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U.S. "Pleased" with International Financial Commitment to Colombia

Plan Colombia still in its first phase, officials say By Eric Green Washington File Staff Writer Washington -- The United States is "pleased" by news reports that the international community stands ready to further help fund Colombia's $7,500-million plan to overcome its internal problems, says State Department official William Brownfield. At an October 19 briefing on Colombia at the State Department's Foreign Press Center, Brownfield, deputy assistant secretary of state for Western Hemisphere affairs, said the United States has "expectations" that the world community recognizes the "nature and the gravity and the seriousness of the crisis affecting Colombia and will make whatever financial contributions they can" to address that crisis. Groups such as the European Union, he said, have their own budgetary processes that "I assume are every bit as complicated in [their] own way as ours" in securing money for foreign aid. Brownfield said the United States looks forward to a meeting on Colombia scheduled for October 24 in Bogota where international donors are expected to announce additional contributions to "Plan Colombia," the effort formulated by Colombian President Andres Pastrana to resolve the Andean nation's problems with drug trafficking, human rights, threats to democracy, and economic and social development. Brownfield and Carl Leonard from the U.S. Agency for International Development will attend the Bogota donors' meeting on behalf of the United States. Representatives from the European Union and Nordic countries, as well as from Japan, Canada, several United Nations agencies, and international financial institutions are also expected to attend, as are officials from Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Peru and Venezuela. At a previous donors' meeting July 7 in Madrid, Spain, the international community pledged $871 million for Plan Colombia. In addition, the United States has committed about $1,000 million, which Brownfield said accounts for a "large piece" of the security and law enforcement component of Plan Colombia. The U.S. hope is that donors from Europe, the Far East, and financial institutions "would feel comfortable addressing and supporting other parts of the plan," involving social and economic development and humanitarian assistance, he said. "That is why we actually are pleased with reports that we have heard, which do not constitute an announcement or a commitment, but a story that has been picked up by the media as to the intentions or expectations of some other key European donors," Brownfield said. Those donors, he said, have their own political views of what their aid to Colombia should emphasize, "which is their absolute right." But from press reports that U.S. officials have seen, these donors "are prepared to support some elements of an assistance program" to Colombia. "We think that if this is true, it would be a very positive signal and a very helpful step in the direction of addressing Colombia's problems," Brownfield said. He urged his audience to treat Plan Colombia as a "work in progress." A second briefer, Rand Beers, the State Department's assistant secretary of state for international narcotics and law enforcement, reinforced that view by saying that Plan Colombia is a 3-to-5 year program and is only in its first phase of operation. This means, he said, that it is unrealistic to expect all financial support for the plan to already have been committed. He said press accounts that an aid package from the European Union falls far short of what Colombian officials had expected does not take into account that Plan Colombia could still be in operation for another five years. As formulated by Pastrana, Plan Colombia could be in existence long after Pastrana finishes his term as president, said Beers. "So to hold to an [artificial] deadline" for aid from the European Union is not a "realistic look at the situation," Beers said. Beers said that as agreed to by the U.S. and Colombian governments, the United States will purchase 14 Blackhawk helicopters for use by the Colombian counter-narcotics brigade, principally in southern Colombia. The first batch of those helicopters will be available by July 1, 2001, he said. The helicopters will be supported by a full training program to ensure that there are enough Colombian pilots to fly the aircraft. The United States will also help provide infrastructure, logistics, and maintenance support for the planes, he said. In addition to the Blackhawks, 33 Huey helicopters scheduled for counter-narcotics operations in Colombia will be in the country by January, he announced. (The Washington File is a product of the Office of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)