By Hugh Bronstein BOGOTA, Aug 2 (Reuters) - Colombia's Supreme Court on Thursday stood by its decision to stop former paramilitaries from holding public office, despite cries from the government the ruling will torpedo the country's peace process. President Alvaro Uribe accuses the court of being biased against his plan for granting pardons and political rights to thousands of right-wing "paras" who have laid down their arms after 20 years of fighting leftist insurgents. The court struck back with a statement on Thursday "energetically rejecting" Uribe's comments and accusing him of "undo and unacceptable interference" with the judicial system. A Supreme Court ruling in July shook the foundation of Uribe's paramilitary peace accord by saying demobilized fighters must be charged with common crimes like drug trafficking and murder rather than with political crimes, which can be pardoned. Uribe's plan was based on the idea of pardoning paramilitaries not directly involved in atrocities so they could later run for political office, an avenue closed to anyone with a serious criminal conviction. To bypass the court's decision, Uribe proposes a law allowing former paramilitaries the same rights as some demobilized Marxist rebels who faced charges of sedition, a political crime, and then went on to win seats in Congress. The paramilitaries were formed in the 1980s to help cattle ranchers, drug lords and other rich Colombians fight the guerrillas. They soon grew rich on the country's multibillion-dollar cocaine trade and notorious for massacring peasants suspected of leftist sympathies. Some former "paras" plan to run in October provincial elections, raising concern they may not only get away with their crimes but end up running parts of the country. Uribe's popularity rating has fallen to about 66 percent in polls that show he has been bruised by a scandal in which his former security chief and some of his closest allies in Congress are accused of illegally supporting the "paras." The Supreme Court is investigating those cases, including one involving Uribe's senator cousin Mario Uribe. Thousands are killed in Colombia's war every year as the country's biggest rebel group refuses to talk peace.
