DATE=8/9/1999
TYPE=BACKGROUND REPORT
TITLE=COLOMBIA-U-S TRAINING
NUMBER=5-44031
BYLINE=BILL RODGERS
DATELINE=RIO DE JANEIRO
INTERNET=YES
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:

INTRO:

Intro:  The United States is helping the Colombian 
army train an anti-narcotics battalion -- the first of 
its kind to be formed as part of Colombia's 
increasingly violent war on drugs.  Part of the 
intensive training includes safeguarding human rights 
-- a problem area for the Colombian army, according to 
human rights groups.  Correspondent Bill Rodgers 
recently visited the Colombian military training base, 
and has this report.

TEXT:            ///Ambient Sound of Gunfire///

An army patrol encounters several rebels in the 
Colombian jungle, and a brief firefight breaks out.  
Overwhelmed by a superior force, three green-clad 
guerrillas -- two men and a woman -- surrender.  The 
soldiers approach cautiously, shouting at the rebels 
to cast aside their weapons. 

            /// AMBIENT SOUND OF SHOUTING ///

Do not kill me -- cries one of the guerrillas as a 
soldier comes up to him in a rage and kicks him.

            /// AMBIENT SOUND OF TALKING ///

Another soldier intervenes, reminding him that the 
rebel is now a prisoner of war and deserves to be 
treated in a humanitarian manner.  The angry soldier 
turns away, chastened.

This re-enactment was staged recently for reporters 
and visiting American dignitaries at the Tolemaida 
military base, about 150-kilometers southwest of 
Bogota.  There, the Colombian army, with the help of 
U-S military advisors, is training and equipping an 
anti-narcotics battalion.  

The battalion -- combining police and army personnel -
- is the first unit of its kind, and will soon enter 
the field against Colombia's drug traffickers and the 
leftist rebels that protect them.  

Safeguarding human rights is part of the intensive 
training program.  The Colombian army has been accused 
of violating human rights -- especially those of rebel 
captives or civilians suspected of supporting the 
guerrillas.  Colonel Pedro Pablo Moreno Jimenez, who 
heads the training program, says human-rights training 
is now a priority.

            ///MORENO SPANISH ACT///

He says the objective for those who pass through the 
course is that they learn to identify, apply, and 
communicate the principles of human-rights safeguards, 
especially in combat situations.

U-S Drug Policy Director Barry McCaffrey was among the 
group of observers watching the various training 
exercises, which included simulated parachute jumps 
and attacks.  Mr. McCaffrey, a retired army general, 
was especially pleased by the human-rights training 
and praised the base commander for the program. 

      /// MCCAFFREY ACT ///


      I am glad to see this training.  (Spanish Trans)  
      I congratulate you on your leadership.

      ///End Act///


//OPT//  The U-S drug czar later told reporters such 
training is valuable for all soldiers, no matter what 
nationality they are.

            /// MCCAFFREY ACT ///

      The problem is not the heat of battle.  The 
      problem is treating civilians like your family.  
      The problem is being able to go home and tell 
      your own mother what you did while you were in 
      the army, and that is what this training does.  
      These are young people, they do not have any 
      clue -- even they may be a good Catholic boy, 
      even in our own military and I am including all 
      of them.  When you get 18-year-old soldiers and 
      give them these lessons, I think it makes a 
      difference.

            /// END ACT // END OPT ///

The job of the new anti-narcotics battalion, which 
numbers about one-thousand men, will be to weaken 
Colombia's leftist guerrillas by attacking the source 
of their funding -- drug trafficking and cultivation.  
In the past, the Colombian army has followed a largely 
defensive strategy -- responding to guerrilla attacks 
while letting the nation's police force deal with drug 
traffickers.  

But this strategy has not worked.  Colombia's two main 
guerrilla groups now control about 40-percent of the 
country, while drug production and trafficking have 
grown dramatically.  The rebels deny involvement with 
the drug trade, but U-S and Colombian officials 
estimate they receive up to 600-million-dollars a year 
in protection money from the drug cartels.

Colombian Armed Forces commander Fernando Tapias says 
the new battalion's job will be twofold: one, to 
secure an area against armed groups protecting the 
drug operations, and secondly, to destroy the drugs 
and arrest those involved in the illegal trade.

            /// TAPIAS SPANISH ACT ///

General Tapias says armed groups numbering up to two-
thousand men are protecting areas in Colombia where 
drugs are cultivated and processed -- making it 
impossible for the police force to do its work.  He 
says the new battalion will be able to secure an area 
against attack, while destroying drug cultivation and 
processing labs.  The Armed Forces chief said the 
battalion members also have been trained to gather 
evidence for use against those arrested during the 
operation.

General Tapias said about a dozen U-S military 
advisors helped train the anti-narcotics battalion.  
The trainers -- reported to be members of the U-S 
Army's Special Forces -- gave instruction in 
communications, reconnaissance, river operations, and 
mortar use.  There are about 150 American military 
personnel in Colombia at any time providing training 
and other assistance to Colombian anti-narcotics 
forces. 

The new battalion being formed in Tolemaida winds up 
its training program in October -- and General Tapias 
says in December it will take to the field to begin 
its anti-narcotics operations.  Colombian officials 
say the battalion will be the first of many until the 
drug war is won.   (SIGNED) 

NEB/WFR/RAE 



09-Aug-1999 12:31 PM EDT (09-Aug-1999 1631 UTC)
NNNN

Source: Voice of America
.