Brussels, 09/02/2004 (Agence Europe) - On Monday in Brussels, Colombian President Alvaro Uribe began a series of visits to rally Europeans to his policy of "democratic security". Mr Uribe is also calling for the organisation of another donors' conference for Colombia during the second half of 2004. The project has received the support of Belgian Foreign Minister Louis Michel but has given rise to scepticism at the European Commission.
President Uribe met the EU's High Representative for CFSP, Javier Solana, on Monday before going on to Strasbourg, where he is to meet External Relations Commissioner Chris Patten before speaking at the plenary session of the European Parliament. The ELDR, GUE/NGL, Greens/EFA and EDD Groups have already expressed hostility toward this visit. About one hundred demonstrators met the Colombian president on Monday in Brussels, calling upon him to put an end to human rights violations in Colombia.
Amnesty International has published a press release calling on the EU to put pressure on President Uribe to dismantle the paramilitary groups and to put an end to relations between these groups and the security forces.
During this visit, the European Commission announced a new plan for assisting the displaced populations. EUR 9.2 million would be made available for the period 2004-2005, within the framework of the commitments taken by the EU during the London conference last July, a Commission press release points out. It would help to facilitate the return and socio-economic integration of displaced persons, to consolidate local institutions as well as health services and other basic services. Funding comes in addition to the EUR 23 million made available by the Commission between 2002 and 2004 for displaced persons.
The European Union has already helped Colombia a lot but could do more, declared president Uribe to the press. He is hoping that other projects similar to the "laboratory for peace" set up by the Commission are developed as well as in the long term, the EU negotiates an association agreement with the Andean community, based on the model of the free trade agreements concluded with Mexico and Chile and still being negotiated with Mercosur.
On a political level, Uribe considers that retaliations with Colombia and the EU could be characterised by two words: "cooperation and constructive concerns". The president intends to address the parliament on Tuesday with a message of patience and openness. He declared that Colombia was an open country that worked in transparency and that constructive criticism could help them advance. Alvaro Uribe is counting on the support of the international community in is objective of "zero terrorism". The Colombian government intends to continue peace negotiations but is demanding that hostilities stop beforehand. He refused to promise an exchange of prisoners with guerrillas, declaring that FARC members in prison were terrorists.