> > > > > > Message http://www.egroups.com/list/chiapas-l/?start=8869 > > > > Deadly Colombian air attack on village under investigation > > > > Published Friday, December 25, 1998, in the Miami Herald > > > > By TIM JOHNSON > > Herald Staff Writer > > > > BOGOTA, Colombia -- An incident in which military aircraft fired > rockets at a jungle village last week, killing 18 civilians, has raised > questions about whether U.S.-provided aircraft are contributing to > Colombia's troubled human rights record. > > > > An air force attack plane and military helicopters took part in the > Dec. 13 bombing of the village of Santo Domingo. At least seven > 2.75-inch rockets were fired, officials said. > > > > Colombian and U.S. authorities say the casualties occurred as troops > battled Marxist rebels in a counter-narcotics operation. > > > > ``It looks like maybe a missile or two went astray,'' said a State > Department official, speaking on condition of anonymity. > > > > The civilian casualties have provoked an outcry in Colombia. One of > the rockets slammed into a house in Santo Domingo, killing three small > children. The rocket attacks also wounded 25 civilians, including nine > other children, authorities say. > > > > Gen. Fernando Tapias, commander of the armed forces, dismissed the > deaths, saying Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, > guerrillas grabbed civilians as ``shields'' to protect their escape. > > > > The contention so clearly conflicted with testimony from survivors > that Prosecutor General Alfonso Mendez Gomez established a commission on > Wednesday to look into the attack, indicating that it could turn into a > criminal case. > > > > Jose Miguel Vivanco, director of Human Rights Watch, a monitoring > group, called the attack ``indiscriminate and deliberate.'' > > > > ``This wasn't a mistake. This was not a situation in which the FARC > were using the civilians as human shields, as the Colombian armed forces > are claiming now,'' he said in a telephone interview from Washington. > > > > Debate about the deaths comes as U.S. military assistance to Colombia > soars to $280 million in fiscal year 1999, triple the levels of 1998. > Much of the assistance is in aircraft. > > > > U.S. law requires aid from Washington to be used for anti-narcotics > purposes, not counter-insurgency operations, in a distinction that has > grown increasingly murky. It also requires suspension of aid when > military units are found guilty of human rights abuses. > > > > U.S. and Colombian officials said the incident began on Dec. 12 when > authorities spotted workers unloading a single-engine plane at an > airstrip in Santo Domingo, a village 190 miles northeast of Bogota. FARC > rebels appeared to be guarding the airstrip, and authorities suspected a > shipment of cocaine. > > > > Frightened villagers heard military aircraft exchange gunfire with > FARC rebels near Santo Domingo on the afternoon of the same day. > > > > The next morning, a U.S.-provided OV-10 armored attack plane and four > helicopters returned to the village, which harbored no insurgents, Human > Rights Watch said. Residents told the group at least three rockets > slammed into the village. > > > > The OV-10 attack plane appeared to be provided to Colombia by the > United States in 1991, Human Rights Watch said. > > > > ``The real problem here is that even if it were clearly an > anti-narcotics case, what needs to be established is why . . . civilians > were killed,'' Vivanco said. > > > > U.S. Ambassador Curtis Kamman met with Defense Minister Rodrigo > Lloreda on Tuesday, and Lloreda later said he had offered videos and > technical data because ``the State Department is trying to verify all > the facts.'' > > > > U.S. officials in Washington said they were monitoring the Colombian > investigation, but had not opened an inquiry of their own. > > > > ``We're not trying to gloss over this but it's still open to what > could be some explanation,'' one State Department official said. ``We're > aware of the need to look into this.'' > > > > > > -- Once the audit process of FOBAPROA's operations, ordered by > Congress, is completed, the FOBAPROA trust will disappear. It is > expected that this auditing process will conclude in a six-month period. > > > > > > 3. The IPAB will assume FOBAPROA's role in the recovery and sale of > the assets acquired through the various banking support programs. > > > > > > -- Under the new regime, assets will be divested in the swiftest > possible way. > > > > > > -- The sale of the assets will be conducted through auctions.