News

USIS Washington File

13 March 2000

U.S. Aid to Colombia Will Benefit Both Countries, Says Panel

(Congressman urges bipartisan support for requested aid)  (1530)
By Lauren Monsen
Washington File Staff Writer

Washington -- President Clinton's proposed supplemental aid package to
Colombia represents a sound investment in the well-being of the entire
Western Hemisphere and "is just plain common sense," says
Representative Benjamin Gilman (Republican of New York), chairman of
the House International Relations Committee.

Gilman, participating in a March 10 panel discussion on Colombia at
the Heritage Foundation, a public-policy research institute, cautioned
his audience not to underestimate the gravity of Colombia's escalating
domestic crisis. "Colombia, a democratic ally of the United States, is
in deep trouble," he warned. "Illicit drug profits skimmed from the
staggering [levels of cocaine and heroin production] in Colombia are
fueling a violent civil conflict that is destabilizing the government
of that nation."

The administration of Colombian President Andres Pastrana, battling
insurgent guerrilla and paramilitary forces largely financed by drug
traffickers, has devised a strategy known as "Plan Colombia" that
focuses on the country's newly aggressive anti-drug measures, on
political and economic reforms, and on negotiating a peace settlement
with rebel factions. Gilman urged U.S. bipartisan support for
Pastrana's efforts, asserting that "we must not abandon the good
people ... in Colombia who are willing to fight the drug scourge."

Furthermore, he said, the scope of the drug problem in Colombia has a
direct bearing on U.S. citizens as well. "What happens in Colombia on
the narcotics front affects every school, hospital, courtroom,
neighborhood and police station across America," he observed. For this
reason alone, he added, the United States cannot afford to ignore "the
exploding drug crisis in Colombia."

But U.S. policy-makers also recognize other compelling reasons to
assist Colombia, he indicated. "The fate of Colombia's democratic
government is of importance to the United States," Gilman said. And he
pointed out that the proposed aid package to Colombia promotes two
critical objectives simultaneously. "By preventing illicit drugs from
reaching our shores, we protect our citizens from their poison and we
undercut the flow of drug money that arms and sustains the insurgent
forces that are destabilizing Colombia," he explained. "The American
people will fully understand that both of these goals are in our
national interest."

Gilman was quick to dismiss fears that U.S. aid might evolve into
military intervention in Colombia, insisting that the United States
has no interest in this type of involvement. "Colombia is not asking
for -- nor should we offer -- American troops," he said, arguing that
the United States considers it appropriate "to provide the equipment
and tools that the Colombians need to do the job themselves."

President Clinton's request for supplemental aid to Colombia is an
"important legislative package" that deserves widespread support in
Congress, Gilman reiterated. In sum, he declared, "Colombia's survival
as a democracy" is at stake.

Colombia's ambassador to the United States, Luis Alberto Moreno,
emphatically endorsed Gilman's conclusions on the importance of the
proposed U.S. aid package. However, he offered a decidedly more
optimistic perspective on Colombia's democratic future. The answer to
the question of whether Colombia's democracy is at risk, he said, is
"an unambiguous no."

Describing his country as "South America's oldest and most resilient
democracy," Moreno reminded the panel audience that Colombia's
"fundamental freedoms have never been lost," and emphasized that
Colombia is prepared to safeguard those liberties by swiftly
implementing the Pastrana Administration's ambitious counter-narcotics
strategy.

Moreno acknowledged that Colombia's "current problems are serious,"
remarking that the illicit drug trade "impedes social and economic
development, and feeds cynicism" in Colombia and elsewhere. "It has
become clear that the drug problem is truly international," he said.
"The drug-producing and -consuming nations must work together, and the
[U.S. aid proposal] recognizes this reality."

He defined Plan Colombia as a "sound strategy, a blueprint for
strengthening our civil and military institutions" that would have
far-reaching effects throughout his country. The plan "aims to
establish peace with honor" and to "combat corruption and improve
government transparency," among other things, he said.

Colombia is also "undertaking structural reforms to turn its economy
around," Moreno noted, "with steps underway to privatize the banking,
energy and mining sectors." Additionally, the Pastrana government is
working to improve delivery of basic government services to
Colombians, but "these improvements require a lot of [budgetary]
commitment," he conceded.

