COLOMBIA: An Irish Franciscan priest, home on leave from Colombia, has criticised plans by the Irish Government to contribute funds towards the peace process in that country.
Fr Brendan Forde, a Dubliner, also met a Department of Foreign Affairs official on the matter on Thursday.
It was announced in New York on September 18th that Ireland is to provide € 390,000 to support the Colombian peace process. The decision, made last June, emerged on the eve of a meeting at the United Nations between Minister for Foreign Affairs Dermot Ahern and his Colombian counterpart, Carolina Barco, on September 19th.
It took place at Mr Barco's request and discussion at the meeting centred on the so-called "Colombia Three" who escaped from Colombia to Ireland to avoid serving 17-year sentences imposed by an appeal tribunal for training the left-wing Farc guerrillas in bomb-making techniques.
The funds are to be provided over a three-year period to the "peace and verification" mission of the Organisation of American States in Colombia.
Speaking to The Irish Times, Fr Forde questioned whether there was a real peace process underway in Colombia where right-wing paramilitaries were often to be seen working alongside the state security forces.
These paramilitaries were, frequently, no more than the private armies of major landowners and drugs barons, he said.
Many believed the peace process was little more than a means of legitimising them, Fr Forde said.