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. 
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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake