(E-039/01) February 21, 2001   THE ROLE OF THE OAS IS UNDERSCORED IN THE DEFENSE AND PROMOTION OF DEMOCRACY IN THE HEMISPHERE   International organizations must play a central part in defending and strengthening democracy, former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright said today at a seminar sponsored by the Organization of American States. Albright went on to say that organizations could also help fragile democracies integrate themselves more fully into the global economy and come to the aid of those under siege from external or internal threats. Citing the case of Haiti where, in 1994, a coup ousted the elected government, the former Secretary of State recalled that the OAS had adopted a "strong" resolution calling for the constitutional government’s return. "If the OAS had not acted, we would never have gained UN Security Council approval for a multinational force," she added. Elsewhere in her address, she noted that in some cases, the principal threat to democracy came from those who had acquired power legitimately, but then abused it. "This was the situation of Peru, before the dismissal of the corrupt and corrupting Intelligence Chief, and the resignation of President Fujimori," she added. She explained that in other cases, forces were beyond government control. This was the situation in Colombia. "Colombia’s people are the victims of a decades-long civil war, fueled by drug trafficking, and accompanied by massive violations of human rights." After noting that President Pastrana had developed a comprehensive plan to negotiate peace, restore law, spur economic recovery, and reform key institutions, she said that "it is essential that we all stick with President Pastrana as he resumes negotiations with the guerrillas to achieve a cease-fire and an exchange of prisoners." Finally, as regards the current situation in Cuba, she said, "our focus should be on how to help Cubans prepare for the day when Castro is no longer in the picture."  Another speaker, Peruvian Justice Minister Diego García Sayán, discussed at length the recent political events in his country, and said that the main threats to democracy in Latin America nowadays came in the form of a series of legal formalities that tended to render democratic institutions meaningless. "We have had a history of successive coups and human rights violations, a state of affairs that has been tolerated, in one way or another, by the inter-American system, by the principal countries that influence and have always influenced the policy of the bodies comprising the system," he emphasized. Minister García Sayán also underscored the role of the high-level mission comprising Lloyd Axworthy, former Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs, and César Gaviria, OAS Secretary General, which had taken the significant new step of presenting a proposal "unprecedented within the system in terms of its response to situations affecting democracy." Finally, he referred to the initiative of Javier Pérez de Cuéllar, former Peruvian Minister of Foreign Affairs, regarding the signature, within the OAS framework, of an inter-American democratic charter, "which would enable us to define our targets more precisely in defending democracy on the basis of our own rules of the game," and he proposed the adoption of a mandate in this area at the upcoming Summit of the Americas in Quebec. The morning session opened with remarks by Luigi Einaudi, OAS Assistant Secretary General, who, after referring to the seminar’s large number of participants, among them Martin Palous, Czech Deputy Foreign Minister, affirmed that democracy was the basis for progress in all our countries and in international cooperation. **********