Colombian Indians seek security

[AlphaCentauri]

Colombia's indigenous peoples have traditionally opposed attempts by any side to involve them in the country's long-running conflict between left-wing rebels, government forces and paramilitary gangs.

But Colombian President Alvaro Uribe has recently managed to recruit one tribe, albeit with difficulty, into his campaign against Marxist guerrillas.

Just out of sight of the Caribbean Coast, the mountains of the Sierra Nevada climb to snow-capped peaks of 5,800m (19,000ft).

This part of the country has long been fought over by guerrillas, right-wing paramilitaries and drugs cartels, who all want control over its drug crops and the routes that roll down to the sea and across to the US.

Some 1,000 metres above sea level lies the heart of the reservation of the Arhuaco people, one of the more traditional indigenous tribes, whose members wear white robes and speak a language that greeted the Spanish Conquistadors when they landed here some five centuries ago.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7988082.stm