U.S. Sees International Donors Giving More Help to Colombia

By Eric Green
Washington File Staff Writer

Washington - The international donor community seems increasingly
likely to provide additional financial aid to the social and economic
aspects of Colombia's $7,500 million plan to combat illegal drug
trafficking and promote development, according to Clinton
Administration officials.

Discussing the outcome of an international donors meeting for
Colombian President Andres Pastrana's "Plan Colombia," held in Bogota
October 24, one U.S. official said the problems of the Andean nation
are "clearly getting more attention" from the European Community and
elsewhere, which he described as a long-standing goal of the United
States. The meeting was attended by representatives of the United
States, Latin American countries, the European Union and Nordic
countries, as well as Japan, Canada, and various international
organizations.

The official said there is still reluctance from European donors to
help finance what is called the "military side" of Plan Colombia, but
added: "I think there are signs the donor community is taking
seriously Colombia's problems and will put in some money on the social
development side." Depending on which targets are identified, this
official foresaw the Europeans pledging between $250 million and $330
million for the social and economic aspects of Plan Colombia.

State Department official William Brownfield, representing the United
States at the Bogota meeting, told donors that Pastrana's strategy for
addressing Colombia's problems offers "ample opportunities" for donor
countries to pick and choose their areas of assistance. "Given the
magnitude of Colombia's requirements, there is much that we can do in
specific areas that will help Colombia address its interlocking
challenges," he said.

Brownfield, who is deputy assistant secretary of state for Western
Hemisphere Affairs, said U.S. support for Plan Colombia includes both
development and counter-narcotics assistance. The aid package, he
said, has a "robust counter-narcotics element, but it also contains
$230 million to support alternative development, social programs,
environmental protection, good governance, the rule of law,
administration of justice, respect for human rights, and the peace
process."

The international community pledged $871 million for Colombia at a
previous donors meeting held July 7 in Madrid, Spain. The hope is that
another $1,500 million or so, spread over two years, can be raised
from the international donors.

The final tally for what the Europeans will pledge for Plan Colombia
has not been determined, said the U.S. official, "but the Bogota
meeting served to show that the Europeans are trying to do more" in
the social and economic area. Where there seems to be a difference of
opinion between the Europeans and the United States, he said, is on
the "efficacy" of the Colombian government's aerial spraying campaign,
which is supported by the United States and is designed to reduce
Colombia's coca crop.

The official said representatives at the Bogota meeting, which was
hosted by the Colombian government with organizational support from
the Inter-American Development Bank, agreed that another donors
conference will be held in Brussels, Belgium, in March or April of
2001. At that time, the international donors will have defined with
"greater precision" their contributions to Plan Colombia, said the
official. What was "striking" in Bogota, the official added, was that
most of the European countries sent delegations from their capitals to
the meeting "and there was certainly a lot of support for Colombia in
this difficult time."

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