cannabisnews.com: Wellstone Heads to Colombia to Question Drug War Wellstone Heads to Colombia to Question Drug War Posted by FoM on November 28, 2000 at 17:47:13 PT By Rob Hotakainen Source: Star Tribune With tight security arrangements in place, Sen. Paul Wellstone is headed to Colombia today to investigate the U.S. government's plan to spend $1.3 billion on a military operation that includes destroying coca fields.The Minnesota Democrat will arrive tonight in Bogota and meet with Colombian President Andres Pastrana on Wednesday to discuss "Plan Colombia," an attempt to eradicate the drug fields that supply as much as 90 percent of the cocaine that finds its way to the United States. A stepped-up aerial fumigation program is set to begin shortly in Colombia, and Wellstone intends to observe a spraying operation already underway.With kidnappings running rampant in Colombia, Wellstone is not being allowed to travel alone in Barrancabermeja, where he intends to meet with the city's mayor and human-rights defenders. "It's not an easy trip," Wellstone said in an interview on Monday. "The number of massacres that have taken place in Colombia -- and the number of people that have been kidnapped and executed every day -- is pretty frightening." Colombia has a homicide rate about 10 times higher than that of the United States and, with more than 3,000 abductions in 1999, the highest kidnapping rate in the world.Wellstone will be accompanied by Jim Farrell, his policy adviser and press officer, and Charlotte Oldham-Moore, his foreign-policy adviser. Oldham-Moore said Wellstone had originally planned to fly to Barrancabermeja on a civilian aircraft, but those plans were changed; he'll fly there on a military aircraft."They're taking extremely high-level security arrangements for him," she said. "They're not allowing him to even travel in the city because it's so infiltrated by paramilitaries and guerrilla groups."As a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Wellstone has been a persistent critic of U.S. military aid to Colombia, which Congress voted to continue in June.In July, Wellstone urged Secretary of State Madeleine Albright to investigate the reported killing or disappearance of 71 Colombian civilians in February.Wellstone described the incident: "They come in ... they drink, they rape, they murder. Human-rights workers are trying to get to the village and the military is stopping them. We don't want our money to be used for that. That's what I want to focus on." Wellstone, who is making his first trip to Colombia, said his travel is timed to a key decision awaiting President Clinton: In December, Wellstone said, the president must decide whether to waive human-rights protections that Congress wanted Colombia to meet before receiving any aid.Among the conditions is that Colombia is to ensure that Armed Forces personnel who have committed gross human-rights violations are brought to justice, and that those who have helped paramilitary groups are suspended from duty with the Colombian Armed Forces."I am especially focused on the human-rights questions because the president is going to make a decision in December," Wellstone said. He opposes a waiver, saying, "The reason [the conditions are] in the legislation is that we're going to insist that the government live up to that."The trip also will give Wellstone an opportunity to make his case that the United States would be better off by giving more money to pay for drug treatment in the United States instead of trying to destroy Colombian coca fields. "The history of these eradication efforts is that they just grow it somewhere else," Wellstone said. "And there is some not insignificant controversy about the use of the herbicide. We've been down this road before. ... I want to find out more, but I'm certainly very skeptical. I think people have every right to say, you know, 'Look, this is getting into the water, we're concerned about the rashes, we're concerned about respiratory problems.' ... And the question becomes if this just invites further conflict if people in the countryside have no alternative way of feeding their families."Wellstone is not the only Minnesotan raising questions in Washington.Earlier this year, Rep. Jim Ramstad, R-Minn., said the $400 million cost of the helicopters alone in Colombia would provide treatment for 200,000 Americans addicted to drugs."This is ludicrous and this is wrong," said Ramstad, who called the military operation a "Colombia boondoggle."Wellstone called the situation in Colombia "incredibly complicated" and said the trip is important for him."I can't do this unless I see it with my own eyes," he said. "This is a big part of my work in the Senate in terms of foreign policy."Wellstone said he is following the work of Don Fraser, the former mayor of Minneapolis and a longtime Minnesota congressman. Wellstone called him "a giant in the international community when it came to human-rights questions," adding that his trip to Colombia "is very much in our tradition."Wellstone plans to return to Washington on Friday."We're going to be very careful," he said.