Hi all,
	 Just a quick note to everybody about how you can easily,
relatively speaking, catch up on a discussion, or the background on a
topic, or the basis for an argument that is pretty far developed. You
go to the eGroups home page for this list. Or you sign in at eGroups,
and all of the eGroups you subscribe to, will be listed as links.
Click on the link for a list, and you go to the home page for that
list.

* You can read the description of the list. You can bookmark it if you desire.

* You can unsubscribe or change whether you get individual messages,
a daily digest, or no mail to you at all.

* And you can look at the cumulative archives for these lists. On a
couple of lists, you have to be subscribed to that list to see the
archives for it. But for most of them you can go to, for example, the
Earth First! Alert home page at
http://www.egroups.com/group/earthfirstalert  and scroll back through
the archives or pick up at a date or thread where you left off. You
select what you read by clicking on links, so they should change
color when you've read one.

* You can also use key words to search for topics within the archive.

	 So there's no need to get burnt out on the volume of it all.
It's easy to catch up when you need to. Go out and take a breath of
fresh air if you can...

Andy

PS Here are the links for all of the home pages sponsored by Hayduke Rocks!

Earth First! Alert  http://www.egroups.com/group/earthfirstalert
Earth First! Biotech  http://www.egroups.com/group/earthfirstbiotech
Earth First! Talk  http://www.egroups.com/group/eftalk
Julia Butterfly Net  http://www.egroups.com/group/juliabutterflynet
Judi Bari bombing  http://www.egroups.com/group/baribomb
Colombia Vigil  http://www.egroups.com/group/colombiavigil
Climate Crisis Action  http://www.egroups.com/group/climatecrisisaction
Climate Activist  http://www.egroups.com/group/climateactivist
Sea Mammals  http://www.egroups.com/group/seamam

And brand new!!! Earth First! Extremist, where red necks, loggers and
wise abuse advocates take on tree huggers and pet lovers. Let the
gauntlets be thrown down! May no punches be pulled. Let clarity and
good arguments prevail. may the most humane and biocentrically just
arguments prevail in the court of public discourse!
http://www.egroups.com/group/efextreme
For Peace with the Earth,
Andy Caffrey
Hayduke Rocks!


** EARTH DAY 2001 IN DETROIT** Mark your calendar!!
NO MORE SUVS!  No More Cars built with less than 70mpg - RETOOL NOW!
First International Day of Outrage Against Climate Destabilization
Evil flourishes when good people do nothing
_____________________________________________________________________
Another list provided to you by Hayduke Rocks! an, Earth First! Media
and Action Network
http://www.efmedia.org
hayduke@...

Check out our other lists by visiting the Hayduke Rocks! list sign-up page at
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Judi Bari Bombing  * Julia Butterfly Net * Climate Activist * Sea Mammals


Please support these projects. Money, zip disks, cassettes and blank
VHS tape really is needed. Please send to:
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________________________________________________________
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Crackdown on Colombia
                             By Nancy Dunne
                             Published: August 30 2000 14:35GMT | Last
Updated: August 30 2000 14:41GMT
                                                   The drug pusher on a
street corner in New York City's
                                                   Greenwich Village
had apparently been sampling his
                                                   own merchandise. A
well-dressed young man with a
                                                   jittery air and wild
theories, he was openly peddling little
                                                   packets to drive-by customers.

                                                   "All the drugs
coming into this country today are flown in
                                                   on Air Force One,"
he insisted, blaming the US
                                                   government for
America's drug plague. There are
                                                   others who blame the
government for the drug problem
                             - but their criticisms, coming from the
right and the left of the political spectrum,
                             are about misguided spending and mistaken policies.

                             One of Washington's most controversial
anti-drug efforts is a new $1.3bn
                             package of military and humanitarian
assistance for Colombia, the world's
                             largest producer and distributor of
cocaine and a "significant supplier" of heroin,
                             according to the US government. The aid
package has received strong support
                             from many business interests with stakes
either in Colombia or in supplying
                             equipment to fight the drug war.

                             Ivan Eland of the libertarian Cato
Institute in Washington and Adam Isacson of
                             the liberal Center for International
Policy have studied US assistance for
                             Colombia's anti-drug effort. They say
Washington's policies are inadvertently
                             fuelling corruption in Latin America and
insurgency in Colombia.

                             Mr Eland says that as long as drugs remain
illegal and the US crackdown
                             stringent, the prices and profits of the
trade remain high. This provides cash to
                             buy off police, prosecutors, judges and
customs officers, creating an
                             environment of corruption which further
encourages insurgencies.

                             Mr Isacson says increasing aid to the
military risks radicalising hardliners in the
                             Colombian army and among the guerrillas,
escalating the conflict and delaying a
                             settlement.

                             The military push, they warn, could be
futile. "Here in the US we haven't been very
                             successful with our own policies," said Mr
Isacson. "But we're trying to impose
                             them on other countries whose societies
are very complex and diverse."

                             US anti-trafficking aid to Colombia has
steadily expanded - from $65m in 1996 to
                             $300m in 2000. With US funding and
technical assistance, Colombia last year
                             aerially sprayed 42,000 hectares of coca
and more than 8,000 hectares of opium
                             poppies. Even so, coca output rose in
southern Colombia after eradication
                             programmes in Bolivia and Peru depressed
production there.

                             In the US as well as Colombia, addiction
to heroin and cocaine and their
                             proceeds has fed violence and despair.
While 50,000 Americans die each year
                             in drug-related incidents, many more
Colombians are injured, killed or forced to
                             flee the country because of the trade.

                             The centerpiece of the US contribution to
"Plan Colombia", as the administration
                             of Andres Pastrana, the Colombian
president, calls its anti-drugs drive, is the
                             creation of three 950-man
"counter-narcotics battalions" within the Colombian
                             Army. The battalions would push into the
new coca-growing areas of southern
                             Colombia and destroy the crop and
factories. US aid is also intended to intensify
                             drug eradication, prevent shipments and
provide crucial helicopter support.

                             "If we are ever to have a chance to
succeed, this is it," said a US State
                             Department official.

                             The new US aid package came after
Colombian officials convinced both the
                             administration and Congress that drug
production would escalate and
                             Colombia's economy and democracy would
founder without international help.
                             That message was shaped and amplified by
business lobbyists. Defence
                             contractors and oil companies provided
most of the push for the aid package,
                             backed by companies with stakes in Colombia.

                             United Technologies, with a factory
coincidentally in the home state of Senator
                             Christopher Dodd, who pushed for the aid
package, will reap $234m from the
                             sale of 18 Sikorsky Black Hawk helicopters
used to combat drugs. Textron of
                             Texas will get $2m each for the upgrade of
42 old Huey choppers.

                             Lockheed Martin, according to published
reports, helped convince the
                             administration to back the package by
sponsoring a poll which showed that
                             Democrats lagged behind Republicans in
public perception in being "tough on
                             drugs". The defence manufacturer is to
gain a $68m contract for early-warning
                             radar systems.

                             Drug addiction, guerilla war and
kidnappings are bad for business, particularly
                             the oil business. Colombia's oil reserves
are a key strategic concern for the US,
                             as well as an investment companies cannot
easily abandon. The 480-mile
                             Limon Covenas pipeline was bombed by
guerillas 79 times in 1999.

                             The US Colombia Business Partnership,
which includes Occidental Petroleum,
                             Texaco and BP as well as Caterpillar,
Bechtel and Pfizer, has told Washington
                             that "important existing and future
business opportunities for US firms" are
                             threatened by narcotics trafficking, a
spokesman said.

                             "The oil companies have been the leading
proponents of Plan Colombia and the
                             lead funders of the US Colombia Business
Partnership," said Carwil James, a
                             researcher for Project Underground, a
human rights and natural resources
                             group. "There's a tight relationship
between the military and the oil companies in
                             the south."

                             The partnership said Colombia badly needed
investment in oil exploration or it
                             would become a net importer by 2005. The
US also needs Colombia, its
                             seventh-largest supplier of oil.

                             Other companies that stand to benefit from
Washington's anti-drug drive in
                             Colombia include Military Professional
Resources Inc and Dyncorp in Virginia,
                             which essentially provide mercenaries -
many of them former soldiers - to
                             assess and train the Colombian military
and police, help maintain aircraft and
                             spray coca.

                             For all the US preaching about
transparency in business, the State Department
                             has not released the list of contracts
given to private companies in connection
                             with Plan Colombia. However, a senior US
official acknowledged paying
                             Dyncorps $35m last year for various
related services.

                             US companies will also gain from $331m in
funds to develop democratic
                             institutions, non-narcotics farming and
aid for displaced people. Although Latin
                             American non-governmental organisations
will get funding, US companies will
                             get most of the money, an aid official
said. "Our preference is to buy American."



END FWD

--------------------------------------------------------------------
-----------------------
NOTE: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material is
distributed without profit or payment to those who have expressed a prior
interest in receiving this information for non-profit research and
educational purposes only. For more information go to:
http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml
-----------------------
--------------------------------------------------------------------


** EARTH DAY 2001 IN DETROIT** Mark your calendar!!
NO MORE SUVS!  No More Cars built with less than 70mpg - RETOOL NOW!
First International Day of Outrage Against Climate Destabilization
Evil flourishes when good people do nothing
_____________________________________________________________________
Brought to you by Hayduke Rocks! an, Earth First! Media and Action Network
http://www.efmedia.org
hayduke@...

Check out our news & discussion lists by visiting the Hayduke Rocks!
list sign-up page at
http://www.efmedia.org/elists.html

EF! Alert * EF! Biotech * Climate Crisis Action * Colombia Vigil * EF! Talk
Judi Bari Bombing  * Julia Butterfly Net * Climate Activist * Sea Mammals


Please support these projects. Money, zip disks, cassettes and blank
VHS tape really is needed. Please send to:
Earth First!
P.O. Box 324
Redway, CA 95560

Thanks!



________________________________________________________
                            1stUp.com - Free the Web
    Get your free Internet access at http://www.1stUp.com

This is a communication from the Trade Directorate-General of the
European Commission.

Attention:  Mr. Andy  CAFFREY
              Director
              Climate Action NOW!
              USA
      Email:  climate@...

The importance of Vieques and our fight to stop the US Navy from using our
island as a target practice area to the situation in Colombia.


The next maneuvers scheduled for Vieques have a tentative commencement date
of October 1, 2000.  They are joint maneuvers of the US Navy with several
Latin American Navys.  During the past 50 years the custom has been for the
US Navy to practice their actions on Vieques and its adjacent waters first
and then carry them out.  This was the case for part of the 1961 Bay of Pigs
(Giron), Graneda, Panama, Gulf War, Kosovo etc. If the US Navy participates
in anything dealing with Colombia this will be the case also.

For almost a year through civil disobedience actions of taking over or
trespassing on the Vieques firing range on the eastern tip of the island we
prevented the US Navy from using it to practice war on our brothers and
sisters.  On May 4, 2000 our people were ousted and since then we have been
going into the firing range in acts of civil disobedience.  We have only been
able to curtail the Navy maneuvers since May.  In October for these new
maneuvers we will start trespassing again.

***************************
*   FREE LORI BERENSON!   *
* http://www.freelori.org *
***************************

Lindasusan Ulrich wrote:
-------

    Hopefully by now you've all heard the great news:
the Supreme Military Council in Peru nullified Lori
Berenson's life sentence.

    The government of Peru has admitted that it made a
mistake, that Lori Berenson was never a leader of a
terrorist group, that she should not have been tried
by a military tribunal, that she was not guilty of
treason to the fatherland, and, therefore, her life
sentence was nullified.

    But she is still far from free -- there's talk of a
civilian trial, though all the charges have been
dismissed and she continues serving time for no
reason.  And if there is a new trial, there is good
reason to believe that it cannot be fair, given
the state of the Peruvian judicial system and the
biased coverage of her case over the last 4 years and
9 months. We must continue to pressure the U.S.
government to bring Lori home.

HOW YOU CAN HELP
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1) Write a letter to the editor.
Some highlights you might want to include:
- The Peruvian government admitted it made a mistake.
- The recent developments are a great first step,
but Lori still cannot receive a fair trial in Peru.
According to the US State Dept.'s Human Rights Report,
"Proceedings...for terrorism in civilian courts do not
meet internationally accepted standards
of openness, fairness, and due process."
- In the recent session of Congress, 222
Representatives and 43 Senators demanded Lori's
release.
- High members of the Peruvian government, including
President Fujimori, have made prejudicial statements
against Lori in the press, whereas she has never been
able to defend herself publicly.
- Her health is severely impaired, and she should be
released immediately.

2) Keep clippings of any articles, letters, etc. that
you see in local newspapers and send copies to the
national office:

The Committee to Free Lori Berenson
110 Maryland Avenue, NE Suite 102
Washington DC 20002

3) Call your Representatives and Senators and ask
them to step up the pressure on President Clinton. If
they signed the recent Dear Collegue letter (see
http://www.freelori.org to find out), thank them for
their support and ask if they'll write a personal note
or make a call, reminding Clinton of their support
for Lori. If they didn't sign, ask them to contact
Clinton and show their support now that she has been
vindicated.

4) Distribute this email and ask friends all over
the country to help.

    For more information, including her parents'
statement to the press, visit http://www.freelori.org

Thanks,
Lindasusan Ulrich

=====
"To be silent in the face of injustice is to be an accomplice to
evil. I will not be silent." -- Lori Berenson, January 2000. (Lori
Berenson is a young American woman imprisoned for life in Peru).
Info: http://www.freelori.org


_____________________________________________________________________

** EARTH DAY 2001 IN DETROIT** Mark your calendar!!
NO MORE SUVS!  No More Cars built with less than 70mpg - RETOOL NOW!
First International Day of Outrage Against Climate Destabilization
Evil flourishes when good people do nothing
_____________________________________________________________________
Brought to you by Hayduke Rocks! an, Earth First! Media and Action Network
http://www.efmedia.org
hayduke@...

Check out our news & discussion lists by visiting the Hayduke Rocks!
list sign-up page at
http://www.efmedia.org/elists.html

EF! Alert * EF! Biotech * Climate Crisis Action * Colombia Vigil * EF! Talk
Judi Bari Bombing  * Julia Butterfly Net * Climate Activist * Sea Mammals


Please support these projects. Money, zip disks, cassettes and blank
VHS tape really is needed. Please send to:
Earth First!
P.O. Box 324
Redway, CA 95560

Thanks!



________________________________________________________
                            1stUp.com - Free the Web
    Get your free Internet access at http://www.1stUp.com

Note the use of the word "Vietnamization" by Venezuelan President
Hugo Chavez.


