By TIM JOHNSON
             Herald Staff Writer

             BOGOTA, Colombia -- Is the division of Colombia into a Swiss-cheese array of
             rebel-controlled enclaves the best road to peace?

             That question gained urgency this week when preliminary talks with the National
             Liberation Army (ELN) broke down over its demand for a demilitarized enclave.

             The ELN wants a smaller version of the Switzerland-sized enclave controlled by a
             larger insurgency, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). Some
             people feel the demand for more enclaves would lead to de facto dismemberment
             of Colombia while others say it would provide security needed to bring peace.

             In a scratchy two-way radio conversation from somewhere in the mountains of
             Colombia, ELN chief Nicolas ``Gabino'' Rodriguez told Radionet early Thursday
             that he was indefinitely suspending talks with the government of President Andres
             Pastrana.

             ``Without a demilitarized area, there is no dialogue,'' said Rodriguez, the
             undisputed leader of the 5,000-member Marxist insurgency.

             ``There will be no demilitarized area,'' Pastrana responded Friday, urging the
             rebels to accept government guarantees of security for preliminary talks with union,
             religious and political leaders before formal peace talks.

             Peace Commissioner Victor Ricardo announced late Friday that the government
             had agreed with ELN leaders to hold a new round of talks Sunday to try to get
             peace negotiations back on track.

             The establishment of enclaves has gained favor with warring right-wing and
             left-wing armed groups in Colombia. An enclave was first established Nov. 7 in a
             huge swath of south-central Colombia as a precondition for peace talks with the
             15,000-member FARC. The talks have faltered, yet the FARC retains control of
             the region. Last week, the government renewed enclave status until early May.

             Business leaders praised Pastrana for turning down the ELN demand for its own
             enclave of four townships in gold-rich northern Bolivar state.

             The head of Colombia's banking association, Jorge Humberto Botero, said the
             sputtering of talks with the FARC should have taught the government a lesson.

             ``The process has not been a success, and I think the government should evaluate
             this experience before going ahead with the National Liberation Army,'' Botero
             said.

             ``We're going to have a country full of independent republics,'' complained
             Armando Montenegro, head of the National Association of Financial Institutions.

             ``I think at the very minimum one has to see a cease-fire or some other concession
             or showing of goodwill by the armed groups. Otherwise, Colombia will head
             toward `balkanization' at a rapid pace.''

             Several senior politicians differed, suggesting that a small enclave would be
             appropriate for talks with the ELN and perhaps for right-wing paramilitary forces.

             ``Four townships might not be fair, but I could see clearing out a pair of
             townships,'' said Rep. Roberto Camacho, of the National Salvation Movement.

             Colombia has 1,072 townships, which are like counties in the United States.

             Aware of apprehension over new enclaves, Rodriguez, the ELN leader, noted that
             the four townships he seeks as a demilitarized region are ``only a fifth of the size''
             of the area allotted to FARC rebels.

             Another legislator, Antonio Navarro Wolff, a former guerrilla with the disbanded
             M-19 movement, said that if the government had given the ELN its own enclave a
             month ago, ``it would be a lot easier to manage this complicated situation than it is
             now.''