BY NANCY SAN MARTIN AND SIBYLLA BRODINSKY

 BOGOTA, Colombia -- When international envoys announced that peace talks between the government of President Andrés Pastrana and Colombia's largest guerrilla organization had been salvaged, they celebrated in relief with back slaps and cups of rum. Their euphoria could be short-lived.

 The resumption of the talks with the rebel Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, keeps alive a three-year-old effort to end a 38-year conflict, but it did not advance the peace process. Pastrana will decide Sunday whether to extend the agreement that created a haven for rebels in exchange for negotiations.

 ``I wouldn't hold my breath,'' said Myles Frechette, former U.S. ambassador to Colombia. ``We're all hoping for the best, but three years of experience teaches us to be skeptical.''

 As if to emphasize the difficulty of seeking peace, it was reported Tuesday that rebels had launched attacks at several separate towns.

 They also blasted into a prison and freed 39 suspected rebel members, authorities said.

 While the latest violence took officials by surprise, the rebels made no statement on the attacks.

 During the three-year period of talks, the FARC has launched periodic assaults on civilians and ransomed hostages.

 Pastrana's new mandate is that negotiators must provide the government with a firm timetable and outline of concrete steps that will be taken to achieve peace.

 Otherwise, the FARC may be forced to abandon the 16,200-square-mile demilitarized zone that has served as a sanctuary.

 Frechette said that at most Pastrana's accomplishment has been to establish a forum for negotiations with the rebels. But the future is in the hands of the next president when elections are held in August.

 ``What will happen next is that the guerrillas will start showing a little thigh to all the candidates to see what kind of deal they will give them on the [demilitarized zone]
 and conditions they will have to meet,'' Frechette said.

 ``What Pastrana wants is to go down in history as the guy who started a real peace process. If he can carry it off, it will be a major contribution.''

 Bruce Bagley, a University of Miami professor and Colombia expert, said that if a satisfactory accord is accepted, ``there will be a pause in the conflict, at least for a
 while.

 But the peace process remains fragile and whether it will ultimately succeed is very much an open question.''

 If the Sunday deadline expires at midnight without a compromise, government troops will be sent in to retake the zone and the country could fall into a full-scale war that will not only shed blood, but also damage infrastructure and send the economy on a downward spiral, analysts said.

 In Washington on Tuesday, State Department officials reiterated the government's position on Colombia amid reports that the Bush administration is considering
 expanding U.S. counternarcotics assistance to give more aid to that country's counterinsurgency war against leftist guerrillas.

 The United States already contributes $1.3 billion to Colombia's fight to stop drug smuggling.

 ``We seek to help that country's embattled democracy, combat narco-trafficking, defend and strengthen its democratic institutions, advance human rights and promote socioeconomic development,'' Deputy State Department spokesman Philip Reeker said. ``We pursue these U.S. national interests in Colombia, as elsewhere, in a manner fully consistent with the laws and authorities established by the U.S. Congress.''

 Reeker did not deny that discussions were underway, but dismissed speculation that a more robust approach to the conflict in Colombia was under consideration as a result of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and indicated that there was no consensus on Capitol Hill to change current policy.

 Stephen Johnson, a policy analyst for Latin America at the Heritage Foundation in Washington, said the fact that discussions are taking place is a ``more mature
 realization that Colombia's problems are more complicated than just counter-narcotics.''

                                    © 2002