Pubdate: Tue, 21 Mar 2000 Source: New York Times (NY) Copyright: 2000 The New York Times Company Contact: 229 West 43rd Street, New York, NY 10036 Fax: (212) 556-3622 Website: http://www.nytimes.com/ Forum: http://www10.nytimes.com/comment/ Author: Elizabeth Becker COLOMBIAN MILITARY, IN REPORT, SAYS ITS RIGHTS ABUSES ARE DOWN Colombia's minister of defense said today that human rights violations by the country's armed forces had declined significantly, despite reports by the State Department and human rights groups that the problem is growing. Of all the human rights violations reported in Colombia, those committed by the military and police dropped from 15 percent in 1995 to 2 percent last year, the minister, Luis Fernando Ramirez Acuna, said. He was in Washington to brief members of Congress on the Colombian military's first human rights report on itself. "We recognize we have problems in our forces and we are working on them," he said. "Now you have to recognize how serious we are and the improvements we've made." The report largely avoided the far more serious charge that the armed forces continue to work with the paramilitary groups who are responsible for most of the human rights violations. The human rights record of the Colombian military and its ties to the right-wing paramilitary groups are key questions for Congress as it debates whether to approve the administration's emergency $1.6 billion aid package to help Colombia fight narcotics trafficking. The measure is expected to be passed by the House within two weeks, but it faces opposition in the Senate. To overcome objections, Mr. Ramirez briefed top Congressional aides today, but the report was greeted with some skepticism. "Glossy brochures are not a substitute for protecting human rights," said Senator Patrick J. Leahy, Democrat of Vermont. "The reality is that army officers who commit atrocities almost never go to jail, links between the army and paramilitaries are widespread and government human rights investigators have fled the country after receiving death threats." Critics contend that the defense ministry's human rights report is misleading, in part because it lumps together all human rights abuses. Political violence is growing in Colombia, with 2,663 kidnappings last year by both leftist guerrillas and right-wing paramilitary groups, and with a murder rate 10 times higher than that of the United States. Last year the Colombian government dismissed four generals who were accused of either collaborating with paramilitary groups or refusing to fight against them. The Colombian general prosecutor charged 101 members of the police and armed forces with human rights violations, suspended 391 and dismissed 97, according to the report. Peter Hakim, president of the Inter-American Dialogue, called the military's report "an attempt to put a gloss on a very ugly situation" that was more accurately described in other, impartial reports. The State Department's human rights report on Colombia this year said there was "silent support and direct collaboration" by some members of the armed forces with the paramilitary groups. - --- MAP posted-by: Eric Ernst