| COLOMBIA, A POSITIVE COUNTRY
Prepared by:
Affairs Coordinator
Internal and External Communications
Ministry of Foreign Relations
ON THE FRONT PAGE
· HONESTY FROM ITS ROOTS: 39,674 children from across Colombia
participated in the art show Adiós a las trampas (Goodbye
to Cheating), sponsored by the national government to promote the
understanding of Rights, by means of drawings sent by children
from 6 to 16 years of age. This first exercise seeks the graphic
opinion of children on transparency and honesty. Specialized juries
in the cities where the initiative will be hosted will analyze
the drawings, and the winners will be shown in the headquarters
of the Bank of the Republic. Between August 5th and September 23rd,
the national jury will visit each one of the expositions to select
the best works to put together as a great national sampling.
· VOTE OF CONFIDENCE FOR THE NATIONAL SPORT: close to 150
children and young people between the ages of 7 and 21 from the “Escuela
Especializada de Fútbol” (Specialized Soccer School)
of Coldeportes in Tumaco, will receive free athletic orientation
starting the second semester of 2004, from coaches from the Milan
Soccer Club in Italy. This is one of the results of the agreement
reached between the Colombian Athletic Institute, Coldeportes,
and the European Sport Club. Coldeportes selected this Soccer school
in consideration of its reputation as a seedbed for soccer players.
The agreement also includes the academic formation of Colombian
Athletic leaders who attend the different seminars held by Coldeportes
in Bogotá and Cali.
SOCIAL INVESTMENT
· ADVANCED EDUCATION: 200 displaced young people residing
in Altos de Cazucá, in the municipality of Soacha, and Ciudad
Bolívar, in Bogotá, will be trained in computer basics
thanks to the donation of $90 thousand dollars from the firm Microsoft
to the Social Solidarity Network. The young people will be trained
in basic computer management, and in languages such as Word, Excel
and Power Point, among others. The donation will cover the expenses
generated by the training logistics, as well as the teaching and
academic supplies necessary for each one of the young people during
the training.
· PRODUCE SUPPLIES: 805 young people from 16 to 29 years
of age, inhabitants of the Departments of Santander and Córdoba,
graduated from the program Jóvenes para el Desarrollo Alternativo
(Young People for Alternative Development) led by Plan Colombia.
The young people participated in courses on grafting cacao, ranching,
oil extraction machine operation, forest plant nursery management,
corn and kidney bean crops, and food processing, among others.
The cost of the program was $2,083 million Colombian pesos, donated
by the government of the United States, through the US Agency for
International Development, USAID.
SUSTAINABLE ECONOMIC GROWTH AND GENERATION OF EMPLOYMENT
· SOLID GROWTH: the government indicated that the economic
growth of the country is solid, even though in the first semester
of 2004 the rate was lower than in the same period of 2003, that
is, 3.82% compared to 4.08%. Private sector growth continues to
lead the reactivation, reaching its record high of 5.61%, a level
not seen since the 90’s. As far as the public sector, budget
cuts allowed the deficit to be reduced by 3.6% in 2002 and 2.8%
in 2003, and to hold to the goal (set with the International Monetary
Fund) of 2.5% for 2004.
· FOREIGN MARKETS: The National Federation of Coffee Growers
will invest between US$8 million and US$10 million in the construction
outside the country of ten coffee stores selling Juan Valdez coffee.
Of these stores, 8 will be in the United States, and 2 in Europe.
The coffee stores will be operated directly by the National Federation
of Coffee Growers, and it is expected that later franchises will
be opened and licenses for mass marketing will be granted in the
first semester of 2005. Initially, all coffee growers in Colombia
will be allowed to purchase shares in the company Tienda de café Juan
Valdez (Juan Valdez Coffee Store).
· SUCCESSFUL INITIATIVE: with the
Ecoandino (Echo Andean) program, which involves 10 thousand peasant
families in the country,
the government has been able to avoid the cultivation of illicit
crops in 68 thousand hectares located in the natural parks of Colombia.
