IV
105TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. RES. 289
Expressing the sense of the Congress that a renewed effort be made to
end the violent guerrilla war in Colombia, which poses a serious threat
to democracy in regions of Colombia as evidenced by the results of
the recent October 26, 1997, elections.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
OCTOBER 29, 1997
Mr. GALLEGLY (for himself and Mr. ACKERMAN) submitted the following
resolution; which was referred to the Committee on International Relations
RESOLUTION
Expressing the sense of the Congress that a renewed effort
be made to end the violent guerrilla war in Colombia,
which poses a serious threat to democracy in regions
of Colombia as evidenced by the results of the recent
October 26, 1997, elections.
Whereas on October 26, 1997, nationwide municipal elections
in Colombia were marred by a brutal campaign of vio-
lence, kidnapping, and extortion carried out by the guer-
rilla movements of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of
Colombia (FARC) and the National Liberation Army
(ELN);
Whereas, during the week before the elections, FARC and
ELN terrorist activities escalated into a national crisis
with kidnapping of international election observers from
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the Organization of American States (OAS) and a dec-
laration of an armed strike in order to impede public
transportation during the crucial time of the elections;
Whereas, through the deadly efforts of FARC and ELN, over
40 political candidates were murdered, over 1,900 can-
didates were forced to abandon their campaigns, nearly
120 municipalities had candidates reluctantly running for
political office, and 11 municipalities had no candidates
at all;
Whereas the political agendas of FARC and ELN appear to
be heavily financed by narcotics, which has aided both
guerrilla elements to effectively quadruple their power
base over the past 7 years to a position where it is esti-
mated that they now control up to 30 percent of the ter-
ritory of Colombia;
Whereas it is estimated that 70,000 people have died as a di-
rect result of the internal fighting over the last decade;
Whereas the leaders of FARC and ELN have resisted all
overtures by the Government of Colombia to end the vio-
lence and establish peace; and
Whereas the campaign of FARC and ELN could ultimately
pose a major threat to the democratic form of govern-
ment of Colombia and the stability of the region: Now,
therefore, be it
Resolved, That the House of Representatives—
(1) recognizes the importance of the threat of
the guerrilla movement to Colombia’s democracy and
that the acts of violence to disrupt the electoral
process in the municipal elections could spill over to
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the congressional and presidential elections to be
held in 1998;
(2) urges the guerrilla leaders of the Revolu-
tionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and the
National Liberation Army (ELN) to end the violence
and sever their relationship with narcotics traffick-
ers, negotiate a peace accord with the Government
of Colombia, and take their agenda into the political
arena for debate;
(3) calls upon the international community,
particularly the Organization of American States, to
continue to play a more proactive role in trying to
resolve the conflict; and
(4) 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 encourage a peaceful res-
olution of the conflict.
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