Colombian Rebels Forcing AIDS Tests

Elected officials in Vista Hermosa, Colombia, are powerless to stop the nation's largest guerrilla army from forcing all the town's residents to be tested for AIDS. Three people who tested positive have reportedly been expelled from the rebel safe haven.

The leftist Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) says the mandatory exams are nothing more than a public health initiative. Some citizens, however, believe the rebels have an unspoken military objective: to take a disguised census that will help them keep tabs on the population. The mayor and many residents oppose the testing, which began in July, yet they have little authority in the town -- one of five that rebels control under a peace concession from President Andres Pastrana. "Here there is a revolutionary government, and its orders must be followed," said Mayor Jose Castano. Colombia's civil war has lasted 37 years.

The testing began after a July speech in which a rebel commander claimed large numbers of people were being infected with AIDS. The rebel orders require that all area citizens between ages 12 and 80 take the test and pay for it themselves, even though the $7 cost is more than one day's minimum wage. Some 18,000 of the town's 20,000 residents have been tested so far. Those who have been tested receive a certificate. Some residents believe the rebels will demand the papers as a way to know when outsiders are in town. Concerns over the policy grew when officials reported that FARC had expelled three people who tested HIV-positive, prompting protests from human rights officials in Bogota.

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