BY TIM JOHNSON

 BOGOTA, Colombia -- They read like postcards from an educational study trip to
 Europe.

 ``Today, Sunday, we began work at 10 a.m. and we expanded our knowledge of
 how the Swedish parliament functions,'' one said. ``Tomorrow, we'll begin work at
 8 a.m.''

 But the messages being sent home to Colombia come not from university
 students or professors, but rather from hardened guerrilla commanders who are
 being exposed to the workings of Scandinavian democracy in the hope that some
 of what they witness will rub off on them.

 A week ago, six top rebel commanders exchanged their fatigues for civilian
 clothes and left Colombia's eastern jungles. They flew to Bogota, then caught a
 commercial airliner for an unprecedented government-organized tour of Europe
 planned in total secrecy.

 The group is led by Raul Reyes, one of the best-known leaders of the insurgents.
 Joining him are two FARC peace negotiators, Joaquin Gomez and Fabian
 Ramirez, and FARC senior commanders Simon Trinidad, Felipe Rincon and Ivan
 Rios.

 Nearly every day since the tour began, the rebel leaders have written joint
 statements with envoys of President Andres Pastrana's government. And their
 upbeat tone hints that the trip may add momentum to Colombia's peace process.

 ``Trust between members of the government commission and the [Revolutionary
 Armed Forces of Colombia] is growing, and we are communicating and asking
 questions without any hesitation,'' said a statement issued Sunday night.

 ANGRY RESPONSE

 The trip has left many Colombians agape -- and angry. The response to an
 informal, call-in poll by the Caracol radio network showed that 72 percent of
 Colombians opposed offering passports to the rebel commanders, suspending
 criminal charges against several of them, and giving them a tour of Europe.

 But opinion-makers are offering wholehearted endorsement. The Semana news
 weekly lauded the ``surprising and unusual trip,'' while the El Espectador
 newspaper called it ``a very important initiative.''

 The length of the tour is undetermined, although the group is going to Norway on
 Wednesday, and perhaps on to Switzerland, Italy, France, Spain and Mexico.
 The trip is paid for, at least in its early phase, by Scandinavian governments and
 private businesses, a Pastrana administration official said.

 Since arriving in Stockholm Feb. 2, the group has stayed in a forest lodge an
 hour's drive from Stockholm. So far, FARC leader Reyes and Pastrana's top
 peace envoy, Victor G. Ricardo, have issued four statements. The first statement,
 issued on Thursday, was so breathless in tone it sounded like the travelers had
 dipped into the aquavit.

 Describing their desire to ``enrich the conversations [and] broaden the visions of
 each side'' the statement noted: ``Today, we are doing it! We are in Sweden
 sharing with business people about their experiences.''

 Late Friday, the second statement told how the rebels, several Colombian
 legislators, a top business leader and government envoys listened raptly to
 descriptions of how Sweden had combined its welfare state with capitalism.

 ``Right now, at 10 p.m., we have just finished a four-hour meeting with the
 president of the Swedish Business Owners' Confederation and the top national
 union leader,'' it said. ``It was a most interesting encounter. The point that we'd
 like to highlight is the true harmony between the unions and the company
 owners.''

 A key figure behind the current trip is Jan Egeland, a former Norwegian deputy
 foreign minister renowned for helping to bring the Palestine Liberation
 Organization and Israel to the peace table. Egeland also played a role in peace
 talks in Guatemala, and was named by U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan on
 Dec. 1 to serve as his special advisor on Colombia.

 Pastrana ironed out details of the trip Jan. 29 in Davos, Switzerland, in a meeting
 with Norway's prime minister, the Semana news weekly reported.

 NEW VIEWS

 While details of the trip remain limited to press statements, Colombians are
 getting a different view of the rebel leaders.

 Photos show Reyes, who normally is seen in Colombia's jungle with a rifle over
 his shoulder, decked out in a suit and necktie. Reyes demurred when a reporter
 for El Tiempo reached him on the telephone with sartorial questions.

 ``I only own two ties,'' he said. ``They were given to me, as they say around here,
 by a donor.''

 The FARC has been fighting since 1964, but it's not as if some of the
 commanders had stepped out of the jungle for the first time. Reyes said he had
 been in Sweden three times previously, and Trinidad was a well-traveled banker
 before joining the FARC in the 1980s.

                     Copyright 2000 Miami Herald