COLOMBIAN PRESIDENT DOESN'T WANT STRINGS
ON U.S. AID PACKAGE

WASHINGTON -- Colombian President Andres Pastrana began campaigning
Tuesday for Congress to approve more than $1 billion in emergency aid
to his embattled government, but argued strongly against any attempt
to tie the aid to his military's actions on human rights.

Pastrana, who met with President Clinton on Tuesday, said in an
interview later that although his government was committed to
improving its human-rights record, its efforts would not be helped by
further pressure from Washington.

"We are not going to respect human rights because the United States
Congress imposes conditions on the aid," Pastrana said. "We are going
to do it because it is the policy of my government."

Pastrana's comments laid down the lines of what may yet be a
considerable battle with congressional Democrats over the terms of
$1.3 billion in assistance that the Clinton administration wants to
provide during the next two years.

The aid, almost 80 percent of which would go to the Colombian military
and security forces, is to help Colombia fight drug traffickers and
the leftist insurgents who sometimes protect their operations. It
would be the largest such package for a Latin American ally since the
end of the Cold War.

The plan also includes increases in funding to help farmers develop
new crops, protect human-rights workers and support other programs
backed by congressional liberals. But as outlined by Clinton
administration officials, the plan has done little to assuage critics
who fear that the United States will be drawn more deeply into
Colombia's long-running civil war.

In comments before his meeting with Pastrana, Clinton acknowledged
that an increased U.S. commitment to Colombia would entail risks. But
he added, "I think we're going into this with our eyes wide open."

Clinton did not directly address concerns that U.S. support for
Colombia's anti-drug campaign could spill further into its
counterinsurgency effort. But he said that "in the intersection of the
narco-traffickers and the political rebels, you see a picture of what
you might see much more of in the 21st century world."

Senior congressional Republicans have been making similar arguments
about Colombia for several years, pressing the administration for a
greater commitment to the stability of the government there. But some
Republicans have suggested recently that they, too, have some qualms
about the priorities of the White House plan.

A senior White House official said such concerns would be addressed
when the administration presents the plan in detail in early February.

"There will still be some controversies before this is over," the
official said. "If people are saying we need to do more, it's because
we haven't rolled out the whole dog- and-pony show."

But some influential Democrats may not be satisfied so
easily.

Sens. Patrick Leahy of Vermont and Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts are
among those wanting the aid to hinge on the Colombian military's
willingness to cut ties to right-wing paramilitary groups and accept
the civilian authority in cases of military involvement in crimes
against humanity.

Leahy, who was the first member of Congress to speak with Pastrana on
Tuesday, said later that he would continue to press for such conditions.

"I don't want us to make the mistake in the drug war that we made in
the Cold War, where we gave money to people regardless of their
human-rights records as long as they were anti-communist," Leahy said.
"I am concerned that we are in a position where we could end up
supporting people involved in human-rights violations -- this time for
what is considered the greater good of fighting drugs."

In recent weeks, human-rights groups have cited cases suggesting that
Pastrana's government has not taken the problem seriously. Pastrana
emphasized to Clinton that there has been a steady, significant drop
in reported human-rights violations by the Colombian military, a White
House official said.

Pastrana made the same point later, arguing that under a 3- year-old
law sponsored by Leahy, the Colombian military authorities understand
implicitly that U.S. aid could be cut off if their forces are found to
be involved in significant abuses.

"There has been a big change," Pastrana said. "We know that we still
have a lot of problems." But, he added, "I don't think it will be good
for the aid to try to put all kinds of conditions on it."