>Sunday, dismissing them as little more than drug traffickers, as the rebels >continue to stall peace talks in protest of the Washington-sanctioned Plan >Colombia. >Washington ratcheted up its attacks on the leftist Revolutionary Armed >Forces of Colombia (FARC) as a delegation of US officials prepared to meet >government representatives for talks here about the ambitious 7.5 >billion-dollar anti-drug Plan Colombia partially financed by the United >States. >US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, Thomas Pickering, and >anti-drug chief Barry McCaffrey are leading the delegation on a visit, which >ends Tuesday. >Other members of the US delegation include: Deputy Assistant Attorney >General Mary Lee Warren; Harold Koh, the assistant secretary of state for >democracy, human rights and labor; and General Peter Pace, the commander in >chief of the US Southern Command. >Representatives from the government of conservative President Andres >Pastrana include Defense Minister Luis Fernando Ramirez and Foreign Minister >Guillermo Fernandez de Soto, as well as various police, military and >humanitarian officials. >On Sunday, McCaffrey urged FARC leaders to resume negotiations toward an >eventual cease fire with Pastrana, who was forced to cancel a trip to Europe >because of the heightened tensions between the government and the rebels. >The protracted negotiations that began in October 1999 were suspended last >Tuesday by FARC until Bogota clamps down on right-wing paramilitaries, the >guerrillas' long-time foes. >FARC, Colombia's largest rebel insurgent group, has operated in a 42,000 >square kilometer (16,200 square mile) demilitarized zone south of the >capitol since November 1998, an area optimistically designated as a >"laboratory for peace." >In an interview with the Colombian daily El Pais on Sunday, US ambassador to >Colombia Anne Paterson said that at their heart, FARC rebels had once had >ideological motivations for their decades-long struggle. >She said however, that they now were little more than a band of drug >traffickers, and held the group as at least partly responsible for producing >and exporting more than 520 tonnes of cocaine and six tonnes of heroin each >year, 90 percent of which is destined for the United States. >Plan Colombia, which Bogota hopes to put into action in the next several >months, is an attempt not only to staunch the flow of drugs from the world's >largest cocaine-producing country but to eradicate the 120,000 hectares >(297,000 acres) of coca-leaf plantations. >The United States has committed 1.3 billion dollars in resources to Plan >Colombia, including helicopters equipped with aerial fumigation devices to >level the coca fields, and will put 500 US observers on the ground to >monitor its progress. >Neighboring Latin American countries, some of whom share FARC's apprehension >that Plan Colombia could result in "another Vietnam," are speaking up about >the potential ramifications of the plan, which could result in violence and >drug traffic creeping over the borders. >Ecuador is already the unwilling recipient of more than a thousand Colombian >refugees who have fled the southern Putumayo region, the heart of the >coca-leaf plantations. >Nevetheless, President Pastrana is forging ahead with his plan, sending more >than 500 troops to the coca-rich Putumayo region and setting up outposts >along the jungle floor to catch drug traffickers. >Coca-leaf farmers in recent months have coordinated a rash of protests at >the thought of losing their traditional livelihood and their most lucrative >crops. In one of the most recent attack this past Friday, a bomb exploded in >the Putumayo region. >Despite less-than-enthusiastic support for Plan Colombia outside of the >official cadre of government representatives, Pickering -- Washington's >third-highest ranking diplomat-and Paterson remain optimistic that Plan >Colombia will be successful in its efforts to purge the country of cocaine. >A successful implementation of Plan Colombia will help dry up funds that >have helped financed rebel activity in the country, opined Paterson in El >Pais, not the least of which has been traffic in illegal arms. >The civil war that has raged in Colombia for 36 years has left nearly >130,000 people dead, while an average of 3,000 people every year are >kidnapped. >Copyright 2000 Agence France Presse >________________________________________________________________________ > >11/21/00, Salt Lake Tribune www.sltrib.com >U.S. drug czar says bloody campaign against insurgents is inevitable >BOGOTA -- White House drug czar Barry McCaffrey on Monday predicted heavy >fighting in an approaching U.S.