NotiSur, 01/26/01 Via NY Transfer News * All the News That Doesn't Fit ------------------------------------------------------------ L A T I N A M E R I C A D A T A B A S E NotiSur - Latin American Affairs ISSN 1060-4189 Volume 11, Number 3 January 26, 2001 ------------------------------------------------------------ Copyright 2001, Latin America Data Base (LADB), Latin American Institute, University of New Mexico Director: Rebecca Reynolds Bannister Editor: Patricia Hynds Staff writers: Carlos Navarro, Robert Sandels LADB ARCHIVES: Back issues are referenced to provide historical background relevant to the articles in this newsletter. These can be accessed with a subscription to the LADB searchable on-line archives at http://ladb.unm.edu/ by clicking on Search Archive. For subscription information, e-mail info@ladb.unm.edu or call 1-800-472-0888. In This Issue: NEW U.S. ADMINISTRATION UNLIKELY TO CHANGE COURSE IN COLOMBIA * Plan Colombia kicks in * Escalating US involvement feared * Bush administration could find Colombia a major challenge * Accelerated aerial eradication begins ECUADOR: CAPTAIN & CREW DETAINED AFTER OIL SPILL IN GALAPAGOS ISLANDS * International response follows spill * Who's to blame? * Spill is a warning * Spill affects fishing community CHILE: GEN. AUGUSTO PINOCHET UNDERGOES MEDICAL TESTS * Efforts for "political" solution unsuccessful * Questioning lasts only minutes ____________________________________________________________ ********************* COLOMBIA ********************* NEW U.S. ADMINISTRATION UNLIKELY TO CHANGE COURSE IN COLOMBIA Despite widespread misgivings about the US role in Colombia, especially the US$1.3 billion in mostly military aid under Plan Colombia, the new US administration of President George W. Bush is unlikely to significantly change course. During the past several years, with the cooperation of Republicans in Congress, the White House, and former President Bill Clinton's drug czar Barry McCaffrey, aid to Colombia has spiraled upward until it is now topped only by aid to Egypt and Israel. And, Colombia's Ambassador to the US Luis Moreno said that his country will need additional funding of US$500 million to US$600 million per year for at least three or four years. Plan Colombia kicks in Plan Colombia, ostensibly crafted by Colombian President Andres Pastrana, but put together in large part in Washington, was supposed to enhance prospects for peace and increase development. Colombian analysts said, however, that by the end of 2000, it had already led to an escalation of violence inside Colombia as well as in neighboring countries. In addition, European countries are contributing less for social programs than had been expected, and Latin American leaders have repeatedly raised concerns that the US military aid will widen Colombia's conflict (see NotiSur, 2000-10-20). "We are finding growing dissatisfaction and disenchantment with Plan Colombia because it looks like a military operation, and so far that is what it is," said military-strategy professor Max Manwaring of the US Army War College at Carlisle, Pennsylvania, in January. Jorge Rojas, director of the Colombian Consuloria para los Derechos Humanos y el Desplazamiento (CODHES), said that, under the pretext of fighting drug trafficking, control over national territory, the exploitation of natural resources, and the biodiversity of the Amazon jungle were being put at risk for the benefit of the US. "Simply the announcement of the program led to an unexpected increase in armed activity" in the department of Putumayo and the forced displacement of thousands of campesinos to Ecuador," said Rojas. He said more than 12,000 people had fled to Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela between January and September, prompting those countries to step up military controls along their borders with Colombia. Marco Romero of Paz Colombia, a coalition of 60 Colombian nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) seeking an alternative to Plan Colombia, see the plan as a "war plan" rather than a plan to promote peace. Romero referred to remarks by then US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and McCaffrey in requesting congressional support for aid to Colombia. They told Congress the funds would be used to "restore order in southeastern Colombia." McCaffrey said that the drug trade and its ties with the guerrillas had become a national-security problem for the US and for the region as a whole. Romero said such remarks pointed to a US strategy based on strengthening Colombia's armed forces. Critics say the US anti-drug policy ties Washington to an army with a deplorable human rights record and with established links to the