COLOMBIAN REALITIES

The Feb. 24 editorial "Chaos in Colombia" incorrectly assumes that
"Colombia will have to endure more violence before it can again hope for
peace." President Andres Pastrana may have ended the peace process out of
frustration with the endless violence, but there are other factors.

The peace process had recently started to be mediated by third parties -
the United Nations, faith organizations and European diplomats - who would
have held the Colombian government and the FARC rebel group accountable. It
is likely that the Colombian government does not want the process to reveal
the true points of contention.

The government's own military, with U.S.-trained troops and equipment, has
only recently gained the ability to confront the FARC. An unfamiliar reader
could conclude from the editorial that this is a two-sided civil war with
the FARC being the side the reader should oppose. But there are a couple of
rebel groups, the government and the paramilitary, all of whom are armed
and involved in narcotrafficking and human rights violations. The AUC
paramilitary group is on the U.S. State Department's list of terrorist
organizations, but the Colombian army supplies this group, and its
hard-line members perpetuate fear in the people.

Colombians know where the support comes from, where the planes that
fumigate their land are from, and why they are being displaced from their
lands. It is time the people of the United States knew their government's
policies. President Bush should stop the flow of weapons, training and
intelligence that allows the war to continue. The best help the United
States could offer is to build roads, schools and socio-economic
institutions. Let our charity be less narcissistic and more creative than war.

CHRISTOPHER RAYDON-FEENEY

Eugene