PRESS CONFERENCE BY PRESIDENT OF COLOMBIA

Press Briefing

PRESS CONFERENCE BY PRESIDENT OF COLOMBIA

For the first time, guerilla leaders in Colombia had made a commitment to eradicate illicit drug crops, the country's President, Andrés Pastrana Arango, told correspondents at a Headquarters press conference today.

President Pastrana said he was seeking cooperation and resources from the international community to help promote the Government's peace plan with the guerilla movement and eliminate the drug problem. Colombia was working with the International Development Bank on a special alternative development fund of almost $100 million. The Executive Director of the United Nations International Drug Control Programme (UNDCP), Pino Arlacchi, had offered $1 billion over the next 10 years to support alternatives to the cocaine and poppy crops. The Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Gustave Speth, had also offered support for the peace plan. For its part, the Colombian Government would try and raise nearly $800 million for the plan over the next two years, through an obligatory bond paid for by the 5,000 highest tax payers.

In reply to a question on relations with the United States Government, President Pastrana said that tomorrow he would be in Washington D.C. to meet with members of Congress and the Senate. During his State visit on 28 October, he would meet with President William Clinton. Colombia would be asking for military aid and assistance for alternative development, he added.

Asked about Colombia's view of the situation in Haiti, he said that his Government would work with the international community to help Haiti, through the Organization of American States (OAS) and other international fora.

Responding to another question, the President said substitute crops were an essential part of the peace process and there might be a joint operation between the Government and the guerillas. During negotiations, guerilla leaders had said "give us the resources and we will eradicate the crops". Colombia was trying to pinpoint the type of substitute crops that would be most profitable for growers. It had asked the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) to send a technical team to help survey the needs of different regions.

Asked if the guerilla leaders might resume their offensive, President Pastrana said he did not think there was a high danger of that, since they had reiterated their commitment to peace in recent weeks. Over the next three months, Government and guerilla representatives would begin a dialogue, although the peace process would not be easy.

A correspondent asked about the economic pressures Colombia was facing, given the outflow of capital from Latin America. President Pastrana said recent government measures had anticipated the pressures facing Latin American

countries and he was very happy with the results. The Government was working hard to keep public expenditures down and had submitted fiscal bills to Congress which, he hoped, would be adopted quickly. He was also optimistic the United States would help Colombia deal with the financial crisis.

The correspondent asked if Colombia's recent de facto devaluation of the peso was enough to ease the pressure on country's economy and its fiscal deficit. President Pastrana said the Government's fiscal measures and the bills before Congress had been supported by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), World Bank and Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and, so far, he did not think it would be necessary to take additional measures.

Rising unemployment and the resulting social stagnation could work against peace and investment, a correspondent said. How did the Government propose to deal with it? President Pastrana said high unemployment was a great concern. The Government was investing in the housing sector to generate employment and it was also committed to promoting renewed development. But, it had been forced to undertake recent economic and fiscal measures. If it had not, the markets might have been worse.

Asked what opportunities Colombia offered the international community, President Pastrana said it offered solidarity and cooperation. The drug plague could be eradicated if Colombia was able to respond to the needs of its rural inhabitants by offering them profitable alternatives to illicit crops. To achieve peace, the first battle was to stop drug trafficking. The guerillas wanted peace and the Government should be able to work with them to eradicate illicit crops. At bilateral meetings and at the United Nations, Colombia had received solidarity and support for its peace process.

Responding to a question on international involvement in Colombia, President Pastrana said UNDP had conducted a recent round table in Colombia for reconciliation, during which various actors involved in violence had sat and talked. He had also asked Secretary-General Kofi Annan about the possibility of centralizing various United Nations programmes in the country. There might be direct participation by the United Nations in Colombia, if requested. The possibility of participation by a group of friendly countries to help the peace process move forward was also under discussion. An October summit would be held in Bogota, attended by the President of the World Bank and, hopefully, Secretary-General Annan and the President of the IDB. The country hoped to learn from the summit how to better promote the peace process.

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