ultra- right paramilitary groups responsible for most civilian massacres and other atrocities. In the final days of the Clinton administration, the US State Department sent a report to Congress saying that the Colombian government and armed forces had improved their human rights record in the past six months. "This report will offer the evidence of progress and improvement in matters involving civilian judicial jurisdiction over the military, separation of suspected human rights abusers from the armed forces, development of proper judicial procedures within the military, and efforts to control the paramilitary forces in Colombia," said State Department spokesperson Richard Boucher. "The report will also note areas where we think additional steps should be taken by the Colombian government." Backers of Plan Colombia contend that the guerrillas are inextricably linked to drug trafficking. The "narcoguerrilla" label is rejected, however, by the Colombian government, by the guerrillas, and by many experts on Colombia as a gross over-simplification of a very complex internal situation. "I have some concerns about whether counternarcotics and counterinsurgency have become merged," said Sen. Paul Wellstone (D-MN) after a trip to Colombia in November. He tried unsuccessfully to have Congress shift funds from Colombian military aid to domestic drug-treatment programs. "He was the only one out there--or at least the loudest out there--who was worried about the effect [Plan Colombia] would have in getting the US into the conflict, the effect on the peace process, and whether it would affect drug policy at all," said Adam Isacson of the Center for International Policy, which opposes the aid plan. Escalating US involvement feared While involvement of US ground troops is dismissed by supporters of US aid to Colombia, they seem convinced that lots of money and military hardware can solve the decades-old conflict with deep social and economic roots. Plan Colombia is a two-year project, but getting out will be much more difficult than getting in. And critics are concerned that US military participation in the war against the guerrillas will eventually be termed necessary by hard- liners in Washington. Marine Gen. Peter Pace, head of the US Southern Command (SOUTHCOM), traveled to Colombia in January to review Plan Colombia. At a press conference in Medellin Jan. 18, Pace addressed concerns that the aid would increase civilian casualties. He said Gen. Mario Montoya, who will command operations involving US-supplied helicopters and US-trained troops, is "responsible" and will use intelligence data to carefully plan missions. Pace said the first Huey helicopters would arrive later this month, and more sophisticated Black Hawk helicopters will arrive during the second half of 2001. The helicopters will be armed with weapons that can fire 50 rounds per second. Bush administration could find Colombia a major challenge Despite the problems, many observers expect Bush, surrounded by foreign policy people from his father's administration, to continue Clinton's policy in Colombia. "They will, not because it solves anything but because pulling the plug at this point will only make the situation worse than ever," said Prof. Richard Mallet of the Marine Corps University at Quantico, Virginia. Mallet said the conflict is a political struggle with a military dimension that can only be resolved politically, with emphasis on social and economic development. US helicopters will give the Colombian army more mobility but will not defeat the guerrillas or force them to negotiate peace, he said. "Colombia is not going to be a key issue for Bush because there's already a Clinton plan he can blame if it fails," said Wayne Smith of the Center for International Policy in Washington. Bush has voiced support for Plan Colombia. And he may find popular backing for stepping up the fight against drug trafficking and guerrilla activities in Colombia. Secretary of State Colin Powell told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee during his confirmation hearings that Bush has confidence in Pastrana and backs US aid to help him fight guerrillas and drugs. Robert Zoellick, a Bush foreign-policy advisor nominated to be US Trade Representative, told the Council on Foreign Relations last October that the ban on using the US funds to fight guerrillas amounted to a "false distinction between counterinsurgency and counternarcotics efforts." "Narcotraffickers and guerrillas compose one dangerous network," Zoellick said. If the Colombian government is willing to fight both, "the US should offer serious, sustained, and timely financial, material and intelligence support." The first signs of how