Returning to the subject of anti-government insurgent groups, Moreno
noted that the rebels are politically weak, unable to attract popular
support "higher than four percent." Though the insurgent forces are
well-financed and heavily armed, he pointed out that they "have no
significant power base to speak of; they cannot topple our democracy,
and no one knows this better than the guerrillas" themselves.

The rebels' violent tactics have undermined their position, Moreno
added. "The Colombian people are demanding peace," he said. "Andres
Pastrana campaigned on a platform of achieving peace," and this
message has resonated with Colombia's voters. Although the peace
process will take time, Moreno expressed confidence that it would
ultimately prove successful.

Plan Colombia encompasses many elements, he said, including drug
interdiction efforts, illicit crop eradication, and increased
human-rights protections. A determination to convert the plan into
action indicates that the United States and Colombia "are on the right
path, [for] only by sharing the burdens and working together as
partners" can their common goals be met, Moreno stated.

He reiterated that the Pastrana government intends to exert relentless
pressure on narco-traffickers, and that Colombian authorities
"maintain no illusions about the challenges ahead."

Two other panelists -- senior fellow Michael Shifter of the
Inter-American Dialogue, and Roger Noriega, an aide to the Senate
Foreign Relations Committee -- elaborated on some of those challenges.
Shifter praised Colombia as "a country that's shown remarkable
resilience over the years," but voiced concern over its "deterioration
on all fronts in recent years, particularly the economic front."

He pinpointed the "underlying problem" as "the weakness of government
institutions, [and] the lack of government authority in controlling
its territory" in Colombia. "If you don't have a state with some
authority, the problems spill over into neighboring countries,"
Shifter said. However, the lack of a strong state presence in Colombia
confirms that U.S. aid is needed to support Pastrana's efforts, he
suggested.

"The United States has a crucial role to play, and is in a position to
help," Shifter said. He cited military reforms as a worthy goal of the
proposed supplemental funding: "Professionalizing the armed forces
helps President Pastrana achieve peace, and is the only effective way
to address the human-rights issue."

Shifter also declared that, in his opinion, "the debate on Colombia
shouldn't be so heavily weighted towards -- or narrowly focused on --
the drug problem." Instead, "we need to examine whether U.S. aid can
help support institutional authority in Colombia." As for the drug
problem itself, Shifter argued that "regional consistency in dealing
with [illicit drugs] is important; leaders of neighboring countries
need to get on board" to make progress against a common threat.

Noriega indicated that his boss, Senator Jesse Helms (Republican of
North Carolina), "supports [the proposed supplemental aid] in
general," but was critical of the Clinton Administration for not
acting as swiftly as some members of Congress had wished. Republican
leaders "were literally begging" the White House "to help Colombia
years ago" before Colombia's predicament worsened, he charged.

But overall, Noriega agreed with the basic objectives of the
assistance package requested by President Clinton. "I happen to think
that our role in the hemisphere is to support democracy," he said. And
there is a bipartisan "foundation of support for the plan in the House
and the Senate," Noriega added.

But "Colombians must be willing" to do their part, he pointed out. He
said that he hoped to see advances in fighting corruption, in judicial
reforms, and in upholding human rights. Noriega raised the subject of
extradition, which he deemed "a rather dramatic commitment" that
Colombians should consider as a powerful weapon against drug lords.

Furthermore, he said, "there has to be an end to unilateral
concessions" to guerrillas in government-sponsored peace talks. These
concessions "have achieved nothing, and don't enjoy popular support in
Colombia," he asserted. "No guerrilla group will surrender at the
negotiating table what it isn't likely to lose on the battlefield."

While leaders in the U.S. Congress are anxious "to make this
[supplemental aid] work, and to pass it," Noriega decried what he
termed "a certain vagueness and tentativeness" in President Clinton's
proposal. He urged White House officials "to come out from behind the
bushes" and lay out their strategy more clearly.

The final panelist, Dan Fisk of the Heritage Foundation, echoed
Moreno's view that "Colombian democracy has shown survival skills."
But he worried that Colombia's problems now have "a certain urgency,"
due to "an atmosphere of lawlessness that is more pervasive than ever"
in that country.

"The United States can help, and in fact the United States should
help," he concurred. Yet ultimately, Fisk said, "the answer to 'is
Colombian democracy at risk?' resides with the Colombian people and
their political will."

(The Washington File is a product of the Office of International
Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site:
usinfo.state.gov)