| http://www.canada.com/ottawa/ottawacitizen/story.asp?id=CC2A2779-C456-4509-88B
E-9BF7955A1AB7 Colombia wearies of war on drugs Top presidential candidate leads movement toward decriminalization � Michael Petrou The Ottawa Citizen Friday, August 31, 2001 A growing number of prominent Colombians -- including a leading presidential candidate -- are attacking the U.S. war on drugs and adding momentum to a push for decriminalization of marijuana, heroin and even cocaine. A recent flurry of pro-legalization pronouncements culminated this week in a scathing attack by Horacio Serpa, front-runner in next May's presidential elections, on the U.S.-backed policy of eradicating drug crops through aerial spraying. "Today there is more cocaine being produced, more trafficking, more traffickers and larger areas under cultivation," said Mr. Serpa on the eve of a visit by U.S. officials believed to be assessing the effectiveness of Washington's anti-drug partnership with the Colombian government. "New and alternative formulas are needed along with a recognition that the (anti-drug) policies applied to date have been a failure." Mr. Serpa's comments came only days after Colombian Senator Viviane Morales introduced a bill to legalize the production and sale of heroin and cocaine. And other politicians have introduced a series of bills in Colombia's congress that would reduce or eliminate penalties for people in the drug trade. "The problem is that the law of the marketplace is overtaking the law of the state," former president Ernesto Samper said recently. "We cannot continue to fight this war alone. If the consuming nations do nothing to curb demand, to control money laundering, to halt the flow of chemicals that supply the drug-production labs, then in a few short years, the world is going to see legalization as the answer." The publisher of Colombia's largest daily newspaper has also publicly backed decriminalization. In an essay published in the Los Angeles Times, Enrique Santos Calder�n said U.S.-backed strategies to fight drug cartels and eliminate cocaine crops have failed. He said "legalization and decriminalization tactics should be considered." The debate on decriminalization is taking place just as the U.S. delegation, including top State Department, White House and Pentagon officials, meets with the administration of Colombian President Andr�s Pastrana to discuss both the war on drugs and the battle against leftist guerrillas who tax and protect cocaine producers. Last year, the United States launched Plan Colombia, a $1.3-billion project to reduce drug production through military operations, crop destruction and social programs. Critics say fumigating coca crops destroys the environment and simply pushes peasant coca farmers deeper into the jungle, or into the arms of leftist guerrillas. Individuals in Colombia can now legally possess small amounts of cocaine, hashish and marijuana. Rafael Orduz, a Colombian senator, wants to expand the law to remove criminal penalties for small landholders who grow less than seven acres of coca or opium. "We are now a full year into Plan Colombia and we can see the results: Peasant farmers are wiped out economically, people are being displaced, suffering is on the increase," Mr. Orduz said. "Just because we support decriminalization does not mean we support guerrillas or drug traffickers. We are tired of all of them. We want to get rid of them," he said. But Mr. Orduz said attacking peasant coca farmers is an unethical way to fight the drug trade. "The idea should not be to treat them as criminals, because they are not. All they are trying to do is survive." When the American delegation arrived in Bogota Wednesday, about 60 demonstrators protested outside the U.S. Embassy and called for the United States to end its military support of the Colombian government. The exact purpose of the American delegation's visit, headed by Marc Grossman, undersecretary of state for political affairs, is not clear. U.S. officials have said they oppose any moves toward decriminalizing drug production in Colombia, and a spokesman for the State Department said the visit is to "underscore our continuing U.S. support for Colombia." But the Bush administration has also said it will review its approach to combatting drug use. Last week, Peter W. Rodman, assistant secretary of defence for international security affairs, said the administration is in the process of making "some agonizing decisions" about how its drug policy in Colombia serves American interests. |
