Priest slain in Colombian shoot-out

BY CHRISTINA WHITE
CONTINUED VIOLENCE in Colombia left one priest dead and a bishop, priest and peasants kidnapped last weekend as the various guerrilla factions stepped up efforts to disrupt the national elections.
Most of the country went to the polls last Sunday but guerrilla forces have succeeded in disrupting the election in the states of Antioqui, Putumayo and Narino.
Fr Antonio Bedoya, a priest in the town of San Francisco, Colombia, was killed on Saturday when guerrilla gunmen from the National Liberation Army (FARC) opened fire on a delegation from the Antioquia province that included governor Alvaro Uribe Velez.
The governor escaped unharmed. On Sunday, Bishop Hector Julio Lopez Hurtado and Fr Jaime Holguin were among a group kidnapped by the Colombian Revolutionary Armed Forces.
The rebels confirmed they would be released on the 28th, after the election boycott was over.
Archbishop Alberto Jaramillo has condemned the violence and appealed to the guerrillas to set the hostages free but priests across Colombia confirm a state of continued lawlessness.
Fr Luis Alfredo Cardenas reported that FARC guerrillas control the area surrounding Puerto Lleras.
"There are no police or army troops in the area," he said.
A Canadian trade union delegation that visited Colombia at the beginning of October reports that the government is "unable or unwilling" to stop the killing.
On average ten people a day are being murdered.
The majority of deaths have been at the hands of government forces, says the delegation.