BOGOTA - (AP) -- Voluptuous women in itsy-bitsy bikinis are the Colombian military's newest weapon in the campaign to encourage defections in the
  ranks of leftist rebels and right-wing militias.

  The army has printed thousands of pocket calendars with the bikini-clad women on the back beckoning to the insurgents to desert ``and get the
  benefits.''

  Officials are hoping the striking women will get the word out about the government's demobilization program for rebel and paramilitary deserters, said
  Col. Manuel Forero, director of the army's program for deserters. The army made more than 3,000 calendars and has begun distributing them in two
  special security zones where the military has been given extraordinary powers to subdue insurgents, Forero said.

  The new tactic was condemned by peace activist Gloria Cuartas.

  ''With these acts, the army is demonstrating that in Colombia, women's bodies are a war trophy,'' she said.

  As Colombia's war has escalated in recent months, more and more insurgents are deserting. So far this year, 1,135 have deserted from the ranks of the
  rebels and right-wing militias, compared with 327 in all of last year.