CHICAGO TRIBUNE

Monday, 20 July 1998
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                                [LETTER TO THE EDITOR]
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                Price of Stability
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        By Raymond S. Pfeiffer

Mark Greben's letter (Voice, July 14)(see below) supporting 
dictatorship in Colombia is firmly based on the opinion that social stability is 
worth the price of tyranny, oppression and hopelessness. The headline on the 
letter, "Colombia needs its own Pinochet," is more than ironic.

Mr. Greben shows no understanding of how Colombia is a society of
patronage. The middle class caters to the small and powerful upper class
while the vast majority of those on the bottom live from hand to mouth and
without influence in the government, hope of equal treatment under the law
or the slightest chance for any kind of economic prosperity. In a society
of that nature, social stability benefits the rich, the middle class and
American business.

After decades of struggle, the guerillas have gained control of what is
estimated by many to be more than half of the countryside. It is
widespread support by the peasants that has made this possible. The
guerillas' terrorist activities and cooperation with the narcotraffickers
is directed to produce the resources necessary to sustain their cause.

There seems to be no evidence that they are becoming the new narcobarons
of Colombia , as Greben suggests. Greben's acceptance of the charges by
the Colombian press that they are nothing but "narcoguerillas" ignores the
obvious ideological bias of that viewpoint. That press knows well that a
takeover by the guerillas will bring a major social upheaval not
dissimilar to those of El Salvador and Nicaragua. To call them
"narcoguerillas" is an exercise in political rhetoric.

The guerillas have rejected negotiation with the existing political powers
because they maintain that the only way to eliminate the extensive
corruption of the existing system and develop social, political and legal
justice for the majority of the people is to destroy it and start over
again.

Such thinking is typically Castrovian, Guevarian and Sandinistan. For
Greben to deny that the guerillas have largely Marxist goals is to bow to
the theory that Marxism was eliminated by the fall of the Iron Curtain.

This theory is based on the false view that all apparently Marxist
revolutions were either centrally orchestrated by Moscow or could not
continue without its support. It ignores the timeless appeal of Marxist
thinking to the oppressed peoples of the world.

Such naive understanding of world events and guerilla energy may in the
long run lead us once again to make the mistakes we made in Vietnam so
dramatically and less so in other countries in Latin America, Africa and
Asia.


CHICAGO TRIBUNE

Tuesday, 14 July 1998
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                                [LETTER TO THE EDITOR]
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                Colombia Needs Its Own Pinochet
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        By Mark Greben


Your June 23 editorial "Colombians want negotiations" states that the
"message from Colombian voters was clear." This assertion couldn't be
further from the truth.

In the final round of the elections, President-elect Andres Pastrana beat
his opponent, Horacio Serpa, by only a few percentage points. But in the
first round election, another candidate, retired Gen. Harold Bedoya,
attracted significant support running on a platform promising to restore
law and order. This support came despite the fact that he was not the
candidate of either of the two major parties.

Your interpretation was that by choosing Pastrana over Serpa, Colombians
support his plan to open a dialogue with the guerrillas. We need to
re-examine, however, who are today's guerrillas. They are not the social
and economic underclass from the countryside who originally had adopted a
Socialist/Marxist ideology for the purpose of gaining a voice and a stake
in Colombia's economy. They abandoned this philosophy when they decided 
to
become well-paid henchmen for narcotraffickers, guarding their fields,
laboratories and drug distribution networks. Today the Colombian press,
and society as a whole, refer to them as "narcoguerrillas."

The clear majority of Colombians from all classes know very well that the
narcoguerrillas are brutal murderers who derive much of their financial
support by kidnapping people capable of paying high ransoms. The
narcoguerrillas are responsible for Colombia having the highest kidnapping
rate per capita in the world. In recent years, even American missionaries
have been kidnapped.

In the past, the narcoguerrillas have offered to negotiate when it was
convenient for them, including during the administration of President
Ernesto Samper, who made efforts to reach peace agreements. Nothing
substantive or lasting resulted.

It is utter nonsense to accuse the military of human rights violations
in light of what I have just described. Colombia is on the verge of a
civil war. I do recognize that some members of Colombia's government have
been accused of corruption as well as having links to the drug cartels.
But all nations have varying degrees of corruption.

Additionally this issue has no relationship to the existing government's
need to take a firm and aggressive stand against those from within who
desire to bring down their nation. Therefore it is the narcoguerrillas who
are truly guilty of violating human rights.

The military must act decisively and firmly. Unfortunately it is lacking
the resources to do so and has no choice but to look for foreign
assistance.

Today a majority of Colombians are yearning for the likes of an Alberto
Fujimori of Peru, or even a Gen. Augusto Pinochet of Chile, and believe
that these are the types of leaders the country needs to finally stem
the tide of violence being generated by narcoguerrillas. Although it was
tragic that many died in the process, these leaders, especially in Chile's
case, brought a degree of social stability that enabled their economies to
be some of the fastest growing in South America.