Transcript: Under Secretary Pickering on U.S. Aid to Colombia

"The only permanent solution [to the crisis in Colombia] is a
permanent peace," says Ambassador Thomas Pickering, under secretary of
state for political affairs.


Briefing reporters September 6 at a media seminar on U.S. aid to
Colombia, Pickering offered an overview of the serious problems
afflicting that country --problems which, he said, would only worsen
if left unattended. This is why the United States is making an
"extraordinary commitment" to help Colombia, he explained, adding that
the government of Colombian President Andres Pastrana has demonstrated
its own resolve by devising the strategy known as "Plan Colombia."


Pickering argued that "Plan Colombia" -- an initiative designed to
curb the illicit drug trade, restore civil order, rebuild the economy
and strengthen democratic institutions in Colombia -- deserves support
from the international community as a whole.


Colombia's longstanding civil war, pitting government forces against
leftist guerrillas and paramilitary groups linked to the drug cartels,
has produced escalating violence that threatens the entire Andean
region, he said, noting that the newly approved U.S. assistance
package directs "significant funds" to protect Colombia's neighbors
from threats of instability along their borders. "We consult at every
level" with countries in the hemisphere "on counternarcotics and
security matters related to the situation in Colombia," Pickering
said.


U.S. assistance to Colombia also includes substantial funding for
alternative development and voluntary eradication of illicit crops,
assistance for internally displaced persons, for environmental
protection programs, resources for local governance, programs to help
improve the administration of justice and to protect human rights,
Pickering said. He pointed out that only a limited number of U.S.
military personnel will participate in training exercises with
Colombians, stating firmly: "No U.S. soldiers are being sent into
combat."


Addressing persistent speculation that the U.S. might establish a
military presence in Colombia, Pickering asserted that "this is not
another Vietnam," and concluded his remarks by reiterating the basis
for U.S. aid to Colombia. "As President Clinton has stated clearly,
our policy in Colombia is to support President Pastrana's efforts to
find a peaceful resolution to the country's longstanding civil
conflict and to work with the Colombians -- along with our regional
partners -- on fighting illicit drugs and restoring civil society," he
said.
 

[Note: In the transcript, "billion" equals "thousand million."]



(begin transcript)



Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Tom Pickering

Opening Remarks

Colombia Media Seminar

The State Department



September 6, 2000



Thank you for taking time from your busy schedules to join us this
morning. Colombia has been in the news a lot lately. It's a story that
will not disappear anytime soon. What we are hoping to do today is to
give you some context and texture to the situation in Colombia and to
shed light on what we in the U.S. government are doing.


Before we get too far into our briefings, I'd like to dispel a
misperception about the name "Plan Colombia." Many of us, including
many within the U.S. government, have taken to referring to our $1.3
billion aid package to Colombia as Plan Colombia.


That is a misnomer. "Plan Colombia" is the $7.5 billion comprehensive
package put together last year by the Colombian government. Our $1.3
billion contribution to Plan Colombia is significant, but the
Colombians, themselves, have committed to spending $4.5 billion of the
funds required. That's a serious contribution for a country that has
been going through a recession so severe that last year its economy
shrank by 5 percent and unemployment reached 20 percent. The IFI's
[international financial institutions] have also contributed more than
one billion dollars and more is expected. Similarly, a number of
European states and Japan have made important contributions and more
is expected.


The overall situation in Colombia is difficult. Imagine working in an
environment where journalists are a constant target. Imagine living in
Washington and being unable to drive to the Maryland shore for fear of
being kidnapped by criminals or guerrillas, and imagine a 40-year
insurgency taking place not far from the nation's capital being led by
extremist groups on the right and left that have virtually no support
among the bulk of the country's people and are financed by drug
trafficking.


This is the reality in today's Colombia. Moreover, all of these
problems create a vicious circle. The poor economy leads to high
unemployment and creates a ready pool of discontented individuals for
guerrillas, drug lords and paramilitaries to recruit from, while the
violence associated with the insurgents and paramilitaries --
essentially, the absence of peace -- decreases investor confidence,
worsening the economy. Narcotics trafficking feeds the coffers of the
guerrillas and paramilitaries, strengthening them in their assault on
the democratic institutions.


