John W. Olver: “Mr. Chairman, much is in dispute about this whole issue of what to do in Colombia, but I do not think anyone can dispute…”

“Mr. Chairman, much is in dispute about this whole issue of what to do in Colombia, but I do not think anyone can dispute that there is no visible evidence that the human rights situation in Colombia has improved since Congress approved last year's mostly military aid package, and I think that should indicate to us that we ought to think about what we are doing. With the indulgence of the chairman of the subcommittee, the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Kolbe), I had an opportunity to visit Colombia about 4 months ago with a number of Members of this body, and we had an opportunity to talk with a number of different people in the government in Bogota, but then also visited as much as we could in the short period of time on the front lines of the areas in the Colombian civil war, particularly in Putumayo Province, and a couple of other provinces in the south of the country. Now, I believe that President Pastrana and the defense minister are genuinely looking for an acceptable way to end this long conflict.”