             New York Times  September 2, 2000

             Latin Leaders Rebuff Call by Clinton on Colombia

             By LARRY ROHTER

             BRASÌLIA, Sept. 1 -- The presidents of South America's 12
             countries today rebuffed President Clinton's appeal, made
             earlier this week, that they endorse a new American-backed
             military and police offensive aimed at drug trafficking and
             guerrilla groups in Colombia.

             In a joint declaration at the end of a two-day summit meeting
             here, the leaders expressed support for efforts by Colombia's
             president, Andrés Pastrana, to negotiate an end to four
             decades of civil conflict there.

             But they pointedly omitted any mention of Mr. Pastrana's plan
             to use military means to weaken the cocaine cartels and the
             left-wing guerrilla and right-wing death squads that are allied
             with them.

             Asked at a news conference about the deepening political and
             military crisis in Colombia, President Ricardo Lagos of Chile
             made the distinction explicit. The presidents fully support
             "the peace process, which implies negotiations," he said, and
             which is therefore "distinct from the problem of narcotics
             trafficking."

             During his visit to Colombia on Wednesday, Mr. Clinton
             urged that country's neighbors to "be strongly supportive of
             President Pastrana and Plan Colombia," a comprehensive $7.5
             billion package whose military component is largely supplied
             by the United States.

             Mr. Clinton acknowledged that increased American aid to
             counter-narcotics operations in Colombia, if successful, was
             likely to "cause the problem to spill over the borders" into
             neighboring countries like Brazil, Ecuador, Peru and
             Venezuela. But he also said the United States was willing to
             provide "a substantial amount of money to help other
             countries deal with those problems at the border when they
             start," an offer that has received no reply.

             Looming over the meeting here was concern at what
             Venezuela's president, Hugo Chávez, described as the threat
             of "the Vietnamization of the entire Amazon region" as a result
             of increased American support for Colombia. From the
             moment he arrived here, Mr. Pastrana sought both to refute
             such notions and to enlist his colleagues in a regional
             counter-narcotics campaign.

             "There is no cause for fear, because after all we are fighting a
             common enemy," he told reporters this morning after a
             meeting with Mr. Chávez. "Drug trafficking is an enemy of
             Brazil, of Colombia, of Peru, of the United States, and so we
             have to work hand in hand."

             Mr. Pastrana's assurances, however, have been greeted with
             skepticism, if not by his fellow regional leaders, then certainly
             in the press and by public opinion across the continent. This
             afternoon, Colombia's foreign minister, Guillermo Fernández
             de Soto, vented his government's frustration in remarks to
             reporters.

             "It is unjust and counterintuitive that Colombia's efforts to
             strengthen itself to fight the threat it faces are the subject of
             complaints when no one criticizes the arms buildup of the
             insurgents," he said.

             "We want cooperation, not unfair criticism."

             But Mr. Chávez, a former Venezuelan Army colonel who has
             often expressed sympathy for the guerrillas, made it clear, in
             terms that several other governments echoed privately, that
             regional cooperation was going to have important
             qualifications. "We support Plan Colombia so long as it does
             not generate combat activities that could complicate our
             situation," he said.

             In other public comments, Mr. Chávez floated the idea of
             organizing what he describes as a South American version of
             the NATO military alliance. But in an interview in August,
             Brazil's foreign minister, Luiz Felipe Lampreia, in effect
             quashed the idea, which would be stillborn without Brazil's
             participation.

             "We haven't exactly had that thought or even discussed it
             within Mercosur," Mr. Lampreia said, referring to the trade
             bloc that Brazil helped to found. "Mercosur is a group whose
             purpose is clearly established, and it does not aspire to be a
             military bloc or alliance."

             The summit meeting here was a Brazilian initiative drawn up
             this year and initially intended to focus on issues of
             economics, trade and infrastructure.

             But the United States' recent decision to provide $1.3 billion in
             emergency aid to Mr. Pastrana, combined with Mr. Clinton's
             visit to Cartagena, Colombia, on Wednesday, forced an
             unexpected reordering of priorities.

             <snip>

             The presidents also approved a so-called democracy clause
             that would expel from their ranks any government that takes
             power through a coup or other nondemocratic means. It was
             signed by all 12 presidents.

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

             New York Times  August 25, 2000

             Neighbors Worry About Colombian Aid

             By CLIFFORD KRAUSS

             BOGOTÁ, Colombia, Aug. 24 -- As President Clinton prepares
             to visit Colombia next week and open the spigot of military
             aid, the country's neighbors are expressing concerns that a
             step-up in the fighting here could push coca growing, drug
             trafficking, refugees and even fighting across their borders.

             The Colombian conflict has already led to guerrilla incursions
             into Panama and Venezuela for safe haven.

             United States military officials warn that one Colombian rebel
             group already exerts influence over Indian dissidents in
             Ecuador, and new Colombian plantings of coca and poppies
             have been reported in Peru.

             But leaders around the region say that the nature of the war is
             about to change with the release of $1.3 billion in new
             American aid over the next two years to train and equip an
             antinarcotics army brigade and that the impact on their nations
             is likely to increase.

             The brigade will be outfitted with 60 helicopters that will
             support police efforts to eradicate the coca fields and shut
             down trafficking operations in two southern Colombian
             provinces largely controlled by the Revolutionary Armed
             Forces of Colombia, or FARC, the biggest rebel faction.

             Whether or not the rebels stand and fight to support the coca
             growers and traffickers, whose protection money finances
             their war effort, tens of thousands of coca growers are likely to
             move far and wide, taking their seedlings and guerrilla
             protection with them.

             That was the message Secretary of State Madeleine K. Albright
             heard from nervous Ecuadorean and Brazilian leaders on her
             trip through South America last week. It was repeated when
             Ecuador's President, Gustavo Noboa, came to Bogotá on
             Wednesday to ask President Andrés Pastrana that his
             government be kept informed of all military operations in
             southern Colombia so the Ecuadorean Army could prepare for
             any incursions of coca growers, refugees or guerrillas across
             its frontier.

             "Our worry is that the removal of this cancerous tumor will
             cause it to metastasize into Ecuador," Ecuador's foreign
             minister, Heinz Moeller, told Colombian reporters on
             Wednesday. He noted that successful efforts by Peru and
             Bolivia to eradicate coca plantings in recent years encouraged
             more cultivation in Colombia, worsening this country's drug
             problem while having little impact on world cocaine supplies.

             United States officials call it the "balloon effect," when they
             succeed in attacking drug activity in one country or region,
             only to see it pop up again in some other place. They note that
             when the Central Intelligence Agency and the Drug
             Enforcement Administration succeeded in helping the police
             in Colombia arrest the leaders of the Cali drug cartel several
             years ago, other organizations emerged elsewhere in the
             country to take the cartel's place and the flood of drug exports
             continued. These new organizations, weaker then their
             predecessor, sought protection from the Colombian guerrillas
             and have pumped up their powers with large financial
             support.

             Even Peru's president, Alberto K. Fujimori, who took a hard
             line against guerrillas in his country in the early 1990's, told
             reporters this week that he was concerned that an escalation of
             the fighting in Colombia "could generate a wider conflict, one
             in which the FARC retreats into Peruvian territory."

             United States and Colombian officials are trying to assuage
             Latin American leaders, arguing that the new military effort in
             southern Colombia -- which is part of a broader national
             military and humanitarian effort called Plan Colombia -- is an
             attempt to force the FARC to negotiate seriously in peace
             talks, which have stalled in recent months.

             "This is a peace plan, not a war plan," is how Foreign Minister
             Guillermo Fernández de Soto of Colombia characterizes his
             government's new initiative to his regional colleagues.

             Gen. Fernando Tapias, the chief of the Colombian armed
             forces, argued last week that eradicating the coca fields in the
             Putumayo and Caquetá provinces of Colombia would deprive
             the FARC of a source of hundreds of millions of dollars a year,
             and hence its ability to make war.

             "There will be peace, but first there will be war," he said in an
             interview with the Brazilian newspaper Folha de São Paulo.
             "With or without Plan Colombia, things are going to get
             worse."

             On her trip last week, Dr.Albright offered Ecuador $15 million
             to help Colombian refugees. Ecuadorean leaders publicly
             backed Plan Colombia, despite their concerns, but Brazilian
             leaders told her they would not contribute to the program.

             "Brazil does not have the same level of commitment as the
             United States in the program to fight drug trafficking in
             Colombia," said Brazil's foreign minister, Luiz Felipe
             Lampreia.

             Panama, which has not had an army since the United States
             invasion that overthrew Gen. Manuel Noriega in 1989, has
             begun moving hundreds of police officers to the Colombian
             border and has requested $30 million from Washington to
             bolster efforts to defend itself from a growing number of
             border incursions by Colombian guerrillas, drug traffickers
             and coca growers.

             Brazil has also begun to reinforce its long, porous border with
             Colombia, and is buying four French Cougar AS-532
             helicopters to increase the mobility of its border patrols. Peru
             has moved a fleet of MI-17 helicopters from its border with
             Ecuador to its Colombian frontier in recent months. And
             Venezuela, which has long complained of Colombian
             guerrilla incursions, has also beefed up its border guard,
             which now stands at an estimated 25,000 troops.

             Despite such preparations, there have been persistent reports
             that the Colombian guerrillas have established cordial
             relations with President Hugo Chávez of Venezuela, a
             populist who is critical of the United States role in Latin
             American affairs. This week, one of the leading commanders
             of the National Liberation Army, the second largest guerrilla
             group here, announced that his force had reached a formal
             agreement with Venezuela that included a cease-fire along the
             border.

             Venezuela's foreign minister, José Vicente Rangel, denied that
             there was any agreement with the guerrilla group, "whether
             tacit or explicit," though he acknowledged that there had been
             contacts. But Mr. Rangel went on to say that his government's
             concerns about an escalation of the four-decade-old civil
             conflict in Colombia would be vigorously voiced at a meeting
             of Latin American presidents in Brasília on Aug. 31, the day
             after President Clinton's eight-hour trip to Colombia to kick
             off Plan Colombia.

             "There are inevitable and basic fears Venezuela shares with
             other neighboring countries that when this plan is put into
             operation there will be a flood of Colombian refugees moving
             toward the frontier zones," Mr. Rangel told reporters this
             week.

             The new American-supplied and trained antinarcotics brigade
             will not be fully ready for combat until well into 2001. But
             there is already growing evidence that the guerrillas are using
             the remote, permeable borders of Colombia's neighbors to
             wage their war.

             President Fujimori announced this week that Peruvian
             intelligence had uncovered an international arms ring that had
             trafficked 10,000 Russian assault rifles from Jordan through
             Peru and across the Colombian border to FARC units. Mr.
             Fujimori charged that high Jordanian military officials were
             involved in the operation, and among those arrested were two
             Peruvian military officers.

             "We're concerned," Mr. Fujimori said, "that these FARC arms
             shipments are meant to counteract the military support the
             United States is now giving Colombia."
END FWD

--------------------------------------------------------------------
-----------------------
NOTE: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material is
distributed without profit or payment to those who have expressed a prior
interest in receiving this information for non-profit research and
educational purposes only. For more information go to:
http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml
-----------------------
--------------------------------------------------------------------


** EARTH DAY 2001 IN DETROIT** Mark your calendar!!
NO MORE SUVS!  No More Cars built with less than 70mpg - RETOOL NOW!
First International Day of Outrage Against Climate Destabilization
Evil flourishes when good people do nothing
_____________________________________________________________________
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------- Forwarded Message Follows -------
Organization:    University of Minnesota
To:              actioncolombia@egroups.com
From:            Jessica Sundin <sundi008@...>
Date sent:       Wed, 30 Aug 2000 12:01:11 -0500
Send reply to:   actioncolombia-owner@egroups.com
Subject:         [actioncolombia] Protest Bill Clinton's trip
to Colombia; and other
news

             Today's report starts with a list of protest today
                 and tomorrow. Click here to see the news.
      To subscribe to our news & actions list serve, send a message to
                    actioncolombia-subscribe@egroups.com
    ------------------------------------------------------------------------

AUGUST 30 INTERNATIONAL DAY OF PROTEST AGAINST
CLINTON'S TRIP TO COLOMBIA

Today and tomorrow, as U.S. President Bill Clinton travels to Colombia,
demonstrations are taking place around the world to demand an end to the
U.S. war in Colombia. Below are some of the cities where events are taking
place. Please forward!

In the United States
* Atlanta: Contact (770) 989-2356.
* Chicago: Thursday, August 31, Colombian consulate, 500 N. Michigan
Ave., 4:30pm-6:30pm. Contact Colombia Solidarity Committee (773)
378-2515 or chicsc13@....
* New York City: 42nd St. and 6th Ave, 5pm-7pm. Contact Colombia Action
Committee at carolynr@... or the International Action Center at
iacenter@.... * Detroit: Hart Plaza, south side of E. Jefferson,
4:30pm-6:30pm. Contact (313) 831-0750. * Los Angeles: Westwood Federal
Building, Wilshire & Veteran, 5pm. Contact (213) 487-2368 or
npcla@.... * Providence, RI: Providence US Armed Forces
Recruting Center, Westminster St. 4:30pm-5:30pm. Contact (401) 726-4802. *
San Diego: Federal Building, Broadway & Front, 4pm-6pm. Contact (619)
692-4422. * San Francisco: Powell and Market St, 5pm. Contact (415)
821-6545 or iac@.... * Palm Beach Gardens, FL: Prosperity Farms
Rd and PGA Blvd at 4:00pm. Contact Reality News Network at
Realitynews@...

Outside the United States
* Brussels: Contact Centre International, centrinter@....
* Buenos Aires: Contact emancipa@....
* Montreal: Contact Action Committee in Defense of Colombian People,
(416) 466-1219.
* Rome: U.S. Embassy, Via Veneto, 5pm. Contact Comitato di Solidariete Con
i popoli del LatinoAmerica "Carlos Fonseca" fonsecafonseca@... or
Campo Antiimperialista colombiapeace@.... * Stockholm:
Sergels torg, 5pm-6pm. Contact Asociacion Jaime Pardo Leal,
ajpl@.... * Toronto: U.S. Consulate, 360 University Ave., 6pm.
Contact Action Committee in Defense of Colombian People, (416) 466-1219. *
Vienna: Contact Corriente leninista internacional, ilc@.... * Beirut
* across Colombia and Latin America.

Good luck in your actions today! Please send us reports and photos of the
protests in your area, and we'll post them on our website.
                                       - Colombia Action Network
    ------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                    News
*1* INJUSTICE AND INEQUALITY THE REAL CAUSE OF VIOLENCE IN
COLOMBIA
*2* Clinton in Colombia: The Ugly American
*3* Colombian Rebels Set for Drug Fight

    ------------------------------------------------------------------------

8/28/00, Radio Habana Cuba, NY Transfer News.
Viewpoint: INJUSTICE AND INEQUALITY THE REAL CAUSE
OF VIOLENCE IN COLOMBIA

The search for peace in Colombia is a goal that is shared by the entire
international community, and especially the nations of Latin America. In
more than a half a century of violence, some 1.7 million Colombians have
died and some 2 million have fled their homes, making Colombia among the
most dangerous places in the world. But though Colombia's internal war is
given wide coverage in the press, common crimes actually take more lives.
According to a recent police investigation, every 20 minutes a murder is
committed in Colombia, every 15 minutes there is a robbery and every three
hours a kidnapping is reported. The report cites intolerance, the tendency
to solve problems with violence and social breakdown as the principal
factors in creating this horrifying situation. Also mentioned in the
police study is fighting among criminals, the excessive numbers of weapons
in the hands of civilians and the high rate of drug and alcohol
consumption.

Since he took power two years ago, Colombian president, Andres Pastrana,
has promised to bring peace to the country and to give the people a better
standard of living. Those promises now have a hollow ring. An end to the
armed conflict is not yet on the horizon, and peace talks are immersed in
a sea of uncertainty and obstacles. Of most concern at the moment is
growing evidence of interference by the United States, which appears
intent on increasing its military and logistic presence in Colombia. On
Wednesday, US president Bill Clinton will visit Cartegena de Indias to
advance the so-called "Colombia Plan". According to the Colombian
government the plan will help to pull the country out of the hell in which
it is living, but insurgent leaders warn that the effect will be just the
opposite causing a possible internationalization of the war.

Many political analysts have expressed concern that the injection of the
more than a billion dollars which Washington has promised, mostly in
military hardware, will intensify the fighting even more prompting it to
spill over into neighboring countries.  Peru's president Alberto Fujimori
has already warned of the dangers the plan could cause to the Andean
region. Nor does it bode well that the US has stated that it considers
Colombia's guerrillas to be "terrorist bands" tied to drug trafficking, a
characterization that makes the country susceptible to a military invasion
upon a Washington whim. What Colombia really needs is to eradicate the
true causes of violence which are social inequalities, unequal
distribution of wealth and injustice, exacerbated by a global neoliberal
economic model imposed by the United States.

    ------------------------------------------------------------------------


Aug 30, 2000, Knight-Ridder/Tribune Media Services

Clinton in Colombia: The Ugly American
by Mark Weisbrot,

When President Clinton announced his trip to Colombia, he said  his
purpose was "to seek peace, to fight illicit drugs, to build  its
economy, and to deepen democracy."

Nothing could be further from the truth.

The Clinton administration seeks not peace but rather a military
solution to the 40-year old civil war in Colombia.  About three
-quarters of its record-breaking aid package to Colombia is for  the
military and police. Like Presidents Kennedy and Johnson in  Vietnam, Mr.
Clinton is convinced that superior firepower can  destroy a deeply
entrenched, armed insurgency.

If this requires the continuing murder of 3000 civilians each  year, or
creating 300,000 refugees annually, that is a price  that Mr. Clinton is
willing to pay.

The term "human rights abuse" is a euphemism-- let's be honest  about what
our tax dollars are paying for in Colombia. "They  drank and danced and
cheered as they butchered us like hogs,"  reports a survivor of a recent
massacre described in the New  York Times. He was describing the slaughter
of 36 people in the  town of El Salado, by 300 paramilitary troops in
February. The  troops began bringing their victims to the town square on a
   Friday, and according to the Times, "ordered liquor and music,  and then
embarked on a  calculated rampage of torture, rape and killing" that
lasted until Sunday. The victims included a 6-year  old girl and an
elderly woman.

The Colombian army stood by a few miles away, setting up road blocks
that prevented human rights and rescue workers from  trying to help the
villagers.

Last month another mass killing of six people took place in  northwest
Colombia while an army helicopter hovered overhead  and soldiers were on
patrol nearby.

Nonetheless, President Clinton has now waived most of the human  rights
conditions that Congress attached to his military aid  package, making it
clear that these types of massacres would  not affect US policy.

This war is not about "illicit drugs," and it never has been.  According
to our own Drug Enforcement Agency, there is drug- related corruption in
all branches of the Colombian government,  including its armed forces,
which are now the third largest  recipient of US military aid in the world
(after Israel and  Egypt). The paramilitary death squads, which are
closely linked  to the Colombian military and-- according to human rights
groups-- responsible for the vast majority of political murders,  are up
to their necks in drug trafficking. Their leader recently  admitted in a
TV interview that 70 percent of their funding was  from the drug trade.
But our tax dollars will not be used to go after them.

Our money for Colombia will not help "build its economy," which  is
suffering through its worst recession in more than half a  century. More
than a fifth of the labor force is unemployed,  and millions of peasants
have no marketable alternatives to  growing coca if they are to survive.
Poisoning their land,  rivers and other crops with aerial spraying of
herbicides only  adds further injury and more recruits for the armed
conflict.

The same is true for the budget austerity ordered by the International
Monetary Fund: with Washington's backing, these policies are likely to
worsen the recession and increase unemployment in Colombia.

Widening the war will not "deepen democracy," but will further  destroy
what little is left of it. By giving the Colombian  government and armed
forces another enormous blank check, the  Clinton administration simply
encourages more massacres as well  as impunity for the perpetrators. There
is no reason for Colombian  officials to make the necessary concessions to
negotiate an end to  the conflict if they know they have unlimited support
for war,  including massacres of civilians.

The guerrilla groups are understandably wary of a situation in  which they
have no guarantees that they or their supporters could  survive without
their own armed forces. Their last attempt, in the mid-eighties, to put
down their arms and participate in elections  was met with the slaughter
of thousands of their supporters as  well as candidates.

Meanwhile, 37 human rights and other non-governmental organizations  in
Colombia have stated that they will not accept any funds from  "Plan
Colombia," the program that our massive aid package-- $1.3  billion, with
$860 million for Colombia-- is partially funding. And  neighboring states
-- including Ecuador and Peru -- are beginning  to worry that continued
escalation of the war will spill over into  their territories.

We can only hope that the backlash against the Administration's  pursuit
of a violent solution to Colombia's civil war will continue  to grow. When
Colombia's fate is left to the Colombians, then there  will be a chance
"to seek peace, build the economy, and deepen  democracy."

Mark Weisbrot is co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy
Research in Washington, DC. www.cepr.net

    ------------------------------------------------------------------------

8/29/00, Associated Press

Colombian Rebels Set for Drug Fight
by JARED KOTLER

PENAS COLORADAS, Colombia (AP) -- Their fuselages flashing in the sun, two
airplanes lazily circled over fields of coca, ready to dump a load of
herbicides onto the robust, green bushes used to make cocaine. Rebels
waited below.

Crouching behind fences, tree stumps and the coca itself, fighters from
the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, opened up on the two
Vietnam-era planes with M-16 and Galil assault rifles, the crackle of
automatic weapons fire splitting the afternoon silence.

During the action Friday, witnessed by an Associated Press team
accompanying the rebels through the coca fields near the southern
village of Penas Coloradas, neither of the U.S.-made OV-10 airplanes was
shot down. But the camouflage-clad leftist guerrillas considered it a
victory: The unprotected aircraft veered off without releasing their
cargo.

President Clinton's visit to Colombia on Wednesday and a $1.3 billion U.S.
aid package aim to drive the rebels from the drug fields. Under the plan,
60 U.S. combat helicopters will escort fumigation planes and ferry
U.S.-trained anti-narcotics troops into drug-producing plantations that
cover vast areas of southern Colombia.

FARC rebels, as well as a rival right-wing paramilitary group, protect the
crops of coca and poppy, from which heroin is made. The rebels have vowed
to fight the anti-drug offensive.

Critics contend the so-called Push into Southern Colombia, expected to get
into full swing next year, will derail fledgling peace talks and draw the
United States directly into Colombia's 36-year-old guerrilla war.

U.S. officials insist their only interest is in fighting drugs but
express growing concern about the 15,000-strong FARC, which has used
proceeds from the drug trade to better arm itself and to dominate a
large part of the countryside.

FARC commander Alfonso Cano called the planned offensive a veiled
counterinsurgency plan and a symbol of President Andres Pastrana's
subservience to Washington.

''The United States needs an excuse to continue to play the role of the
world's policeman, and now that excuse is (fighting) drug trafficking,''
said the bearded rebel leader in an interview in San Vicente del Caguan, a
town a four-hour riverboat ride north of Penas Coloradas.

Nationwide, many Colombians support the anti-drug push. But in
Colombia's coca-growing regions, hundreds of thousands of poor coca
farmers, itinerant harvesters and small-time merchants do not.

In Penas Coloradas, a grimy settlement on the brown and windy Caguan
River, 280 miles from the capital Bogota, coca is the economy's driving
force and the FARC the only law and order. The rebels take their cut of
the cocaine production process while serving as a de facto government.
Liquor sales are forbidden between Monday and Friday. Theft and
drunkenness are punished. Prostitutes at the town's Great Saigon bar must
take AIDS tests.

Before the fumigation planes made their abortive spraying attempt, the
local rebel commander -- known as Herley -- said the coming offensive will
provide the FARC with an ample recruiting base among farmhands who could
lose their livelihoods as a result.

''How many enemies are created when you take away the food from
someone's children'' the rebel, a 22-year FARC veteran with long, soiled
fingernails and a bloodshot glare, asked as he strode through the coca
fields.

Later, as the fumigation planes flew overhead, he rested the barrel of his
rifle on a tree stump, aimed at the aircraft, and carefully squeezed off a
few rounds.

For the farmers in Penas Coloradas, as in much of the rest of
impoverished, rural Colombia, there are few viable alternatives to
making a living than growing coca. They are skeptical of government
pledges that the anti-drug offensive will be accompanied by loans and
other assistance to help them grow legal crops.

''The government doesn't even know we exist,'' fumed Miguel Hernandez,
whose four-acre coca plot was fumigated two times last week, wilting
banana trees mixed in with the coca.

Only about a tenth of the U.S. aid plan would provide funds for
alternative development projects.

While the cocaine trade nets huge profits for those further up the
international drug chain, the small-time farmers who grow coca near
Penas Coloradas make very little.

Jose, a farmer who turned to coca four years ago after working for years
as a migrant coffee picker, said he earns only about $375 a month in
profits off his 12* acres of coca. He didn't give his last name for fear
of having problems with the law.

Standing in a wooden shack at a bend in the Caguan River, he intently
watched local men commissioned by drug cartels test the purity of his
football-sized bag of ''coca base'' -- a semi-processed form of cocaine.
One of the men then handed Jose a wad of cash.

''It's not honorable work,'' Jose said sheepishly. ''But here in
Colombia we have to eat however we can.''
    ------------------------------------------------------------------------

_____________________________________________________________________

** EARTH DAY 2001 IN DETROIT** Mark your calendar!!
NO MORE SUVS!  No More Cars built with less than 70mpg - RETOOL NOW!
First International Day of Outrage Against Climate Destabilization
Evil flourishes when good people do nothing
_____________________________________________________________________
Brought to you by Hayduke Rocks! an, Earth First! Media and Action Network
http://www.efmedia.org
hayduke@...

Check out our news & discussion lists by visiting the Hayduke Rocks!
list sign-up page at
http://www.efmedia.org/elists.html

EF! Alert * EF! Biotech * Climate Crisis Action * Colombia Vigil * EF! Talk
Judi Bari Bombing  * Julia Butterfly Net * Climate Activist * Sea Mammals


Please support these projects. Money, zip disks, cassettes and blank
VHS tape really is needed. Please send to:
Earth First!
P.O. Box 324
Redway, CA 95560

Thanks!



________________________________________________________
                            1stUp.com - Free the Web
    Get your free Internet access at http://www.1stUp.com

------- Forwarded Message Follows -------
Organization:    University of Minnesota
To:              actioncolombia@egroups.com
From:            Jessica Sundin <sundi008@...>
Date sent:       Fri, 01 Sep 2000 10:42:58 -0500
Send reply to:   actioncolombia-owner@egroups.com
Subject:         [actioncolombia] Colombia News 9/1/00

* check out our website at www.freespeech.org/actioncolombia
* to subscribe to this list, send a message to
actioncolombia-subscribe@egroups.com
    ------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Human rights: a casualty of Colombia's drug war
2. COMMENTARY: The Colombia quagmire
3. Rights groups assail U.S. aid to Colombia
4. Colombia, U.S. Ready To Launch Drug War Critics
      Fear For Region's Stability
5. Human Rights the Priority for Clinton Trip to Colombia
6. Anti-drugs plan threatens Colombian peasants
    ------------------------------------------------------------------------

CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR, Friday, 1 September 2000

Human rights: a casualty of Colombia's drug war
By Howard LaFranchi

CARTAGENA, Colombia -- All Dora Isabel Camacho Serpa wanted was the
"quiet miracle of a normal life."

Instead, the midwife and neighborhood leader was pulled from her
family's modest home in the northern coastal town of Cienaga by
paramilitary gunmen Monday, police officials say. Her husband and
children found her in a nearby ditch, shot in the back of the head.

Nine other residents of her poor neighborhood suffered the same fate in
this country afflicted with staggering abuse of human rights.

Visiting this Caribbean city Wednesday, President Clinton told
Colombians in a televised address that a substantial increase in US
assistance - which will make this South American country the third-
largest recipient of US aid after Israel and Egypt - had been approved in
a spirit of solidarity. The $ 1.3 billion in new aid to help fight a drug
war and bolster a "democracy under attack" is a lifeline, he said, to
Colombians demanding peace, justice, and "the quiet miracle of a normal
life."

But what he did not say was most telling: To make Colombia eligible for
aid, Clinton overrode, "for national security reasons," six human rights
conditions that the Senate had attached to the aid bill. The conditions
were included by the Senate to bolster flagging support among members wary
of Colombia's human rights record. But in an election year, when no one
wants to appear soft on drugs, little congressional protest was heard when
Clinton bypassed the State Department's determination that Colombia's
human rights record could not be "certified."

"The official discourse is fully compatible with international human
rights concerns," says Jos Miguel Vivanco, director of the Americas
Division of Human Rights Watch in Washington. "But the gap between that
language and reality is huge."

At least seven civilians died in leftist guerrilla attacks on various
towns during the few hours Clinton was in Colombia. Last year, more than
2,500 abductions made Colombia the world's kidnapping capital. Nearly 2
million people have been displaced by the civil war. Executions like those
this week in Cienaga are common.

But human rights leaders say the worst problem Colombia faces is
longstanding, increasing collusion between units of the country's armed
forces and paramilitary organizations. With Colombia facing heightened
scrutiny over human rights violations, the armed forces are acting to keep
their record clean - but in some cases by simply contracting out their
dirty work, critics say.

"Often the information available to us shows a clear case of criminal
omission on the part of military brigades," Mr. Vivanco says.  Sometimes
evidence indicates that an Army unit actually supplied logistical support,
or allowed the paramilitaries free transit in Army-patrolled areas. "But
the standard practice is simply to look the other way when the
paramilitaries are in action," he says.

At a press conference Wednesday, Colombian President Andrs Pastrana
recognized the serious state of human rights in Colombia, and noted that
he had assigned the country's vice president to oversee human rights
issues. Clinton said the two leaders discussed "efforts to punish all
violators" of human rights, and especially Pastrana's efforts to hold
violators among law-enforcement bodies accountable.

Last February, Human Rights Watch issued a scathing report documenting
links between three Army brigades and paramilitaries.  In response,
Pastrana named a special commission to investigate paramilitary
activities. Says Vivanco: "That commission hasn't met a single time."

Human rights groups say nothing will change until the international
community demands action.

"The waiver sends exactly the wrong message to all levels of the
Colombian military," says Bruce Bagley, a Colombia expert at the
University of Miami. "Basically, it says, go ahead as you always have."

          Copyright 2000 The Christian Science Publishing Society


    ------------------------------------------------------------------------
UNITED PRESS INTERNATIONAL, Thursday, 31 August 2000

COMMENTARY: The Colombia quagmire
By Doug Bandow

"This is not Vietnam," declared Vietnam-era draft evader President Bill
Clinton on his arrival in Colombia.

Alas, while the continents may be different, the conflicts offer eerily
similar potential as quagmires for outside intervention by the U.S.

Colombia has been in crisis for nearly four decades, beset by left-wing
guerrillas, right-wing paramilitaries, and well-funded drug operators.
Like so many Latin American governments, the one in Cartagena has majored
in corruption, economic collectivism, and human rights abuses.

The result has been ugly: poverty, death, fear, and cynicism. Those with
money wall themselves into guarded compounds or flee the country. Those
without wealth suffer in silence or back rebels of one stripe or another.

Now President Clinton has visited, bearing gifts. Or more accurately, one
gift, a big one: $1.3 billion recently approved by Congress. On arriving
in Cartagena, the President said "We are proud to stand with our friend
and neighbor" in its efforts.

But merely standing with the administration of President Andres Pastrana
is unlikely to achieve very much. The Cartagena authorities already have
lost control of half their country to leftist insurgents and drug
traffickers. Indeed, President Pastrana has voluntarily yielded territory
as large as the country of Switzerland to brutal communists.

Locked in ferocious combat with the rebels are paramilitary forces. The
latter routinely kill civilians suspected of rebel involvement. The
military's commitment to human rights is only slightly better.

Attempts to eradicate Colombian drug production resemble the labors of the
mythical Sisyphus. As President Pastrana and other Colombians rightly
point out, voracious U.S. demand creates a huge profit potential-not only
for the varying smuggling operations, such as the legendary Medellin
Cartel, but also common peasants, who look to left-wing forces for
protection.

Indeed, here as elsewhere in Latin America, Washington's drug war has
generated revenue and support for communist insurgents.  Cartagena's task
would not be easy without the endless flow of drug money to numerous
illicit operators. But attempting to build a more prosperous, liberal
order is almost impossible so long as the drug war rages.

Unfortunately, there's no reason to believe that $1.3 billion, or even
more, will have any beneficial impact. After all, Colombia's government is
noted for little more than its corruption and incompetence.

In fact, the U.S. suspended its support for Colombia after it learned that
Pastrana's predecessor had collected $6 million in campaign contributions
from the Cali cocaine cartel. Generous financial support will fund the
regime's worst vices, encouraging it to undertake a military campaign that
it doesn't have the ability to complete.

And what does the next administration do when the current program has
evidently failed? Assume that $1.3 billion later nothing has changed-at
least for the better.

The Colombian government is weaker, half the country remains under rebel
control, government forces continue to commit human rights abuses, combat
is more intense, and drugs still flow. After having claimed that critical
national interests were at stake, will Washington sit idly by?

Especially if the latest campaign has actually spread the chaos. To
other Colombian provinces. Or, even worse, to neighboring states,
particularly Brazil, Peru, and Venezuela.

In fact, Venezuelan Foreign Minister Jose Vicente Rangel violated
diplomatic comity by publicly expressing fear that any Colombian
"success" will only move drug operators and leftist insurgents into his
country. Peru took years to break the Maoist Shining Path insurgency,
which had similar allied with coca growers. Brazil has even criticized the
environmental impact of planned defoliation operations.

President Clinton promises not to send in U.S. soldiers. But some 500
American advisers will be on the ground, training a Colombian anti-drug
brigade. Washington also will provide 60 helicopters to help eradication
efforts. How does the U.S. respond if guerrillas and/or growers attack
U.S. personnel and helicopters?

All the ingredients of Vietnam are present: a corrupt, inefficient ally; a
violent, popular insurgency; ineffective, half-way involvement; and
vulnerable, worried neighbors.

Administration policy almost certainly will fail. The U.S. will become
inextricably identified with a corrupt government which mistreats its own
people. U.S. advisers will be injured or killed and U.S. equipment will be
destroyed. Combat will spread. Drug trafficking will continue.

Then the question will be whether the president will accept the very
public embarrassment of withdrawing. Or if, perceiving the "light at the
end of the tunnel," as did so many Vietnam-era officials, he will
escalate, bit by bit. Then-too late-it will be evident that Colombia is,
indeed, Vietnam.

Doug Bandow is a Senior Fellow at the Cato Institute and former Special
Assistant to President Reagan.

Copyright 2000 U.P.I.

    ------------------------------------------------------------------------
MIAMI HERALD, Tuesday, 29 August 2000

Rights groups assail U.S. aid to Colombia
Violations alleged in fighting rebels
By Juan O. Tamayo

BOGOTA -- On the eve of a visit by President Clinton, three top human
rights groups Monday issued a scathingly detailed report charging that
Colombia does not deserve a $1.3 billion U.S. aid package.

Clinton released the money last week, acknowledging that the government of
President Andre Pastrana had not met five of the six human rights
conditions slapped on the package by Congress, but signing a waiver in the
U.S. "national interests."

The report prepared by Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and the
Washington Office on Latin America represents one of the most
comprehensive criticisms of U.S. policy in that Andean country. It
contains a scorching litany of allegations that the government has done
little to halt gross abuses by security forces fighting an estimated
20,000 rebels.

"We deplore this decision," the report said of Clinton's waiver, citing
scores of cases in which military personnel went unpunished despite
credible evidence against them.

While the U.S. aid package requires the military to promptly suspend
personnel "credibly" accused of gross abuses, the report said "dozens . .
. not only remain on active duty but are in command of troops or carrying
out intelligence work, and are regularly promoted."

Some officers have even been allowed to remain on active duty after
civilian prosecutors filed serious human rights charges against them, the
30-page report noted.

Military commanders, required by the U.S. package to crack down on
violators, instead often seek to shield them from civilian courts and send
them before military tribunals that "have a virtually unbroken record of
covering up crimes, failing to gather or consider evidence and acquitting
implicated officers in the face of overwhelming evidence," the report
said.

The document was surprisingly tough on Pastrana, a young moderate
credited with helping to persuade the U.S. Congress to approve the aid for
Colombia's battle against drug traffickers and leftist guerrillas.
Congress put strings on the package because of the Colombian armed forces'
reputation for massive abuses such as murder, disappearances, torture and
assisting paramilitary units accused of the worst massacres.

Clinton is scheduled to visit the port of Cartagena for six hours
Wednesday to show his support for Pastrana's counter-narcotics and
democracy-building Plan Colombia, and figuratively hand over the check,
but the human rights report could cast a pall on the visit.

The report claims that while the armed forces are required by the U.S. aid
to cooperate with civilian authorities investigating human rights
violations, even government prosecutors regularly receive threats when
handling cases of military abuses.

It noted that Army Chief of Staff Gen. Netor Ramiez had complained in
December about the "subversives who have infiltrated the prosecutor's,
attorney general's and Human Rights Ombudsman's offices."

A Defense Ministry website made similar allegations earlier this year
against the American diplomat at the U.S. Embassy in Bogot5 in charge of
monitoring human rights abuses, the report noted.

          Key criterion
Perhaps most damaging to Pastrana, the report complained that he had not
even met the one requirement that Clinton certified he had: ordering the
armed forces to stop pushing for military trials for suspected human
rights violators and leave their cases up to civilian courts.

Clinton reported last week that Pastrana met that condition with an Aug.
17 presidential directive that military personnel accused of "genocide,
torture and forced disappearances" be tried in civilian courts.

That left out murder and other violations such as cooperating with the
paramilitaries, the report noted, adding: "Partial compliance . . . is not
adequate.  Full means complete-not partial, not mostly-but total."

Pastrana in fact unsuccessfully objected to a section of a bill approved
by the Colombian Congress earlier this year that strengthened civilian
justice control over some military cases, the report added.

          Recent boast
And while Defense Minister Luis Fernando Ramiez recently boasted that the
military had transferred 533 cases of alleged human rights abuses from
military to civilian courts, the report said it found only 103 since 1997.

Many involved common crimes, it added, and "only 39 related in some way to
crimes that could be construed as human rights violations, like murder.
Most of these cases involved low-ranking sergeants and lieutenants."

          Few transfers
"In other words," the report added, "fewer than 10 cases per year are
transferred from military to civilian jurisdiction, and these rarely
involve senior officials who may have ordered or orchestrated gross
violations."

U.S. aid to the Colombian military was cut off from 1996 to 1998 because
of its dark human rights record.

That record has improved in the past year, but critics say that is only
because officers are allowing the growing paramilitary units to carry out
the "dirty" part of the war on leftist rebels.

          Copyright 2000 Miami Herald

    ------------------------------------------------------------------------

August 29, 2000, Chicago Tribune

Colombia, U.S. Ready To Launch Drug War Critics Fear For Region's
Stability
By Laurie Goering

LA HORMIGA, Colombia -- Deep in the hills of southern Colombia, coca
grows everywhere.

The leafy bushes blanket the deforested hillsides, reaching right up to
the only road that passes through this no-man's land, disputed by leftist
guerrillas, right-wing paramilitaries and Colombia's army.

This lawless region is the heartland of Colombian cocaine production and
it will be ground zero in the U.S.-financed $1.3 billion war on drugs in
Colombia.

Supporters of the plan--including President Clinton, who will visit the
coastal city of Cartagena on Wednesday to emphasize his commitment--say
forced eradication of coca and direct confrontation with Colombia's
powerful narcotraffickers is the surest way to stop cocaine from reaching
U.S. streets and to bring peace to this nation riven by political
violence.

"It's very hard to imagine democracy surviving over the long term in
Colombia unless there can be both some reversal of the grip of the drug
traffickers and peace with the insurgents," said Samuel "Sandy" Berger,
Clinton's national security adviser, who hopes the U.S.-backed offensive
will drive Colombia's Marxist guerrillas to peace talks.

Opponents argue that by sending as many as 500 U.S. military advisers into
Colombia to fight a guerrilla war that they say can't be won, the United
States risks slipping into another Vietnam, and inadvertently spreading
Colombia's ugly drug violence to Venezuela, Ecuador and the Brazilian
Amazon.

"The governments of Colombia and the United States are blind and they are
going to start a war here," warned Manuel Alzate, the mayor of Puerto
Asis, a jungle town at the heart of Colombia's coca zone, in the southern
provinces of Putumayo and Caqueta.

"Americans are going to be in planes, in training centers. They will be in
the war," he warned.

For much of the past decade, Colombia has slowly descended into a
drug-induced hell. After the nation's infamous Medellin and Cali drug
cartels were broken, once-foundering left-wing guerrillas moved into the
power vacuum, seizing control of many coca-growing areas and extorting
protection money from remaining drug traffickers.

Over time, the guerrillas--and the brutal paramilitary "self-defense"
forces that have been created to combat them--have grown rich, well-armed
and increasingly powerful, profiting from drugs, kidnappings and
extortion.

Today guerrilla and paramilitary groups effectively control almost 40
percent of Colombia, and coca production has exploded to more than 300,000
acres as plantations in Bolivia and Peru have been eradicated. Half of the
world's cocaine now comes from the jungle plantations of Putumayo and
Caqueta provinces.

As the rebels gained strength, Colombia's notoriously weak military
proved no match, and efforts by President Andres Pastrana to lure the
rebels to peace talks largely have failed.

Today, as rich Colombians flee and investors shun the troubled nation, now
counted as one of the most violent in the world, Colombia has fallen into
its worst recession in 70 years. Unemployment hovers at 20 percent, and
most Colombians feel their nation, which has suffered 35,000 political
killings in a decade, is sliding toward ruin.

Now, with U.S. backing, Colombia is about to try a frontal attack on its
problems.

Under Plan Colombia, a program drawn up with U.S. advice, the United
States over the next two years will spend $800 million to supply
training and about 60 Black Hawk and Huey attack helicopters to two
Colombian army battalions charged with helping police fumigate coca and
destroy drug labs in Putumayo and Caqueta provinces.

The plan includes U.S., Colombian and European funding to help farmers
establish alternative crops and to promote development in rural areas.

The goal is to cut Colombia's coca production in half in six years,
something officials hope will effectively hamstring 15,000 rebels.

"The idea is to create greater costs for the guerrillas," said Ernesto
Borda, a political scientist at Bogota's Javeriana Catholic University.
"If we attack coca, we attack the income of all these illegal groups. That
could really create pressure for peace."

"If we cut narcotrafficking, the guerrillas and the paramilitaries would
be much weaker," added Luis Fernando Ramirez, Colombia's defense minister.
"It's the way to solve our worst problems."

While fumigation efforts may take up to a year to get fully under way,
they almost certainly will start at places such as La Hormiga, a town of
tin-roofed homes deep in guerrilla territory where coca grows in back
yards, behind the nearby Santa Teresa community center, amid stands of
bananas and yucca.

Political murders occur every day here. A city councilman died last week
when unidentified assassins invaded his home. The region's mayor, Nelson
Astaiza, thinks hard before saying what he feels about the coming
anti-drug effort.

"I'm not sure how the other actors in the conflict are going to react," he
says finally, a reference to the guerrillas who have made clear their
opposition to coca eradication. What he knows for sure, he said, is that
the coming war "is going to be very hard on people. Fumigation will be a
social problem."

A short drive outside of La Hormiga, Pedro Ariza, 40, a farmer in black
rubber workboots, tends 7 acres of coca bushes on mortgaged land he bought
six months ago. He is a typical coca grower, a peasant farmer trying to
find some way to support his wife and two young daughters.

Before coming to La Hormiga, he farmed coffee in the rich Cauca Valley,
north of Cali, but was forced out when a virus destroyed his fields.

He would like to grow something other than coca. But with bananas or
yucca or passion fruit, he said, "you can't make it since there aren't
cooperatives to buy it. What we lack is stable markets."

Coca, on the other hand, draws a steady stream of buyers who pull up in
front of his wood stilt shack and hand over $900 per kilo of cocaine base,
which he processes in a little lab in a ravine out back. That pays for
food for his family, and the fertilizers and pesticides he needs.

If the fumigators come, he said, he'll have to move on again, probably to
start more remote coca fields deeper in the Amazonian rain forest, further
from the reach of fumigation planes.

"I don't know politics. I'm just a producer," he said, hiking a muddy path
among his hillsides thick with light green coca leaves. "But if they
fumigate here we'd have to move because otherwise we'd go hungry."

Even supporters of Plan Colombia concede that up to 40,000 peasant
farmers could be displaced by the fumigation effort, with many likely to
congregate as homeless refugees in the region's cities or move deeper into
the rain forest, prompting new deforestation.

Because Colombia's main coca zone lies on its borders with Ecuador, Peru
and Brazil, refugee coca farmers may well spill across national
boundaries, followed by the guerrillas that profit from their crops, a
major worry for Colombia's neighbors.

Brazil, in particular, is already beefing up border patrols in the
Amazon and continues to express deep reservations about Plan Colombia.

"If they fumigate in La Hormiga, the growers will move to small plots in
the jungle where fumigation is impossible. All Amazonia will be coca
within a few years," warned Alzate, the Puerto Asis mayor. "How many acres
of rain forest are we going to lose to this battle?"

What Alzate and others in Colombia's south would prefer to see is U.S.
money going to fund crop substitution programs and basic development, an
area of U.S. aid that has undergone dramatic cuts in recent years
throughout the world.

If remote and underdeveloped provinces like Putumayo and Caqueta had
money to improve roads and infrastructure, build factories for products
such as palm hearts, pay technical agriculture advisers and create export
markets for their new crops, farmers could be persuaded to abandon coca
without war, he and a host of human-rights officials in Colombia argue.

At the base of Colombia's guerrilla and drug problem, they say, is
enduring poverty and a lack of development that leaves peasant farmers
little option but to grow coca. The upcoming eradication campaign, they
say, will do nothing to address that problem.

"What people really want is stability and there is no stability with
coca," said Aldemar del Cristo, a mayoral assistant in La Hormiga. "Buy
our yucca, our corn. Sign a contract with us. That will give us security.

"If you had children and no job," he noted, "you'd be growing coca too."

The problem with alternative crop programs, said Gonzalo de Francisco, the
government's lead adviser on social programs within Plan Colombia, is that
much of the jungle soil in Caqueta and Putumayo isn't suited for long-term
crop production, and the guerrillas who control the region aren't likely
to allow farmers to pull up coca and plant alternatives, even if that's
what the farmers prefer.

That leaves fumigation as the only real option, Colombian officials say.

U.S. funding for the effort is coming despite deep concerns about
human-rights violations by Colombia's military, which has been linked to
massacres and has continuing ties to paramilitary groups, rights officials
charge.

Clinton last week overrode those concerns, saying sending the money to
Colombia was a matter of national security, and that Pastrana's government
had taken steps to improve the army's human-rights record.

Jose Miguel Vivano, the head of Human Rights Watch/Americas, called the
decision a clear case of rights issues being subordinated to anti-drug
policies.

Now the worst elements of the Colombian military "will feel some sense of
endorsement by the gringos, and that is extremely dangerous," he said.

Equally worrying to many Americans is the possibility that sending U.S.
funds and advisers to Colombia could ultimately lead to deeper involvement
in what many see as an unwinnable guerrilla war.

U.S. officials deny that could happen and say training Colombians and
pushing the guerrillas to a peace accord--not winning a war against
them--is their goal in Colombia.

"There is no plan, and there is no proposal, and there is no idea of
committing American forces in Colombia to do anything but... provide
training," insisted Thomas Pickering, U.S. undersecretary of state for
political affairs, at a recent Washington briefing.

Just how bad things have gotten in Colombia is evident in the itinerary
for Clinton's visit Wednesday. The U.S. president, the first to visit
Colombia in nearly a decade, will stay only five hours. He will not
venture to the relatively insecure capital of Bogota, remaining instead in
the Caribbean vacation city of Cartagena with his entourage.


    ------------------------------------------------------------------------
8/28/00 Human Rights the Priority for Clinton Trip to Colombia Amnesty
International, Human Rights Watch, and Washington Office on Latin America
Release Benchmarks to Measure Adherence to Human Rights Conditions

(Washington, August 28, 2000) - Three leading human rights groups called
on President Bill Clinton to make protecting human rights the priority
when he meets with leaders in Colombia on August 30. On the eve of the
president's first-ever visit to that Latin American country, the groups
said that he must make it clear and public that progress on human rights
remains critical to winning continued U.S. support.

This is especially important since Clinton effectively erased human
rights conditions when he signed a national security interest waiver on
August 22, allowing aid to be sent without human rights conditions
included in legislation.

Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and the Washington Office on
Latin America (WOLA) released a 43-page document demonstrating how
Colombia failed to meet a single human rights condition contained in a
$1.3 billion aid package. The groups disputed the single certification
issued by the State Department, characterizing it as complying "only
partially" with U.S. law.

In their document, the groups provide detailed benchmarks to measure
future compliance. The State Department is already discussing the FY '01
human rights certification needed to continue sending aid to Colombia.

The document contains specific cases that should be used to measure
progress on the protection of human rights. Among them are pending
investigations of 12 active-duty and retired members of Colombia's
military credibly alleged to have committed human rights violations or to
have aided and abetted atrocities committed by paramilitary groups. In
addition, the document lists eight well-known paramilitary leaders and
dozens of specific human rights violations perpetrated against
individuals, organizations, and communities.

The groups noted that the human rights certification required for next
year's allotment of aid is far from certain. Already, several U.S.
senators and representatives who supported human rights conditions have
criticized President Clinton for signing the waiver.

These benchmarks were provided to Secretary of State Madeleine Albright
last week during a consultation mandated by U.S. law. Along with other
human rights groups, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and WOLA
were unanimous in their recommendation that Secretary Albright not certify
Colombia.

The document can be viewed at
http://www.hrw.org/campaigns/colombia/certification.htm

    ------------------------------------------------------------------------

BBC News Online, Wednesday, 23 August, 2000

Anti-drugs plan threatens Colombian peasants
By Jeremy McDermott

A massive aerial eradication programme is at the centre of a US-inspired
policy to defeat the drugs trade in Colombia.

The illicit business has been funding rebel armies and prolonging the
36-year old civil conflict.

Those who will be on the receiving end of this fumigation process say that
it will cause only more hunger, poverty and war.

Indeed, it may even feed the guerrillas it is designed to attack.

Manuel Alzate Restrepo, the Mayor of Puerto Asis, one of the largest
towns in Putumayo, calls Plan Colombia 'the Plan against Colombia'.

While President Andres Pastrana of Colombia and US President Bill
Clinton see the plan as a foundation for peace, Mr Resrepeo sees "only
more war and suffering".

--Concerns
At a peasant association meeting in Puerto Asis, people are despondent.

They feel that they are going to be the victims of the new US military aid
package of $1.3bn, aimed at eliminating the drug crops in Putumayo.

The region is home to some 60,000 hectares of coca, the raw material for
cocaine.

Cecilia Anaya is the president of Puerto Asis' peasant association.

   "We have seen what happened in Puerto Guzman where they did the first
fumigation tests," she says.

"There were people who died because of fumigation, who lived mainly by
growing yucca, plantain and rice."

"And now there is misery, hunger and displacement. So we are very
worried."

Much of the coca grown in Putumayo is grown by peasant farmers with a few
hectares of fields carved from the jungle.

They grow coca as a cash crop alongside pineapples, maize and other
subsistence crops.

However, the chemicals dropped by the US-supplied planes cannot
distinguish between the different crops.

This means that the livelihood of peasants - already living well below the
poverty line - ends up in ruins.

As well as destroying crops other than coca, Esteban Torres, the local
schoolteacher says there is evidence that the chemicals dumped on
Putumayo's fields are damaging the inhabitants.

"There is no running water in Puerto Guzman," he says.

"And the people drink water from the streams which pass alongside the
fields, so when the planes fly over spraying these toxic chemicals, people
are drinking this water or preparing their food with it and falling sick."

--Poisoning
His assertion is confirmed by Marta Cecilia Guapacha, the head nurse at
San Francisco hospital in Puerto Asis.

She has treated too many patients in the immediate aftermath of crop
spraying to think coincidence is at work.

"We have had cases of poisoning because of the chemicals, lots of skin
rashes, eye conjunctivitis, children more than any, and breathing problems
after having inhaled the toxic chemicals," she says.

The effects of aerial eradication on the environment are also said to be
frightening.

After fields have been sprayed, crops cannot be grown there for many
months afterwards.

Peasants, having lost their food crops as well as the coca, cut down
more jungle to replant.

-- 'Illicit crops greatest threat'
Colombian Environment Minister Juan Mayr has admitted that there are
serious environmental concerns.

However, he refuses to acknowledge that the US-inspired eradication
programme is responsible.

"The Ministry of Environment has come to see illicit crops as the
greatest threat to the disappearance of Colombia's biodiversity," he
says.

"These crops in the last decade have produced the deforestation of close
to a million hectares."

As well as damage to health and the environment, there is evidence that
the fumigation programme is not really hurting the guerrillas, but rather
providing them with more recruits.

Mr Torres tries to contain his tears as he relates what happened to
Puerto Guzman after the aerial eradication.

"Then the people, the youth, including two ex-students of mine, girls,
left school to join the guerrillas," he says.

"For the young, there is no other alternative, there are no jobs, they go
to the guerrillas."



________________________________________________________
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New York Times  August 29, 2000

             Aid to Colombia: Unlearned Lessons

             To the Editor:

             Re "Neighbors Fear Fallout of Aid to Colombians" (front page,
             Aug. 25):

             The United States has apparently learned nothing from the
             horrors of El Salvador and Nicaragua, where vast amounts of
             military aid only served to intensify conflicts that neither side
             was going to win. Now, Congress and President Clinton have
             confirmed that they will make the same error in Colombia by
             sending $1.3 billion, almost all in military aid.

             Haven't the last 20 years shown us that as long as there is a
             market for drugs in the United States, somebody will find a
             way to get them there? Cutting down on the demand side in
             the United States would do much more to curtail drug
             production than a bloody military campaign. By providing
             military aid rather than substantial social and economic
             assistance, the United States is missing an opportunity to
             address the real roots of insurgency and drug production in
             Colombia.

             OSCAR ARIAS
             San JosÈ, Costa Rica, Aug. 25, 2000

             The writer, the former president of Costa Rica,
             won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1987.



_____________________________________________________________________

** EARTH DAY 2001 IN DETROIT** Mark your calendar!!
NO MORE SUVS!  No More Cars built with less than 70mpg - RETOOL NOW!
First International Day of Outrage Against Climate Destabilization
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------- Forwarded Message Follows -------
Organization:    University of Minnesota
To:              actioncolombia@egroups.com
From:            Jessica Sundin <sundi008@...>
Date sent:       Mon, 28 Aug 2000 15:53:33 -0500
Send reply to:   actioncolombia-owner@egroups.com
Subject:         [actioncolombia] Colombia 8/28

1. Protest Clinton's visit - list of local actions
2. Questions for Lady McDeath
3. STATE DEPARTMENT REGULAR BRIEFING
4. Resistance - FARC-EP International Commission magazine now available in
English 5. Clinton to free Colombia aid despite rights record 6. NarcoNews
media analysis & request

    ------------------------------------------------------------------------
AUGUST 30 INTERNATIONAL DAY OF PROTEST AGAINST CLINTON'S TRIP
TO COLOMBIA

On Aug. 30, as U.S. President Bill Clinton travels to Colombia,
demonstrations will take place around the world to demand an end to the
U.S. war in Colombia. Below are some of the cities where events are taking
place:

In the United States
* Atlanta: Contact (770) 989-2356.
* Chicago: Thursday, Aug. 31, Colombian consulate, 500 N. Michigan Ave.,
4:30pm-6:30pm. Contact Colombia Solidarity Committee (773) 378-2515 or
chicsc13@.... * New York City: 42nd St. and 6th Ave, 5pm-7pm. Contact
Colombia Action Committee at carolynr@... or iacenter@.... *
Detroit: Hart Plaza, south side of E. Jefferson, 4:30pm-6:30pm. Contact
(313) 831-0750. * Los Angeles: Westwood Federal Building, Wilshire &
Veteran, 5pm. Contact (213) 487-2368 or npcla@.... * Providence,
RI: Providence US Armed Forces Recruting Center, Westminster St.
4:30pm-5:30pm. Contact (401) 726-4802. * San Diego: Federal Building,
Broadway & Front, 4pm-6pm. Contact (619) 692-4422. * San Francisco: Powell
and Market St, 5pm. Contact (415) 821-6545 or iac@.... * West
Palm Springs, FL.

Outside the United States
* Brussels: Contact Centre International, centrinter@....
* Buenos Aires: Contact emancipa@....
* Montreal: Contact Action Committee in Defense of Colombian People,
(416) 466-1219.
* Rome: U.S. Embassy, Via Veneto, 5pm. Contact Comitato di Solidariete Con
i popoli del LatinoAmerica "Carlos Fonseca" fonsecafonseca@... or
Campo Antiimperialista colombiapeace@.... * Stockholm:
Sergels torg, 5pm-6pm. Contact Asociacion Jaime Pardo Leal,
ajpl@.... * Toronto: U.S. Consulate, 360 University Ave., 6pm.
Contact Action Committee in Defense of Colombian People, (416) 466-1219. *
Vienna: Contact Corriente leninista internacional, ilc@.... * Beirut
* across Colombia and Latin America.

Please send us information about other protests planned in your area. -
Colombia Action Network

    ------------------------------------------------------------------------

Nygaard Notes Independent Weekly News and Analysis,  Number 83, August 25,
2000

Questions for Lady McDeath
by Jeff Nygaard, National Writers Union  Twin Cities Local #13 UAW

I have in my possession a press release from the office of Minnesota
Senator Paul Wellstone on the subject of U.S. aid to Colombia. Nygaard
Notes readers are aware that earlier this year the Senator fought to
reduce the recently-passed military aid bill to Colombia and divert the
funds to drug treatment here in the U.S. That battle was lost, and the aid
was approved. Many promises were made by the administration that they
would work to assure that the U.S. aid would not make the abysmal human
rights situation in Colombia even worse.

