Of Belfast and Bogata

Bogata and Belfast. Both attractive cities with mountains in the background.

But the case of three Irishmen arrested at Bogata Airport in August 2001 carrying false passports makes a more interesting comparison. The three men are accused of training FARC "guerrillas."

FARC is a terrorist organisation that controls much of Colombia's drugs trade, having filled in the gaps after the removal of the drugs barons that ran much of the world's cocaine trade. The three have refused to come to court: they say their prison is awful and they don't want to be there.

The trial is chaotic. Press are admitted with handphones, cameras and video kit including stage lighting, according to the BBC which also reports that a journalist asked the Judge a question: an astonishing event had it taken part in courts elsewhere. He questioned that the evidence could not be published in Colombia, but could be published elsewhere.

The trial of the three has been adjourned until next year. They are demanding recognition that media coverage has made a fair trial impossible.

The allegations are simple: FARC was a rural force, taking over the production and shipping of drugs. But they did not take over the cities. Not long ago, they changed tactics and arrived in Bogata and other towns. Now, they openly challenge the authorities. This is seen as a sign that they have been trained by the IRA.

The IRA does not now need weapons. It does not now need to learn many new skills. But it does need (or more likely wants) money. The IRA has mutated: it is not a political force - it is an organised crime gang. It could take payment from FARC but barter is more attractive. Instead of taking money that has to be laundered, how much simpler to take cocaine, at factory door prices, and sell it in the UK. After all, the IRA has a sophisticated network for moving contraband into Ulster and even the UK.

So the allegations against the three Irishmen is that they were in Colombia to train FARC in urban terrorism and to take drugs in return. Of course, they remain unconvicted and, under Colombian law, remain innocent until proved guilty. Who knows what will happen next year when the trial resumes. Maybe the three will come to court.

But in increasingly violent Bogata, it is just as probable that the trial schedule will be disrupted by violence.