-backed anti-drug offensive and warned that >there would be repercussions for Colombia's neighbors. But with "vital" U.S. >interests at stake, and insurgents growing stronger through deepening ties >to the drug trade, McCaffrey said he saw no alternative to the $1.3 billion >effort set to get under way in January. Last week, Colombia's largest >leftist insurgency declared a freeze on peace talks that have been President >Andres Pastrana's main strategy for ending a 36-year conflict. The >Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, said it was protesting U.S. >military aid and lack of government action against rightist paramilitary >forces waging an unofficial "dirty war" against suspected leftists. >McCaffrey said FARC is worried that the U.S.-backed offensive, aimed at >eradicating drug crops, will threaten annual cocaine-related income of >between $500 million and $1 billion, which goes to the guerrillas and the >paramilitary group also active in Putumayo -- the United Self- Defense >Forces of Colombia.) >================================================= > >BUSINESS WEEK, November 20, 2000 >The war on coca: How far will the U.S. go? >By Suzanne Timmons >BOGOTA -- Life in the southern Colombian province of Putumayo has never been >easy. But for the 350,000 residents of this coca-growing outpost on the >border with Ecuador, it's hard to see how it could get any worse. For seven >weeks now, left-wing rebels and right-wing paramilitaries have been waging a >pitched battle for control of the province, which is home to half of >Colombia's 300,000 acres of coca fields. A guerrilla-organized blockade has >reduced supplies of fuel and food to a trickle. Hundreds of people have >already crossed over into Ecuador. Those who remain are bracing for more >hardship. >That's because the crisis in Putumayo is expected to intensify in December o >nce a new 950-man antidrug brigade is deployed in the area. The brigade is >part of Colombia's campaign to halve the country's coca output by 2006, and >the U.S. is contributing $ 1.3 billion over two years toward the effort. >Besides footing the bill for -- and overseeing -- the training of three >antidrug brigades, Washington is throwing in some 60 helicopters. ''As we >see it, it's only going to escalate the conflict in Colombia,'' says a U.N. >official. >The final tab for Washington may be a lot bigger than U.S. lawmakers >anticipated. >Colombian President Andres Pastrana had originally wanted $ 450 million more >from the U.S. to support Plan Colombia, an ambitious $ 7.5 billion program >that encompasses everything from democratic reform to measures designed to >fortify an anemic economy. So Bogota is likely to lobby for even more U.S. >money. Ecuador, meanwhile, wants Washington to help boost development in >border areas that could see a flood of Colombian refugees. According to the >U.S. General Accounting Office, the State Dept. has already acknowledged >that ''substantial funding'' will be needed to support U.S. goals in >Colombia. >There is a real danger that the latest offensive in Colombia could aggravate >tensions in the politically unstable Andes. The coca trade is the main >source of financing for guerrilla groups that have fought a four-decade-long >battle against the government. The fighting has claimed 30,000 lives in the >past decade. >Colombia's neighbors fear that the campaign will cause the conflict to spill >over into their own countries. That's why Panama, Brazil, Peru, and Ecuador >are all now beefing up border security. Ecuador is particularly vulnerable >since it shares a frontier with Putumayo, and the country has already >received $ 2 million from the U.N. to cope with an expected inflow of 5,000 >Colombian refugees. In October, Ecuador's foreign minister, Heinz Moeller, >traveled to Washington to ask for $ 300 million in fresh funds. A State >Dept. official says Moeller's request will be carefully considered. If >Ecuador succeeds in its quest, other countries may be inspired to follow >suit. ADAMANT. Despite the potential escalation in cost, there is no sign >that Pastrana and his allies in Washington are prepared to rethink their >antidrug strategy. The Colombian government believes that attacking the coca >trade is its best chance of extracting concessions from the guerrillas at >the