The program operates by means of agreements reached with the families
who live on rural properties located in buffer zones. The agreements
are oriented toward generating food security for the families,
without affecting the resources in the protected zones, and with
the commitment to help prevent the cultivation of illicit crops
in the natural parks.
DEMOCRATIC SECURITY
· COLOMBIA COMES THROUGH: The government
released the news that next October 25th, Colombia will have
destroyed all of the
anti-personnel landmines in the power of the government, thus fulfilling
the promise made in the 1997 Ottawa Convention, one year ahead
of time. To date 8,083 landmines and all the manufacturing machines
have been destroyed. At the end of October another 13,660 mines
will have been eliminated, and there will be only 986 landmines
in the hands of the Armed Forces, as permitted by the treaty, for
the purposes of instruction and training. In 2003, the members
of the Police and Armed Forces destroyed 705 mined fields, confiscated
70 tons of explosives, and avoided the explosion of 6,900 artifacts.
· FIGHT AGAINST DRUGS: a total of 16,849 hectares of illicit
crops have been detected and destroyed by the National Army year
to date. Between January and May, 164,773 kilos of cocaine have
been confiscated (including pure cocaine, cocaine base, coca leaves,
and coca paste), along with 13,869 kilos of Marijuana, 18,946 gallons
of in-process cocaine, coca leaves and coca base, 366,465 gallons
of liquid raw materials, and 443,109 of solid raw materials. Forty
crystal laboratories, 315 other laboratories, 139 kitchens, and
42 camps where the drug was processed have also been destroyed.
In addition, a pilot program has begun to manually eradicate coca
using 50 demobilized combatants in the western part of Boyacá (initially),
who will tear out the crops planted in 600 hectares in this region
of the country.
· FEWER KIDNAP VICTIMS: a reduction
of 59.43% in the number of kidnap victims during the month of
May this year, compared to
the same period in 2003, was reported by FONDELIBERTAD, Fondo Nacional
para la Defensa de la Libertad Personal (National Fund for the
Defense of Personal Liberty). The figures supplied by the institution
for May 2004 reported 145 fewer kidnap victims than last year,
when 244 kidnappings were reported. During May the illegal armed
group the ELN committed 26 kidnappings, followed by common criminals
with 23, the FARC with 20, the Self Defense Groups with 13, the
ERP with six, and the EPL with one. Only in ten cases of kidnapping
could the responsible party not be identified. Comparison of statistics
for kidnapping in the first five months of 2003 and the same period
this year, shows that kidnapping has dropped by 43.52%.
STATE EFFICIENCY AND TRANSPARENCY
· IN FAVOR OF FAMILY HARMONY: people who physically or
psychologically mistreat any member of their family will be sanctioned
from now on with sentences from one to three years in prison. With
backing from President Álvaro Uribe Vélez, Law 882
of June 2 establishes tougher sanctions for cases of family violence.
The law establishes that the sanction will be increased by up to
three-fourths when the physical or psychological mistreatment is
against minors, women, elderly, people with physical or sensory
disabilities, or in any defenseless condition.
· “CORRUPTION: ZERO TOLERANCE”: after its own
investigations, and in order to combat the phenomena of corruption
within the National Police Force, 254 uniformed personnel have
been fired in the last six months, of which 38 are currently deprived
of liberty. The people who have been retired due to participation
in illegal activities are at the disposition of the Attorney General’s
office. At least 50 officers have been let go due to problems with
drug trafficking, dishonesty, corruption, and participation in
illegal acts. Among the retired personnel there are members from
every rank: officers, sub officers, executives and agents.
· ELECTRONIC PAPERWORK: the government will create points
of access along the lines of an internet café in order for
the public to electronically submit government forms, at no charge,
and without having to stand in line. The centers will be called
Puntos de Acceso Comunitario (Points for Community Access) (PACO)
and are part of the anti-paperwork strategy carried out by the
executive branch. PACO is one component of the electronic government
solution to provide a point of entrance to the network, and contact
between citizens and the government.
(FIN/PCO/CP/CIE)
June 11, 2004
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