The press release that I have calls attention to a July 14th letter from
Senator Wellstone to Secretary of State Madeline Albright (whom some
Colombian activists derisively refer to as "Lady McDeath") basically
saying that he doesn't think these promises are worth much. In his letter
to Secretary Albright, the Senator said, "During the debate surrounding
ëPlan Colombia,' [the basis for the big aid package to the Colombian
killers] the Administration and the Colombian government pledged to work
to reduce the production and supply of cocaine while protecting human
rights. The continuing reports of human rights abuses in Colombia confirm
our grave reservations regarding the Administration's ability to
effectively manage the use of the resources that will be provided while
protecting the human rights of Colombian citizens."

Wellstone's letter was prompted by a New York Times report of a massacre
carried out by government-surrogate paramilitary forces in the town of El
Salado in February, but that's just one of innumerable stories that could
have prompted such a letter. Just last week, for example, U.S. papers
carried the story of international outrage at the killing of 6
schoolchildren by the Colombian military.

In his letter, Senator Wellstone put the following three questions to
Secretary Albright:   1) How will the Administration ensure a vetting
process guaranteeing that Colombians indirectly facilitating human rights
violations, as well as those accused of direct violations, will not serve
in battalions being trained by the United States military? 2) What will
the Administration do to ensure that the alleged murders and human rights
abuses in El Salado are investigated, and that those responsible are
prosecuted?   3) How will the Administration address the needs of the
victims at El Salado, including the nearly 3,000 residents displaced by
the incident?

It's impossible to know if the Senator believes that the United States
government has any concern about human rights in Colombia beyond that
demanded by public relations. But nonetheless, his efforts to hold the
administration accountable to their rhetoric are something we should all
support.

It is hard to support something about which one is ignorant, of course.
Readers of the Star Tribune (Newspaper of the Twin Cities!) would be
ignorant of the Senator's efforts in this case, since neither Wellstone's
letter nor Secretary Albright's response (if any) were deemed worthy of
coverage in the state's most influential paper. I first read about it in a
report from the Reuters News Service, then I got a copy of the press
release from Wellstone's office. I'm fairly certain the daily paper has
access to these same sources.

The United States still considers Latin America to be this country's
"back yard." So it must be fairly troubling to our "leaders" to see the
Andean region in such turmoil. Over the past several months we have seen a
Native-led coup in Ecuador, a stolen election by dictator/president
Fujimori in Peru, a consolidation of the power of nationalist president
Chavez in Venezuela, and an escalation of the already-explosive civil war
in Colombia. Although there's not much about this sequence of events in
the papers - and almost no attempt to look for the pattern and meaning in
them - you can be certain that the vultures in the U.S. military and
intelligence establishments are watching closely and licking their lips.
If you think the main concern of the United States in the Andes is drug
trafficking, then you may be in the majority but there is considerable
reason to suspect that other forces are at work here.

Consider that Venezuela is one of the top sources of U.S. oil in the
world and that, in the words of the U.S. government "Ch·vez has won
overwhelming support from Venezuela's poor, who constitute one-half of the
population."  Check out your maps; Venezuela is right next door to
Colombia. Hmmm... Drugs, oil, and an indigenous nationalist president.
Historically, this would be about time to send in the U.S. Marines, or at
least the CIA. I'll have more to say about Venezuela in the coming months.

In the meantime, I encourage you to contact Wellstone and tell him to keep
pushing for more domestic drug treatment and less military aid to
Colombia. Or call your own Senator and say the same thing. Wellstone's
Washington number is 202-224-5641, his Twin Cities number is 651-645-0323.
Or click here
http://www.senate.gov/~wellstone/Contact_Paul/contact_paul.htm and send
him an email.

Contact Nygaard Notes at http://www.freespeech.org/nygaard_notes
nygaardnotes@...

    ------------------------------------------------------------------------

"RESISTANCE": MAGAZINE OF THE INTERNATIONAL COMMISSION OF THE
REVOLUTIONARY ARMED FORCES OF COLOMBIA - PEOPLE'S ARMY FARC-EP
P.O. Box 69051 Toronto, Ontario, Canada M4T 1A3

"Resistencia", the magazine of the International Commission of the
Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia--People's Army, FARC-EP is now
available for the first time in English as "Resistance." Like the
original, it will be published on a quarterly basis.

To subscribe to "Resistance" write to: P.O. Box 69051 Toronto, Ontario,
Canada M4T 1A3 or by e-mail: rexy@...

"Resistencia" (the original Spanish version) is also available by
ordering through e-mail at elbarcino@....

A subscription for one year to either magazine, including postage, is
US$18.00, Can$23.00 or equivalent in other currencies. single copies:
$US3.00 each or equivalent in other currencies.

PLEASE WRITE THE CHEQUE PAYLABLE TO: HISTORICAL OUTLINE

Please circulate this notice as widely as possible. Thank you for your
support.

    ------------------------------------------------------------------------

Clinton to free Colombia aid despite rights record
By Mark Egan

WASHINGTON, Aug 22 (Reuters) - President Bill Clinton will this week
certify that Colombia has met certain human rights requirements and will
waive others it has not met, paving the way for the release of a record
$1.3 billion in aid, a U.S. official said on Tuesday.

A senior U.S. official told Reuters that Clinton will give his stamp of
approval even though Colombia has not met certain human rights conditions.
He would not specify which of the conditions the war-torn nation had
failed to meet.

The human rights reforms, including rules on military trials, were
stipulated by Congress when it approved the aid package that is designed
to combat drug trafficking and could choke off the chief source of
financing for powerful rebels.

The Administration cannot release any of the money, which is much higher
than previous aid packages, unless it certifies that Colombia has met the
conditions or Clinton waives the requirement on the basis that it is in
national security interests.

"The State Department has made its recommendations to the president," the
official said on condition he was not named.

Pointing out that the requirements were part of new legislation, he
said, "You would not expect Colombia will be able to meet all the
criteria. While some of them will have been met, others will have to be
waived."

While Clinton has yet to make his final decision, the official said he
would waive those conditions which were not yet met sometime later this
week.

MILITARY ABUSES
The reforms would see civilian rather than military courts handle human
rights abuses by soldiers. Human rights groups say that military courts
often fail to prosecute human rights abuses and too often acquit those who
do stand trial.

The reforms would also give the army commander the power to suspend
soldiers suspected of abuses and the army would have an independent
corps to manage prosecutions.

The U.S. and Colombian governments are in a hurry to activate the aid
package, which will be used to combat the production and trafficking of
cocaine and opium in Colombia.

The war on drugs is inextricably linked with the Colombian government's
war with Marxist rebels who protect and profit from the drug trade in the
areas they control.

The sense of urgency about the package is increasing as the U.S. fiscal
year draws to a close. Unless money is approved by Sept. 1, it might be
necessary to repeat some procedures in the next fiscal year, which starts
on Oct. 1.

Another incentive is Clinton's plan to visit Colombia on Aug. 30 to
discuss Pastrana's "Plan Colombia," which the U.S. aid package will help
finance. The plan is aimed at forcing Marxist guerrillas to end their
three decades of struggle by eroding their main source of income: the
lucrative drug trade.

But lobby group Human Rights Watch said that Colombia has failed to meet
any of the conditions laid down by Congress and urged Clinton not to waive
the requirements.

"Not a single one of the five human rights provisions contained in the
legislation has been satisfied," said Jose Miguel Vivanco of Human Rights
Watch.

"A waiver that ignores Colombia's dismal human rights situation would send
a clear message to the Colombian government and its security forces that
the U.S. commitment to human rights does not go beyond rhetoric,'' he
added.

Under existing law, some military abuses can be tried in civilian courts
but in practice the military has tried to keep cases in military courts.

    ------------------------------------------------------------------------

TUESDAY, AUGUST 22, 2000, 1:15 P.M.

STATE DEPARTMENT REGULAR BRIEFING
BRIEFER: RICHARD BOUCHER, DEPARTMENT SPOKESMAN
STATE DEPARTMENT BRIEFING ROOM, WASHINGTON, D.C.
(exerpt)

Q: On Colombia, about 10 days ago, a State Department official was
telling us that the Colombian government was about to carry out three
steps on military justice. You sent your recommendation on certification,
human rights certification, yesterday. Can you tell us whether they have
in fact carried out these steps yet? Because this was an important
component to the --

MR. BOUCHER: We will discuss that in the context of the certification
decision when it is made.

Q: Well isn't it Friday? Isn't the President supposed to make his
decision like today or tomorrow?

MR. BOUCHER: He will make his decision when it is time to make his
decision, and we will tell you about it as soon as we can after he makes
his decision. Last week, I think, I heard there might have been a State
Department official who described some of the issues under consideration
in the certification decision. There are clearly criteria in the law that
we have to analyze. Yesterday I said, or was it the day before, that the
Department had made its recommendation to the White House. And the
President will make his decision, and we will tell you about it as soon as
it is made.

Q: And these are more than just ideas. These were concrete proposals
which you were confident that the Colombians were going to carry out in
order to meet the certification standard. Did they do them?

MR. BOUCHER: I have never laid out a series of steps myself, and I am not
here trying to give you a checklist so that you can predict the
President's decision. When the President makes his decision, we'll give
you the basis for this, and we'll tell you what they have done. If you
want to know other things that may or may not be going on in Colombia, you
can certainly ask the Colombian government about those.

Q: Well, this Senior State Department official 10 days ago said that
there was a fairly strong expectation that the money would be spent,
that they were going to try to get this money to be spent in the first
allotments. So doesn't that kind of logically say that the Secretary and
the President would certify --

MR. BOUCHER: I am not going to stand here every day and deal with
comments of senior State Department officials. I cannot stand here and
turn things from one color to another.

Q: But he basically said -- he didn't say it in so many words, but he
basically said that, you know, these -- he laid out all these criteria,
and he said, well, there's the expectation that we're going to either have
to waive them or certify them, because we want to spend the money.

MR. BOUCHER: And the President will make his decision to either waive them
or certify them, and when they are decided, we'll tell you what he has
decided, and why. That is all I said. That's what I said yesterday.

Q: Can you just clarify what day the recommendation was made?

Q: Yes, you didn't know yesterday.

MR. BOUCHER: I didn't know yesterday. Let's see if I know today. Why
don't I know today?

No, I'm afraid I don't know today. I didn't get the answer on that. The
question, I think, that came up was whether we knew about the massacre of
the children before the recommendation went over and I think the answer
is, yes, we did know. But I would have to point out that the
recommendation has to be based on the totality of the issues and not on a
single event.

Q: The Human Rights Watch and various other groups have already said
that they're still convinced that Colombia did not meet the requirements
on human rights. How much weight are you giving to their opinion on this?

MR. BOUCHER: I am being asked to get in the President's mind and explain
how he is making a decision. My job is to wait until the President makes a
decision and explain it to you afterwards. I'm afraid I have to do that.

Q: We'll grill you afterwards.

MR. BOUCHER: That's right. How much weight did we give to the human
rights groups? And I'll say, I don't know, the President made the
decision.

Q: Can you say how much weight the State Department gave to the human
rights community when you made your recommendations?

MR. BOUCHER:  I'm not getting into our recommendations.

Q: I'm not asking you to say what the recommendation is. Presumably, you
gave it some weight?

MR. BOUCHER: How much weight we gave? We gave it the appropriate and
well-considered weight that it truly deserved.

Washington File  http://usinfo.state.gov/products/washfile/latest.shtml

    ------------------------------------------------------------------------

Estimados compaÒeros y compaÒeras,

The Narco News Bulletin, reporting on the drug war from Latin America,
includes as part of our mission to keep watch on the US media.

We are writing to seek the help of activists and people of conscience in
monitoring US press coverage of Plan Colombia in particular. We read
scores of news stories a day but don't always catch the errors and
distortions.

We believe that the passage of the $1.3 billion Plan Colombia was made
possible by the poor US press coverage of Colombia and Latin America.

For example, we have just published our "fact-check" on the Miami Herald
Colombia correspondent Tim Johnson's Sunday column, in which he announced
that he his leaving Colombia and angrily scapegoated the guerrilla while
offering apologetic excuses for the brutal paramilitary squads. We found
11 paragraphs with gross distortions and errors of fact. I'll post our
critique below to give you an idea of how we approach media criticism on
this important matter.

It's also posted on our internet site, along with a link to Johnson's
original column:

http://www.narconews.com/johnsonstory1.html

We also praise and feature the courageous work of some Latin American
journalists, as with our recent interview with Colombian journo-in-exile
Alfredo Molano:

http://www.narconews.com/exiled.html

And on our front page right now we've placed an interesting link to a
story we found on the US Marines Camp Lejeune web site, "US Marines hit
the beach in Colombia" that makes a lie of official Washington statements
about the role of US troops today in Colombia:

http://www.narconews.com/

We don't ask you for money nor membership. We support all organizations
working against Plan Colombia. We ask for your eyes, your ears, and your
analysis, to catch the "badly informing" US press coverage when it makes
grave and embarrassing distortions as the Miami Herald correspondent just
did.

Please distribute this call to your networks if you think that
monitoring the media is a worthwhile part of this work.

Salud y abrazo,

Al Giordano
narconews@...
http://www.narconews.com/
--------

published August 22, 2000, The Narco News Bulletin

Fact-checking Tim Johnson
By Al Giordano

As a journo who also reports from Latin America, I can sympathize with the
Miami Heraldís Tim Johnson and respect his personal decision to leave
Colombia at this key moment.

But Johnson throws a few bombs of his own on his way out the door. A
fact-check is in order.

All of Johnsonís rage is directed at the guerrilla movements. And itís
this kind of bias ? unworthy of serious journalism ? that keeps the US
public so poorly informed on the events in Latin America.

Shallow reports like those that Johnson has filed for four years are
what led to the $1.3 billion "Plan Colombia" (that is to say, "Plan
District of Columbia"), the US military aid package that has begun to make
a bad situation worse. Yes, I can understand very well why Johnson is
leaving at this historic moment.

Judging from his four years of mouthing the Washington party line in the
name of journalism ? and he is not alone in this practice among US
correspondents ? in a way, he is now fleeing a boomerang that he tossed
with his own bare hands. Heís getting out safely, but his boomerangs will
continue to land on Colombian heads.

Meanwhile, for all but the wealthiest Colombians, the rest of the
citizens do not have an escape hatch. They must continue to live with the
consequences of poor reporting by the official US press corps.

Too many US correspondents for major dailies come South and live among the
upper castes in lands of grave poverty and injustice. These are lands
where mansions surrounded by armed guards and high walls sit but a
golf-ballís whack from cardboard shacks and crowded slums. In Colombia, in
particular, the wealth gap has been enforced at the point of a gun,
through the rampant use of torture and terror by the nationís armed forces
and police agencies.

