DATE=5/2/2000
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=CLINTON-COLOMBIA (L)
NUMBER=2-261908
BYLINE=DAVID GOLLUST
DATELINE=WHITE HOUSE
CONTENT=

VOICED AT:

INTRO:  President Clinton - urging support for 
increased U-S aid to Colombia -- has warned that other 
democracies in Latin America could be toppled if the 
Colombian government loses its struggle with drug 
traffickers. V-O-A's David Gollust reports from the 
White House.

TEXT:  The president has used his strongest language 
to date in defending his request for one-point-six 
billion dollars to help train and equip Colombian  
security forces in the battle against drug 
traffickers. 

The aid package is under attack by some in Congress 
who contend it could drag the United States into a 
Vietnam-style quagmire in Colombia. 

But in an address to the private Council of the 
Americas at the State Department, Mr. Clinton said 
recent successes against the drug trade in Peru and 
Bolivia show that that the administration's approach 
can succeed.

He praised the sacrifice of [Colombian] President 
Andres Pastrana, and others in Colombia who have 
risked - or lost --their lives  in standing up to drug 
criminals.  He warned of far-reaching harm in the 
[Western] hemisphere if the drug war is lost: 

            /// CLINTON ACT ///

      We must not stand by an allow a democracy 
      elected by its people, defended with great 
      courage by people who have given their lives, to 
      be undermined and overwhelmed by those who 
      literally are willing to tear the country apart 
      for their own agenda.  And make no mistake about 
      it. If the oldest democracy in South America can 
      be torn down, so can others. 

            /// END ACT ///

The administration aid package is intended as the U-S 
contribution to the broader seven-point-five billion 
dollar reconstruction plan developed by President 
Pastrana. 

The U-S aid is to be used exclusively in anti-drug 
operations and training, even though critics - 
including many members of Mr. Clinton's own Democratic 
party - argue that the drug war cannot be separated 
from the Bogota government's long-running struggle 
with leftwing insurgents.

The package has strong support among majority 
Republicans, and Congressional leaders say they expect 
approval by both houses in a matter of weeks.

In his Council of the Americas address, Mr. Clinton  
also said he expects Congress to finish work by the 
end of the month on his Caribbean basin and African 
trade bills, which will greatly reduce U-S trade 
barriers to goods from those regions.

He also said the refusal by Congress two years ago to 
extend his powers to conclude expedited trade deals 
with hemisphere countries - the so -called "fast 
track" authority - has not slowed progress toward a 
Free Trade Zone of the Americas. 

He said he is gratified that both likely nominees in 
the presidential race - Democrat Al Gore and 
Republican George W. Bush -- support a hemispheric 
free trade area, and said if it does not come into 
being as planned in 2005 it will not be the fault of 
the U-S executive branch.  (Signed)

NEB/DAG/gm



02-May-2000 15:56 PM EDT (02-May-2000 1956 UTC)
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Source: Voice of America
.