DATE=9/12/2000
TYPE=BACKGROUND REPORT
TITLE=BRAZIL-COLOMBIA
NUMBER=5-46996
BYLINE=BILL RODGERS
DATELINE=RIO DE JANEIRO
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
///EDS: PORTUGUESE ACT IN BUBBLE///
INTRO: The U-S anti-narcotics aid package to Colombia
is causing increasing concern in Brazil - raising fears
the Colombian conflict could spill over into Brazil's
Amazon region. VOA's Bill Rodgers reports from Rio de
Janeiro.
TEXT: In recent weeks, there have been a growing number
of articles in major Brazilian newspapers and magazines
warning of the potential dangers for Brazil if the
Colombian conflict expands. The newspaper Jornal do
Brasil, for example, published articles Sunday about
the possible influx of war refugees into Brazil, and
the threat posed to the Amazon environment by a fungus
that could be used in Colombia to destroy coca and
poppy plants.
But the focus of concern is on the U-S aid package to
Colombia. The United States is providing one-point-
three billion dollars as part of a wider Colombian
anti-drug strategy called "Plan Colombia". Much of the
American money will be used to help the Colombian
military combat those involved in the drug trade,
including leftist guerrilla groups which earn money
from drug trafficking. The U-S military aid has raised
the specter of another Vietnam War - this time on the
South American continent.
This issue was raised at the Brazilian Senate earlier
this month, when several lawmakers warned that Brazil
faces imminent danger from the U-S military aid.
Senator Pedro Simon - of the center-left P-M-D-B party
- says the U-S assistance will cause an escalation of
the conflict.
///SIMON PORTUGUESE ACT WITH ENGLISH VOICEOVER///
This won't stay in Colombia. The first impact will be
that these people will run into the jungle, but they
won't know where the Colombian jungle ends and the
Brazilian jungle begins. So we're seeing here the
start of an operation, of which we know the beginning.
It begins with the visit of a U-S President to
Colombia, and with an American check of more than one-
billion dollars to combat drugs. But where it will
end, I don't know.
///END ACT///
Brazil has refused to comment directly on Plan Colombia
and the U-S aid component of the strategy -- saying
only that it supports the Colombian policy of
negotiating a peaceful end to its internal conflict.
//OPT//During a visit to Brasilia last month by U-S
Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, Brazilian
officials rebuffed a reported effort to enlist Brazil's
support for Plan Colombia. At a joint news conference,
Foreign Minister Luiz Felipe Lampreia said pointedly
that Brazil will help Colombia in its peace efforts,
but ruled out involvement in what he called "any kind
of international action" in Colombia. //End OPT//
Brazilian authorities have taken steps to reinforce the
country's 16-hundred kilometer border with Colombia by
deploying more troops and police to the region.
However, analyst David Fleischer, who teaches at the
University of Brasilia, says the government does not
have the resources to adequately protect the Amazon.
///FLEISCHER ACT///
Brazil is not really prepared militarily to defend its
Amazon region. There are some six-thousand troops and
federal police officers in close around the northern
region, bordering on Venezuela and especially Colombia.
But to adequately do the job, Brazil would have to have
a lot more troops, a lot more equipment, especially air
force to defend its air space. Brazil is now in the
process of upgrading its air force but this will take
some five to ten years to be able to have an air force
at the level of defending the air space in that region.
///END ACT///
Publicly, U-S officials downplay the differences
between Washington and Brasilia over Colombia -- but
say they do recognize the concern in Brazil over the
Colombian situation. The U-S ambassador to Brazil,
Anthony Harrington, tells VOA the United States is
willing to provide aid to Brazil if the Colombian
conflict spills over into Brazilian territory.
///HARRINGTON ACT///
We're already in very regular and deep dialogue with
the Brazilian government regarding the Colombian
situation and the efforts there, and we'll be working
together to address the common concern that the
problems are not moved across the border into Brazil
and providing some financial support to Brazil for law
enforcement efforts in that regard.
///END ACT///
For now, it is unclear whether this U-S offer of
assistance will be accepted by Brazil, or whether it
will help ease the concerns being raised. What is
clear is that fear over a wider conflict in Colombia is
greater in Brazil than ever before - and is likely to
remain this way for some time to come. (Signed)
neb/wfr/plm
12-Sep-2000 13:05 PM EDT (12-Sep-2000 1705 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
.
|
NEWSLETTER
|
|
Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list
|
|
|