negotiating table. >Talks between the government and Colombia's largest rebel group, the >Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), have been under way since >January, 1999, with little result. ''Coca is the biggest enemy of peace,'' >says Jaime Ruiz, a top aide to Pastrana. >U.S. officials, meanwhile, are adamant that the policy will bring stability >not just for Colombia but for the entire region. ''Everyone reaps the >benefits when the drug trade is reduced,'' says Robert Weiner, spokesman for >U.S. drug czar General Barry R. McCaffrey. >The guerrillas won't give up their cash crop without a stiff fight, though. >Indeed, with coca fields in Putumayo under threat, FARC is seeking other >strongholds. In mid-October, the rebels laid siege to two northern towns, >killing more than 50 soldiers in one and taking 30 civilians hostage in the >other. The price of peace in Colombia will be high. And Washington may have >to pick up the tab. >Copyright 2000 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. >============================================== > >AGENCE FRANCE PRESSE, Sunday, 19 November 2000 >Colombian paramilitary leader confirms funded by narcotics "tax" >WASHINGTON -- Carlos Castano, who heads the right-wing United Self-Defense >Units of Colombia (AUC) paramilitaries, confirmed in a US magazine interview >released Sunday that his movement was funded mainly from a "tax" on illegal >drug cultivation. >"I prefer taking cash from the narcos than from honest people," Castano said >in the interview, published in the edition of Time magazine on the news >stands Monday. >He told the magazine's reporter, who interviewed him in the Colombian rain >forest near the border with Panama, that the AUC, like the leftist >guerrillas whom it is fighting, collects a "tax" on coca paste and on the >drug's transportation in areas which it controls. >Castano denied any formal link with the Colombian military, but said he did >have contacts with the lower echelons of the army and police, ties which are >forged from the fact that they have a common enemy in the leftist >guerrillas. >Castano said he wanted to see an end to Colombia's illicit drug economy, and >supported the US-funded drug eradication program. >"When the guerrillas fought for social ideas, we liked them. But when they >got involved with the narcos, they lost their bearings," he told the >reporter. >A Colombian government ombudsman reports that the AUC has killed more than >794 people so far this year, most of them small farmers, Time noted. >Castano in the interview described how his death squads were usually led >into a village by a defector or collaborator who would identify for them >someone suspected of working with the leftist guerrillas of the >Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) or the smaller National >Liberation Army (ELN). >"Do innocent people get killed in this war? Yes they do, but they're a >minority," he said. >In the past month, AUC forces have pushed deep into the southern province of >Putumayo, challenging the FARC's dominance over 150,000 acres of coca >plantations, the magazine reported. >Peace talks between the FARC and the government had been due to resume on >November 14, but were postponed. Some commentators in Bogota said the FARC >leadership cancelled the resumption of talks in anger at a November 6 >meeting between Interior Minister Humberto de la Calle and the AUC's >Castano. >Copyright 2000 Agence France Presse >________________________________________________________________ > >Nov 19, 2000, Associated Press >1,700 Arrested at School of the Americas Protest >By Elliott Minor Writer >COLUMBUS, Ga. (AP) - Police arrested 1,700 protesters who had marched into >Fort Benning on Sunday demanding the closing of the Army's School of the >Americas, a training center for Latin American soldiers. >About twice that number, including actor Martin Sheen, had entered the >west-central Georgia post, chanting and carrying cardboard coffins and >crosses, while others continued the protest outside the gates. >The demonstrations have been spearheaded for 11 years by Roy Bourgeois, a >Catholic priest who served in Bolivia. Bourgeois blames the school for human >rights abuses committed by some of the school's former students. >Army officials termed the charge absurd. >"I'd characterize it as false and as propaganda," Maj. Gen. John LeMoyne, >the post commander, said at a news conference Sunday. "Roy's thesis is based >on emotion and