"U.S. Aid to Colombia Will Benefit Both Countries, Says Panel," State Department Washington File, March 13, 2000

"U.S. Aid to Colombia Will Benefit Both Countries, Says Panel," State Department Washington File, March 13, 2000
03/13/00
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)

As of March 14, 2000, this document is also available at http://www.usia.gov/admin/011/lef101.htm