=20 > > > > > > 4. Foreign investors will be allowed to hold a majority share in > Mexican commercial banks, regardless of their size. > > > > > > -- Under the former law, foreign investors were not allowed to hold a > majority share in banks which had a capital share in excess of 6 percent > of the aggregate capital of the system. This restriction is eliminated > in the new law. > > > > > > -- Under the new law, class A shares, which could not be acquired by > foreign investors, and class B shares will be replaced by ordinary > shares (O series) which can be acquired by any investor regardless of > his/her nationality. > > > > > > -- The approval of the financial reforms reaffirms the commitment of > the political parties and the Executive Branch to work together and > reach agreements which will strengthen the Mexican banking system. > > > > > > -- Mexico is updating its deposit insurance legislation according to > prevailing international practices. > > > > > > -- A clear legal mandate has been established to manage FOBAPROA's= > liabilities and divest efficiently its assets.=20 > > > > > > -- To strengthen the banking system's capital base and thus reduce its > vulnerability, the current restriction on foreign participation in > Mexican banks has been eliminated. > > > > > > -0-=20 > > > > /U.S. Newswire 202-347-2770/=20 > > > > 12/24 13:01=20 > > > > =20 > > > > > > Copyright 1998, U.S. Newswire > > > > > > > > <paraindent><param>out</param> > > > > > > Commandante Null ~ NPCIA* > > > > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > > > 770-457-6758 > > > > > > 3878 kHz LSB > > > > 147.47 kHz Smpx > > > > > > * Non Peer Competitor Information Associates > > > > </paraindent>"A bit of ten cent Magic to make you a Peer..." > > > > > > NO TAXATION WITHOUT INFORMATION! > > > > DE-FUND THE U.S. INTELLIGENCE GRAVY TRAIN, NOW!... > > > > . or pass the gravy... > > > > =A9 1998 Commandante Null ~ NPCIA=99 > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > NPC Information Associates > > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > 770-457-6758 > > "Intelligence for the Underdog!" > >
Message http://www.egroups.com/list/chiapas-l/?start=8869 > > Deadly Colombian air attack on village under investigation > > Published Friday, December 25, 1998, in the Miami Herald > > By TIM JOHNSON > Herald Staff Writer > > BOGOTA, Colombia -- An incident in which military aircraft fired rockets at a jungle village last week, killing 18 civilians, has raised questions about whether U.S.-provided aircraft are contributing to Colombia's troubled human rights record. > > An air force attack plane and military helicopters took part in the Dec. 13 bombing of the village of Santo Domingo. At least seven 2.75-inch rockets were fired, officials said. > > Colombian and U.S. authorities say the casualties occurred as troops battled Marxist rebels in a counter-narcotics operation. > > ``It looks like maybe a missile or two went astray,'' said a State Department official, speaking on condition of anonymity. > > The civilian casualties have provoked an outcry in Colombia. One of the rockets slammed into a house in Santo Domingo, killing three small children. The rocket attacks also wounded 25 civilians, including nine other children, authorities say. > > Gen. Fernando Tapias, commander of the armed forces, dismissed the deaths, saying Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, guerrillas grabbed civilians as ``shields'' to protect their escape. > > The contention so clearly conflicted with testimony from survivors that Prosecutor General Alfonso Mendez Gomez established a commission on Wednesday to look into the attack, indicating that it could turn into a criminal case. > > Jose Miguel Vivanco, director of Human Rights Watch, a monitoring group, called the attack ``indiscriminate and deliberate.'' > > ``This wasn't a mistake. This was not a situation in which the FARC were using the civilians as human shields, as the Colombian armed forces are claiming now,'' he said in a telephone interview from Washington. > > Debate about the deaths comes as U.S. military assistance to