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Updated:7/10/02 |
| Statement
of Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Connecticut), Senate Western Hemisphere Subcommittee,
April 24, 2002 For Immediate Release U.S.-COLOMBIA POLICY:
WHAT'S NEXT? Today, the Subcommittee holds the second in a series of hearings to assess the challenges to democracy in the Western Hemisphere and the effectiveness of US policy in responding to those challenges. This morning we will focus on US/Colombia policy. The hearing has been appropriated entitled " US-Colombia Policy: What's Next?" Colombia's democracy is in crisis. And it didn't happen over night. Colombia's civil society has been ripped apart for decades by violence and corruption. Colombia has long been characterized as having one of the most violent societies in the Western Hemisphere. Historically, Colombian civil leaders, judges and politicians have put their lives in jeopardy simply by aspiring to positions of leadership and responsibility. The introduction of illicit drug cultivation and production has only heightened further this climate of violence. Despite fears that must be pervasive in every Colombian's heart, tens of thousands of men and women have still allowed their names to appear on electoral ballots in election after election. These are truly courageous people who deserve our respect and admiration. Two years ago, I supported US efforts to become partners with the Pastrana administration's efforts to address Colombia's problems. I said at the time that I believed that it was critically important that we act expeditiously on the Plan Colombia assistance package because our credibility was at stake with respect to responding to a genuine crisis in our own hemisphere. We also needed to make good on our pledge to come to the aid of the President Pastrana and the people of Colombia in their hour of crisis -- A crisis that has profound implications for institutions of democracy in Colombia and throughout the hemisphere. No one I know claims that things have dramatically" turned around" in Colombia since the US endorsed Plan Colombia and began providing significant resources to support its implementation. Narcotraffickers, in concert with right and left wing paramilitary organizations, continue to make large portions of the country ungovernable. Until recently their activities were restricted to sparely populated rural areas of the country – places where government order and services have never existed. Now, with the end of the FARC/Government peace process and in an effort to disrupt upcoming elections, the FARC is increasingly focused on urban areas, especially critical economic infrastructure. Nor have these threats to Colombia's democracy remained within its borders. The ill effects are being felt by all of Colombia's neighbors – Ecuador, Colombia, Peru, Bolivia, Venezuela, Panama, and Brazil. Colombia's problems are having a profound impact on the stability and security of the entire region. Yet there is little or no sustained regional support for Colombia's efforts to deal with the narco/terrorist threat. This is very difficult to understand. The Bush administration has decided that the our current policy is too narrowly focused on counter narcotics cooperation and is seeking to loosen restrictions on past and future US assistance. What the administration has not done in my view, is to clearly describe what our stake is in Colombia, what changes are needed to the current policy, and what we hope to achieve by making these changes. They have failed to describe whether and how they will mobilize regional support for our policy. Nor have they outlined the costs and benefits of our deeper involvement. I am certainly open to considering changes to our existing policy but I want to know with more specificity what those changes are and how they will make things better in Colombia. I hope that in the course of this morning's proceedings that we will hear the administration's rationale for seeking the loosening of restrictions on past and future aid to Colombia; examine the state of the ongoing conflict in Colombia; assess the effectiveness of the current counter narcotics programs; and scrutinize the human rights situation. It will also be an opportunity for the administration to outline its objectives for Colombia, and how it plans to accomplish those objectives. We will also have an opportunity to listen to expert witnesses discuss their concerns with US policy and their recommendations for reshaping that policy. I welcome all of our witnesses and thank them for coming. As of July 10, 2002, this document was also available online at http://www.senate.gov/~dodd/press/Speeches/107_02/0424.htm |
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