"Is More Military Aid a Solution for Colombia?" by Jorge Rojas, Paz Colombia, January 15, 2002

"Is More Military Aid a Solution for Colombia?" by Jorge Rojas, Paz Colombia, January 15, 2002

Is More Military Aid a Solution for Colombia?

Jorge Rojas (Paz Colombia)

The possibility of more U.S. intervention in Colombia is looming, this time under the argument of fighting terrorism.

It is important that the public and policy makers know that the military aid component of Plan Colombia has contributed significantly to damaging trust in the peace process and escalating the internal conflict, without offering effective results in terms of reducing illicit crops and the fight against drugs.

Changing the use made of the aid would only involve the United States in an internal conflict that has no military solution, and that is trying to be resolved through dialogue and negotiation among Colombians, and that enjoys the support of the United Nations and the countries that have come together as friends of the peace process, a group that does not include the United States.

The worst scenario would be: more coca and poppy crops, more drug trafficking, more environmental destruction, more internal war, more civilians impacted, the collapse of democracy, more impunity, and U.S. military intervention.

The Bush Administration should become convinced of the need to contribute to a negotiated solution to this armed conflict, which has political, social, and economic roots. This would also be a means for successfully combating drug trafficking at every stage of this illegal market.

We in Colombian civil society have not felt the U.S. government to be an ally in this commitment, precisely when we need its support to defuse the armed conflict in Colombia, and to contribute to peace, democracy, and the full observance of human rights.

Yes, U.S. aid should be redirected, so as to be less military and more responsive to social ills. In this way, U.S. taxpayers could rest assured that their taxes would not be wasted on absurd wars; we all know how such a war would start, but no one knows how it might end.

Washington DC, January 15 2002