Comment of Senator Patrick Leahy on the Secretary of State's certification on September 9, 2002, that the Colombian Government has made sufficient progress on human rights for the release of additional U.S. military assistance:

    "During the 1980s, U.S. officials repeatedly certified that the Salvadoran military was respecting human rights, even when they knew that to be false.  The State Department today is perilously close to repeating that mistake in Colombia.  The big picture and a close look at the facts do not  support this certification.

   "The army may be cooperating with civilian prosecutors, but military judges continue to acquit officers despite solid evidence against them.  There are also new and serious questions about the willingness of Colombia's attorney general to prosecute military officers for violations of human rights.  Meanwhile, senior officers implicated in atrocities remain on active duty or are rewarded with diplomatic posts.  Even in areas that are heavily militarized, the paramilitaries are more numerous and stronger today than ever before.  More low-level paramilitaries have been captured, but all of their leaders remain free to operate with impunity.  This is not progress, and until there is real improvement the aid should not be released."

# # # # #