DATE=5/2/2000
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=CLINTON-COLOMBIA (L)
NUMBER=2-261908
BYLINE=DAVID GOLLUST
DATELINE=WHITE HOUSE
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: President Clinton - urging support for
increased U-S aid to Colombia -- has warned that other
democracies in Latin America could be toppled if the
Colombian government loses its struggle with drug
traffickers. V-O-A's David Gollust reports from the
White House.
TEXT: The president has used his strongest language
to date in defending his request for one-point-six
billion dollars to help train and equip Colombian
security forces in the battle against drug
traffickers.
The aid package is under attack by some in Congress
who contend it could drag the United States into a
Vietnam-style quagmire in Colombia.
But in an address to the private Council of the
Americas at the State Department, Mr. Clinton said
recent successes against the drug trade in Peru and
Bolivia show that that the administration's approach
can succeed.
He praised the sacrifice of [Colombian] President
Andres Pastrana, and others in Colombia who have
risked - or lost --their lives in standing up to drug
criminals. He warned of far-reaching harm in the
[Western] hemisphere if the drug war is lost:
/// CLINTON ACT ///
We must not stand by an allow a democracy
elected by its people, defended with great
courage by people who have given their lives, to
be undermined and overwhelmed by those who
literally are willing to tear the country apart
for their own agenda. And make no mistake about
it. If the oldest democracy in South America can
be torn down, so can others.
/// END ACT ///
The administration aid package is intended as the U-S
contribution to the broader seven-point-five billion
dollar reconstruction plan developed by President
Pastrana.
The U-S aid is to be used exclusively in anti-drug
operations and training, even though critics -
including many members of Mr. Clinton's own Democratic
party - argue that the drug war cannot be separated
from the Bogota government's long-running struggle
with leftwing insurgents.
The package has strong support among majority
Republicans, and Congressional leaders say they expect
approval by both houses in a matter of weeks.
In his Council of the Americas address, Mr. Clinton
also said he expects Congress to finish work by the
end of the month on his Caribbean basin and African
trade bills, which will greatly reduce U-S trade
barriers to goods from those regions.
He also said the refusal by Congress two years ago to
extend his powers to conclude expedited trade deals
with hemisphere countries - the so -called "fast
track" authority - has not slowed progress toward a
Free Trade Zone of the Americas.
He said he is gratified that both likely nominees in
the presidential race - Democrat Al Gore and
Republican George W. Bush -- support a hemispheric
free trade area, and said if it does not come into
being as planned in 2005 it will not be the fault of
the U-S executive branch. (Signed)
NEB/DAG/gm
02-May-2000 15:56 PM EDT (02-May-2000 1956 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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