Pubdate: Fri, 09 Mar 2001 Source: Register-Guard, The (OR) Copyright: 2001 The Register-Guard Contact: PO Box 10188, Eugene, OR 97440-2188 Fax: (541) 338-2828 Website: http://www.registerguard.com/ Author: Carl Berg, Alvadore PULL PLUG ON PLAN COLOMBIA I read with great interest the article by Pam Fitzpatrick and Paul Dix of Witness for Peace (Commentary, March 4). They point out with great effect the futility and damage caused by implementation of the Clinton administration's Plan Colombia. One can only hope that our newly elected president, who purportedly espouses the conviction that we should interfere little in other countries' affairs, would do just that and work to reverse the U.S. policy. Not reported in their article is the effect that Plan Colombia is having on neighboring countries such as Venezuela and Ecuador. Having been a Peace Corps volunteer stationed in northeastern Ecuador (near the Colombian border) in the 1980s, with continuing close ties to the area, I can speak with personal knowledge of the current situation. Lawlessness in the Lago Agrio/Coca Ecuador region has escalated dramatically in the past few years as the coca trade spills over the border to escape the "heat" in Colombia - perhaps most dramatically noted with the recent kidnapping of U.S. oil workers. The victims you'll never hear of are the likes of Shuar and Secoya Indians who have been forced out of their tribal lands (near the Colombian border) into refugee camps to avoid persecution by the coca traders. Hopefully the powers that be will see the light and pull the plug on Plan Colombia and work on the problem from the home front, where the money would be much more successfully spent in prevention and treatment programs. CARL BERG Alvadore - --- MAP posted-by: Beth