>From: Jessica Sundin <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > > > Colombia Action Network http://www.freespeech.org/actioncolombia > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > >Hello friends & a special welcome to new list members! > >It's just a couple weeks until over ten thousand people converge on the >School of Americas at Fort Benning, Georgia. The Colombia Action Network >will be there, with our fancy new t-shirts for sale, a newspaper all >about Colombia, cool stickers & a spirited contingent. PLEASE join us! >At the end of the day on Saturday, November 18th, at a hotel near the >School, the CAN will host a meeting of all activists interested in >Colombia solidarity organizing. We'll be sending out details soon, so >get your carpool, van reservation or bus ticket together now. See you >there! > >1. Latest Battleground in Latin Drug War: Brazilian Amazon >2. Colombia Holds Elections, For the Most Part Peaceably >3. U.S. troops to El Salvador >4. ACTION ALERT! New Jersey protest on 11/4 >5. Minnesota on 11/4: The War on Drugs: A War on Colombia's Women and >Families > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ >October 30, 2000, New York Times > >Latest Battleground in Latin Drug War: Brazilian Amazon >By LARRY ROHTER > >TABATINGA, Brazil ? Until recently, this town on the corner of the >frontiers of Brazil, Peru and Colombia was one of the most sleepy, >remote and overlooked parts of the Amazon. But that was before the >fighting upriver by army troops, guerrillas and paramilitary forces on >Colombia's side of the 1,021-mile border started to intensify. > >Suddenly, the Brazilian government is stepping up river patrols and air >surveillance and destroying clandestine airstrips, driven by a concern >that the $1.3 billion the United States has promised Colombia to bolster >its army may further fuel the long war against drug traffickers and >their guerrilla allies and send it spilling into Brazil. > >"We know that once the gringos have strengthened the army's hand there, >we may get whacked too," said Mauro Sposito, head of the new Brazilian >force here. "So this operation was undertaken as a preventive measure, >in anticipation of whatever problems may come our way." > >Although a modest effort, the new Brazilian campaign is only the most >visible sign that a full-scale militarization of the Amazon and beyond >is underway as Colombia's war threatens to draw in its neighbors. From >Panama to Bolivia, governments and armies are girding for the worst by >strengthening their defense forces in every way they can. > >The operation, involving 180 police officers, 18 patrol boats, 2 >airplanes and a helicopter, is part of Brazil's expanding attempt to >steel itself against the spillover effects already being felt in the >region. Refugees fleeing the violence in Colombia have been crossing >borders, and guerrilla forces who work in symbiosis with drug >traffickers are increasingly coming to see neighboring countries as safe >bases and supply areas. > >The larger fear is that the problems will only deepen with the >American-financed program to aid Colombia's army, a force with a >lackluster record on human rights and in the battlefield. > >Peru and Venezuela have stepped up troop deployments along their borders >with Colombia. And Ecuador, by far the weakest country in the area, has >said it will seek an aid package of its own from Washington. But it is >Brazil that has sovereignty over the largest and most vulnerable piece >of the world's biggest jungle, and it is Brazil that is now engaged in >the most ambitious, extensive and costly effort to occupy and defend its >sparsely populated frontiers. > >For Latin America's largest country that focus marks a historic shift in >priorities. Throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, Brazil was focused >on its southern border with Argentina, where the biggest concentrations >of troops and military equipment have always been deployed, and largely >neglected its northern borders. > >The key to the beefed-up Brazilian effort in the Amazon, which accounts >for 60 percent of the country's territory, is a $1.4 billion radar >project called the Amazon Vigilance System, known as Sivam, from its >acronym in Portuguese. > >The American-financed system, which consists of 19 fixed and 6 mobile >radar posts, was begun in 1997 to monitor deforestation, fires and >illegal mining. But it has taken on great military significance with the >deteriorating situation in Colombia, and is now considered a vital tool >by both Brazilian and American officials to track the movements of >guerrilla and drug operations, which often use small private aircraft. > >"We have all of Brazilian airspace controlled, except for the Amazon," >Gen. Alberto Cardoso, the government's national security minister, >explained in an interview in Bras�lia early this month. "Now, the Sivam >project is going