the Bush administration will approach Colombia will be evident when Congress begins considering US$500 million in follow-on aid to Plan Colombia. Congressional liberals want less aid to the military, less use of herbicides on coca and opium poppy fields, and tougher human rights conditions. Hard-liners want greater overall spending and fewer restrictions on using the funds to fight leftist guerrillas. But even some congressional supporters have expressed misgivings about the aid. House International Relations Committee Chair Rep. Benjamin Gilman (R-NY), one of the strongest supporters of Plan Colombia, said he would push to redirect much of the aid to the National Police rather than the army. And, if the US aim is really to cut drug consumption in the US, questions must be answered about whether the money for Plan Colombia would be better spent on education and treatment. In his final report before leaving office, McCaffrey--the major cheerleader for Plan Colombia--said Americans should view drug abuse as a cancer infecting their communities and respond with more treatment instead of focusing on a "war" on drugs. "He's finally come around to saying that the drug war wasn't the right approach," said Bill Malone of the National Association of Drug and Alcohol Abuse Counselors. Accelerated aerial eradication begins In December, authorities began Plan Colombia's program to eradicate drug crops in the heart of Colombia's cocaine- producing region. In a ceremony in Putumayo, about 700 campesinos agreed to destroy their coca plots in return for government aid to adopt alternative crops. Remaining coca fields will be destroyed by aerial fumigation. For the coca growers, the agreement to destroy their crops--and avoid aerial fumigation--sounds good. But many are convinced that the promises, like those made previously, will never become reality. Some critics expect that many coca growers will shun alternative-development offers and simply relocate further into the Amazon, destroying more virgin jungle without reducing the amount of coca. A mission in the Indian village of Santa Rosa del Guamuez in early January was among the first aerial-spraying missions under Plan Colombia. But the program quickly ran into problems and caused deep resentment when the planes killed not only coca but food crops and pasture. Government investigators were inundated with complaints from farmers and found that some complaints of other crops being sprayed were true. On Jan. 15, governors from six key cocaine-producing departments, including Putumayo, where 50% of the country's coca leaf is grown, condemned the US plan to fumigate drug crops, saying the offensive would imperil the livelihood of thousands of poor campesinos. "The real problem is the terrible situation in which thousands of campesinos live in Colombia," said Gov. Guillermo Alfonso Jaramillo of the southwestern province of Huila. "We can't destroy their livelihoods without giving them opportunities to grow other crops," he said. [Sources: El Nuevo Herald (Miami), 01/14/01; CNN, Inter Press Service, Los Angeles Times, 01/21/01; Reuters, 12/15/00, 01/15/01, 01/17/01, 01/23/01; The Miami Herald, 12/18/00, 01/23/01; Notimex, 01/23/01; Associated Press, 12/01/00, 12/03/00, 12/20/00, 01/18/01, 01/22/00, 01/24/00] ********************* ECUADOR ********************* ECUADOR: CAPTAIN & CREW DETAINED AFTER OIL SPILL IN GALAPAGOS ISLANDS The Ecuadoran government has declared a national emergency in the Galapagos, a 19-island archipelago 1,000 km west of Ecuador's coast in the Pacific Ocean, following a devastating oil spill from an tanker that ran aground less than one kilometer offshore. Meanwhile, environmentalists blamed the government for contributing to the problem, and authorities have arrested the captain and crew of the tanker. The UN Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) declared the Galapagos National Park, which encompasses 97% of the archipelago, a World Heritage Site in 1978. UNESCO said it had been working for several years with the Ecuadoran government to expand the site to include the waters surrounding the islands where naturalist Charles Darwin developed his theory of evolution. On Jan. 16, the oil tanker Jessica, carrying 912,000 liters of oil, ran aground near Puerto Baquerizo Moreno, the Galapagos' capital and principal port on San Cristobal, the easternmost island. Three days later, the ship began leaking oil when a pipe burst in the machine room. In the following days, tanks carrying diesel and bunker fuel--a heavy fuel used to power tour boats operating in the islands--leaked 547,200 liters of oil into the waters shared by tropical fish, pelicans, and sea lions. Within a few days, the