DATE=8/9/1999
TYPE=BACKGROUND REPORT
TITLE=COLOMBIA-U-S TRAINING
NUMBER=5-44031
BYLINE=BILL RODGERS
DATELINE=RIO DE JANEIRO
INTERNET=YES
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO:
Intro: The United States is helping the Colombian
army train an anti-narcotics battalion -- the first of
its kind to be formed as part of Colombia's
increasingly violent war on drugs. Part of the
intensive training includes safeguarding human rights
-- a problem area for the Colombian army, according to
human rights groups. Correspondent Bill Rodgers
recently visited the Colombian military training base,
and has this report.
TEXT: ///Ambient Sound of Gunfire///
An army patrol encounters several rebels in the
Colombian jungle, and a brief firefight breaks out.
Overwhelmed by a superior force, three green-clad
guerrillas -- two men and a woman -- surrender. The
soldiers approach cautiously, shouting at the rebels
to cast aside their weapons.
/// AMBIENT SOUND OF SHOUTING ///
Do not kill me -- cries one of the guerrillas as a
soldier comes up to him in a rage and kicks him.
/// AMBIENT SOUND OF TALKING ///
Another soldier intervenes, reminding him that the
rebel is now a prisoner of war and deserves to be
treated in a humanitarian manner. The angry soldier
turns away, chastened.
This re-enactment was staged recently for reporters
and visiting American dignitaries at the Tolemaida
military base, about 150-kilometers southwest of
Bogota. There, the Colombian army, with the help of
U-S military advisors, is training and equipping an
anti-narcotics battalion.
The battalion -- combining police and army personnel -
- is the first unit of its kind, and will soon enter
the field against Colombia's drug traffickers and the
leftist rebels that protect them.
Safeguarding human rights is part of the intensive
training program. The Colombian army has been accused
of violating human rights -- especially those of rebel
captives or civilians suspected of supporting the
guerrillas. Colonel Pedro Pablo Moreno Jimenez, who
heads the training program, says human-rights training
is now a priority.
///MORENO SPANISH ACT///
He says the objective for those who pass through the
course is that they learn to identify, apply, and
communicate the principles of human-rights safeguards,
especially in combat situations.
U-S Drug Policy Director Barry McCaffrey was among the
group of observers watching the various training
exercises, which included simulated parachute jumps
and attacks. Mr. McCaffrey, a retired army general,
was especially pleased by the human-rights training
and praised the base commander for the program.
/// MCCAFFREY ACT ///
I am glad to see this training. (Spanish Trans)
I congratulate you on your leadership.
///End Act///
//OPT// The U-S drug czar later told reporters such
training is valuable for all soldiers, no matter what
nationality they are.
/// MCCAFFREY ACT ///
The problem is not the heat of battle. The
problem is treating civilians like your family.
The problem is being able to go home and tell
your own mother what you did while you were in
the army, and that is what this training does.
These are young people, they do not have any
clue -- even they may be a good Catholic boy,
even in our own military and I am including all
of them. When you get 18-year-old soldiers and
give them these lessons, I think it makes a
difference.
/// END ACT // END OPT ///
The job of the new anti-narcotics battalion, which
numbers about one-thousand men, will be to weaken
Colombia's leftist guerrillas by attacking the source
of their funding -- drug trafficking and cultivation.
In the past, the Colombian army has followed a largely
defensive strategy -- responding to guerrilla attacks
while letting the nation's police force deal with drug
traffickers.
But this strategy has not worked. Colombia's two main
guerrilla groups now control about 40-percent of the
country, while drug production and trafficking have
grown dramatically. The rebels deny involvement with
the drug trade, but U-S and Colombian officials
estimate they receive up to 600-million-dollars a year
in protection money from the drug cartels.
Colombian Armed Forces commander Fernando Tapias says
the new battalion's job will be twofold: one, to
secure an area against armed groups protecting the
drug operations, and secondly, to destroy the drugs
and arrest those involved in the illegal trade.
/// TAPIAS SPANISH ACT ///
General Tapias says armed groups numbering up to two-
thousand men are protecting areas in Colombia where
drugs are cultivated and processed -- making it
impossible for the police force to do its work. He
says the new battalion will be able to secure an area
against attack, while destroying drug cultivation and
processing labs. The Armed Forces chief said the
battalion members also have been trained to gather
evidence for use against those arrested during the
operation.
General Tapias said about a dozen U-S military
advisors helped train the anti-narcotics battalion.
The trainers -- reported to be members of the U-S
Army's Special Forces -- gave instruction in
communications, reconnaissance, river operations, and
mortar use. There are about 150 American military
personnel in Colombia at any time providing training
and other assistance to Colombian anti-narcotics
forces.
The new battalion being formed in Tolemaida winds up
its training program in October -- and General Tapias
says in December it will take to the field to begin
its anti-narcotics operations. Colombian officials
say the battalion will be the first of many until the
drug war is won. (SIGNED)
NEB/WFR/RAE
09-Aug-1999 12:31 PM EDT (09-Aug-1999 1631 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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