Pubdate: Wed, 28 Feb 2001 Source: New York Times (NY) Copyright: 2001 The New York Times Company Contact: 229 West 43rd Street, New York, NY 10036 Fax: (212) 556-3622 Website: http://www.nytimes.com/ Forum: http://forums.nytimes.com/comment/ Author: Christopher Marquis BUSH PROMISES COLOMBIA HELP ON TRADE BUT REFUSES PEACE ROLE WASHINGTON, Feb. 27 -- In his first meeting with President Andres Pastrana of Colombia, President Bush agreed today to press for expanding trade preferences to Colombia, but refused a request to take part in peace talks with leftist guerrillas, officials said. Mr. Bush told Mr. Pastrana that he would work with lawmakers to renew the Andean Trade Preference Act, a decade-old accord that expires in December, and seek to increase the categories of Colombian goods that may enter the American market under reduced tariffs, a senior official told reporters after the meeting. But Mr. Bush declined to take part in peace negotiations between the Pastrana government and Marxist rebels of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, which has battled the Colombian state for four decades. Both Mr. Pastrana and FARC leaders last week invited the United States and Cuba to join a group of nations assisting in the on- again-off-again talks, which resume in March. "This is an issue that the Colombian people and the Colombian president can deal with," said Mr. Bush, who appeared for brief remarks with Mr. Pastrana at his side. "We'll be glad to help Colombia in any way to make the peace. We'll be glad to help the Colombian economy through trade. But I won't be present for the discussions." Mr. Bush was effusive in his praise for Mr. Pastrana, whose ambitious strategy to pacify the nation, promote development and curb drugtrafficking has been underwritten in part with $1.3 billion in mostly military aid from the United States. Mr. Bush has endorsed Plan Colombia - a holdover from the Clinton administration - but has discussed the need for limits on the extent of American involvement in Colombia and ruled out the use of American combat troops there. "President Pastrana is a courageous leader who is dealing with very difficult problems," Mr. Bush said. "I am confident that with his leadership his nation will be better off." In an interview this week, Mr. Pastrana asserted that his nation had "turned a corner" in several key areas. He cited the FARC's agreement to resume peace talks, the American-supported eradication of 75,000 acres of coca in two months in the drug-growing regions of Putumayo and Caqueta, and four quarters of growth in an economy struggling to emerge from its worst recession in history. Despite that progress, Colombia experts and some lawmakers sounded a skeptical note. There will be no fast resolution to Colombia's problems, they said, citing, among other things, the need to establish the rule of law and to rein in paramilitary and security forces, which were harshly criticized by the State Department's human rights bureau this week. "The jury's still out as to whether these are going to lead to sustained improvements in bringing the country to peace and greater control," said Michael Shifter, a senior fellow at the Inter-American Dialogue, a forum for hemispheric leaders. Senator John McCain, an Arizona Republican who returned from a visit to Colombia earlier this month, called on the administration to chart a plan that addresses how long the American-backed effort will take and how much it will cost. "I think I made the right decision when when we voted for this assistance," Mr. McCain said. "Not because of any wild enthusiasm, but because I believe there is no alternative." - --- MAP posted-by: Kirk Bauer