By JUAN O. TAMAYO
Herald Staff Writer

BOGOTA, Colombia -- It's an odd way to seek peace, kidnapping 150 people from
a church as they attended Mass, hijacking an airliner and dragging 41 hostages
into the jungle.

But that's exactly what the guerrillas of the National Liberation Army (ELN) say
they are doing, trying to terrorize their way into peace talks between President
Andres Pastrana and the country's larger rebel movement, the Colombian
Revolutionary Armed Forces, known by the Spanish initials FARC.

Surprisingly, the ELN may be succeeding. Even though many Colombians say
Pastrana has already yielded too much to the FARC, the recent series of hostage
seizures by the ELN may force the president to make additional concessions to
halt the brazen assaults that have shaken the country.

The hope remains that his efforts will end a civil war that has racked Colombia for
four decades and today claims 3,000 lives per year.

``Let there be no illusions. We're not at the doors to peace. But most of us are
convinced we're on the right road,'' said Alejo Vargas, a political analyst and
deputy chancellor of the National University.

But the road has been rocky so far. Pastrana gave the FARC rebels control of a
huge piece of territory in central Colombia and has yet to receive much in return.
The ELN, left out of the talks, responded with the hostage-takings at a church in
Cali last month and a domestic jetliner in April to press its demand for its own
``safe zone.'' Other kidnappings, like the seizure of nine men on a fishing
excursion near the city of Barranquilla last Sunday, occur almost daily.

The last major pro-Castro guerrilla group in Latin America, the ELN has an
estimated 3,000 to 6,000 full-time fighters operating in 20 to 25 units -- known as
columns -- along five regional fronts, mostly in northeastern and central Colombia.

Some Colombian analysts say the ELN's fortunes have been declining since its
longtime commander, the ex-priest Manuel Perez, died of hepatitis in Cuba early
last year. His loss created further disarray in the ELN's already loose-knit
leadership structure.

The ELN has also been under intense pressure from private anti-guerrilla militias
who massacred hundreds of alleged pro-ELN peasants during a bloody offensive
last year.

Most of the militia killings took place in the four municipalities the ELN is
demanding as a safe haven. The area of Bolivar state holds some of Colombia's
richest gold mines, a resource the guerrillas want to exploit.

`Guerrillas on last legs'

The recent setbacks have sparked claims that the ELN is on its last legs,
bringing comparisons to the M-19 guerrillas whose movement collapsed amid
public disgust with its seizure of the Palace of Justice in Bogota in 1985. More
than 100 people died in a violent army counterattack, including 11 Supreme Court
justices.

``The ELN has never been as weak as today,'' wrote the respected Semana news
weekly, which also compared the ELN's seemingly desperate actions to the
bloody attacks carried out by the Medellin drug cartel in its final days.

But the ELN has recovered from many previous setbacks, and the recent rash of
kidnappings will probably force Pastrana to give it a seat at the negotiating table,
analysts said.

``It would be wrong to interpret these acts, which are no doubt a little erratic, as a
sign of weakness,'' said Vargas, who has taken part in preliminary peace talks
between the ELN and civilian groups.

Founded in 1964 by Cuban-trained students from the Industrial University of
Santander, the ELN launched its war with a 1965 attack on the town of Simacota
that killed five police officers and looted $54,000 from a bank.

Its best-known leader, the priest Camilo Torres, was killed in combat soon
afterward and the group has since gained a reputation for ruthlessness, executing
deserters and informers, and even the girlfriends of rural policemen.

Cuban ideological guidance

The current political chief, Nicolas Rodriguez, 49, is a peasant who joined the
ELN as a teenager. Its four-man military command is reportedly made up of
hard-liners who still look to Cuba for ideological guidance.

Pastrana's contacts with the FARC didn't seem to bother the ELN at first. It was
already negotiating with civilian groups, backed by the Roman Catholic Church
and several European governments, in hopes of forcing the government to the
bargaining table under conditions favorable to the rebels.

But the ELN reacted with fury after Pastrana granted the FARC control of a region
totaling 4.4 percent of the country in January. The establishment of this guerrilla
``safe haven'' was supposed to be a sign of good faith, as well as a neutral
meeting ground for peace talks.

Stung by the public outcry against his concession to the FARC, Pastrana
rejected ELN demands for a similar deal. The ELN struck back by seizing the
airplane and the church hostages.

An angry Pastrana initially branded the ELN as terrorists and vowed there would
be no further contacts until it released all hostages, but by last week his envoys
appeared to have resumed discreet talks with the ELN.

The ELN has now promised to release the 76 airplane and church hostages it still
holds by Wednesday, and Rodriguez has grudgingly apologized to the church for
the Cali raid.

Feeling the consequences

``The rich should sometimes feel the consequences of war,'' he said in an
interview with Semana.

Most Colombian analysts believe Pastrana will be obliged to give the ELN some
sort of standing at the peace table -- if not an official safe haven, at least an
unofficial cease-fire zone in ELN areas.

Hopes for long-term peace, however, still depend on the slim possibility that the
government can wield enough force to push the FARC and ELN to make
significant concessions, such as disarming their fighters.

Colombia's 250,000 soldiers and police, which are facing conflict on a number of
fronts, constitute one of the smallest security forces in Latin America. Front-line
combat units number only 30,000 men, even though they face an estimated
17,000-18,000 FARC and ELN guerrillas.

``There is no way out of this without both a carrot and stick, but frankly the carrot
has not been used enough,'' said one Western analyst. ``The political class in this
country has yet to decide how much to fight and how much to negotiate on
bended knee.''