|
Colombia Roundtable Discusses Obstacles to Eradicating Illicit Crops The foreign delegates were greeted by representatives of the federal government and a "street of honor" lined with 40 members of the FARC. The guerrillas, holding banners welcoming the visitors in English, were led by FARC spokesman Ra�l Reyes. The federal government criticized the guerrillas' welcoming ceremony, but the FARC took advantage of the setting and the topic to demonstrate its power in the country's coca-growing areas. Absent from the meeting was the United States, despite its status as the leading drug-consuming nation. The US was invited to attend and did participate in the planning stages, but decided not to send a representative in protest of the guerrillas' refusal to clarify or take responsibility for the murder last March of three US human rights activists. The FARC's commander, Manuel Marulanda V�lez (alias Tirofijo, or Sureshot), commented that, like all of the parties invited, the US "had the right to decide whether or not to attend." One of the main topics discussed at the meeting was the aerial fumigation of illicit crops. The Colombian newspaper El Tiempo has reported that after five years of such efforts, the results have been poor. "Since 1995, as fumigation has increased, so has the number of hectares planted with coca. At present, an estimated 120,000 hectares produce narcotics, an increase of 20%," the paper claims. Peasant Complaints "We are tired of planting coca and poppies, but we have no alternative because the state has never taken us into account," a peasant leader complained to journalists at the event. "If they want to do away with coca, they will have to give us roads and help us market new products. Fumigating won't get rid of the coca or the poppies; it will only destroy our land," another representative told the Spanish newspaper El Pa�s. Peasants from different parts of the country came to the meeting with proposals for the eradication and decriminalization of illicit crops. Most of all, they showed a strong consensus of opinion against the Plan Colombia's antinarcotics strategy, which has been approved by the US Congress. They pointed to a need for roads, marketing opportunities and agrarian reform as necessary conditions for giving up coca and opium cultivation. If the state could guarantee them an alternative way to make a living, they would be willing to abandon these crops, they said. The International Community's Position The foreign delegates at the event expressed their support for crop substitution programs. They agreed that coca cultivation is a social problem that requires a global solution. The delegates also backed the process of dialogue and negotiation with the guerrillas and reiterated their commitment to collaborate, when asked to do so, in finding a negotiated solution to the Colombian crisis. Jan Egeland, the United Nations envoy, said that "knowing beforehand that the process will be long and with many ups and downs, the international community guarantees that it will stay on track." A plea was made to the guerrillas to carry out concrete steps toward peace and to respect international human rights laws. Without an indication of the guerrillas' commitment to the peace process, the delegates cautioned, any progress in this area will be difficult. If Colombia lets this historic opportunity go by, they warned, it could risk losing its hold on international attention. The United Kingdom ambassador, Jeremy Thorp, read a declaration backed by Belgium and Switzerland that sharply criticized the guerrillas for their attacks on the civilian population. "The United Kingdom cannot accept kidnapping, forced disappearances and extortion, nor the recruitment of children for 'military service' with the guerrillas or any other force," the statement read. "These are serious human rights violations that must end." The guerrillas responded with a statement that they did not kidnap, but merely "detain," and that far from engaging in extortion, they "collected taxes." They called on the government to show its own commitment to peace by investing in social development and ending "the official paramilitary policy." Government Proposals and Guerrilla Response The Colombian government recognized the fact that illicit crops have spread around the country in response to international demand for illegal narcotics. It invited the FARC to cooperate in the eradication of such crops and asked for help from the countries present to finance alternative development projects for peasants in affected areas. Such resources would require international supervision to make sure they develop within an institutional framework of cooperation. The FARC made official its proposal to work with external funding to eradicate coca plants in one southern Colombian jurisdiction in return for the withdrawal of government troops from the area. The guerrillas suggested improving the transportation infrastructure and creating a marketing system by which an official or international entity would pledge to buy articles produced by local residents during the five- year experiment. Ultimately, it clear was clear from the meeting that any effort to eradicate illicit crops must take into account the country's economic and social conditions and propose alternatives for development that satisfy the inhabitants of the targeted areas. A positive aspect of the talks was the participation of international actors, whose presence lent legitimacy to the negotiations and put pressure on the various parties to fulfill their commitments. The Colombian government especially received an important boost from the European critique of the guerrillas' human rights record. Perhaps the most significant conclusion to be gained from the talks was the acknowledgement that 100,000 hectares of illicit crops will not be eradicated with good intentions alone. The participation of the international community will be crucial in achieving this goal. Drug trafficking is a worldwide problem and any effort to combat it must be multilateral. The countries participating in the recent Colombian talks took an important step by accepting their share of blame in the drug problem and pledging their cooperation to resolve it.
|