-- The New York Times contributed to this report.Rob Hotakainen can be reached at: rhotakainen mcclatchydc.com NewsHawk: Rainbow Source: Minneapolis Star-Tribune (MN)Author: Rob HotakainenPublished: Tuesday, November 28, 2000 Copyright: 2000 Star TribuneContact: opinion startribune.comAddress: 425 Portland Ave., Minneapolis MN 55488Fax: 612-673-4359Website: http://www.startribune.com/Forum: http://talk.startribune.com/cgi-bin/WebX.cgiFeedback: http://www.startribune.com/stonline/html/userguide/letform.htmlCannabisNews Articles - Colombiahttp://cannabisnews.com/thcgi/search.pl?K=colombia Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #12 posted by Rainbow on November 29, 2000 at 09:08:09 PT Wellstone position It is hard to get a statement from Wellstone on the MJ or MMJ issue.I did get that he believes it is a states right issue and the federal government is not in a position to do anything (yea right). He indicated that if we wanted to see change that we needed to do it at the state level. He is partially right because the pols in DC are not going to do anything unless pressured by the states.His office also said more research needs to be done (yea right). And at the time (6 months ago) he was too busy with important things (his agenda) to worry about MJ or MMJAlso remember that Wellstone is not a very powerful person in the senate and is on his last term. Someone told me that he isn't even on any committees which I find hard to believe. He has a tendency to pontificate and preach, but he is into women's rights and Human rights in general as he pointed out for his trip to Columbia.Rainbow [ Post Comment ] Comment #11 posted by Walter Gourlay on November 29, 2000 at 00:41:43 PT: Wellstone I am glad to see Wellstone opposing the corporation led "Plan Colombia". I am not sure of his real position on marijuana. Feinstein is a cold-hearted and ignorant politician who obviously is sure adults have no right to use marijuana. What concerns me about Wellstone is that a few months ago the entire senate voted unaminously to pass a bill that sought to censor all discussion of marijuana on the internet, with shutdown if an individual didn't comply. [ Post Comment ] Comment #10 posted by dddd on November 29, 2000 at 00:10:49 PT thanx Thanx Dan.Glad you took the bait.I was not aware of the Biden/Dornan,'you've never been there',thing. [ Post Comment ] Comment #9 posted by Dan B on November 28, 2000 at 22:12:59 PT: Okay, I'll Bite... The reason why Senator Wellstone is traveling to Colombia is that during the Senate arguments in June regarding the Colombian "Aid" Package, several senators promoting the package (Biden and Dornan among them) used their trips to Colombia as a way to say, "We were there and you, Senator Wellstone, were not. Therefore, we know what we are talking about, and you do not." It is this kind of childish "rhetoric" that Senator Wellstone is trying to counter. That's how idiotic the arguments have become regarding the WoSD. I, for one, applaud Senator Wellstone for his courage. Most of us who read the news have very good reasons for not making travel plans to Colombia right now. Incidentally (for those who don't already know), Wellstone has been the most outspoken opponent of the Colombian "Aid" Package from the get-go. He even managed to garner support from California Democrat Senator Barbara Boxer, who ran for the Senate arm-in-arm with Dianne Feinstein (also a Democrat Senator from California) in the early 1990s. As most of you already know, Feinstein is one of the most outspoken advocates of the War on Some Drugs, openly endorsing harsher penalties for even casual drug use. And Wellstone got Feinstein's "running mate" to join his side. Quite an accomplishment, if you ask me.So, I heartily support Senator Wellstone's decision to visit Colombia. My hope is that people who affect policy might actually begin to listen to him. Hey, one can hope.Keep up the good work, Senator Wellstone!Dan B [ Post Comment ] Comment #8 posted by dddd on November 28, 2000 at 20:18:16 PT why? I cant help but put my usual negative spin,on a positive item. I dont really know why Wellstone,or anyone else needs to go down there in an attempt to verify the insanity and scandalous reality of this fiasco? I'll bet the trip will probably cost about a fifty grand or so.It's mind boggling to imagine the security entourage he'll need to bring along,(or maybe they're already there)....Kevlar tuxedos. Most people I talk to didnt have to go there to know that this whole "plan"is a sham,and a scandal from the get-go....dddd [ Post Comment ] Comment #7 posted by military officer guy on November 28, 2000 at 20:12:05 PT boondoggle, how true... rainbow,how true, i hear this word a lot...it is basically a joke of a trip or mission or what ever...it is something that is totally useless, which this whole colombian thing is, a waste of time, money and man power...we can win this war... [ Post Comment ] Comment #4 posted by Frank S. World on November 28, 2000 at 18:34:24 PT Hooray for Sen. Wellstone Good to see a US Senator openly questioning the boondoggle in Colombia, with another Republican congressman, Ramstad, joining the opposition to the plan. With Rep. Gilman, Republican of New York joining in voicing doubts last week, maybe this thing can be stopped before we get dragged into another stupid war foisted upon us by the prohibitionists and the defense contractors of America. [ Post Comment ] Comment #2 posted by MikeEEEEE on November 28, 2000 at 18:33:14 PT Human Rights From the article: With kidnappings running rampant in Colombia, Wellstone is not being allowed to travel alone in Barrancabermeja, where he intends to meet with the city's mayor and human-rights defenders. The headline should read:In an interest twist the drug warriors are visiting human rights defenders but not practising it. [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by Rainbow on November 28, 2000 at 18:29:06 PT I heard Boondoggle first while a military brat "This is ludicrous and this is wrong," said Ramstad, who called the military operation a "Colombia boondoggle."Of all said in this article I liked the boondoggle statement the most. It really hit a cord with me as this is a typical military jargon. Seems that more and more pols are joining in the fall of the MJ wall.Boodoggle is such a descriptive and condescending word that it is great to hear referenced to the "Columbian Plan"CheersRainbow [ Post Comment ] Post Comment Name: Optional Password: E-Mail: Subject: Comment: [Please refrain from using profanity in your message] Link URL: Link Title: