As many as 99 killed in Colombia; peace process
         marches on
 

             By TIM JOHNSON
             Herald Staff Writer

             BOGOTA, Colombia -- New combat that has killed as many as 99 soldiers and
             guerrillas will not derail President Andres Pastrana's pledge to enter peace talks
             with Colombia's largest insurgency within 90 days, the defense minister said
             Monday.

             ``There has been no change in the . . . commitment of the president to the peace
             process,'' Defense Minister Rodrigo Lloreda said.

             Pastrana and his aides are ironing out details of how to create a combat-free zone
             of 16,266 square miles in eastern Colombia for peace talks, Lloreda said.

             Stunned by the latest guerrilla action, Pastrana flew back from the seaside resort of
             Cartagena, where he was celebrating his 44th birthday, to preside over an
             emergency meeting of his Cabinet and the military leadership. They planned to deal
             with the latest setback to the beleaguered armed forces.

             Over the weekend, some 600 guerrillas of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of
             Colombia (FARC) fired at two U.S. Black Hawk helicopters and ambushed an
             army patrol in a rugged region of northwest Colombia near Puerto Lleras, in
             Choco state that borders on Panama. Combat lasted for two days.

             Lloreda said 36 soldiers died and 29 are missing. He said surviving troops
             estimated that FARC forces had lost 63 fighters.

             The high estimates of guerrilla losses appeared aimed at taking some of the sting
             out of the latest rout of the military, which has suffered a series of startling setbacks
             in the past two years.

             In remarks that echoed the opinions of key military analysts in Colombia, Lloreda
             downplayed the importance of the combat in terms of the overall peace process,
             saying authorities never expected fighting to wind down as a prelude to peace
             talks.

             ``Whenever the peace process was talked about, it was understood that it was a
             process that would unfortunately take place in the midst of conflict, that is to say,
             in conditions of war,'' he said. ``That's not the way the government wanted it . . .
             but the peace efforts that the Colombian people yearn for will occur in these
             conditions.''

             Colombia has been shaken this month by an unprecedented offensive by rebels of
             the FARC and the smaller National Liberation Army.

             On Aug. 3-4, FARC insurgents overran a police anti-narcotics outpost in
             Miraflores, in eastern Meta state, leaving a smoldering mess and killing dozens of
             police and soldiers.

             In an off-the-cuff remark that he later appeared to regret, Pastrana said that attack
             and a series of others were a send-off to his predecessor, former President
             Ernesto Samper, rather than a welcome for him.

             In fact, analysts say the growing FARC insurgency launched the offensive to show
             its military prowess before potential talks, demonstrating its ability to engage in
             direct combat with army forces rather than employing the hit-and-run guerrilla
             tactics it used in the past.

             The armed forces chief, Gen. Fernando Tapias, said the military was in the midst
             of creating ``an intelligence service capable of preventing, detecting in a timely
             fashion and reacting'' to ``these new types of threats.''

             The rebel offensive also allowed insurgents to capture at least 120 more police and
             soldiers, adding to some 80 troops already held as prisoners of war. The captives
             are expected to serve as bargaining chips in eventual peace talks.