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Updated:2/22/01 |
| Dear
Colleague Letter from Members of the House to Secretary of State Madeleine
Albright Congress of the United States House of Representatives August 7, 1998 Dear Madame Secretary: We are writing to request that the pursuit of a negotiated end to Colombia’s armed internal conflict be made a first priority of U.S. policy. As you know, on June 21st, the people of Colombia elected a new president, with a firm mandate to seek a political settlement to the armed internal conflict in that country. The conflict has left more than 30,000 Colombians dead, and more than 1 million internally displaced or forced into exile. In accordance with the growing demand for an end to the violence, president-elect Andres Pastrana took the unprecedented step of meeting face-to-face with the top commanders of the country’s largest insurgency group. He has pledged to make the pursuit of peace his administration’s first priority when he assumes office today. This is important to the people of Colombia, and their hopes for peace. It is also essential to advancing the interests that we share with them in strengthening democracy and respect for human rights in fostering shared prosperity, and in turning back the expansion of both political violence and illicit drug production. As you also know, developments in Colombia and U.S. policy toward that country have generated increasing concern in the Congress, from Members committed to strengthening the capacity of Colombian security forces to fight illicit drug trafficking, as well as Members determined to ensure that U.S. assistance does not support elements of those security forces that violate the human rights of Colombia’s citizens. Colombia is the subject of much attention in the executive branch as well. Your Department has chronicled the human rights crisis in Colombia, where 3,500 people were killed in political violence last year alone. The head of the U.S. Southern Command has testified that Colombia poses the most pressing security challenge in this hemisphere1 with possible implications for the strategically important neighboring countries of Panama and Venezuela. The Office of National Drug Control Policy reports that between 1995 and 1997 Colombian opium production increased, and coca cultivation expanded 56 percent. This year, Colombia is expected to be the largest recipient of U.S. counternarcotics assistance in the world. Progress on any of the major challenges facing Colombia today - - on political violence, instability, and drug production and trafficking - - will continue to be exceedingly difficult as long as left-wing insurgent groups and right-wing paramilitary organizations exercise control or fight each other for predominance in half of the nation’s territory. Neither of these forces, nor the government’s security forces, has demonstrated a capability to end the armed internal conflict through military means. The inability of any force to win the war on the battlefield, and the devastating cost of continued fighting, have convinced the Colombian Catholic Church and other civic organizations that a negotiated end to the conflict is necessary. At the same time, the focus during the presidential campaign on ending the war1 and the initial steps taken by President-elect Pastrana, have sparked the belief that peace may not only be necessary, but also possible. Beginning with the inauguration of the new President on August 7th, we believe that the central objective of U.S. policy in Colombia should be to help translate this hope for peace into a serious process of negotiations, with the aim of achieving a political settlement of the conflict. Every element of our policy toward Colombia should be examined in light of how it can contribute to this objective. Diplomatic relations with the government of Colombia, and with important institutions and sectors of that society, should have this as their overriding purpose. In relations with other countries or international institutions that are in a position to bring pressure or support for a negotiated settlement, we should seek to advance this end. The foreign assistance programs carried out in Colombia by the United States government should be measured by their contribution to the core goal of laying the groundwork to end the war. The war in Colombia has been waged for decades, with an increasing toll of destruction and lost lives. It will not be ended easily, and the task of repairing Colombian society will take many years. In the end, this work will be done by the people of Colombia themselves. Clearly, the United States has a strong interest in helping them succeed. We should do all we can, within our formidable powers, to tip the scales in that direction. Colombia faces a rare opportunity to set a new course, away from its painful history. For our nation, this poses an important opportunity to help ensure that the path of peace is taken, and to contribute to its prospects for success. We are convinced that your leadership within the Administration is essential in making this happen, and we look forward to working with you in this endeavor. Sincerely, James A.
Leach |
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