Colombia hopes new foreign min can calm scandal
Source: Reuters
By Hugh Bronstein BOGOTA, Feb 20 (Reuters) - Colombia's new foreign minister, fresh from six years in the jungle as a rebel hostage, may be behind on world affairs but analysts said he could serve as a potent symbol of President Alvaro Uribe's determination to end a decades-old war. Fernando Araujo was named on Monday to replace the previous foreign minister who stepped down after her brother, a senator, was jailed on charges he financed illegal right-wing militias. "The first thing that comes to mind is Peter Sellers' performance in the movie 'Being There," said Pablo Casas, an analyst at the Bogota think tank Security and Democracy. "It is about a guy who has not left his garden for years, has no idea what is going on in the world, but goes straight to the highest levels of government," he said. Araujo escaped at the start of the year when the army attacked the rebel camp where he was being held. He admits he has a lot to catch up on. "It is obvious that my isolation has limited me," he told local radio. "And I don't presume to have international experience." Uribe hopes that naming Araujo will help calm the political crisis caused by allegations that nine of his congressional allies have links with drug-running paramilitaries. Eight are jailed and the ninth is a fugitive. A former development minister, Araujo's kidnapping turned him into a symbol of this Andean country's guerrilla war. The conflict sets the government against a mosaic of armed groups tied to Colombia's multibillion-dollar cocaine trade. "Araujo will be presented as living proof that Uribe's democratic security policies are alive and show results," said political commentator Ricardo Avila. The government statement announcing the appointment said that Araujo has "himself suffered our national tragedy, which we are committed to ending." Araujo's main job will be to convince the U.S. Congress and Europe to continue supporting Uribe's peace plan, under which more than 31,000 paramilitaries have handed in their guns in exchange for reduced jail terms and other benefits. It could be a tough assignment, considering that international aid for Colombia could be at risk due to the scandal linking some of Uribe's closest political allies to paramilitaries guilty of some of the worst atrocities of Colombia's war. Among other rebel hostages are three American defense contractors and former presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt, a French/Colombian citizen. "This is an emotional rather than a logical appointment," said local pollster Napoleon Franco. "To name a foreign minister solely for symbolic affect is a sign that the president is not considering what is best for the country, but rather what is best for the government's image." Uribe, re-elected last year, is popular for cutting crime as part of his U.S.-backed crackdown on the rebels. His approval rating stands above 70 percent, according to recent polls. But Franco said that could change. "Colombians have a great deal of tolerance with Uribe, but he might reach the limit," Franco said.
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