President Bush and President Uribe of Colombia Participate i

March 11, 2007 3:34 P.M. (Local),PRESIDENT URIBE: (As translated.) Mr. President of the United States of America, George W. Bush; distinguished¹ members of the delegation²; friends from the government; distinguished journalists who have come from other countries and from Colombia, I would like to welcome again in the warmest fashion possible. I would like to welcome his delegation, as well.,During the working lunch we have just had, at the end I was able to read some beautiful paragraphs from Bolivar, the Liberator³: one in the Charter of Angostura, where he actually was talking about the creation of the American nation around -- or on the basis of freedom, tolerance⁴, and of having a general law that would respond to common interest through individual wills. The Liberator also mentioned a very nice paragraph during the Constitution Assembly in Bolivia on the legacy⁵ of President George Washington.,I was saying that the relations between the Colombian people and the American people are sound. We have mutual⁶ understanding on democratic values since the birth of our two states. This visit is a reason for being proud. We will trust even more in our relations and the Colombian process, and we would like to thank you very warmly, President Bush.,You have come to Colombia at a time of unrest because of the peace process that is taking place. You have come at a time of revelations that really have motivated a public debate. But they are taking place because of one reason, and that reason is that our policy on democratic security has tried to defeat terrorism in the guerrillas, in the paramilitaries, because our democratic security policy wants to reestablish democratic institutions fully⁷ in Colombia. And these revelations are taking place because our law on justice and peace requires and demands truth -- truth, so that the country will know the dimension of the tragedy we have come to; truth to prepare us for a future free of the guerrillas, the paramilitaries and drug traffickers.,The law on justice and peace that is being enforced has been discussed in Congress throughout its approval process, and it has been discussed during its implementation⁸, and has three elements that makes it different from former legislation in Colombia and in the world. Number one, justice. There will be no amnesty for crimes against humanity.,This law requires reparations to take place, and there is no other single country in the world other than Colombia that might say that in order to have shorter sentences within a law of peace the perpetrators are required to hand in their assets, so as to repair the victims. And that has never happened anywhere else in the world.,There are two countries in Latin America that tried to compensate⁹ for the problems of the victims under dictatorships, but with money coming from the budget. Here we will strive to give them all the assets that the perpetrators have. It is truth, justice, and reparations, and these are the three key elements of our legislation.,This country has an independent justice system, Mr. President, which makes our democracy different. The decision of my administration in this process of institutional recovery is total support for justice, so that Colombia may finally overcome the time of terrorism.,I would like to go back in history. For thirty years, the Marxist guerillas actually hit Colombia, and they proposed a social revolution, and they produced even more poverty. They proposed more democracy, and they were assassinating¹⁰ and murdering the mayors and the council members, and they were actually killing¹¹ democracy.,These guerillas ended up being financed by drug traffickers. And there are many people in many regions of Colombia that were not protected by the state, and now they feel protected, thanks to our security policy. The growth of the guerillas and the lack of a state protection for citizens resulted in these guerillas producing the paramilitaries, and these paramilitaries phenomenon started committing the same crimes, atrocious crimes, as the guerillas. The Marxist guerillas brought to Colombia, the validity of combining all sorts of struggle. They infiltrated¹² universities, the labor¹³ movement, and the peasant movement. They infiltrated very important sectors¹⁴ of intellectual movements and journalists. And they infiltrated politics.,The same guerillas planted a hatred¹⁵ among the classes. They wanted to eliminate the foundation of solidarity¹⁶ on which this nation was built. The guerillas taught the paramilitaries to combine all sorts of struggle. And what happened then? Some of these guerillas actually signed an amnesty, but they were not required to tell the truth, which is something we are requiring now. So they didn't say which were the sectors of the civil society that had been infiltrated. These guerillas were not demanded to give reparations to the victims, as we are asking for now. And these guerillas were able, in spite of having committed so many atrocious crimes, to get an amnesty for atrocious crimes, amnesty that is not given out today for these crimes against humanity.,The peace process that we are undertaking¹⁷ with the directives of truth, justice and reparations, actually set the limits for peace processes in the future. We have been very rigorous in this process. It has been a very serious process, and the world and Colombia will know that the processes in Colombia in the future, with the guerillas, such as the ELN and FARC, should require, as we are requiring today, truth, justice and reparations.,I would like you to know, Mr. President, that our commitment is the full defeat of terrorism, and the total recovery of justice and of democratic institutions. We are working with a model of state. We are not dismantling¹⁸ the state, as has been done in many Latin American countries throughout the '90s, nor are we proposing a state-dominated government. We do not accept dismantling of the state or state monopolies. What we are building is trust for private investment in Colombia, and at the same time, we are demanding social responsibilities. We see in trust a way of investing in our country. In investment we see a development tool, and in growth we see a possibility of overcoming poverty and building equity¹⁹.,You have come to Colombia, Mr. President, with a thesis which is necessary for our continent, and that is a diversification²⁰ of the energy basket. After Brazil, Colombia is the second country in the continent in the production of biofuels. We have created the tax incentives²¹. We have approved regulations in agreement with the standards of the World Trade Organization. There are projects that are producing more than 1,000 liters of ethanol in Colombia, and there are many more that are being installed. We have 6 million hectares in the Orinoco department, and these are savannas²², in general, that we can use for biofuel production without destroying a single tree in our jungle.,We have thanked the President of the United States of America and his