TV images showed Guillermo Gaviria, governor of Antioquia state, telling fellow
                 marchers Sunday during the trek from Medellin to the village of Caicedo that he
                 was heading into the bush to meet with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of
                 Colombia, or FARC. The rebel group has been kidnapping politicians and officials in
                 hopes of trading them for captured guerrillas.

                 Colombia's war, now in its 38th year, pits the U.S.-backed military and an outlawed
                 paramilitary group against the FARC and a smaller rebel army. The government has
                 ruled out exchanging captured rebels for hostages.

                 A small group of armed rebels intercepted leaders of the march on Sunday
                 afternoon, and reportedly told them rebel commanders in the hills wanted to
                 question them about the purpose of the march.

                 The rebels allowed other marchers, including an American university professor --
                 Bernard LaFayette, who heads the Center for Nonviolence and Peace Studies at the
                 University of Rhode Island _ to walk away Sunday night.

                 But Gaviria, former Defense Minister Gilberto Echeverri Mejia and a priest,
                 Antioquia state chaplain Carlos Yepes, were still held by the insurgents on Monday,
                 the interior minister said.

                 "They are kidnapped, and because of that we need to carry out military and
                 humanitarian strategies to secure their freedom," Estrada said on national radio.

                 The peace walk was stopped just short of its destination, Caicedo, 120 miles from
                 Medellin. The village has declared itself a nonviolent community, but when farmers
                 were bringing their coffee crops to market recently, guerrillas confronted them and
                 allegedly hit a priest and yanked his rosary beads from his hands.

                 Many of the peace marchers wore rosary beads to protest the treatment of the
                 priest.

                 A presidential candidate, Ingrid Betancourt, was kidnapped at a FARC roadblock in
                 February and is still being held. The FARC is also holding 12 state lawmakers they
                 kidnapped earlier this month in a raid on state legislature.

                  Copyright 2002 The Associated Press.