falsehood." >Wearing plastic parkas, many of the protesters shivered in near-freezing >temperatures and occasional rain as they marched to a point where they were >halted by military and civilian police. >Police officials estimated 6,500 people gathered outside the gate for the >protest, about half the number that appeared last year. The group School of >Americas Watch organizes the demonstrations each year near the anniversary >of the Nov. 16, 1989, killings in El Salvador of six Jesuit priests. A >United Nations panel found 19 Salvadoran officers involved in the slayings >had been trained at the school, the group said. >Col. G.T. Myers, Fort Benning's provost marshal, said most of the protesters >arrested Sunday were charged with trespassing, given a warning and released. >Some who poured fake blood on the street were charged with damaging >government property, he said. A few of those charged may be prosecuted by >the U.S. attorney's office, Myers said. >Sheen, who plays the nation's president in the television show West Wing, >was arrested, Myers said, but the colonel said he did not know what laws the >actor was accused of breaking. Sheen has joined the protests for the past >three years. >All those arrested were given letters barring them from visiting Fort >Benning for five years. Those barred from the post who are charged with >trespassing there again within that period could be subject to a year in >prison. >Bougeois and Sheen gave brief pep talks before the march. >"I have a directive I mean to share with you," Sheen said. "To the secretary >of Defense: Dear Mr. Cohen, as the acting president of the United States, I >want you to declare the School of the Americas closed." >The School of the Americas is scheduled to close on Dec. 15 and be replaced >by the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation. The new school >will be run by the Defense Department, under guiding principles of the >Organization of American States. Bourgeois has said the name change is just >cosmetic and his group will continue to protest against the school. >Shortly after Sheen's speech Sunday, he joined a procession that marched >slowly through the post's main gate. At the front of the procession were >demonstrators wearing white death masks, black robes and carrying coffins. >After they had advanced about one-quarter mile, they poured fake blood on >themselves and "died" in the street. Police rushed in to tag them, >photograph them and cart them off on stretchers to waiting buses. >Sister Mary Johnalyn, 68, of West Allis, Wis., said she was photographed, >fingerprinted and given a "ban and bar" letter, meaning she is barred from >Fort Benning for five years. She said she was charged with damaging U.S. >property for spilling fake blood. >"I was a missionary in Mexico and I found those people so loving," she said. >"I don't want them to come up here and learn to be ugly murderers. I'm also >here to honor those who suffered and died." >Processing the large number of demonstrators could take until early Monday, >Myers said. >That wasn't good news for John Dunn, 27, of Cleveland. >Dunn said he drove a charter bus with 50 passengers to Fort Benning and was >expected to drive them back on Sunday night. He joined the demonstration >impulsively. >"I'm taking my chances like everybody else," he said. "It's a little more >chancy for me because if I'm not there to drive them back, I'm in trouble." > > _____ > > >11/28/00 >URGENT ACTION: DEFEND THE DEFENDERS & DEMAND JUSTICE! >On Tuesday, November 28, 2000 a committee made up of 16 Colombian human >rights organizations will publicly launch a truth and reconciliation report >entitled "COLOMBIA: NEVER AGAIN." The report, which painstakingly outlines >human rights abuses committed in Colombia between 1966 and 1998, is similar >to "Never Again" reports in Chile, Guatemala, El Salvador, and South Africa. >One of the main differences between the Colombia report and its predecessors >is that the Colombia report is being launched WHILE THE VIOLENCE CONTINUES >UNABATED! This makes those who participate in the report particularly >vulnerable to brutal reprisals by individuals and groups who do not want the >details of Colombian violence brought to light. In 1998, Guatemalan Bishop >Juan Girardi was assassinated just two days after launching the Guatemalan >"Never Again" report. Colombia Support Network joins human rights activists >around the world in our concern for the immediate safety of Colombian human >rights workers. >THE REPORT According to the Colombia Never Again committee, the report >confirms the use of genocide and "a systematic policy of extermination of >social movements and political opposition" to the Colombian state. Of the >more than 38,000 crimes recorded in the country between 1966- 1998, 99% >remain unpunished. The committee called on the international community to >honestly observe the situation in Colombia, to reject the claims of the >Colombian government that human rights abuses are necessary or justifiable >given the existence of an armed insurgency, and to help the committee >achieve a truth commission with the goals outlined in the report. Those >goals include: o Historical Truth o Right to Justice o Full Compensation of >Victims and their Families o Representation of Victims and their Families o >Public and Open Negotiations o Autonomy and Political Independence of the >Commission o Prevention of Further Crimes o Reconciliation >The 16 organizations responsible for the report are ASFADDES, Colectivo de >Abogados "Jose Alvear Restrepo", Comision Intercongregacional de Justicia y >Paz, Comité de Solidaridad con los Presos Politicos, Comité Permanente por >la Defensa de los Derechos Humanos, Comision Interfranciscana de Justicia, >Paz y Reverencia con la Creacion, Corporacion Sembrar, CREDHOS, Reiniciar, >CODEHSEL, Corporacion Juridica Libertad, CEBS, Corporacion Humanidad >Vigente, Fundacion Manuel Cepeda, ANUC-UR, ANDAS, Misioneros Claretianos de >Colombia. WHAT YOU CAN DO: >o Call on the Colombian government to protect the safety of all members of >the Colombia Never Again project (eg, members of the 16 organizations listed >above). >o Emphasize the Real Danger that members of the Never Again report face. >Human rights workers in Colombia are continually murdered, threatened, and >abused, while their tormenters enjoy impunity.. Remind Colombian officials >of Bishop Girardi's assassination after presenting the findings of the >Guatemala Never Again report. >o Demand that the Colombian government respects the recommendations >contained in the Never Again report and act promptly to put such >recommendations into action. >o Use the findings of the Never Again report to show U.S. officials that the >Colombian government has not lived up to basic human rights stipulations >under international law and should therefore NOT be granted U.S.. support in >the form of more helicopters, weapons, and military training. >SEND APPEALS TO: > Andres Pastrana Arango >Presidente de La Republica >Carrera 8 n. 7-26 >Palacio de Nariño >Santafé de Bogotá Colombia >Phone +57 (1) 284 33 00 >Fax +57 (1) 286 74 34 +57 (1) 286 68 42 >[EMAIL PROTECTED] >Gustavo Bell Lemus >Vice Presidente de la Nación >Consejería Presidencial de Derechos Humanos >Calle 7 No 6-54 Piso 3 >Santafé de Bogotá Colombia >Phone +57 (1) 336-0311 >[EMAIL PROTECTED] >Reinaldo Botero >Director Programa Presidencial de Derechos Humanos y D.I.H. >Calle 7 No. 6-54 Of.217 >Santafe de Bogota Colombia >Phone +57 (1) 336-0311 >[EMAIL PROTECTED] > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > >William Clinton >President of the United States >1600 Pennsylvania Avenue >Washington, DC >Phone +1 (202) 456-1414 >Fax +1 (202) 456-2461 >[EMAIL PROTECTED] >Madeleine Albright >Secretary of State >U.S. Department of State >Washington, DC 20520 >Phone +1 (202) 647-6575 >Fax +1 (202) 647-7120 >[EMAIL PROTECTED] >William Cohen >Secretary of Defense >1000 Defense Pentagon >Washington, DC 20301-1000 >Phone +1 (703) 697-5737 >Your Senators and Representative(s) >Phone Capitol Switchboard: +1 (202) 224-3121 > >To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: >[EMAIL PROTECTED] > > > > >[Non-text portions of this message have been removed] > > >-------------------------- eGroups Sponsor -------------------------~-~> >eLerts >It's Easy. It's Fun. Best of All, it's Free! >http://click.egroups.com/1/9699/0/_/22961/_/975612302/ >---------------------------------------------------------------------_-> > >Knowledge is Power! >Elimination of the exploitation of man by man >http://www.egroups.com/group/pttp/ >POWER TO THE PEOPLE! > >Subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >Unsubscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >Change Delivery Options: >http://www.egroups.com/mygroups > > _______________________________________________________ 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] _______________________________________________________
