Pubdate: Sun, 10 Dec 2000 Source: Bangkok Post (Thailand) Copyright: The Post Publishing Public Co., Ltd. 2000 Contact: http://www.bangkokpost.co.th/ COLOMBIA FIGHTS A DESPERATE WAR Colombia continues to lurch from crisis to crisis, taking one step backward, followed by two steps backward. The gateway to South America has spent more than two decades locked in a three-way struggle that pits drug lords and political extremists of the left and right against the decent people. So far, the good people of Colombia have had few successes. And each time it appeared Colombia had moved forward, violence stamped on the progress. Figures say a lot about Colombia. It has more murders than any nation on Earth, and the longest-running guerrilla war in the Americas. But the sad fact is that Colombia has failed the most important test, and that is the fight against corruption. The country has fallen under the distressing influence of the drug trafficking cartels that now are endemic in Colombia. Colombia, to be blunt, has been known as a narcocracy for a decade. Ten years ago, it seemed that no criminal gang could ever match the infamous Medellin cartel of Pablo Escobar. It was the most brutal, and also most sophisticated gang of criminal smugglers ever assembled. Escobar controlled much of the nation and terrorised most of the rest. His political contributions tainted every politician including a former Colombian president. Escobar was killed in a Bogota shootout seven years ago last month. Since then, a dozen traffickers have risen to take the place of the late, unlamented drug kingpin. Many are more ruthless than Escobar, and some are more crafty. Colombian officials, many of whom are dirty, have failed to come to grips with the new traffickers, by their own incompetence or by design. More than any other important nation, Colombia has become a victim of corruption, and an unfortunate example of what happens when a nation completely loses its soul. It is vital to note that there is no shortage of decent people in Colombia. But many of those in charge of the government, security and political reform have been corrupted, cowed or so fatigued they can no longer fight for national dignity. Since the death of Colombia, the country has gone deeper into the morass of drug dealing. No longer is it only an important source of cocaine and home to the top traffickers of that drug. Colombian drug kingpins have successfully corrupted tens of thousands of farmers into growing opium, and establishing heroin laboratories. In less than 10 years, they have become the world's third largest suppliers of heroin, after Burma and Afghanistan. The government continues to dither. As in Thailand 25 years ago, many farmers have become willing slaves to the heroin dealers because of government incompetence. Colombian farmers still lack electricity, decent roads to move their crops to market, and access to change that could make their lives better. Just last week, the government began to consider the details of how to encourage crop-substitution programmes to win back farmers-a far harder job than it would have been 10 years ago simply to keep them on the government's side. Also stepping into the breach left by the narcocracy are leftist guerrillas. The so-called Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia are completely addicted to the drug trade, providing security to the traffickers in return for their money. After 36 years of fighting, the FARC has an estimated 20,000 troops. More than 80% of Colombians in a recent poll said they were opposed to FARC. President Andres Pastrana may be honest. But he faces horrendous problems, including whether to embrace a contentious US offer of civilian and military aid. There are profound lessons for Thailand on the other side of the world. If corruption is really accepted as a way of life, then the corrupt will rule, and the drug traffickers will control the life of the country. - --- MAP posted-by: Terry Liittschwager