Speech
by Rep. Cass Ballenger (R-North Carolina), March 6, 2002
Mr. BALLENGER. Mr.
Speaker, I yield myself 3 minutes.
Mr. Speaker, I rise
in support of this resolution. The gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. DELAHUNT)
and I have been to Colombia many times on many occasions since I became
chairman of the Subcommittee on Western Hemisphere. I have seen a terrible
situation unfold in that troubled nation. On my last trip in January,
we met with President Andres Pastrana as he was forced to issue an ultimatum
to the FARC in a last-ditch effort to get them to come back to the negotiating
table.
No one has done
more to hold the door open to a negotiated, political solution to end
the violence in Colombia than President Pastrana. His perseverance and
forbearance have made one thing clear: it is the FARC's willful disregard
for the rule of law and human rights that led President Pastrana to make
the decision to end the safe haven and send in Colombia's security forces
to reestablish legitimate government authority.
Colombia today is
a nation under siege by three terrorist organizations. Two of these terrorist
organizations, the FARC and the ELN, have kidnapped over 50 Americans
and murdered at least 10 Americans. The third, the United Self-Defense
Forces of Colombia, is a vicious, violent terrorist organization that
indiscriminately murders Colombians. Individuals who aid those terrorists
dishonor and discredit themselves and the institutions that they represent.
All three of these
terrorist groups have been designated by the Secretary of State as foreign
terrorist organizations because it has been determined that they are a
threat to our Nation's
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security. Terrorism in Colombia is financed by illegal trafficking in
narcotics that kill and destroy the lives of our young people in the United
States.
The FARC has, in essence, declared war on the Colombian people. This group
is attacking Colombia's democratic institutions. Five Colombian legislators
are being held hostage by the FARC. The FARC has been attacking the infrastructure.
It attacks police stations with propane gas cylinder mortars that indiscriminately
kill innocent people.
The Colombian Government
is continuing its efforts to negotiate a peace agreement with the ELN,
and we should support those efforts.
It is time, however,
that we reassess our policy towards Colombia. This resolution expresses
the sense of the House that the President, without undue delay, should
transmit to Congress for its consideration proposed legislation, consistent
with United States law regarding protection of human rights, to assist
the Government of Colombia protect its democracy from United States-designated
foreign terrorist organizations and the scourge of illicit narcotics.
We cannot afford
to fail to help the people of Colombia in their darkest hour. Colombia
is a democracy and an ally of the United States, and it is under attack
by terrorist organizations funded by illegal drugs. Colombia is not asking
us to send troops. The democratically elected Government of Colombia is
asking that we make it possible for us to help them defend their democracy
from these terrorists. I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this
reasonable, bipartisan resolution.
As of March 7, 2002,
this document was also available online at http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/B?r107:@FIELD(FLD003+h)+@FIELD(DDATE+20020306)