CIVIL-MILITARY RELATIONS JUDGED TO BE IMPROVING

UNCLAS BOGOTA 010232

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV MARR MOPS PHUM SNAR CO
SUBJECT: CIVIL-MILITARY RELATIONS JUDGED TO BE IMPROVING


Summary
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1. (U) Colombian government officials, academics, and
international military speakers discussed civil-military
interaction at an Embassy co-sponsored seminar on October 26.
Vice Minister of Defense Andres Penate reported that the
civilian-military relations were "mature" and improving under
the Uribe Administration. Other GOC speakers offered
suggestions to improve Colombia's civilian-military
understanding, while international speakers offered examples
of their respective nation's relationship-building
activities.

Civilian-Military Relationship Matures
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2. (U) "Civilian-military relations are much more mature than
the Colombian public perceives," said VM Andres Penate during
the first Embassy Bogota co-hosted seminar on civil-military
relations. He praised the Colombian military and police for
their work on informing civilian leadership decisions in
recent years, and stressed the military was not a
policy-making entity. Penate also hailed the military's
effort to engage with citizens across Colombia through
"jornadas" (military-coordinated medical operations) and said
such public outreach had helped sustain public support. He
asserted that media and Congress portrayed disagreements
between civilian and military leadership as an indication
that the relationship is strained, but Penate contended that
debate kept the relationship healthy. (Note: the most recent
Gallup polls indicate that the military has an approval
rating of 81% among the general population.)


3. (U) Penate, one of two civilian Vice Ministers of Defense,
contrasted the U.S. and Colombian experiences with the
military and noted that relations had only recently improved.
Unlike the United States, Colombia had considered the
military anti-democratic and civilians viewed the military as
an entity used only on special occasions despite its 40-year
internal conflict, according to Penate. He added that
civilians had traditionally ignored the military's insight on
security issues, leading to a history of several uninformed
decisions by civilian leadership. For example, several years
ago the GOC had sent satellite phones into remote corners of
Colombia in an attempt to link communities with the
government. Civilian officials were taken by surprise when
the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) guerrillas
stole those phones and used them for their own ends.

Next Steps to Improve the Relationship
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5. (U) Other speakers offered suggestions to improve the
military's relations with Colombia's public. Vice President
Francisco Santos suggested that the military should engage
the public by increasing outreach and improving human rights
protections. One Peace Commission official read Luis Carlos
Restrepo's speech in his absence and underscored his hope
that the public would grow to trust the military enough to
eliminate private citizens' willingness to use paramilitary
or private security measures. Chilean, Brazilian, and U.S.
military officials offered presentations outlining the
international perspective, and fielded questions about the
civilian-military relationship in their respective countries.



6. (U) The October 26 conference was the first event of its
kind to discuss civilian-military interaction and highlighted
the Uribe Administration's interest in improving relations
further. Uribe has had three civilian ministers of defense
since his 2002 inauguration and his first minister left under
heavy criticism that military officials did not approve of
her goals or management style.
WOOD