DATE=6/29/2000
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=COLOMBIA REBELS MEETING (L-O) CQ
NUMBER=2-263900
BYLINE=RHODA METCALFE
DATELINE=BOGOTA
INTERNET=YES
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: In Colombia, delegates from 21-embassies,
mostly European, are meeting with leftist rebels to
discuss illicit drug eradication and the environment.
European leaders are concerned a military program to
eliminate drug production will hurt Colombia's peasant
farmers, the Amazon rainforest, and the country's
fragile peace process. Rhoda Metcalfe reports from Bogota.
TEXT: It is the first meeting of its kind in the
guerrilla-held zone. It comes at a critical moment -
following a U-S decision to pump more than one-
billion-dollars into military aid to destroy
Colombia's drug production.
Environmental and human-rights activists in Colombia
warn a mass fumigation program to destroy the
country's coca fields would drive peasant farmers
deeper into the Amazon forest.
Thirty-six-thousand farming families would be affected
by the project. Jorge Rojas, is head of Codhes, an
organization that helps Colombians displaced by war
between the government and leftist rebels.
/// ROJAS ACT - SPANISH ///
Rojas says coca farmers have warned that for every
hectare of coca destroyed, they will clear two new
hectares of forest to ensure their survival. He says
they have no choice. Coca leaf, the base for cocaine,
is the only viable crop for these migrant farmers, who
have been pushed out of every other region of Colombia
by violence and big landowners.
The priority of U-S policy-makers is to destroy the
source of cocaine and heroin entering the American
market. But European governments are doubtful that
massive aerial spraying will be effective.
As the Dutch ambassador to Colombia Gysbert Bos points
out, the price to the environment and the poor farmers
themselves will be very high.
/// BOS ACT ///
The fumigation does not help in any way to
diminish the production of drugs. And I think
the international community should take that
very seriously, because we are talking about one
of the most important lungs of the world - the
Amazon area - and destroying that area without
conscience of the interest of future
generations.
///END ACT ///
During the two-day meeting with foreign diplomats, the
FARC guerrilla group is expected to offer proposals
for crop substitution. The rebels earn millions from
protecting drug crops, but analysts say the rebels
know their drug connection is damaging their
reputation.
The FARC rebels are seeking political legitimacy and
are clearly hoping to convince European
representatives that they are serious about
eliminating drug crops and seeking a peace accord.
The rebels also want Europe to pressure the United
States to soften its military-aid package. (SIGNED)
NEB/RM/RAE
29-Jun-2000 14:23 PM EDT (29-Jun-2000 1823 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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