is at stake," a defiant Uribe said. "We cannot cede a millimeter of the national territory to the violent ones." Uribe, 49, refused to speculate about who placed the bomb, but suspicion was likely to focus on the nation's largest guerrilla group, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, which considers Uribe its enemy. The candidate's tough talk about reigning in the rebels has resonated with Colombians, helping catapult the former governor into a commanding lead in the polls ahead of May 26 presidential elections. Colombia's 38-year war pits the FARC and another leftist guerrilla faction against the U.S.-supported military and an illegal right-wing paramilitary group. An estimated 3,500 people, mostly civilians, die each year in the conflict. The bomb went off shortly after Uribe motorcade pulled away from a campaign event. A passenger bus was traveling nearby. "It must of been a very powerful explosive because I was traveling in the most heavily armored kind of vehicle, and the vehicle was destroyed. But thank God, here we are, talking," Uribe told Caracol Radio moments after the attack. He said nobody traveling with him was hurt. Uribe ? wearing a striped straw hat typical to the coastal region ? was cheered by residents as he walked through a neighborhood where his armored car, its tires blown out and its windows cracked, came to a stop. Colombians are generally fed up with rebel violence. Many have lost faith in peace talks, which collapsed in February after a wave of rebel attacks. Uribe is promising to beef up the military and only enter into new negotiations with the rebels from a position of strength. Guerrilla attacks have been escalating since peace talks collapsed in February with President Andres Pastrana's government. A bombing attributed to FARC rebels a week ago in the eastern city of Villavicencio killed 12 civilians. On Saturday, police said they captured 16 suspected rebels and more than 1,300 pounds of explosives during raids in the capital. The rebels have already allegedly plotted to assassinate Uribe on at least one occasion. Earlier this month Uribe's vice-presidential candidate, Francisco Santos, said the two were aware they could be targets. General Armando Sandoval, the police chief in Atlantico State, of which Barranquilla is the capital, also refused to speculate on who set off the bomb. But campaign spokesman Galan said there was "no doubt at all" that it had been an assassination attempt. He predicted Uribe would have to cut back his public appearances and make more use of the media to get out his message.