DATE=8/30/2000
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=CLINTON-COLOMBIA WRAP (L)
NUMBER=2-266005
BYLINE=DAVID GOLLUST
DATELINE=CARTAGENA, COLOMBIA
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: President Clinton has paid a brief visit to
Colombia to underline U-S support for Colombian
President Andres Pastrana and his government's battle
against drug trafficking, a chronic insurgency and a
deep recession. The visit, amid heavy security, was
the first by a U-S President to the South American
country in a decade. VOA's David Gollust reports from
the Colombian port city of Cartagena.
TEXT: The Clinton visit was meant as a visible show
of support for Mr. Pastana and his "Plan Colombia"
recovery program to which the United States has
committed one-point-three billion dollars in new
funds.
The bulk of the U-S aid will go to train and equip
anti-drug units of the Colombia security forces and
there is widespread concern the United States will be
drawn into the Colombian government's long-running war
against insurgents.
But at a joint news conference with President
Pastrana, Mr. Clinton said the insurgency can be
settled peacefully even as war against the drug trade
goes on:
///Clinton actuality///
I reject the idea that we must choose between
supporting peace and fighting drugs. We can do
both and indeed to succeed, we must do both. I
reaffirmed to the President our support for the
peace process. The people of Colombia have
suffered long enough, especially in the area of
human rights.
///end act///
Mr. Clinton said the U-S role is neither a Vietnam
scenario nor a case of, quote, "Yankee imperialism"
and said a condition of the aid program is that the
United States will not be drawn into a shooting war in
Colombia.
Mr. Pastrana for his part, said he will accept no
foreign intervention in Colombia's civil conflict. And
heard here through an interpreter, he said over the
long run, wider access to the U-S market for his
country's textiles and other legitimate exports will
be more important than counter-drug assistance:
/// Pastrana act-translator ///
I believe the time has come to move toward an
agreement that allows better access for
Colombian products into the U-S market. I'm
convinced that at the end of the day trade and
investment will do more for Colombia and will be
more decisive instruments in the battle against
drugs, given that they will have a sustainable
impact for future generations, and will
contribute to a more prosperous Colombia.
///end act///
Mr. Clinton was joined in his visit here by a
bipartisan Congressional delegation led by the
Republican Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert. He
assured Mr. Pastrana of continuity in U-S policy
regardless of who wins the U-S Presidential election
in November, and said the United States must act to
curb the demand for illegal drugs that has helped
produce Colombia's suffering:
///Hastert actuality///
We have to work in our country to make sure that
we can reduce the demand for drugs, that we can
work with your countrymen to make sure that you
have the resources to fight the battle against
drug traffickers here in Colombia. And there are
those in this country, and there are those in
the United States, that would be very happy to
see us fail. But for the sake of our children,
and our grand-children, we can't afford to let
this fail.
///end act///
President Clinton, who earlier had an emotional
meeting with mothers and widows of Colombian policemen
killed in internal strife, appealed to Colombia's
neighbors to support Mr. Pastrana's program.
He said their concerns about a spillover of Colombian
violence may be at least partly valid, but said U-S
aid is also available to help them cope with the
problem.
There was extraordinary security for the brief Clinton
visit, the first to Colombia since former President
Bush also stopped in Cartagena ten years ago. Local
police said they arrested three men with bomb-making
materials and there were other security-related
incidents but no immediate threat to the U-S
delegation. (Signed)
NEB/DAG/PT
30-Aug-2000 18:28 PM EDT (30-Aug-2000 2228 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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