CLINTON APPROVES COLOMBIA AID ON DRUGS

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Clinton paved the way for the release of a
record $1.3 billion in aid to help Colombia fight drug trafficking,
certifying that the Latin American country has met certain human rights
requirements and waiving others it has not met.

White House spokesman Jake Siewert said the president signed the waiver on
Tuesday afternoon, giving his stamp of approval to the massive aid package.

The human rights reforms, including rules on military trials, were
stipulated by Congress when it approved the aid package that is designed to
combat drug trafficking and could choke off the chief source of financing
for powerful rebels.

The administration could not have released any of the money, which is much
higher than previous aid packages, unless it certified that Colombia had
met the conditions or Clinton waived the requirement on the basis that it
was in the United States' national security interests.

It was not immediately clear which human rights conditions the war-torn
nation failed to meet.

The president's decision to sign the waiver came on the heels of a
recommendation by the State Department, a senior administration official
told Reuters.

Pointing out that the requirements were part of new legislation, he said,
"You would not expect Colombia will be able to meet all the criteria. While
some of them will have been met, others will have to be waived."

Military Abuses

The reforms would see civilian rather than military courts handle human
rights abuses by soldiers. Human rights groups say that military courts
often fail to prosecute human rights abuses and too often acquit those who
do stand trial.

The reforms would also give the army commander the power to suspend
soldiers suspected of abuses and the army would have an independent corps
to manage prosecutions.

The U.S. and Colombian governments are in a hurry to activate the aid
package, which will be used to combat the production and trafficking of
cocaine and opium in Colombia.

The war on drugs is inextricably linked with the Colombian government's war
with Marxist rebels who protect and profit from the drug trade in the areas
they control.

The sense of urgency about the package is increasing as the U.S. fiscal
year draws to a close. Unless money is approved by Sept. 1, it might be
necessary to repeat some procedures in the next fiscal year, which starts
on Oct. 1.

Another incentive is Clinton's plan to visit Colombia on Aug. 30 to discuss
Pastrana's "Plan Colombia," which the U.S. aid package will help finance.
The plan is aimed at forcing Marxist guerrillas to end their three decades
of struggle by eroding their main source of income: the lucrative drug trade.

But lobby group Human Rights Watch said that Colombia has failed to meet
any of the conditions laid down by Congress and had urged Clinton not to
waive the requirements.

"Not a single one of the five human rights provisions contained in the
legislation has been satisfied," said Jose Miguel Vivanco of Human Rights
Watch.

"A waiver that ignores Colombia's dismal human rights situation would send
a clear message to the Colombian government and its security forces that
the U.S. commitment to human rights does not go beyond rhetoric," he added.

Under existing law, some military abuses can be tried in civilian courts
but in practice the military has tried to keep cases in military courts.