The official forces have historically been utilized not merely against
stealing bread, but also against organizing unions, or peasant groups, or
political parties (the last great political effort by the organized Left
in Colombia was squashed through a wave of assassinations, kidnappings,
and disappearances orchestrated by the US-backed State and its
paramilitary forces).

Now, here comes the FARC, the Colombian Revolutionary Armed Forces, a
guerrilla movement made possible by the lack of spaces for real democratic
participation.

The US-imposed drug war ? and the huge underground economy that
prohibition creates ? is precisely what has made it more profitable for a
peasant farmer to grow coca instead of coffee.

And so I find the Herald correspondentís parting words to be
disingenuous when he complains that, like journos, the guerrilla
soldiers now wield laptop computers as arms. Like Marcos in Mexico, some
of them make better reporters, too.

Johnson writes: "In the countryside, the landscape of terror has
shifted. Once drug barons were feared. Now, it is the armed outlaw
bands. Guerrilla roadblocks are common. Rebels stop cars to hunt for
potential kidnap victims. Toting laptop computers, rebels check banking
records to calculate possible ransom demands."

Obviously, the great majority of Colombian citizens, without bank
accounts, have little to fear from the laptop-toting guerrilla member.
Johnson's screed exclusively reflects the fears of the upper classes; the
same fear of kidnapping that drove so much of the organized political Left
into armed insurgent combat in the first place. But the fears of the poor,
of the worker, of the brave Colombian journalists who choose to live and
walk among the mass of people, are excluded from Johnsonís report, and
often have been.

Johnson writes: "The largest armed group, the Revolutionary Armed Forces
of Colombia (FARC), may number 15,000 to 20,000 mostly rural adolescent
combatants. Few have finished elementary school."

Many of these youths (15 is the minimum age to join the insurgents), had
they stayed in their communities, would not have finished elementary
school. Many towns donít even have an elementary school. In fact, the FARC
soldiers are among the few rural youths who can and do learn to read and
write. Young women who are FARC combatants speak of the main "educational
opportunity" they left back home when they joined the insurgents: working
as prostitutes to serve the growing military and police complex. These
complexities donít exist in Johnsonís "itís about me" tirade.

Johnson writes: "The group, loosely Marxist, has enriched itself through
extortion, kidnapping and protection of the drug trade. The world's
leading source of cocaine, Colombia produced 520 metric tons of it last
year, the CIA says."

At least, here, Johnson honestly quotes the official sources out of
Langley that his reporting has served so well. But again, he misses the
details, the shades of gray. The guerrillaís link to the drug trade is
largely based on protecting the campesinos who grow the crops, and some
jungle drug labs. The trafficking end of the cocaine trade ? where the
larger profits lie ? is managed by the police, the military, the
paramilitaries, the cocaine cartels that fund them, and the highest of
government officials, including - as the case of Colonel James Hiett
demonstrated - high US embassy and DEA officials as well.

And the largest profits, still, are made by the banking and financial
industries, in the suit-and-tied world of money laundering, by many of the
same economic powers that brought us Plan Colombia to do their dirty work
for them.

That, too, is missing from Johnsonís report.

Johnson writes: ``These are not dewy-eyed romanticists that have in mind
the welfare of the Colombian people,'' Defense Secretary William Cohen
said in April as he pushed for a $1.3 billion U.S. counter-drug package to
Colombia."

Ahem. Bill Cohen is not much of a "dewy-eyed romanticist" either (or
does his spy thriller authored with Gary Hart now count as a romance
novel?), and Cohen has shown zero concern for "the welfare of the
Colombian people."

If Johnson wants to see tears, he ought to stick around for when the
Sikorsky Corpís Black Hawk helicopters ? lobbied into Plan Colombia by
Capitol Hill lobbyists and Connecticut senators ? begin their campaign of
terror and herbicide poisoning over the peasant lands.

Johnson writes: "While some Colombians fret that the counter-narcotics aid
will intensify their nation's war, others hope new U.S. helicopters and
other assistance will boost their army's efforts to combat rebels. Barely
3 to 5 percent of Colombians support the FARC, polls show."

I guess the peasants weren't answering their telephones on the night
that the pollsters called. What? They don't have telephones? The
telephone lines don't even reach their villages? What percent of
Colombians have telephones? Might make an interesting Miami Herald
story. We'll call them up and ask them: "Why don't you have telephones?"

There's lots to be angry about regarding Colombia. But Johnson's anger
blinds him to the complexities. I hope that never happens to me.

Johnsonís political analysis here is contrary to that offered by exiled
Colombian journalist Alfredo Molano, who I interviewed on July 31st in
Barcelona. Molano, popular Sunday columnist for El Espectador, like many
journos, was forced to leave the country due to direct threats against his
family by the paramilitary organizations.

For journos outside of Colombia who want a more balanced and expert view
of what Colombians think of Plan Colombia, I strongly recommend they read
what Molano has to say:

http://www.narconews.com/exiled.html

Our colleague Alfredo Molano, unlike Tim Johnson, can't go home.

Johnson writes: "Nightly newscasts carry images of massacres, weeping
relatives of kidnap victims, and rubble-strewn towns where rebels have
showered homemade mortars indiscriminately. Our two children are told to
leave the room when the news comes on."

No mention by Johnson, here, of the military forces who opened fire just
the other day on a group of schoolchildren, killing six of them. To
Johnson, it's all the guerrilla's fault. Not the political and economic
conditions that create the guerrilla, mind you. It's much easier to make
scapegoats than to do serious journalism.

If "nightly newscasts," the CIA and the US Defense Secretary are
Johnsonís sources for his claims ? along with his neighbors among the
"kidnapables" ? then no wonder Johnsonís coverage is so biased and
superficial.

Johnson writes: "Uprooted peasants present the most pitiful images. Some
1.3 million of Colombia's 40 million people have been torn from their
homes in the last decade. For all their brutality, leftist rebels and
right-wing paramilitary forces cowardly prefer to kill unarmed civilians
rather than clash in direct confrontation."

I'll refrain from speculating on Johnson's wisdom, at this moment in his
career, of bandying about the word "cowardly" too loudly. But on the
facts: As Alfredo Molano points out, many of these peasants are displaced
by official policy, by the large landowners and their paramilitary troops,
to make room for a new Atlantic-Pacific canal in the Darien region, for
oil company exploration, or the aims of the ranchers backed by
agri-business.

Heís correct when he writes that the paramilitaries kill innocent
civilians. It's part of their stated strategy of terror: If you're not
with them, you are labled a "guerrilla sympathizer." It's also a great way
to influence public opinion poll results -- who would answer "yes" to a
stranger asking "do you support the guerrilla?" when the paramilitaries
have announced that sympathizers will be rounded up and shot. Ah, but
these are all complex questions, frowned upon by the central offices of US
journalism and their steady diet of polls and scapegoats.

Johnson is dead wrong about the guerrilla's supposed "cowardice" in
taking on the soldiers and the police. I'll bet he's even filed a few
stories about those battles, which happen daily.

In fact, Johnson contradicts his own claim when he mentions that "The FARC
and a second leftist insurgency, the National Liberation Army, hold a huge
trove of human booty. To strengthen their bargaining power, the two groups
have amassed 528 captured police and soldiers as hostages."

Capturing 528 police and soldiers comes from the not-so-cowardly act of
combating against thousands of armed police and soldiers. Johnson canít
have it both ways here.

Johnson writes: "Even so, the magnitude of the upheaval escapes many
ColombiansÖ Colombians are among Latin America's most courteous and
polite people, yet the crisis has highlighted an astonishing lack of
solidarity."

In other words, not all Colombia agrees with his biased analysis.

But the most troublesome part of Johnsonís adios letter comes in his
apologetic defense of the brutal paramilitary regime and its leader
Carlos CastaÒo.

Johnson isnít alone here: when Larry Rohter of the NY Times should have
been writing about Februaryís El Salado massacre by paramilitaries, who
were protected by the official military forces during that bloodbath
against civilians, Rohter instead published a puff-piece on the
narco-soldier CastaÒo. And as Cynthia Cotts pointed out last week in the
Village Voice, Rohter finally did write about the El Salado massacre ? the
day after Clinton signed the Plan Colombia package.

Against all historical evidence, Johnson writes: "A desire for vengeance
has fueled the brutal paramilitary forces led by Carlos CastaÒo, a warlord
who lost his father to FARC bullets and now runs an outlaw right-wing
military force of some 6,000 to 10,000 fightersÖ These days, rampant
hatred, huge narcotics profits and the inertia of a 36-year war figure
more than ideology in Colombia's conflict. CastaÒo says all armed groups
draw income from the illegal drug tradeÖ ``The Colombian conflict is
economic. It has stopped being political. It is based on the illicit
economy,'' CastaÒo said in a recent fit of candor."

The paramilitaries were not born out of "a desire for vengance" nor are
they recent converts to "the illicit economy." The paramilitaries were
founded and armed by large landowners, with support from the Colombian
government, precisely to assassinate, kidnap and terrorize peaceful
political activists and peasant labor organizers. They began as
mercenaries and have always been. CastaÒo is a war criminal. And Johnson,
like Rohter of the Times, has become the war criminal's accomplice in
public relations.

Former Colombia Attorney General Gustavo de Greiff tells me that the
Colombian government participated in the formation of the paramilitary
squads. He can hardly be called a guerrilla sympathizer ? his
brother-in-law was just kidnapped by the FARC and released by a military
action ? but De Greiff says he tried to warn Colombian officials that they
were making a grave mistake in creating the paramilitaries. "If you create
them," he told Colombian officials, "they will grow out of your control."

The paramilitaries are not avengers. They are mercenaries; a
Frankenstein of US-Colombia policy and Pentagon manuals on
"low-intensity warfare" published in Spanish. Nor does Johnson tell us
that Plan Colombia is explicit in that it will not attack the
paramilitaries. As Alfredo Molano reports, they will be the foot soldiers
of Plan Colombia, while Washington runs the air war.

Johnson writes: "Guerrilla commanders in southern Colombia already are
doling out rifles to civilians, and speaking of a ``patriotic war''
against U.S. intervention."

Again, Johnson contradicts his own bad claims: If the guerrilla has no
public support, then why would it hand out arms to the populace? To arm
its own enemies? The guerrilla hasnít survived for 40 years in Colombia
for being stupid, nor with a lack of popular support. Johnson, in his
anger, is not telling the truth even in those cases where he knows it. And
heís hardly the only or worst offender among the "badly informing" US
press corps in Colombia and all Latin America.

Iíll take Alfredo Molanoís version of the facts over Tim Johnsonís. Heís a
better journalist who really does care for his people. He has more right
to be angry than Johnson -- it's his country -- but he offers us a more
balanced and profound analysis, worthy of an authentic journalist.

Johnson chose to toss his grenades of untruth and bad journalism as he
split town, and thus brought this fact-check upon himself. Good luck to
him as a person. I wish him all safety and happiness. But Plan Colombia is
underway, the human misery will only increase in Colombia and its
neighboring countries, because Tim Johnson and other US correspondents did
not do their jobs.

>From somewhere in a country called AmÈrica,

_____________________________________________________________________

** EARTH DAY 2001 IN DETROIT** Mark your calendar!!
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------- Forwarded Message Follows -------
Organization:    University of Minnesota
To:              actioncolombia@egroups.com
From:            Jessica Sundin <sundi008@...>
Date sent:       Fri, 25 Aug 2000 16:40:51 -0500
Send reply to:   actioncolombia-owner@egroups.com
Subject:         [actioncolombia] colombia news 8/25

Welcome one and all, to the Colombia Action Network!

1. Colombia Military Chief Expects War With Drug Traffickers
2. Colombian rebels slam U.S. aid effort by Cesar Garcia
3. Clinton Defends Rights Waiver For Colombian Aid
4. Clinton's Colombia Waiver "a Grave Mistake"

    ------------------------------------------------------------------------
August 21, 2000 Colombia Military Chief Expects War With Drug Traffickers

BRASILIA (Reuters) -- Colombia's armed forces chief, Gen. Fernando
Tapias, said a U.S.-backed intensification of its war on drug
traffickers and rebels marked "a point of no return" in the country's
peace process.

In an interview published Sunday in Brazilian newspaper Folha de Sao
Paulo, Tapias said that the U.S.-backed "Plan Colombia" would force
Marxist guerrillas to end their three decades of struggle by eroding
their main source of income: the lucrative drug trade. "What is clear:
there will be peace, but first there will be war," Tapias said.

"I would say that Plan Colombia creates a point of no return in the
peace process," said Tapias. "With Plan Colombia, there will be a
radical reduction in financing from drugs. They will have to accept a
negotiated solution from the government."

President Clinton arrives in Colombia Aug. 30 to show support for
Colombia's struggle to slash cocaine production and free up to 50
percent of the war-torn Andean country from the control of rebel
guerrillas.
   Clinton's trip to Colombia, the first by a U.S. president in a decade,
comes after he signed a law in July that gives $1.3 billion for U.S. aid
to fight drugs and rebels in Colombia.

In a separate Folha interview published Sunday, Raul Reyes, the chief
negotiator for the country's biggest rebel army, the Revolutionary Armed
Forces of Colombia (FARC), said rebels were preparing for the worst
conflict in Colombia's history.

"If they implement the Plan Colombia in practice they will have the
worst conflict that this country has ever seen. And we will be ready for
it," said Reyes, a senior FARC commander.
   But Tapias said he doubted that the level of violence in Colombia would
worsen. The last ten years has left 35,000 dead.

"The guerrillas and the paramilitary (forces) are already doing
everything they can," Tapias said. "With or without Plan Colombia,
things are not going to get worse."

Both U.S. and Colombian authorities accuse the rebels of raising up to
$500 million per year from the drug trade. U.S. officials estimate that 90
percent of the cocaine that turns up the United States originates in or
passes through Colombia.

    ------------------------------------------------------------------------

"What is clear: There will be peace, but first there will be war" -
Colombia's armed forces chief "If they implement the Plan Colombia in
practice, they will have the worst conflict this country has ever seen.
And we will be ready for it" - FARC chief negotiator

8/23/00, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Colombian rebels slam U.S. aid effort by Cesar Garcia

SAN VICENTE DEL CAGUAN, Colombia - Leftist rebels who oppose growing
U.S. ties to Colombia's military have promised not to stage attacks to
disrupt President Clinton's upcoming visit to the South American country.

"We will not impede [the Aug. 30 visit] with guerrilla actions," Andres
Paris, a commander and spokesman of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of
Colombia, told the Associated Press in an interview Monday in this
southern ranching town.

But the insurgents known as FARC are "calling on the Colombian people -
the labor unions, student groups, organizations of the unemployed and
others - to protest Clinton's visit," Mr. Paris added.