The only permanent solution is a permanent peace. The U.S. government
fully supports the peace process. We agree with President Pastrana's
assessment that a solution to the country's civil conflict is
essential to the solution of all the other problems facing Colombia.


The U.S. government has made an extraordinary commitment to help
Colombia in this time of crisis. Our aid package is comprehensive in
scope. Not only does it help Colombia deal with the threat of
narcotics trafficking and the armed guerrillas and paramilitaries who
protect and profit from the trafficking, it also includes substantial
funding for alternative development assistance and voluntary
eradication of illicit crops, topics you will hear more about later
this morning. But there is a great deal more. It also provides
significant assistance for internally displaced persons, for
environmental protection programs, resources for local governance and
improvement of governing capacity, and programs to help improve the
administration of justice and, very importantly, to protect human
rights.


We believe respect for human rights is as centrally vital and
important to the people of Colombia as it is for the people of the
United States. Colombia, under President Pastrana, has made important
strides in this regard, but a lot more remains to be done. There can
be no tolerance for those who violate human rights or who collaborate
with or condone such violations. The Pastrana Administration has taken
a number of important measures to improve the human rights situation
and here the certification process can help and is working hard to
move the peace process forward. That process offers the greatest hope
of eliminating for good human rights violations in the long run.


I would also emphasize that all U.S. assistance to Colombian military
and police forces is provided strictly in accordance with Section 564
of the FY 2000 Foreign Operations Appropriations Act -- the so-called
Leahy Amendment. No assistance is provided to any unit of the security
forces for which we have credible evidence of the commission of gross
violations of human rights. We are firmly committed to the Leahy
Amendment. We have a rigorous process in place to screen those units
being considered for assistance.


One of the major reasons we have focused so much attention on Colombia
of late is our awareness of the potential threat Colombia's problems
pose throughout the region. Success in lowering by 60 percent cocaine
production in Peru and Bolivia has its lessons for Colombia. The first
is that these programs can work. The second is that success in one
place tends to shift the focus to other countries, just as success in
Colombia could shift the focus of production deeper into the jungle in
Colombia and clearly beyond.


Also, Colombia's insurgency significantly threatens violence and
instability in the border regions of its immediate neighbors, such as
the Darien region of Panama, northern Ecuador and western Venezuela.
Moreover, the recent increase of narcotics cultivation and trafficking
in Colombia, related to guerrilla and paramilitary control in southern
Colombia, is a far greater threat to the entire region than somewhat
misplaced fears that Colombian violence would spill over the border.
The truth is, if we don't deal with it, it is certain to expand and
spill over the border. If all of us in the region and beyond do deal
with it, we can get a leg up on the regionalization of trafficking.
The contamination of drug abuse and narcotics trafficking, with their
attendant violence and corruption, has posed and now poses a threat to
virtually every nation in the region from Mexico to Argentina and
throughout the Caribbean. For this reason, in our support for Plan
Colombia, we now -- and will, in the coming years -- direct
significant funds from our support package to help Colombia's
neighbors, as we seek to stem cultivation and trafficking throughout
the region. If last year the focus was on support for Colombia, this
year it needs to be also on the [surrounding] region.


In that regard, we regularly consult at every level with our neighbors
throughout the region on counternarcotics and security matters related
to the situation in Colombia and have sought their support for
President Pastrana's peace process. I note that in addition to
President Clinton's trip to Colombia last week, Secretary [of State]
Albright visited five countries in the region just three weeks ago.
Increasingly, our regional partners recognize that the crisis in
Colombia represents an Andean and even a hemispheric problem in which
they have a direct and immediate stake. They said so clearly in their
statement issued in Brazil last week at the end of the South American
Presidents' summit.


Finally, let me emphasize that the United States does not provide
counterinsurgency support to the Government of Colombia.


This is not another Vietnam. As President Clinton has stated clearly,
our policy in Colombia is to support President Pastrana's efforts to
find a peaceful resolution to the country's longstanding civil
conflict and to work with the Colombians -- along with our regional
partners -- on fighting illicit drugs and restoring civil society. No
U.S. soldiers are being sent into combat. That, the Colombians can and
must do, with our training and equipment. The military aspects of our
effort to combat drugs will more than absorb the military support we
are providing for the forseeable future.


I will be back at the end of this morning's briefings to discuss any
final questions you might have. I hope you find these sessions
informative and useful. Thank you.


(end transcript)