Guerrillas Launch New Political Party

In a quest for legitimacy that could mark a new phase in peace efforts, 4,000 members of Colombia’s most powerful rebel army massed at San Vicente del Caguan to launch a new political party. The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, also brought in hundreds of civilians from rebel-controlled areas to the ranching town in the southern demilitarized zone. But the newly inaugurated Bolivarian Movement for a New Colombia will remain clandestine for now to prevent attacks on its leaders, FARC commanders said. Women in combat fatigues passed out sandwiches and soft drinks at the gathering, and rebels danced with their assault rifles to a song called “Ambush Rap.