Mindless Violence in Bogota

By Michael S. Serrill

Inside Bogota's imposing Palace of Justice last Wednesday morning, more than 500 people were going about their business as usual. Suddenly, the quiet in the capital's Bolivar Plaza was shattered by bursts of gunfire as some two dozen guerrillas streamed into the building from an underground garage. Armed with pistols and machine guns, the invaders quickly took over the five-story building, shooting their way to the fourth floor judicial offices, where they took more than a dozen Supreme Court judges hostage. M-19, Colombia's best-known terror group, had struck again.

When the ensuing siege was over more than 24 hours later, some 100 people had been killed. Among them were Chief Justice Alfonso Reyes Echandia and ten other judges, almost half of the country's Supreme Court. All of the guerrillas, including their leader, Luis Otero, perished. The block-long Palace of Justice was a smoldering ruin.

For more than a decade, M-19 has plagued Colombia with kidnapings, bombings and hostage-taking incidents. Last week's operation was the most violent of all. Its apparent purpose: to "denounce" the government for "betraying" a 1984 government-guerrilla truce that was abandoned by M-19 last June. But the rebels failed to anticipate the ruthlessness of Colombian authorities.

From the outset, the government of President Belisario Betancur Cuartas refused to negotiate. Within minutes of the takeover, Bolivar Plaza was teeming with soldiers and police. Armored cars arrived with sirens blaring. The Colombian army and paramilitary police units responded with a fury that the newspaper El Tiempo called "the most spectacular counter-guerrilla operation in contemporary times." Said one journalist who was at the scene: "It was total war."

The first government assault on the building began as an armored vehicle rammed its way through the two-story-high, ornately carved wooden doors. Courthouse workers and guests hid in terror as the outgunned M-19 guerrillas shot it out with the troops. Scores of people who had been trapped in the building escaped in the chaos.

The guerrillas quickly retreated to the fourth floor, where the judges were being held. For the rest of the day the troops raked the front of the building with cannon and machine-gun fire. Inside, the guerrillas held frantic telephone talks in an attempt to demand publicity for their antigovernment views on TV and in newspapers. "We want the people of Colombia to know that the army has never given us a chance," said Otero. "All they've given us is hot lead." At 4 p.m. on Wednesday, the voice of Chief Justice Reyes was heard pleading, "For God's sake stop shooting, otherwise there will be a holocaust."

But the President had already met in emergency session with his Cabinet. Their decision: no negotiations. Late Wednesday night soldiers set two explosive charges that destroyed large sections of the Justice building, sent 30-foot flames shooting into the air and may have killed many of the 100 siege victims. Early the next morning, the terrorists released Justice Reinaldo Arcienagas with a proposal for a cease-fire and truce. The government refused. The surviving guerrillas apparently realized that their situation was hopeless and reportedly began shooting the judges in cold blood.

The final assault came shortly after 3 p.m. Thursday. A guerrilla named Adela, who had held off the troops with her 50-cal. machine gun, was killed in a grenade attack, allowing soldiers to penetrate the last stronghold. The end came quickly. But as thousands of mourners gathered for the funerals of the victims, many Colombians wondered whether the sacrifice of so many innocent and illustrious civilians had been too high a price to pay for the victory. --By Michael S. Serrill. Reported by Bernard Diederich and Tom Quinn/Bogota

With reporting by Reported by Bernard Diederich, Tom Quinn/Bogota