slick had covered 1,500 sq km and was affecting several bays on Santa Fe, Santa Cruz, and San Cristobal islands. Fabian Oviedo, spokesman for the Galapagos National Park, said on Jan. 20 that dispersants and absorbents were being used to lessen the effects of the spill but that the fuel had reached Santa Fe island, 60 km west of San Cristobal. "The part of Santa Fe most affected is the coastal zone of El Miedo, populated by iguanas, sea lions, and birds like the blue-footed booby," he said. On Jan. 23, the Jessica dumped the remaining fuel into the fragile marine environment after pounding surf caused new breaks in the hull of the tanker, officials said. So far, none of the 10,000 giant Galapagos turtles have been harmed by the oil, but the currents are carrying the oil southward toward one of the largest colonies of sea lions in the archipelago. Galapagos National Park biologist Mauricio Velasquez said one long-term threat is that the fuel will sink to the ocean floor, destroying algae vital to the food chain, threatening marine iguanas, sharks, and birds that feed off fish and other species. "Near the Jessica, all the invertebrates are dead. Sea urchins and fish are washing up on the beach," Fernando Espinoza, general secretary of the Charles Darwin Research Station in Galapagos, said in a television interview Jan. 23. "Beyond that, we need another two weeks to monitor the situation." The long-lasting impact of the spill remained unclear, though Fundacion Natura, a local environmental organization, said it would have "irreparable" consequences. "Obviously, the longer it takes to remove this layer [of oil], the more the plants beneath the ocean's surface will weaken or die, and the entire food chain will be altered," said Ricardo Moreno, director of the foundation. International response follows spill A 10-member mission headed by the US Coast Guard and the US National Oceanic, and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) arrived Jan. 21 to work with Ecuadoran authorities. "The bottom line is, once oil gets out of a ship, it's virtually impossible to remove it or contain it on the ocean," said Coast Guard Capt. Edwin Stanton. On Jan. 22, the Ecuadoran government declared a national emergency. "For us, this is the equivalent of an earthquake," said presidential spokesman Alfredo Negrete. Negrete said the state of emergency would allow the government to quickly channel the funds needed for cleanup. UNESCO Director General Koichiro Matsuura urged others to follow the US and send help to the Galapagos. On Jan. 23, the Comision Permanente del Pacifico Sur (CPPS), which includes Chile, Colombia, Peru, and Ecuador, joined the efforts to control damage from the spill. Who's to blame? The clean-up mission will cost the economically battered Ecuadoran government a minimum of US$500,000. Guayaquil-based shipping company Acotramar, which owns the Jessica, will be held financially responsible for the damage, Cerbino said, though the ship lacks spill insurance. Ecuador's Merchant Marine regulations do not require vessels carrying less than 2,000 tons of hydrocarbons to have insurance to cover spills. Several officials said that the vessel became stuck because its captain erred when entering the bay, confusing a buoy for a lighthouse. On Jan. 24, Capt. Tarquino Arevalo and his crew of 13 were detained in Puerto Baquerizo. Formal charges have yet to be filed. Authorities said convictions on charges of negligence and crimes against the environment could carry prison sentences of up to four years. "I have requested penalties of prison for the vessel's captain and for the company owners," said Environment Minister Rodolfo Rendon. But Hernan Vilema, San Cristobal's mayor, was critical of the government, accusing the Environment Ministry of acting too slowly and the state oil company of caring more about its losses than the contamination. "For me, they're the guilty ones, the government, the Environment Ministry, and Petrocomercial," Vilema said. Environmental activists also blame President Gustavo Noboa's administration for not acting immediately when the Jessica ran aground, saying quick action could have prevented the spill. They said that the government relied on information from the state-owned oil company Petroecuador, which assured officials it had the situation under control even after the ship had begun to leak oil. Petroecuador issued a communique two days after the tanker ran aground saying that its "efficacious action" in collaborating with the Direccion de la Marina Mercante, the department in charge of maritime security, had responded to the emergency. Nevertheless, the measures did not work, and the oil began to spill into the ocean, forcing