POWELL PRAISES URIBE'S STANCE ON HUMAN RIGHTS

The U.S Secretary Of State Says The Colombian

President Is Dedicated To Respecting Freedoms

WASHINGTON - Secretary of State Colin Powell said Tuesday that visiting
Colombian President Alvaro Uribe reassured him about Colombia's efforts to
protect human rights while prosecuting a war against guerrillas and
drug-traffickers.

After a 30-minute meeting at the State Department, Powell said Uribe's
speech to the United Nations earlier in the day had been ``a clear
commitment to human rights.''

Emerging from the session, Uribe told reporters: 'We want one day in which
we can look in the eyes of the citizens of the world and say, `We have
overcome terrorists transparently, with the observance of human rights.' ''

Important Time

Uribe's whirlwind trip to New York and Washington comes at a critical
juncture for the Colombian president, elected last year on a promise to get
tough with his country's guerrilla groups and drug traffickers.

His recent attack on human-rights groups -- accusing them of being virtual
spokesmen for leftist guerrillas -- combined with his proposal to offer
generous deals to gunmen accused of massacres found him under attack
internationally. This week's Cambio news magazine in Bogota showed a lone
Uribe walking with the headline, ``Alone against the world?''

Uribe has proposed allowing members of right- and left-wing illegal armies
accused of atrocities to skip prison by paying fines if they agree to lay
down their weapons and help end the nation's nearly 40- year-old insurgency.

Politicians' Letter

In Washington, 56 House members sent a letter to Uribe last week saying the
plan would ``amount to impunity for serious human rights violations and
erode the rule of law.''

Two Florida members -- Democrat Robert Wexler of Boca Raton and Republican
Katherine Harris of Sarasota -- signed the letter.

In his conciliatory speech to the U.N. and in meetings in Washington, Uribe
sought to soften his remarks about the human-rights groups and clarify his
points on amnesty.

''I understand the worry that arises from diminishing justice for serious
crimes, but also understand that in the context of 30,000 terrorists, peace
is definitely better justice for a nation where several generations have
not experienced a single day without terror,'' Uribe told the General Assembly.

On Capitol Hill, Uribe met with Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., and several
members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, including chairman
Richard Lugar, R-Ind.

Powell also praised Uribe for acceding to a major U.S. request that
effectively grants U.S. citizens in Colombia immunity from the new
International Criminal Court.

U.S. officials had briefly held up military aid to Colombia, as well as 34
other countries that did not sign such agreements. The Bush administration
has opposed the international court as an infringement on U.S. authority.

Davies reported from Washington, and Robles reported from Bogota