IV
105TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. CON. RES. 221
Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that a renewed effort
be made by all sides to end the violent guerrilla war in Colombia,
which poses a serious threat to democracy as well as economic and
social stability as evidenced by the recent increase in guerrilla and
paramilitary violence which victimizes public officials and Colombian and
foreign nationals.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
FEBRUARY 12, 1998
Mr. GALLEGLY (for himself and Mr. ACKERMAN) submitted the following con-
current resolution; which was referred to the Committee on International
Relations
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that
a renewed effort be made by all sides to end the violent
guerrilla war in Colombia, which poses a serious threat
to democracy as well as economic and social stability
as evidenced by the recent increase in guerrilla and para-
military violence which victimizes public officials and Co-
lombian and foreign nationals.
Whereas a brutal campaign of violence, kidnapping, and ex-
tortion carried out by the guerrilla movements of the
Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and
the National Liberation Army (ELN) during the October
1997 nationwide municipal elections resulted in at least
•HCON 221 IH
40 political candidates murdered, over 1,900 candidates
forced to abandon their campaigns, 120 candidates reluc-
tantly designated to political office, and 11 municipalities
with no elections at all;
Whereas, in the last six months, paramilitary death squads
have massacred 30 civilians in the town of Mapiripan and
dozens more in Miraflores and further continued the kill-
ing spree with an ambush on an entourage of 11 govern-
ment officials;
Whereas the FARC, designated as a terrorist organization by
the United States Secretary of State, continues to hold
three United States missionaries hostage without any ef-
fort to negotiate their release;
Whereas the magnitude of the guerrilla and paramilitary
threat has been intensified by their growing relationship
with narcotics trafficking;
Whereas the surge of new guerrilla and paramilitary violence
has created more than 300,000 refugees over the last
three years;
Whereas an estimated 70,000 people have died as a direct re-
sult of the internal fighting over the last decade and this
endemic level of violence is now the leading cause of
death in Colombia;
Whereas the guerrillas and the paramilitaries have resisted
all overtures by the Government of Colombia to end the
violence and establish peace;
Whereas 10,000,000 Colombian citizens voted for a mandate
for peace, expressing their discontent with the guerrilla
war and the need for the government to end the conflict;
Whereas in December President Samper called upon the
United States Government to assist in negotiating an end
•HCON 221 IH
to the guerrilla conflict and aid in establishing stability
in the region; and
Whereas 
the 
campaign 
of 
the 
guerrillas 
and 
the
paramilitaries ultimately poses a major threat to the very
democracy of Colombia: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate
concurring), That the Congress—
(1) recognizes the importance of the threat of
escalating guerrilla and paramilitary violence to Co-
lombia’s democracy and that acts of violence in-
tended to disrupt the electoral process in the Octo-
ber elections could spill over to the upcoming con-
gressional and presidential elections to be held in
1998;
(2) urges that the guerrilla leaders of the Revo-
lutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and
the National Liberation Army (ELN) end the vio-
lence and sever their relationship with narcotics traf-
fickers, negotiate a peace accord with the Govern-
ment of Colombia, and take their agenda into the
political arena for debate;
(3) calls on the leadership of the (FARC) and
the (ELN) to release the United States missionaries
being held hostage in Colombia or to fully account
for their whereabouts;
•HCON 221 IH
(4) urges the Government of Colombia to invig-
orate their efforts to swiftly end the guerrilla conflict
which is taking a large toll daily on the stability of
Colombian democracy and take greater action
against paramilitary units that commit gross human
rights violations;
(5) calls upon the international community,
particularly the Organization of American States, to
play a more proactive role in trying to resolve the
conflict by encouraging all sides to come back to the
peace table; and
(6) urges the administration to reevaluate
United States policies toward Colombia, taking into
account the threat of the guerrilla movement to Co-
lombia’s democracy, and to seriously consider the
Government of Columbia’s request for United States
assistance in seeking a resolution to the conflict.
Æ