Environment Minister Rendon to rush to the area. After assessing the situation, Rendon asked for international help. Spill is a warning Fernando Espinoza, director of the Charles Darwin Foundation, said the catastrophe is a warning that maritime regulations covering the islands need to be revised. "It has been confirmed that the accident of the Jessica was the result of human error," he said. "What happens is that ships' captains are not familiar with the entrance to the ports and ships run aground." The spill was not huge by historic standards but "it could not have happened in a worse place," said Michael Ross of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) in Washington, DC. "The WWF is extremely concerned about the threat to wildlife in the Galapagos and believes that it is crucial for the Ecuadoran government and the international shipping community to consider designating the waters around these islands as a particularly sensitive sea area (PSSA)," said the communique. Spill affects fishing community The spill threatens more than the islands' fragile wildlife. Island inhabitants who depend on the sea to make a living say the fishing is being destroyed. Rafael Rivas, director of the San Cristobal fishing cooperative, said they would "sue the government and ask for reparations for the economic losses caused by the spill." The two radio stations on San Cristobal, La Voz de Galapagos and Mar, broadcast warnings from the park cautioning people not to eat fish or go in the water because of the contamination, an alarming message in a community where nearly 700 of the island's 4,000 residents are fishers who supply most of the food and commerce. In recent years, the fishing community and conservationists have clashed as migration from the mainland increased, threatening the fragile ecosystem. With fewer than 1,000 residents in 1950, the Galapagos is now home to 16,000 people. To feed and employ the population, fishers have demanded loosening regulations on catch sizes. [Sources: Inter Press Service, 01/22/01; Reuters, 01/22/01, 01/23/01; El Nuevo Herald (Miami), Spanish news service EFE, The New York Times, 01/23/01; Associated Press, El Comercio (Ecuador), Hoy (Ecuador), The Miami Herald, 01/23/01, 01/24/01; CNN, 01/22/01, 01/24/01, 01/25/01] ********************* CHILE ********************* CHILE: GEN. AUGUSTO PINOCHET UNDERGOES MEDICAL TESTS The long-awaited questioning of former Chilean dictator Gen. Augusto Pinochet (1973-1990) finally took place Jan. 23. Judge Juan Guzman Tapia questioned Pinochet for about half an hour, following several days in which Pinochet underwent psychiatric and neurological examinations to determine whether he is fit to stand trial. Guzman must now decide whether to indict Pinochet. On Dec. 20, the Corte Suprema de Chile, citing procedural errors, reversed Judge Guzman's Dec. 1 decision ordering the house arrest and subsequent trial of Pinochet for human rights crimes committed in October 1973 by the Caravan of Death, a military operation that toured Chile after the 1973 coup and summarily executed or disappeared 77 political prisoners. By a 4-1 vote, the court accepted the arguments that Guzman had ordered the arrest without first questioning the accused. The justices gave Guzman 20 days to comply with the interrogation requirement (see NotiSur, 2000-12-08). In late December, Pinochet lawyer Jose Maria Eyzaguirre requested that Guzman be removed from the case, claiming he had harassed Pinochet. On Jan. 10, the Corte Suprema unanimously rejected the motion to recuse Judge Guzman. The date for the medical tests was set for Jan. 7. Openly challenging the judge, Pinochet did not show up to undergo the tests to determine his fitness for trial. "The Pinochet family has followed the advice given by the legal defense team" to ignore the order from Judge Guzman Tapia, said Eyzaguirre. The medical examinations were reset to begin Jan. 10. Guzman said he rescheduled the exams to give the general a second chance. "Undoubtedly advised by lawyers who were bad advisors, the general did not go to the clinic the other day, so I set a new date for the exams," Guzman said. "Once the exams are done, I will interrogate him." Efforts for "political" solution unsuccessful Evidently Pinochet relented after Army commander Gen. Ricardo Izurieta told him if he did not undergo the exams, the Army would withdraw its support for him. "Pinochet recanted because he understood the failure of his efforts to have the legal procedures interrupted by political means," prosecution lawyer Hiram Villagra said. "He expected the Army to step in his favor, but that didn't happen." On Jan. 10, The Washington Post reported, "Sources close to the