COLOMBIA PRES DENOUNCES US MILITARY AID CUTOFF

BOGOTA (AP)--Colombian President Alvaro Uribe said the United States
should not impose conditions for providing military aid to his country
in the fight against terrorism and international drug trafficking.

His comment came after Washington decided to cut off military aid to
35 countries, including Colombia, because they failed to protect
Americans from the purview of a new international war crimes court.

Colombia could be the hardest hit by the U.S. decision, if the dispute
continues into next year. The United States has donated more than
US$2.5 billion to the South American nation in the past three years.

"Aid cannot be given under harsh conditions, nor under pressure,"
Uribe was quoted as saying in a statement issued by his office late
Wednesday. His comments were the toughest yet in response to
Washington's decision.

"What we have to do is examine the legal accords between the two
countries," he said.

Colombian officials are looking into whether a previous bilateral
agreement between the two countries can protect U.S. officials here
from the Brussels, Belgium-based International Criminal Court.

Uribe said, however, that his country had yet to receive formal
notification of Washington's decision to suspend about US$5 million in
aid. So far this year, the United States has given Colombia just under
US$600 to battle drug trafficking and a leftist rebel insurgency.

The U.S. State Department stopped US$48 million in aid to 35 countries
in Africa, Europe, Asia and Central and South America late Tuesday.

U.S. lawmakers set a July 1 deadline for most recipients of U.S.
military aid to exempt American troops and other personnel from
prosecution before the new court.

The United States fears the court could leave American soldiers
subject to false and politically motivated prosecutions.