to fill that void and permit us to defend our >territory." In mid-October, Brazil offered to share data gathered from >Sivam with neighbors and the United States. "With Sivam and our own >electronic intelligence gathering capacity, I expect to see us working >together and sharing information in an unprecedented fashion so that we >can each benefit from what we know and need to know about drug >trafficking activity," the American Ambassador to Brazil, Anthony S. >Harrington, said in a recent interview. > >In 1998, the Brazilian Congress approved legislation that would allow >the Air Force to shoot down any aircraft that enters Brazilian airspace >illegally. Peru and Colombia have similar laws, but "ours is broader," >General Cardoso said, and "has to be regulated by a decree that is still >being discussed, due to the sensitivity of the problem," before it can >be put into effect. > >As part of its effort to control the sky over the often impenetrable >jungle, the Brazilian government has also announced that it intends to >spend about $3.5 billion during the next eight years to buy new >supersonic fighter planes and transport planes. It will also refurbish >100 combat jets. > >The buildup is intended to remedy a vulnerability that Brazil was >reminded of last year, when a plane on its way from neighboring Suriname >made an emergency landing in the eastern Amazon state of Par�. An >inspection revealed a cargo of arms, which Brazilian law enforcement >officials say were apparently destined for guerrillas in Colombia in >exchange for cocaine that would be shipped to Europe. > >This kind of network of arms for drug transfers is so vast, organized >and entrenched that the strongman who has dominated Suriname for nearly >20 years, Desi Bouterse, is facing drug trafficking charges in the >Netherlands, Suriname's former colonial power. > >In addition, the Brazilian press, citing police sources, has accused the >Surinamese Embassy of involvement in the arms shipment, but the >Surinamese ambassador refused to testify in a recent congressional >investigation into drug trafficking, citing his diplomatic status. > >More recently, in July, two small planes from Suriname were detected in >Brazilian airspace and managed to land at a clandestine airstrip in >Vaup�s, Colombia, where they unloaded what officials suspect was a cargo >of arms for the guerrillas before Colombian troops could locate the >planes and blow them up. > >Faced with the sweeping scale of the terrain and the problem, Brazilian >officials are well aware that an effort as modest as theirs cannot >eliminate such traffic. "Our border with Colombia is more than 1,000 >miles long, so extensive and with an area of jungle so inhospitable that >even if we multiplied by 10 or 15 the forces deployed there, we would >still be short of people," General Cardoso said. > >The Brazilian Army has 22,000 troops permanently stationed in the >Amazon, about 10 percent of its total strength. But the government >officially maintains that, in Mr. Sposito's words, "the guerrillas do >not exist in Brazil, only narcotraffickers," and has made it clear that >it intends to keep its forces as far removed as possible from the combat >in Colombia. > >"Brazil is not willing to send units of the army or the police to fight >alongside their Colombian counterparts, whether against the guerrillas >or narcotics traffickers," Minister of Foreign Affairs Luiz Felipe >Lampreia said in a recent interview in Bras�lia. Any additional dispatch >of troops that may occur, he added, will be intended exclusively "to >strengthen our military presence on the border in order to defend and >safeguard our frontier." > >But Brazil is already peripherally involved in the Colombian conflict. >Late in 1998, Colombia's main left- wing guerrilla group, the >Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, attacked and briefly >held Mit�, a provincial capital in Colombia just across the border, >forcing Colombian troops to withdraw to Iauaret�, a base in Brazilian >territory. > >A Colombian official said recently that Colombian forces were able to >retake Mit� by counterattacking partly from Brazil. But when General >Cardoso was asked about the incident, he disagreed, saying that "there >were many wounded, who for purely humanitarian reasons were treated in >our hospital" and that after an exchange of diplomatic notes Brazil >obtained "a Colombian commitment that such a thing would not happen >again." > >The main concern of both governments is a remote and sparsely populated >region, known as the Dog's Head, where neither government has much of a >presence, spawning fears that guerrilla groups or drug traffickers may >be tempted to fill the vacuum. > >FARC leaders say they are not active in Brazil and do not plan to be. >"Our struggle is in Colombia," so "Brazil can rest assured that there >will be no incursions," Ra�l Reyes, a rebel spokesman, said