Colombian crisis grows as general quits suddenly

THE commander of Colombia’s armed forces became the latest senior official to quit his post, abruptly turning in his resignation and ending a 42-year military career.

General Jorge Enrique Mora didn't explain his decision and neither did President Alvaro Uribe, who has seen three Cabinet ministers, the head of the Colombian National Police and four other senior police officials resign recently.

The departures came after an October 25 referendum in which Colombians rejected measures that would have cut government spending to free money to fight the rebels, who have waged four decades of guerrilla warfare in this South American country. The measures also would have strengthened Uribe's battle against corruption.

Mora said he would step down on November 20.

"It has been a privilege to have taken part in the colossal transformation that our beloved Colombia is undergoing toward a great destiny," Mora said in his resignation letter to Uribe.

Only three days ago, Colombia's first female defence minister, Martha Lucia Ramirez, resigned after clashing with Mora and other senior military commanders. Her departure gave many the impression that the commanders had triumphed over her, but Mora's departure called that theory into doubt.

A veteran European ambassador here said the changes show that Uribe with three years remaining in his four-year term is asserting his authority.

"This is a signal to both the military and civilian authorities, and the message is 'I am in charge and you do what I tell you,'" the ambassador told The Associated Press. "The military cannot bask in its victory over the civilian authorities."

By choosing an old friend, Jorge Alberto Uribe, as the new defence minister, the president ensures implementation of his policies, the ambassador said. The new minister, who is not related to the president, is a US-educated economist with no military experience.

The president last week also chose another ally, businessman Sabas Pretelt, to head the Interior and Justice Ministry, replacing a sharp-tongued figure who clashed with lawmakers Uribe hopes will approve a tax increase to pay for the war against the rebels.

That so many heads have rolled is raising concern about Uribe's governing style and whether the counterinsurgency war partly financed with $2.5 billion in US aid might falter.

Humberto de la Calle, a political commentator who served as interior minister and as vice president in the mid-1990s, said Uribe has mishandled the leadership changes.

"What should have been a favourable presentation of a rejuvenated Cabinet full of the possibility of improving the government ... has become a crisis," de la Calle said.

On Tuesday night, Uribe ousted the commander of the Colombian National Police, Gen. Teodoro Campo, and four other senior police officers amid a series of police corruption scandals.

Uribe told reporters on Wednesday he remained focused on fulfilling his pledge to put this war-ravaged country in order, and that all other matters were secondary.

Uribe did not immediately name a replacement for Mora. Presidential spokesman Ricardo Galan insisted that the government's war against the rebels would continue.