PARALLEL TRAGEDIES OF COLOMBIA, THE U.S.

My relatives in Colombia have been calling. "Don't open your mail,'' they
say. Others warn me not to fly. "Don't forget that there are crazy
terrorists there,'' another said.

I am a journalist and left my native Colombia because of death threats. I
am used to calling relatives after reading about the latest attacks in my
homeland. Thus I find this concern for my safety in the United States ironic.

Terrorism. Colombians have seen many of its tragic faces -- and because of
an U.S. decision in response to the Sept. 11 attacks, Colombians fear a new
wave of terrorism. On Wednesday, U.S. Ambassador to Colombia Anne Patterson
an-nounced that the U.S. government will try to extradite Colombian
guerrillas and right-wing militia members who are involved in drug-related
and terrorist activities. This could very well kill the already-faltering
Colombian peace process. The combatants won't negotiate if they think they
will be shipped to the United States as criminals.

Now Colombia and the United States are living virtually parallel tragedies.
Extremists from different cultures aim at comparable targets.

The same day that Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle announced that 31
lawmakers and other workers on Capitol Hill had been exposed to anthrax,
the Colombian media published that a former congressman had been
assassinated, bringing to seven the number of current or former lawmakers
killed this year.

As American journalists were being targeted with anthrax, the Inter
American Press Association released a report showing that Colombia
continues to be the most dangerous country for journalists. This year seven
of my colleagues have been assassinated; 51 have been killed in the past
decade.

Terrorist activities are partly financed in much the same way. The United
Nations has stated that Afghanistan is one of the world's biggest producers
of opium; all of the Colombian factions in conflict are at least partially
financed by drug money, mostly from cocaine.

It is clear that the Sept. 11 attacks have created a shift in U.S. policy
toward Colombia. Before, the U.S. government publicly supported the peace
talks that Colombian President Andres Pastrana has held with the FARC,
though the badly managed talks have been "unproductive.'' Last week,
though, the U.S. State Department's top anti-terrorism official, Francis
Taylor, pointed out that the FARC now is considered the most dangerous
terrorist group based in this hemisphere.

The Bush administration last week announced an initial $58 million package
for counter-terrorism activities in the Andean region -- in addition to
last year's $1.3 billion aid package to Colombia for a war on drugs.

According to an Associated Press story, Taylor said that the package would
include "where appropriate, as we are doing in Afghanistan, the use of
military power.'' Colombian editorialists asked whether the United States
was announcing a military intervention in Colombia. Other U.S. officials
denied it. However, Bruce Bagley, a U.S. expert on Colombia, said that U.S.
agencies are fed up with the failed peace negotiations with the FARC. Many
U.S. officials question the FARC's links to the drug business and terrorist
activities and its strong anti-U.S. rhetoric.

FARC leaders are in no hurry to negotiate, but the new U.S. war on
terrorism changes the scenario for terrorists. U.S. officials seem to say
to the FARC: "If you don't negotiate now, after the Taliban, you may be next.''

The main similarity between the Taliban and the FARC is their reliance on
drug money to fuel their operations.

Thus the ineffectiveness of the U.S. drug policy must be analyzed. Until
now, the spraying of coca-crops has achieved only the moving of crops from
one region to another; the flow of drugs has not been reduced. U.S.
policymakers must recognize that it might be worthwhile to cut the flow of
drug money by providing treatment to U.S. drug addicts. As absurd as it
sounds, many would like to, but cannot, get into the overcrowded and
expensive drug-treatment centers.

Calling For Social Justice

After the Sept. 11 attacks, theorists have pointed out that extremist
groups flourish in societies where many civil, political, social and
economic rights have been violated. Four decades ago, the Colombian
insurgent groups were created, calling for land reform and social justice.
The absence of timely and adequate responses to some of those calls allowed
those groups to grow. Decade after decade, their members became
increasingly more involved in illegal and violent activities. Today the
United States considers the 20,000 armed members of the FARC a threat not
only to Colombia but to the rest of the world.

As it confronts new threats, the United States could learn from those
unfortunate Colombian experiences. The international community must address
in a timely and adequate manner the civil, political, social and economic
rights of people persistently claming for them. This strategy could prevent
the creation and strengthening of extremist groups.