in August. >But Colombian and American officials say the rebels take that position >only because Brazil is more useful to them at the moment as a rear >supply base. As Brazilian officials acknowledge, rebels regularly cross >the border to buy food and medicine at accessible border settlements >where they do not fear capture. > >"There is no way to block supplies legally acquired in our country and >then transported to Colombian territory," General Cardoso said. "The >people doing the buying don't say they are guerrillas, so how are you >going to prohibit a shopowner from selling his products to them?" > >Brazil is also growing in importance as a source of the precursor >chemicals used to manufacture cocaine. Manaus, nearly 1,000 miles >downriver from here, is an important industrial center, and Colombian >units that have raided cocaine laboratories say they often find labels >in Portuguese indicating that the chemicals came from Brazil. > >"We've had candid discussions about this, and Brazil is aware of the >problem and focused on doing something about it, but they have a huge >territory to cover," Mr. Harrington said. "You can't station men all >over the Amazon and watch for cement bags coming through," he added, so >Brazil plans to "examine and identify the companies that are involved in >this business." > >Pressures on Brazil to assume a higher profile in the Amazon will, of >course, likely require more money and a larger commitment of security >forces. But in contrast to a decade ago, when resentment of 21 years of >military dictatorship still lingered, it is clear that popular support >for such a buildup is now a certainty. > >"If there is one positive aspect to the emergence of these problems with >Plan Colombia, it is that all of society has now awakened to the >necessity of the defense of the Amazon," General Cardoso said. > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ >NEW YORK TIMES, Monday, 30 October 2000 > >Colombia Holds Elections, For the Most Part Peaceably >By Juan Forero > >BOGOTA -- Colombians voted under heavy military security today in >municipal and provincial elections that were seen as a test of the >government's ability to carry out a crucial democratic exercise in a >country racked by conflict. > >There was isolated violence. In the coca-growing province of Putumayo, >the scene of weeks of recent fighting between leftist rebels and >paramilitary groups, voting was sparse, apparently because of rebel >roadblocks. Hundreds of miles north in Antioquia, government soldiers >clashed with fighters from the country's largest rebel group, the >Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, disrupting voting in two towns. > >In the town of Leiva in the southern province of Narino, rebels blocked >people from voting for provincial offices. And in the demilitarized zone >in the province of Caqueta, which the government ceded to the >Revolutionary Armed Forces in the hope of furthering peace talks, voting >in five municipalities took place for the first time under formal rebel >control. > >The government declared the election a success, though, with the >relatively peaceful voting in much of the country characterized as a >repudiation of violence. Although the official turnout was not available >this evening, authorities said they expected to find that up to 50 >percent of the 23 million eligible voters had cast ballots, a typical >showing here. > >Colombians voted for governors, mayors, provincial delegates and town >councilors in all 1,093 municipalities, with 145,000 candidates all >told. "The attitude of the citizens was exemplary," said Ivan Duque, the >country's elections commissioner. > >The elections came at an important juncture for Colombia. The country is >trying to project an image of stability as it embarks on a $7.5 billion >program to cut coca production and curtail rebel influence, a plan that >is heavily financed by the United States and international lending >institutions. > >After voting in the capital's central plaza, President Andres Pastrana >declared the vote "an important message for the peace process." > >"It says to the insurgency that Colombians want to strengthen our >electoral process, that we want to strengthen our democracy," he said. > >More than 50,000 police officers and 100,000 soldiers protected polling >places and roadways in more troubled regions. Fifty international >observers were also on hand. > >"I was worried, as usual, because subversive groups always carry out >threats during elections," said one voter in Bogota, Luis Fernando >Vanegas, 60. "But the government has the armed forces taking control and >making sure there's public order." > >The weeks leading up to the election, however, were chaotic. Rebels >carried out stinging attacks against the military and the police. Eight >congressmen and local politicians were kidnapped in recent days, most by >paramilitary gunmen. The