Colombia soars to $280 million in fiscal year 1999, triple the levels of 1998. Much of the assistance is in aircraft. > > U.S. law requires aid from Washington to be used for anti-narcotics purposes, not counter-insurgency operations, in a distinction that has grown increasingly murky. It also requires suspension of aid when military units are found guilty of human rights abuses. > > U.S. and Colombian officials said the incident began on Dec. 12 when authorities spotted workers unloading a single-engine plane at an airstrip in Santo Domingo, a village 190 miles northeast of Bogota. FARC rebels appeared to be guarding the airstrip, and authorities suspected a shipment of cocaine. > > Frightened villagers heard military aircraft exchange gunfire with FARC rebels near Santo Domingo on the afternoon of the same day. > > The next morning, a U.S.-provided OV-10 armored attack plane and four helicopters returned to the village, which harbored no insurgents, Human Rights Watch said. Residents told the group at least three rockets slammed into the village. > > The OV-10 attack plane appeared to be provided to Colombia by the United States in 1991, Human Rights Watch said. > > ``The real problem here is that even if it were clearly an anti-narcotics case, what needs to be established is why . . . civilians were killed,'' Vivanco said. > > U.S. Ambassador Curtis Kamman met with Defense Minister Rodrigo Lloreda on Tuesday, and Lloreda later said he had offered videos and technical data because ``the State Department is trying to verify all the facts.'' > > U.S. officials in Washington said they were monitoring the Colombian investigation, but had not opened an inquiry of their own. > > ``We're not trying to gloss over this but it's still open to what could be some explanation,'' one State Department official said. ``We're aware of the need to look into this.'' > > > -- Once the audit process of FOBAPROA's operations, ordered by Congress, is completed, the FOBAPROA trust will disappear. It is expected that this auditing process will conclude in a six-month period. > > > 3. The IPAB will assume FOBAPROA's role in the recovery and sale of the assets acquired through the various banking support programs. > > > -- Under the new regime, assets will be divested in the swiftest possible way. > > > -- The sale of the assets will be conducted through auctions.=20 > > > 4. Foreign investors will be allowed to hold a majority share in Mexican commercial banks, regardless of their size. > > > -- Under the former law, foreign investors were not allowed to hold a majority share in banks which had a capital share in excess of 6 percent of the aggregate capital of the system. This restriction is eliminated in the new law. > > > -- Under the new law, class A shares, which could not be acquired by foreign investors, and class B shares will be replaced by ordinary shares (O series) which can be acquired by any investor regardless of his/her nationality. > > > -- The approval of the financial reforms reaffirms the commitment of the political parties and the Executive Branch to work together and reach agreements which will strengthen the Mexican banking system. > > > -- Mexico is updating its deposit insurance legislation according to prevailing international practices. > > > -- A clear legal mandate has been established to manage FOBAPROA's= liabilities and divest efficiently its assets.=20 > > > -- To strengthen the banking system's capital base and thus reduce its vulnerability, the current restriction on foreign participation in Mexican banks has been eliminated. > > > -0-=20 > > /U.S. Newswire 202-347-2770/=20 > > 12/24 13:01=20 > > =20 > > > Copyright 1998, U.S. Newswire > > > > <paraindent><param>out</param> > > > Commandante Null ~ NPCIA* > > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > 770-457-6758 > > > 3878 kHz LSB > > 147.47 kHz Smpx > > > * Non Peer Competitor Information Associates > > </paraindent>"A bit of ten cent Magic to make you a Peer..." > > > NO TAXATION WITHOUT INFORMATION! > > DE-FUND THE U.S. INTELLIGENCE GRAVY TRAIN, NOW!... > > . or pass the gravy... > > =A9 1998 Commandante Null ~ NPCIA=99 > > > > > > > > > NPC Information Associates > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > 770-457-6758 > "Intelligence for the Underdog!" ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com