case say government officials, as well as Pinochet's supporters in conservative political parties and the military, are vigorously pushing for a resolution here in Chile similar to the one reached last March in London ending Pinochet's 16 months under house arrest: a finding that his health does not permit a fair trial." "This [a trial] is the last thing the government wants," said Ricardo Israel, a Chilean political expert. "Though many feel Pinochet is guilty of crimes, there is a feeling that his trial would be too consuming and painful for the nation. They would like this to stop as it stopped in London--cleanly, with no one to blame but the tests." Some also worry that an order for Pinochet's house arrest could produce an institutional showdown with the army, which Pinochet headed until retiring in March 1998. Guzman said he has been pressured, though he did not say by whom. "I doubt they will dare to pressure me more because I am not a judge who is able to be influenced," he said. Questioning lasts only minutes On Jan. 23, Judge Guzman finally presented Pinochet with several questions about the Caravan of Death. In his deposition, Pinochet reportedly said he was not a criminal, did not order any executions, and blamed his subordinates for the actions of the Caravan of Death. Many Chileans expect Guzman now to order Pinochet's indictment, since the interrogation is unlikely to change the evidence that led him to order Pinochet's arrest in December. Guzman could, however, end the legal proceedings by declaring Pinochet unfit for trial, based on the neurological and psychiatric tests conducted Jan. 10-12 by experts from the University of Chile and the Legal Medical Institute. Pinochet's lawyers do not want the general deemed "demented." Lawyer Ambrosio Rodriguez said the case should be dropped because Pinochet is "physically incapable of standing trial." Dementia, he said, would leave "a stigma that would stain the honor and legacy of a great man." The local daily La Tercera reported the tests showed that Pinochet is not mentally ill and does not suffer from Alzheimer's. The 20-page report from the specialists who examined him said Pinochet suffers from moderate "subcortical vascular dementia." Medical experts say the condition is comparable to arteriosclerosis and is normal among people of advanced age. It sometimes leads to the insufficient flow of blood to parts of the brain, thus causing some memory loss, and produces fatigue and numbness in the extremities. Pinochet is capable of being tried for alleged human rights abuses, human rights lawyer Hugo Gutierrez said. "The diagnosis indicates Pinochet can be interrogated and prosecuted," said Gutierrez Jan. 16. "In practice, people who have slight dementia are still sentenced." Pinochet's lawyers hope Guzman will interpret the law broadly and agree that the general is too infirm to stand trial. But a new controversy has arisen regarding the medical tests. On Jan. 22, the medical specialist chosen by the plaintiffs, Chilean-Canadian Luis Fonazzari, said he had refused to sign the final report because it had been modified. He said the preliminary diagnosis, communicated verbally to Guzman, had qualified the dementia as "slight to moderate." Lawyers for the plaintiffs denounced the alleged manipulation of the report and called on Guzman and Legal Medical Services to determine why the specialists had changed their diagnosis at the eleventh hour. Prosecutors in the case stress that this is not a minor detail. A diagnosis of moderate dementia could provide a basis to declare the former dictator unfit for trial, which would not occur with a diagnosis of slight dementia. Whatever the judge's ruling--to try Pinochet or drop the charges for medical reasons, it will be appealed either by Pinochet's defense team or by the lawyers for the families of the caravan's victims and human rights groups. [Sources: Associated Press, 12/28/00, 01/05/00, 01/07/00; The Washington Post, 01/09/01; Notimex, 01/10/01, 01/14/01; CNN, 01/16/01; Inter Press Service, 12/20/00, 01/23/01; Reuters, 01/04/01, 01/09/01, 01/15/01, 01/16/01, 01/18/01, 01/20/01, 01/23/01; Spanish news service EFE, 01/10/01, 01/18/01, 01/24/01; El Nuevo Herald (Miami), 01/12/01, 01/24/00; CHIP (Chile), 01/23/01, 01/24/01; La Tercera (Chile), 01/24/01; The Miami Herald, 12/21/00, 01/05/01, 01/10/01, 01/25/00] ================================================================= NY Transfer News Collective * A Service of Blythe Systems Since 1985 - Information for the Rest of Us 339 Lafayette St., New York, NY 10012 http://www.blythe.org e-mail: nyt@blythe.org ================================================================= pvtsa-02.11.01-09:17:09-10043