DUTCH FOREIGN MINISTER EXPRESSES SUPPORT FOR

C O N F I D E N T I A L BOGOTA 009975

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

FOR S, P, WHA, WHA/AND, EUR/UBI

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/22/2015
TAGS: PREL SNAR XL XM CO VE NL
SUBJECT: DUTCH FOREIGN MINISTER EXPRESSES SUPPORT FOR
COLOMBIAN PEACE PROCESS

Classified By: Ambassador William B. Wood for reasions 1.4 (b) & (d)


1. (C) SUMMARY: Over dinner on October 18, Dutch Foreign
Minister Bot said Latin America needed strong regional and
multilateral institutions to navigate its future and fortify
democratic values. As a Caribbean neighbor, the Netherlands
was prepared to help advance this process. The Netherlands
has been supportive of the GOC demobilization process and
contributed bilaterally to the OAS verification mission. In
that vein, Bot probed the Ambassador on the utility of
continued extraditions and whether at some point, they could
obstruct rather than stimulate progress toward peace. Bot
also expressed concern over Venezuelan interference in Dutch
possessions in the Caribbean and in the region as a whole.
He worried more about Chavez,s resources and the spread of
his populist ideology, than the prospect of any military
action by Venezuela. END SUMMARY.


2. (U) Ambassador Wood met with Dutch Foreign Minister Ben
Bot on October 18 during the latter,s 48-hour visit to
Bogota. Bot was accompanied by MFA Director General for
Political Affairs Hugo Siblesz, MFA Director of the Western
Hemisphere Department Marion Kappeyne, Spokesperson Herman
van Gelderen, and Dutch Ambassador to Colombia Frans van
Haren. Ambassador Wood was accompanied by polcouns
(notetaker). Bot met with President Uribe, Defense Minister
Ospina and Foreign Minister Barco, among others. At the end
of his visit, he released a statement praising Colombia for
its ongoing efforts to maintain the peace process. His next
stop was Aruba.

Comments on Latin America
--------------


3. (C) Bot said Latin America needed the kind of regional
institutions that had saved and developed in Europe over the
last 30 years. Bot served in Argentina in the 1970s and
recalled lengthy discussions about strengthening regional and
multilateral institutions in the region to develop democratic
norms, standards and ideals. Unfortunately, compared to
Europe, little progress had been made. Bot said the
Netherlands, as a Caribbean neighbor, was prepared to work
with democratic nations in Latin America and the U.S. to help
advance this process. Bot acknowledged that most Europeans
still did not understand the reality of Latin America and of
Colombia, in particular, and often made decisions based upon
out-dated thinking. In that vein, he believed President
Uribe was a serious interlocutor and leading Colombia in the
right direction. Wood noted that Uribe had succeeded in
conveying to the population that they did not have to
continue living with a four-front war and that things could
and would get better.

Extradition
--------------


4. (C) Bot said the Netherlands supported the peace process
in Colombia, including the ongoing paramilitary
demobilizations. For this reason, it had stepped ahead of
its European partners and was supporting the OAS verification
mission. He questioned, however, whether the pressure of
extradition to the United States would at some point begin to
hinder the process. He noted that, at the end of various
conflicts in Africa, the prospect of rebel leaders being
extradited often discouraged their demobilization. If we use
the weapon too much, he wondered, could it not discourage
future progress. Wood responded that paramilitaries leaders
had been doing their best to juxtapose extradition and the
peace process but had not succeeded. The Justice and Peace
Law left the door open for extradition, something the paras
were beginning to figure out, and they remained terrified of
being extradited to the U.S. So far, this had been useful
leverage for the GOC.

Venezuela
--------------


5. (C) With Dutch possessions bordering Venezuelan waters,
Bot expressed concern about Chavez,s growing interference in

the region. He stressed that Chavez,s influence was
military, philosophical and ideological and that his message
was resonating. Chavez was using his &fat checkbook8 to
ingratiate himself in the Netherlands Antilles and in
Suriname. Bot noted that Minister of Defense Ospina had
told him earlier in the day that Chavez had begun funding
opposition groups in Colombia and members of the illegal
armed groups were crossing the border into Venezuela daily.
Bot said he was not concerned about the possibility of GOV
military action but rather the spread of his populist
ideology. He wondered, with many national elections
scheduled over the next year, how large a segment of the
population in the region was open to Chavez,s philosophy.
The Hague wished to work with the U.S. to address this issue.


War on Drugs
--------------


6. (C) Bot said the key to resolving the internal conflict in
Colombia was attacking the drug problem head on. The FARC,
the paras and the narcos were all financing their operations
with drugs. He understood that the U.S. and Colombia had a
clear philosophy and plan for addressing the issue and hoped
that it would work in the long term. He noted that the
Netherlands was facing similar challenges in Afghanistan.
Wood agreed and noted that the Afghans had visited to review
the Colombian program.

Comment
--------------


7. (C) Over the last month, the Dutch Justice, Defense and
Foreign Ministers have visited Colombia. The Hague, in part
thanks to its activist ambassador here, has made a concerted
effort to underscore its interest and become pro-active in
helping Colombia move forward. From the vantage point of
Embassy Bogota, the Dutch have become solid partners in the
search for peace in Colombia and are lobbying European
partners to be more supportive of the demobilization process.
Wood told Bot that the U.S. had agreed to provide funding to
the demobilization program although several internal steps
still had to be completed. Bot responded that Norway and
Sweden were considering financial contributions to the
demobilization process and that the Netherlands, along with
Sweden, was working on encouraging Chile (with OAS Secretary
General Insulza,s help) and other Latin nations to engage as
well. With Caribbean possessions bordering Venezuela and
growing concern in the Hague over Chavez,s meddling, the
Dutch can also prove to be useful collaborators in dealing
with Venezuela and furthering regional stability.
WOOD