Pubdate: Fri, 13 Oct 2006 Source: Wall Street Journal (US) Page: A13 Copyright: 2006 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. Contact: http://www.wsj.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/487 Author: Mary Anastasia O'Grady Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/people/Alvaro+Uribe Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/topics/Colombia The Americas URIBE VS THE DRUG THUGS To get an idea of how long Afghanistan's war against narco-trafficking terrorists could last, the Colombian experience with criminals of a similar ilk might be instructive -- though not encouraging. That thought occurred to me after an interview with Colombian President Alvaro Uribe in New York last week. Mr. Uribe may be the most clear-thinking, courageous ally in the war on terror that the U.S. has in Latin America, and Washington has spent billions of dollars trying to eradicate coca plants in his country. That is to say, there has been no lack of political will in the fight against drug thugs in Colombia. If other world leaders have gone wobbly on fighting terrorism, Mr. Uribe has not. "Under no circumstances will the government weaken its policy on democratic security," he told me emphatically last week. But as the popular president begins his second four-year term, his challenges are daunting. While it is true that guerrilla kidnappings and killings are down sharply since he instituted his policy of "democratic security" in 2002, it is also true that Colombians have rising expectations of the man who did so much in his first term to push back the terrorists and restore Colombian confidence. The trouble is that, despite these efforts, the persistent demand for illicit cocaine from the U.S. and Europe is still feeding an organized-crime network that has little incentive to take up honest work. Drug-financed terrorism remains a constant drain on resources and an impediment to Colombian development. Mr. Uribe put the Sisyphean task ahead of him clearly when I asked about progress in the war on drugs: "Colombia is a great ally of the U.S. In spraying, extradition, forfeiture of assets and manual eradication we have done our best. However, in relation to our efforts, we need better results." In other words, despite copious amounts of Colombian blood, sweat and tears, the reality of demand for a high-priced commodity keeps the goal to end supply out of reach. The most immediate challenge facing the president involves the fate of 62 kidnap victims now held by the drug-trafficking Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). In recent weeks the FARC has turned up the pressure on Mr. Uribe to agree to an exchange of 500 FARC operatives held by the government for the 62 kidnap victims, some of whom have been hostages for years. The guerrilla objectives are clear: A good number of the FARC prisoners are important mid-level commandantes whom the organization needs. To boost public support for an exchange, the FARC has been releasing video tapes of the hostages to the Colombian media. Relatives of the hostages are then filmed, tears streaming down their faces as they view their loved ones held captive. It has long been the policy of the Uribe government that any prisoner release must be carried out in accordance with the law and that any prisoner who is freed must agree to lay down arms. So I asked Mr. Uribe whether he would negotiate with the guerrillas. "I have expressed my willingness to open negotiations under conditions of good faith," he told me. "So far we have no negotiations but given good faith, we would talk." This seems, at first, a departure from the standard views of a hard-liner on terrorism. But in fact it is a continuation of his hope for reconciliation, a hope that Mr. Uribe has held since I first interviewed him in 1997, when he was governor of the Colombian state of Antioquia. That hope may be even greater today because of the success the government has had in bringing so many of the lawless in from the cold. It is a record he is proud of. "At this moment we have completed the demobilization of 40,000 [individuals]," he says. "Over 7,000 came from the guerrillas and over 30,000 were [in the paramilitary]. There is no previous comparison [of these results]. When Colombia had the demobilization of the [former rebel group] M-19, there were 900 people [demobilized]. This is the biggest guerrilla demobilization in our history." Despite Mr. Uribe's hope, though, if the government sticks to its policy that freed prisoners must renounce violence, not much is likely to happen. The FARC wants the swap so it can regroup. Moreover, on the subject of a broader peace negotiation, FARC leadership seems to think it can play the same game it played with previous governments, pretending to want peace so as to gain a safe haven for its businesses in arms, drugs and kidnapping. That much comes through in an open letter from FARC leaders sent to the three branches of government on Oct. 2. The letter details the conditions that the FARC demands for peace talks, "once the swap [of prisoners for kidnapping victims] is completed." At the top of the list is the demilitarization of the coca growing states of Caqueta and Putumayo, followed by the suspension of orders to the military for the capture of FARC leadership, and an army withdrawal to its barracks. As if those demands weren't ridiculous enough, the letter goes on to say that the government must make an appeal to the international community to stop referring to the FARC as terrorists. Tell that to the 12-year-old girl who lost her leg, her parents and her four-year-old sister in the FARC attack on Club Nogal in Bogota in 2003. That bombing, aimed at innocent civilians, killed 35 people and injured more than 170. It is a good example of why polls in Colombia put public support for the FARC at 1%. Mr. Uribe understands that in addition to being open to talks and pushing security, he also has to show that he is responsive to political, economic and social problems. In our interview he stressed judicial reforms under his government, including the introduction of an oral-trial system similar to what is used in the U.S., an increase in judicial independence and the transfer of more legal cases against the military to civilian court jurisdiction. He also emphasized the importance of boosting economic growth, although he has already tripped on this issue by allowing a bold tax reform -- designed to stimulate investment by cutting and simplifying taxes -- to be perverted by special interests. Analysts are now warning that if Mr. Uribe is smart, he will pull the bill rather than let it further damage Colombia's investment profile. Still, his biggest problem remains security, and it is hard to imagine real progress unless the demand for illegal drugs collapses in Europe and the U.S., or rich countries change their prohibition policies. - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake