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Pubdate: Fri, 26 Oct 2001 Source: Miami Herald (FL) Copyright: 2001 The Miami Herald Contact: http://www.herald.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/262 Author: Maria Cristina Caballero Note: Maria Cristina Caballero is a Mason Fellow at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government. PARALLEL TRAGEDIES OF COLOMBIA, THE U.S. My relatives in Colombia have been calling. "Don't open your mail,'' they say. Others warn me not to fly. "Don't forget that there are crazy terrorists there,'' another said. I am a journalist and left my native Colombia because of death threats. I am used to calling relatives after reading about the latest attacks in my homeland. Thus I find this concern for my safety in the United States ironic. Terrorism. Colombians have seen many of its tragic faces -- and because of an U.S. decision in response to the Sept. 11 attacks, Colombians fear a new wave of terrorism. On Wednesday, U.S. Ambassador to Colombia Anne Patterson an-nounced that the U.S. government will try to extradite Colombian guerrillas and right-wing militia members who are involved in drug-related and terrorist activities. This could very well kill the already-faltering Colombian peace process. The combatants won't negotiate if they think they will be shipped to the United States as criminals. Now Colombia and the United States are living virtually parallel tragedies. Extremists from different cultures aim at comparable targets. The same day that Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle announced that 31 lawmakers and other workers on Capitol Hill had been exposed to anthrax, the Colombian media published that a former congressman had been assassinated, bringing to seven the number of current or former lawmakers killed this year. As American journalists were being targeted with anthrax, the Inter American Press Association released a report showing that Colombia continues to be the most dangerous country for journalists. This year seven of my colleagues have been assassinated; 51 have been killed in the past decade. Terrorist activities are partly financed in much the same way. The United Nations has stated that Afghanistan is one of the world's biggest producers of opium; all of the Colombian factions in conflict are at least partially financed by drug money, mostly from cocaine. It is clear that the Sept. 11 attacks have created a shift in U.S. policy toward Colombia. Before, the U.S. government publicly supported the peace talks that Colombian President Andres Pastrana has held with the FARC, though the badly managed talks have been "unproductive.'' Last week, though, the U.S. State Department's top anti-terrorism official, Francis Taylor, pointed out that the FARC now is considered the most dangerous terrorist group based in this hemisphere. The Bush administration last week announced an initial $58 million package for counter-terrorism activities in the Andean region -- in addition to last year's $1.3 billion aid package to Colombia for a war on drugs. According to an Associated Press story, Taylor said that the package would include "where appropriate, as we are doing in Afghanistan, the use of military power.'' Colombian editorialists asked whether the United States was announcing a military intervention in Colombia. Other U.S. officials denied it. However, Bruce Bagley, a U.S. expert on Colombia, said that U.S. agencies are fed up with the failed peace negotiations with the FARC. Many U.S. officials question the FARC's links to the drug business and terrorist activities and its strong anti-U.S. rhetoric. FARC leaders are in no hurry to negotiate, but the new U.S. war on terrorism changes the scenario for terrorists. U.S. officials seem to say to the FARC: "If you don't negotiate now, after the Taliban, you may be next.'' The main similarity between the Taliban and the FARC is their reliance on drug money to fuel their operations. Thus the ineffectiveness of the U.S. drug policy must be analyzed. Until now, the spraying of coca-crops has achieved only the moving of crops from one region to another; the flow of drugs has not been reduced. U.S. policymakers must recognize that it might be worthwhile to cut the flow of drug money by providing treatment to U.S. drug addicts. As absurd as it sounds, many would like to, but cannot, get into the overcrowded and expensive drug-treatment centers. Calling For Social Justice After the Sept. 11 attacks, theorists have pointed out that extremist groups flourish in societies where many civil, political, social and economic rights have been violated. Four decades ago, the Colombian insurgent groups were created, calling for land reform and social justice. The absence of timely and adequate responses to some of those calls allowed those groups to grow. Decade after decade, their members became increasingly more involved in illegal and violent activities. Today the United States considers the 20,000 armed members of the FARC a threat not only to Colombia but to the rest of the world. As it confronts new threats, the United States could learn from those unfortunate Colombian experiences. The international community must address in a timely and adequate manner the civil, political, social and economic rights of people persistently claming for them. This strategy could prevent the creation and strengthening of extremist groups. - --- MAP posted-by: Larry Stevens