Speech by Rep. William Delahunt (D-Massachusetts), March 29, 2000

Speech by Rep. William Delahunt (D-Massachusetts), March 29, 2000
[Page: H1488]
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Nussle). The Chair will remind Members that although it is permissible to refer to the sponsor of a measure in the Senate, further personal references should be avoided.

Mr. MOAKLEY. Mr. Speaker, I would like to make a personal reference to a dear friend of mine and yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Delahunt).

Mr. DELAHUNT. Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend from Massachusetts (Mr. Moakley) for yielding me the time. And he is my dear friend.

Mr. Speaker, it is very rare that I disagree with the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Moakley). It would be remiss of me not to acknowledge the incredible work that the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Moakley) did in Central America during the 1980s. More than any other individual in this institution, the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Moakley) can take credit for saving thousands and thousands of lives, and I want to acknowledge that.

But I do disagree. Colombia is not Central America. Colombia is not El Salvador. There was recently an article in a report called the International Policy Report. The agency or the think tank that produces this particular publication is headed by the former ambassador to El Salvador, Robert White, who, by the way, was discharged from that ambassadorship because of his position on the issue of El Salvador by President Reagan.

Now, in fairness, I have to acknowledge that Ambassador White was clear that he disagreed with this particular package, but on other grounds. This article that was written by his associate I think captures the fact that the analogy between Central America and Colombia is inaccurate. I am going to read some excerpts:

`Colombia's decades-old conflict and the effort to end it are far more complicated than the violence El Salvador, Guatemala, and Nicaragua suffered during the 1980s.'

Mr. GOSS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Delahunt).

Mr. DELAHUNT. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me the time.

Mr. Speaker, he goes on to point out: `Unlike the groups in El Salvador's FMLN and Guatemala's URNG, Colombia's three guerilla groups fight separately, violating human rights frequently, and are held in low esteem by most citizens. The paramilitary death squads operate in the open, resembling private armies more than shadowy groups of killers and are somewhat independent of the Army.'

`Here in Colombia,' he points out, `the Government seeks to bring guerillas to the negotiating table.'

He concludes by saying, `With the exception of the United States, no foreign source arms or combatants. Instead, the drug trade pervades, corrupts, and finances all sides.'

`On deeper examination, this conflict, the western hemisphere's oldest and most brutal, bears only a passing resemblance to Central America.'

As of March 30, 2000, this document was also available online at http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?r106:H29MR0-104: