02 July 2003
U.S. Restrictions on Military Aid Will Have Minimal Impact on Colombia
(State Dept. spokesman explains U.S. decision to reporters) (650)
By Lauren Monsen
Washington File Staff Writer
Washington -- President Bush's decision to suspend military aid to
countries that have not agreed to exempt U.S. soldiers from
prosecution by the International Criminal Court will not affect the
bulk of U.S. aid to Colombia, according to State Department spokesman
Richard Boucher.
At a July 1 press briefing, Boucher told reporters that "much of our
assistance to Colombia -- the great bulk of our assistance to Colombia
-- is, indeed, counter-drug money, and therefore not affected" by the
decision. Colombia, home to the world's largest cocaine industry,
receives more U.S. military aid than any other country in the Western
Hemisphere. For several years, the United States has been assisting
Colombia in its decades-old struggle against narco-terrorists -- armed
insurgents largely funded by drug traffickers -- who imperil the
Andean country's democratic rule and prosperity. The fact that this
assistance is substantially channeled towards counter-drug initiatives
is regarded by the U.S. government as an important distinction that
separates it from other forms of military aid.
The president's decision on military aid applies to 35 countries that
have not signed an agreement with the United States, as specified by
the new law known as the American Service Members Protection Act,
which would ensure that U.S. military personnel are not subject to the
jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court. This exemption is
necessary, the White House says, in order to prevent politically
motivated prosecutions of U.S. soldiers.
Colombia is one of the countries that has not signed the so-called
Article 98 agreement that would grant U.S. soldiers immunity from
trial by the International Criminal Court. Boucher indicated, however,
that the United States will continue to urge these countries to
reconsider. Meanwhile, of the approximately $100 million in U.S. aid
to Colombia that was budgeted for the current fiscal year, "all but
about $5 million has been expended" already, Boucher said. The
remaining $5 million, he explained, represents the total amount of
funding for Colombia that has been suspended in accordance with the
president's decision. Since most U.S. aid to Colombia is allocated to
fight the illegal drug trade, that will not be threatened by the new
legislation.
Even so, the United States would like to settle the entire matter
amicably with Colombia and other international partners, Boucher
suggested. "Our hope is to continue to work with governments to secure
and ratify Article 98 agreements that protect American service members
from arbitrary or political prosecution by the International Court,"
he reiterated. He added that Secretary of State Colin Powell has
raised the issue with Colombian Foreign Minister Carolina Barco, and
U.S. officials "will continue to discuss [this] with the government of
Colombia to try to work things out."
In response to a question about whether a 1962 treaty between Colombia
and the United States already offers protection to U.S. military
personnel, Boucher said: "The Colombians and the United States do have
an existing agreement that has some relationship to this, but we need
to provide the kind of exemption that an Article 98 agreement would
provide."
The Reuters News Service reported on July 1 that a U.S. Embassy
spokesman in Bogota confirmed that "the suspension of U.S. military
aid would not affect hundreds of millions of dollars in assistance to
crush the cocaine trade or the activities of hundreds of U.S.
personnel training or assisting Colombian forces" in their efforts to
restore the rule of law. Colombian President Alvaro Uribe has won
strong support in Washington for his aggressive stance against
guerrilla and paramilitary violence, and for his commitment to an
aerial spraying campaign in his country that has succeeded in reducing
the illicit coca crops from which cocaine is derived.
(The Washington File is a product of the Bureau of International
Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site:
http://usinfo.state.gov)
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