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Colombian leader asks world: Help us fight drugs

Colombian President Andres Pastrana's nation is wracked by a decades-long civil war and a huge cocaine trade

ATLANTA, Georgia (CNN) -- The fight against drug trafficking in Colombia is a "global fight" because the drug business is "a global industry," Colombian President Andres Pastrana said Tuesday.

Speaking over closed-circuit television to an international journalists' convention in Atlanta, Georgia, sponsored by CNN, Pastrana said "the international community must join with Colombians" to take on his nation's drug traffickers.

Damage to forests for drug development is hurting the environment in Colombia and the world, and should serve "to open the minds" of other nations and persuade them to join the battle against drug trafficking, he said.

The best help Colombia can receive from the world and the United States, he added, is to "stop drug consumption."

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Pastrana told the annual World Report conference that his government is using economic development to build support among farmers and give them an alternative to growing illegal crops. But the country doesn't have the resources to wage the fight alone.

Soccer tourney won't be canceled

Colombia is locked in a three-way war between leftist rebels, outlawed far-right paramilitaries and the armed forces. About 40,000 people have been killed in the fighting in the past decade alone.

The U.S. Congress last year approved more than $1.3 billion to fight drug trafficking in Colombia despite concerns that the package could lead to U.S. intervention in the country's guerrilla conflict.

Answering questions about a recent wave of bombings in Colombia, Pastrana said the attacks don't appear to have a "common denominator."

Colombia is hosting a major soccer tournament this summer -- Copa America, and Pastrana was asked if the games would be canceled because of terrorism. He said the games would be held and there was no connection between any recent bombings and the tournament.

The event, he said, "is very important for my country."

Pastrana cites progress with rebels

Pastrana said there are positive diplomatic developments with the two leftist insurgency groups -- the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and the National Liberation Army (ELN). The government has been talking with FARC and European countries are making efforts to help bring ELN to the negotiating table, he said.

"I think we have advanced a lot in the last three years," he said, referring to diplomatic efforts between the government and guerrillas.

Pastrana said the government and FARC are negotiating over a 12-point agenda -- addressing economic, political, social, and agrarian issues. He hopes agreement can be reached soon on some of the points.

He said FARC has accepted the presence of a humanitarian commission and has accepted members of the international community at the negotiating table.

"The population of Colombia needs gestures, peace gestures" from guerrillas to show that they are "committed to the peace process," Pastrana said.