country has also watched in horror as three >people taken captive earlier this year in a mass kidnapping by the >National Liberation Army, Colombia's second-largest rebel group, died in >captivity. Today, the rebels announced they would release 21 other >captives on Monday. > >The government had guaranteed that this year's elections would not be a >repeat of the last nationwide elections, in 1997, when the largest rebel >group vowed to sabotage elections and then carried out a campaign of >intimidation and violence. > >In recent months, instead of wrecking the elections, the group embarked >on a shadowy strategy to influence them by giving tacit approval to some >municipal candidates while opposing others. Dozens of candidates dropped >out. In addition, 36 candidates were slain, 6 by the Revolutionary Armed >Forces and two other rebel movements, 10 by paramilitary gunmen and 20 >by unknown groups, said Maj. Gen. Tobias Duran, chief of operations for >the national police. > >"The truth is that the candidates, some of them, have said they've been >pressured," General Duran said. "And in some situations involving >mayors, the armed groups want part of the budget for what they call aid >for their revolutionary movement." > >Still, throughout Colombia, millions of people voted without incident. >In Bogota, streets were closed to traffic as families made a festive day >of the elections. Children scooted along on bicycles or in-line skates >as street vendors hawked sodas and barbecued chicken and corn. > >"This is a day of fun," said Ernesto Zapata, 21, after casting his >ballot. "Everyone is having a good day. Everyone is out in the street." > >Copyright 2000 The New York Times Company > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ >National Catholic Reporter, October 13, 2000 > >U.S. troops to El Salvador >By GARY MacEOIN > >U.S. armed forces, withdrawn from El Salvador under the 1992 Peace >Accords, are active again in that country unders a controversial >agreement that opponents say violates the peace accord. > >The new arrangement derives from an agreement between the Salvadoran and >U.S. governments. Signed last March with information provided to >neither the National Assembly nor the press, according to Salvadoran >news reports, it is intended to beef up anti-drug activities in the >region. > >The troops will use Comalapa, El Salvador's principal airport 45 >kilometers from San Salvador, as a "forward operating location," >according to news reports in El Salvador. Comalapa is the same airport >from which Maryknoll Srs. Ita Ford and Maura Clark, Ursuline Sr. >Dorothy Kazel and lay missioner Jean Donovan were kidnapped 29 years >ago, to be subsequently raped and killed. > >Forward operating locations are a key element in the restructuring of >the U.S. military presence in Latin America after the 1997 >Torrijos-Carter treaty ended U.S. control of the Panama Canal and >forced the closure of the U.S. Southern Command in Panama, according to >experts familiar with military operations in the region. > >The main U.S. Southern Command bases are now in Florida and Puerto Rico, >with forward operating locations in Aruba and Cura�ao off Venezuela in >the Netherlands Antilles, and at the Manta air base in Ecuador. These >locations are all controlled by the air force. Comalapa, however, is >under the Navy, and will be available for land, sea and air operations. > >--Drugs provide rationale >The smoldering embers of the recent civil war flared in July when the >agreement was submitted to the Salvadoran National Assembly for >approval, according to reports in San Salvador's El Diario de Hoy. >ARENA, the party of the oligarchy that owes its survival in that war to >massive U.S. economic and military support, has fewer seats than the >FMLN, the former guerrillas (29 and 31 in a House of 84). ARENA >governs, however, with the backing of three minor parties. > >FMLN leader Jorge Schafik Handal denounced the agreement as a violation >both of the Constitution and of the Peace Accords in an El Diario >story. He insisted that this is a treaty requiring approval by a >three-fourths assembly vote. When the government passed it by a simple >majority, the FMLN initiated a challenge in the Supreme Court. > >Although the court has not yet ruled, the United States is implementing _______________________________________________________ KOMINFORM P.O. Box 66 00841 Helsinki - Finland +358-40-7177941, fax +358-9-7591081 e-mail [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.kominf.pp.fi _______________________________________________________ Kominform list for general information. Subscribe/unsubscribe messages to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Anti-Imperialism list for anti-imperialist news. Subscribe/unsubscribe messages: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [EMAIL PROTECTED] _______________________________________________________
