Our country's drug war has failed miserably. But the damage caused by United States drug policy at home - the swelling population of imprisoned drug offenders, for instance - pales compared to that in Colombia, where a decades-old civil war has been heightened by a $1.6 billion " anti-drug resistance " package consisting mainly of military aid (see " Catch-22, " News and Features, October 13, 2000). This week, the controversial US assistance project known as Plan Colombia is the subject of several forums led by Ana Maria Gomez Lopez, a Colombian human-rights activist. The Phoenix caught up with Lopez in Philadelphia, where she studies at the University of Pennsylvania.

Q: How has Plan Colombia intensified your country's civil conflict?

A: Plan Colombia was passed last August, but there have been impacts already. Because of its proximity to Putumayo, where the military aid will go, all of southwestern Colombia is worse. Many critics think Putumayo won't be the region with the most violations. Instead, the surrounding areas will be hardest hit because international attention is focused on Putumayo. The other regions remain nebulous. It's the perfect scenario for conflict to intensify.

Q: Is there any one violation that sticks out in your mind most?

A: On September 29, there was a national convention of human-rights activists held in Barrancabermeja. The paramilitary forces issued a general threat to all activists. There's been strong harassment toward these groups.

What's more shocking is the amount of massacres committed in this year alone. [In 2001] there have been over 50 of them. Close to 400 people have been killed, mostly by paramilitaries. The United Nations declared Colombia to be in a state of emergency in early March.

Q: Would you say it's possible to reverse the situation - or is it too late?

A: The way Plan Colombia was approved, it's going to be ongoing - implemented over 10 years. It's never too late to appeal to Congress members to get them to either stop Plan Colombia or redirect the aid in the right way. If there is US assistance to Colombia, the emphasis should be on social and economic development for the country.

Lopez will discuss the far-reaching effects of Plan Colombia at three separate speaking engagements: this Thursday, April 5, at Brandeis University at 4:30 p.m. and at Tufts University at 7:30 p.m., and this Friday, April 6, at the Boston Research Center for the 21st Century, which is located in Cambridge, at noon. For more information, call Massachusetts Peace Action at (617) 354-2169, or e-mail the group at masspa@gis.net.

Issue Date: April 5 - 12, 2001