----- Original Message ----- From: Rick Rozoff <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Friday, October 20, 2000 10:30 AM Subject: [STOPNATO.ORG.UK] Plan Colombia: Neighbors Bulk As U.S. Threatens Them STOP NATO: ¡NO PASARAN! - HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK Times of India October 20, 2000 Colombia's neighbours complain of drug war spillover MANAUS, Brazil (AP):The United States rebuked Colombia's neighbours for complaining about a massive drug crackdown there instead of joining it, military and diplomatic officials said. In a private meeting Wednesday with defence ministers from the region, US Deputy Undersecretary of Defence James Bodner said the US-backed Plan Colombia would go ahead with or without their support, said the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity. "Our position is: we're going to take a stand. If you're with us, fine," said a Pentagon official present at the meeting who asked not to be identified. Bodner declined to comment about what he said in the meeting. "He complained about the lack of solidarity by South America, and he laid it on heavy," said Rep. Joao Herrmann Neto, a member of the Brazilian House Foreign Relations Committee who also attended the meeting. Herrmann said some delegates - who included defense ministers from Bolivia, Ecuador, Peru, Panama, Venezuela and Brazil - bridled at the US position and tone, which he described as "typical American superiority." The blunt talk was a response to a rising chorus of complaints about "spillover" effects from the $7.5 bn plan. Earlier, Ecuadorean Defense Minister Adm. Hugo Unda Aguirre said Colombian refugees already are moving into Ecuador. He estimated that at least 1,000 Colombians have crossed the border, and thousands more are expected. Ecuador's is worried that guerrillas and drug traffickers might follow, especially in the wild border region of Sucumbios. "There's no government presence on the Colombian side - just guerrillas," Aguirre said. Ecuador was surprised last week by the kidnapping of 10 people, including five Americans, from its jungle oil fields, presumably by a Colombian group. "The situation is not good," Aguirre said during a break in the hemispheric meeting of defense ministers in this Amazon jungle city. "The internal problem is growing in Colombia, and it extends to other countries." Venezuela, another of Colombia's neighbors, was even more outspoken. "We're worried about the military plan. The way that it's done could generate more violence," said Venezuelan Defense Minister Gen. Ismael Hurtado Soucre. Plan Colombia includes $1.3 bn in anti-drug aid from the United States, and leaders of some neighboring countries are concerned about an increased military presence in the region. "It is precisely one of our biggest worries," Hurtado said. "We don't know what the reaction will be. The guerrillas will not just stand by." Colombian Defense Minister Luis Fernando Ramirez Acuna said the argument that the plan could spawn more violence misses the point. "The violence already exists and will always exist where there is drug trafficking," he said at a news conference. "The easiest thing for Colombia is to do nothing, but doing nothing is the greatest guarantee that outlaw groups will grow and will cross borders. They already are."(AP) __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Messenger - Talk while you surf! It's FREE. http://im.yahoo.com/ ______________________________________________________________________ To unsubscribe, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Start Your Own FREE Email List at http://www.listbot.com/links/joinlb
