----- Original Message ----- From: John Laun <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Wednesday, 27 October 1999 8:34 PM Subject: [passem] Colombia & US Military > 1999.10.27 - Wednesday 27 October - 2 months 4 days to 2000.01.01 > > PLEASE CIRCULATE WIDELY AND POST > > TO COLOMBIA SUPPORT NETWORK MEMBERS, FRIENDS, ALLIES AND > SUPPORTERS > > The Colombia Support Network calls upon its members, friends, > allies and supporters to communicate to their members of Congress > their opposition to the proposed so-called Alianza Act of 1999 > introduced by Republican Senators Michael DeWine of Ohio and Paul > Coverdell of Georgia on October 20, 1999. This $ 1.635 billion > proposed legislation would provide hundreds of millions of > dollars to the Colombian military for training and equipping new > "counterdrug" battallions which, given the bill's identification > of drug traffickers with guerrillas (using the name > "narcoguerrillas) and almost totally overlooking of the very > extensive links between drug-trafficking paramilitaries and > Colombian army units, means counterinsurgency aid. Thus the U.S. > government would shower funds upon military officers and units > which work in tandem with cuthroat, drug trafficking > paramilitaries. Included among the equipment proposed to be sent > to the Colombian armed forces are 15 Blackhawk or comparable > helicopters, Huey upgrade kits, forward-look infrared radar > systems, 6 patrol planes and 14 excess U.S. patrol boats. While > the proposed legislation speaks of support for human rights, it > provides a maximum of just 1% of total security assistance to the > Colombian military for maintaining the use of U.S. assistance by > the Colombian armed forces. > > Refusing to acknowledge the fact that Colombian security forces > are permeated by collaboration with paramilitaries who are > responsible for over 70% of all human rights violations and are > lead drug traffickers, Senator DeWine suggested that the proposed > legislation would help Colombia reduce the flow of illicit drugs > to the United States though U.S. Embassy officials admit cocaine > production in Colombia increased (by 26% it has been reported) in > 1998 despite millions of dollars provided to Colombia last year > for the so-called "War on Drugs". And Senator DeWine suggested > that without the U.S. aid package "one of our largest export > markets in the Western Hemisphere will continue to falter, and a > neighboring democratic government will further erode". DeWine has > shown no connection between the Colombian economy's difficulties > and the $1.6 billion aid package, nor has he recognized that > Colombia is a democracy in name only, an exclusionary society > where 70% of the wealth is controlled by less than 1/3 of the > population and where alternative political movements are not > tolerated, as the killing of over 4,000 Patriotic Union Party > members in the 1980's and 1990's vividly attests. > > Please express your disapproval of the proposed aid package, > which will further militarize Colombia, results in thousands of > additional deaths and many more displaced persons (Colombia > already has 2 million internal refugees), by contacting your > Senators and Representatives to urge them to oppose the > legislation sponsored in the Senate by Senators DeWine and > Coverdell and by Iowa Republican Charles Grassley > > JOHN I. LAUN > President CSN > > Colombia Support Network > P.O. Box 1505 > Madison, WI 53701 > (608) 257-8753 fax (608) 255-6621 > [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.igc.apc.org/csn > ---------------------------------------------------------------- This is the Neither public email list, open for the public and general discussion. To unsubscribe click here Mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Subject=unsubscribe To subscribe click here Mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Subject=subscribe For information on [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.neither.org/lists/public-list.htm For archives http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]