delegation for the support given to Colombia through the Plan Colombia. The fight against drug trafficking has received support, practical support, and your support -- the support of President Clinton, the support of your Congress, your enthusiastic support, Mr. President, has been very practical and has helped the struggle of the Colombian people against drug trafficking.,We have the opportunity of discussing very important issues, as well, such as the agenda against poverty, our social goals, our program of forest rangers²³ families, which is unique in the world, that is paying 50,000 peasant families so that they can protect the jungle free of drugs, and so that they can recover the jungle where it has been destroyed.,We have discussed our trade agreement again, and political possibility of integration²⁴, and far away from ideological²⁵ sectorisms that is trying to look for opportunities of investment and employment with dignity and social security programs.,Thank you very much, Mr. President, for coming to Colombia. I am very proud of my fellow countrymen -- when you could come here after landing at the airport, going through this beautiful landscape, and was able to go to Plaza²⁶ de Bolivar, and to this palace. I am very proud, Mr. President, that the world may see how the Colombian people are overcoming nowadays the great difficulties that we have suffered in the last years.,And again, thank you so much for your visit, sir.,PRESIDENT BUSH: Thank you very much for your kind words, and for your invitation. Laura and I are thrilled to be back in your country again. I've been really looking forward to coming to this beautiful capital city, and I thank the people of Colombia for such a generous welcome.,We did have an extensive conversation. But that's what you'd expect when friends sit down at a table together. I bring the greetings of the United States. The people of my country care deeply about the human condition. We believe strongly in human rights and human values, just like you believe in them. We're two strong democracies and we've got a lot in common and a lot of values that we share. So this visit advances those values.,I listened very carefully when he was -- expressed concern about the immigration laws of the United States. He was most eloquent²⁷ in his concern about Colombians who live in the United States, and I assured him that a top priority of my administration is the passage of comprehensive immigration reform. I will work with both Republicans and Democrats²⁸ to get a comprehensive bill to my desk as quickly as possible, Mr. President.,We talked about the benefits of expanding trade so that people in both our countries can benefit. The United States is Colombia's largest trading partner. Colombia is the second-largest market in Latin America for U.S. farmers. Trade is beneficial to both countries. And it can grow even more with the free trade agreement that we signed in November.,I told the President that I will work hard for the passage of that important piece of legislation. I believe that a trade package with Colombia is in the interests of both our nations, Mr. President.,I'm looking forward to visiting with some Afro-Colombians today to talk about social justice programs. The reason I do is because it's very important for the people of South America and Central America to know that the United States cares deeply about the human condition, and that much of our aid is aimed at helping²⁹ people realize their God-given potential. And so we'll talk about programs all aimed at giving people a chance to realize their dreams, Mr. President.,You described many of those programs at lunch -- or your cabinet described many of those programs at lunch, and I was most impressed by the strategy of your administration and the vigor³⁰ and the energy of your Cabinet.,I'm looking forward very much to talking and continuing to work with you to defeat the drug lords and narco-traffickers -- narco-terrorists. You recognize, like I recognize, that the most important function of state is to provide security for its people. You cannot tolerate in a society the ability of people to take innocent life to achieve political objectives. And so I appreciate your steadfast³¹ strength, and so do the people of this country.,I am looking forward to working with you on the second phase -- or the next phase of Plan Colombia. We're going to work with your government to continue to fight drug trafficking. The United States has an obligation to work to reduce the demand for drugs, and at the same time, work to interdict³² the supply of drugs. There's a lot we can do. But part of it is to help you exercise control over all your territory; is to strengthen the rule of law, and to expand economic opportunity for the citizens. And we want to help.,The Plan Colombia recognizes the importance of protecting human rights. I appreciate the President's determination to bring human rights violators to justice. He is strong in that determination. It's going to be very important for members of my United States -- our United States Congress to see that determination. And I believe, if given a fair chance, President Uribe can make the case.,This Colombia government continues to make progress that is going to earn greater confidence from all its citizens and greater respect in the international community. You've set high expectations for your nation. I appreciate your determination, and I'm proud to call you a personal friend, and to call your country a strategic partner of the United States. Thank you for having me.,Q Good afternoon. President Bush, what is your opinion about the way in which the government has handled the scandal of the politicians involved in drug trafficking, and the paramilitaries? Because we know that there are many more members involved with the paramilitaries. Up to what extent do you support President Uribe given the fact that most of these paramilitary heads are drug traffickers? And finally, the U.S. will insist on extraditing these people?,PRESIDENT BUSH: I support a plan that says that there be an independent judiciary analyzing³³ every charge brought forth³⁴, and when someone is found guilty, there's punishment. That's the kind of plan I support. It happens to be the kind of plan the President supports. In other words, there's no political favorites when it comes to justice, that if someone is guilty, they will pay a penalty. And the best way to assure that that penalty is fair and the justice is fair is for there to be a court independent from politics.,And so, when I asked this very same question to the President about the news I've been reading in Washington, D.C., the same questions he's going to be asked when he and his government come to talk to our Congress, he answered just like I described. He said, we have an independent court, we've got a firm law; people will be held to account, whether or not they're -- no matter what political party they may or may not be associated with. That's what the people of Colombia expect; that's the kind of justice they're going to receive.