Mr. Paris said a $1.3 billion U.S. anti-narcotics aid package for
Colombia recently approved in Washington is "just a smoke screen to
promote imperialist interests," and that the U.S. government aims to
exert control over the Andean region's oil and mineral wealth.

Mr. Clinton's planned one-day visit is intended as a show of support for
President Andres Pastrana and his "Plan Colombia" - a strategy to revive
Colombia's economy and stem the country's booming cocaine and heroin trade
to the United States and Europe.

Security is expected to be extremely tight for Mr. Clinton's brief visit
and meeting with Mr. Pastrana in Cartagena, a Caribbean port. The
president is only scheduled to stay a few hours and will not spend the
night in Colombia, one of the world's most violent countries.

Mr. Paris said FARC rejects Mr. Clinton's visit "because he is coming as
the head of an empire to shore up Plan Colombia, which is only going to
intensify the armed confrontation."

The U.S. aid package will provide battle helicopters and Green Beret
training to support a military push into southern jungles where FARC
rebels and the militias take payoffs to protect peasant drug plots and
traffickers' airstrips and laboratories.

Increased bloodshed is widely expected in the conflict that already
claims thousands of lives a year. The rebels, whom the State Department
considers a terrorist organization [sic], have claimed repeatedly that
they are the real target of the U.S. aid plan.

But U.S. officials insist that Washington is not becoming involved in
Colombia's 36-year civil conflict. They concede, however, that
U.S.-trained troops and equipment will be used against any guerrilla units
who try to block stepped up efforts to eradicate drug crops and destroy
labs.
    ------------------------------------------------------------------------
Clinton Defends Rights Waiver For Colombian Aid

WASHINGTON, Aug 23 (Reuters) - President Bill Clinton on Wednesday
defended his decision to waive human rights conditions in order to
release $1.3 billion in aid to help Colombia fight its war on drugs.

Clinton's signature on the waiver on Tuesday sparked an outcry among
Democratic politicians who had urged the Clinton administration to use the
conditions as a way to pressure Colombia into improving its human rights
record. But Clinton said the aid -- approved in July by Congress, which
attached a list of human rights conditions on the release of the money --
was needed in Colombia.

"I did it because I believe President (Andres) Pastrana is committed to
dealing with the human rights issues about which we're still very
concerned," Clinton, who is travelling to Colombia on Aug. 30, told
reporters at the White House. "He has submitted legislation to the
Colombian parliament, for example, for civil trials, for allegations of
military abuses of human rights. And we also have a system in place for
specific case-by-case investigation of serious allegations."

Pastrana's directive handing over jurisdiction to civilian courts for the
criminal investigation and trial of human rights violations alleged to
have been committed by the armed forces was the only one of seven
conditions that has been met by the Colombian government. Six other
conditions set out by Congress when lawmakers approved the aid package for
Colombia were not met, according to the State Department, which was to
certify the conditions.

State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said in a statement that
although the Colombian government was taking steps to meet the other
conditions, more work is needed before the administration can certify the
six remaining conditions. Those requirements include giving the army
commander the power to suspend soldiers suspected of abuses, and vigorous
prosecution in civilian courts of members of paramilitary groups and army
personnel who help them.

A waiver option was included in the legislation, allowing Clinton to
waive the conditions on the basis of his finding that it was in the
United States' national security interest. In a memorandum of
justification to explain the waiver, the White House said another
certification or waiver will be required before the release of further
funds in fiscal 2001.

Democratic senators like Patrick Leahy from Vermont, who spearheaded the
effort to include human rights conditions on the aid package, blasted
Clinton's decision to waive them. "There is no need or justification for
waiving the conditions," Leahy said in a statement. "These conditions are
nothing more than what the Colombian government and our administration
said they would do and this is not too much to ask, considering the risks
and the amount of money involved."

In a July 18 letter to Clinton urging him not to waive the conditions,
Leahy and Massachusetts Sen. Edward Kennedy said the conditions underscore
the importance of human rights as a fundamental principle of U.S. foreign
policy. They cited a 1999 State Department report that concluded that the
Colombian government"s rights record "remained poor" and said the armed
forces and police committed "numerous, serious violations of human rights
throughout the year."

Sen. Paul Wellstone of Minnesota said the waiver sends a dangerous
message to Colombia that U.S. commitment to human rights does not go
beyond "mere rhetoric."

But Clinton defended his move, saying the United States had protected its
"fundamental interest" in human rights and the money was key to helping
Pastrana with "Plan Colombia" -- his bid to crack down on drug production
by providing alternative crops, negotiating peace and stimulating economic
growth. Clinton denied he was sacrificing rights for money, saying the
funds were designed to help combat drug trafficking and to alleviate a lot
of the social problems in the country.

"What I did was to permit Plan Colombia to go forward and to be
implemented because I'm convinced that the president is committed to the
proper course in human rights," he said.

The U.S. aid provides funds for the war on drugs in Colombia. It
includes 60 helicopters to deploy U.S.-trained army battalions in an
offensive against drug traffickers and rebels protecting drug
plantations in southern Colombia -- the source of most of the cocaine sold
on U.S. streets.
    ------------------------------------------------------------------------
Clinton's Colombia Waiver "a Grave Mistake"

(New York, August 23, 2000)  --  President Clinton's decision to waive
human rights conditions on the $1.3 billion military aid package to
Colombia will encourage violent abuses, Human Rights Watch said today. On
August 23, Clinton signed a waiver allowing the United States to ignore
human rights conditions included in the military aid package. In granting
the waiver, Clinton not only makes America complicit in ongoing abuses but
risks converting a failed drug war into a disastrous human rights policy.

"This is the wrong policy and the wrong time," said JosÈ Miguel Vivanco,
Executive Director of the Americas Division of Human Rights Watch. "The
message is that the bad apples with the armed forces shouldn't be worried.
Ultimately, the waiver defeats the purpose of any policy meant to improve
human rights."

Human Rights Watch was among several leading human rights groups who
took part in a two-day consultation with the State Department required by
law before any certification. During those meetings, all of the human
rights groups present, including Human Rights Watch, unanimously opposed
Colombia's certification to receive military aid and called on President
Clinton not to issue a waiver.

For more information, contact:
In Washington, DC, JosÈ Miguel Vivanco -- 202-612-4320
In New York, Joanne Mariner -- 212-216-1218

http://www.hrw.org/campaigns/colombia/index.htm
http://www.hrw.org/spanish/colombia.html


For Peace with the Earth,
Andy Caffrey
Hayduke Rocks!


** EARTH DAY 2001 IN DETROIT** Mark your calendar!!
NO MORE SUVS!  No More Cars built with less than 70mpg - RETOOL NOW!
First International Day of Outrage Against Climate Destabilization
Evil flourishes when good people do nothing
_____________________________________________________________________
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hayduke@...

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PLEASE GET DOWN TO THE PROTESTS TODAY WITH A SIGN AGAINST THE US INTERVENTION
IN COLOMBIA!!



Published on Thursday, August 17, 2000 in the Boston Globe
Grief, Outrage in Colombia
by Margarita Martinez

PUEBLO RICO, Colombia - With this mountain village mourning the death of six
schoolchildren, President Andres Pastrana ordered an investigation yesterday
after an eyewitness said Army troops opened fire on them without provocation.

The Army maintained yesterday that the children became caught in combat
between leftist rebels and Colombian troops.


''The Army had no intention to shoot any children,'' said General Jorge Mora,
the Army chief.



Relatives carry the coffins of six schoolchildren killed in a shooting at
their funeral in their hometown of Pueblo Rico, in the northwestern Antioquia
state, Colombia, Wednesday, Aug. 16, 2000. The army claims that the group of
children hiking in the mountains became caught in combat between leftist
rebels and Colombian troops. President Andres Pastrana ordered an
investigation Wednesday after an eyewitness said army troops opened fire on
the group of children without provocation. (AP Photo/Leon Monsalve)

The shootings Tuesday, in which four children also were wounded, provoked
outrage. They also undermined the Colombian Army at a time when the United
States is helping train and arm the military as part of a $1.3 billion
counternarcotics effort in the South American country.


The US State Department said yesterday it was appalled by the children's
deaths. In Washington, spokesman Philip Reeker called ''on all sides of the
conflict to obey international humanitarian law.''


Amid suspicions that the Army is mounting a coverup, Pastrana vowed to
uncover the truth.


''In the memory of these little ones we need to make sure we know what
happened,'' Pastrana, speaking from the capital, Bogota, said in a national
radio address. ''It's urgent we arrive at the truth now.''


A man who said he witnessed the shootings rebutted the Army's contention that
the children were killed in cross-fire between government troops and rebels.
Hernando Higuita, who was helping his wife, a teacher, lead the children on
an outing when the soldiers opened fire, said there were no rebels in the
area at the time.


Yesterday, the bodies of three of the children lay in their families' homes.
Three others were in a local chapel. The six were to be buried later in the
day.


Residents of Pueblo Rico, located in a mountainous area, did not conceal
their grief, or their anger at government troops.


''Where do they get their training?'' shouted Miriam Lopez, whose 12-year-old
son David was shot and killed. ''At the zoo?''


She said she wanted the government to acknowledge its role in the killings.


Her daughter Viviana, 11, survived the shooting. The girl said she and her
schoolmates were walking on a path when gunfire erupted.


She said she did not know who was doing the shooting.


After the gunfire stopped, government troops emerged from the bushes, she
recalled. One took a look at the dead and wounded children and began weeping,
she said.


''What a mistake,'' the soldier said, according to Viviana.


''How could they think we were rebels?'' she asked.


Her brother's body lay in a white coffin in his grandmother's home. The
streets of this village were virtually empty as residents tried to console
the grieving families.


Army General Eduardo Herrera said the children were shot after they broke
away from the main group of students and ran toward a group of 11 guerrillas
of Colombia's second-largest rebel group, the National Liberation Army.


''Those that were shot were separate from the group,'' he said. Herrera did
not acknowledge or deny that the children may have been shot by his troops,
but he said the troops would not have opened fire if there had not been
rebels in the area.


''Believe me, the soldiers are able to distinguish a line of 50 children and
were not going to fire on them,'' Herrera said.


Mora added that guerrillas fleeing from the Army had ''mixed in with the
children'' in order to protect themselves.


But Higuita, the eyewitness, said the children were looking for a place to
have a picnic when the shooting started.


''There were no guerrillas in the zone; there was no fighting. That's totally
false,'' Higuita said.



END FWD

--------------------------------------------------------------------
-----------------------
NOTE: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material is
distributed without profit or payment to those who have expressed a prior
interest in receiving this information for non-profit research and
educational purposes only. For more information go to:
http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml
-----------------------
--------------------------------------------------------------------


** EARTH DAY 2001 IN DETROIT** Mark your calendar!!
NO MORE SUVS!  No More Cars built with less than 70mpg - RETOOL NOW!
First International Day of Outrage Against Climate Destabilization
Evil flourishes when good people do nothing
_____________________________________________________________________
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hayduke@...

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From: "Rachel Rinaldo" <rarinald@...>
To: <damn@...>
Subject: DAMN: Fw: NYC AUG 30: Clinton out of Colombia!/Clinton fuera
de Colombia!
Date: Thu, 31 Aug 2000 10:21:30 -0500


<x-charset iso-8859-1>
----- Original Message -----
From: <iacenter@...>
Newsgroups: misc.activism.progressive
Sent: Wednesday, August 30, 2000 11:16 PM
Subject: NYC AUG 30: Clinton out of Colombia!/Clinton fuera de Colombia!


>
<color><param>0100,0100,0100</param><FontFamily><param>Courier</param>Text=
>  o en espa=F1ol se encuentra abajo
>
>  30 August 2000
>
>  NYC: HUNDREDS DEMAND: "CLINTON, PENTAGON--OUT OF COLOMBIA!"
>
>  Two hundred people took to the streets of New York on Aug. 30 to protest
U=
>  .S. President Bill Clinton's trip to Colombia. Thousands of people heard
a=
>   united message of "U.S.A., CIA, out of Colombia!"
>
>  The demonstration was one of a dozen protests in cities across the U.S.
an=
>  d part of an international day of protest against Clinton's delivery of
$1=
>  .3 billion in military aid to the death-squad government in Colombia--par
>  t of the so-called Plan Colombia.
>
>  Other U.S. demonstrations took place in Atlanta, Baltimore, Cleveland,
Det=
>  roit, Helena, Los Angeles, Providence, San Diego, San Francisco, and West
=
>  Palm Beach. A demonstration is scheduled for Aug. 31 in Chicago.
>
>  The national protests were coordinated by the International Action
Center,=
>   an anti-war and anti-racist organization founded in 1992 by former U.S.
A=
>  ttorney General Ramsey Clark. Speakers at the New York demonstration addr
>  essed the growing U.S. intervention in Colombia and the need to build a
mo=
>  vement to challenge the Pentagon's war plans.
>
>  "These demonstrations are the first step toward building a national
anti-w=
>  ar movement against U.S. intervention in Colombia," said IAC leader
Teresa=
>   Gutierrez.
>
>  Other groups that participated in the New York protest included the
Colomb=
>  ia Action Committee, the Vieques Support Campaign, the Nationalist Party
o=
>  f Puerto Rico, Casa de las Americas, Movimiento por la Paz, Frente Unido
>  del Pueblo Colombiano. The demonstration in Chicago is organized by the
Co=
>  lombia Solidarity Committee. The Helena action was organized by the
Helena=
>   chapter of the Colombia Support Network.
>
>  The IAC will distribute a roundup of Aug. 30 actions against Clinton's
tri=
>  p to Colombia in the coming days.
>
>  =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D
>
>  Texto en espa=F1ol
>
>  30 de agosto 2000
>
>  NUEVA YORK: CIENTOS RECLAMAN: "CLINTON, PENTAGONO FUERA DE COLOMBIA!"
>
>  Doscientas personas se manifestaron en la ciudad de Nueva York el 30 de
ag=
>  osto para protestar contra el viaje del presidente estadounidense Bill
Cli=
>  nton a Colombia. Miles oyeron el mensaje unitario de "=A1USA, CIA, fuera
d=
>  e
>   Colombia!"
>
>  La manifestaci=F3n era una de 12 protestas en ciudades de los EEUU y
form=F3=
>   parte del d=EDa internacional de protesta contra los $1.300 millones de
a=
>  yuda militar al gobierno paramilitar en Colombia--parte del llamado Plan
C=
>  olo
>  mbia.
>
>  Se llevaron a cabo otras manifestaciones en Atlanta, Baltimore,
Cleveland,=
>   Detroit, Helena, Los Angeles, Providence, San Diego, San Francisco y
West=
>   Palm Beach. Otra se llevar=E1 a cabo en Chicago el 31 de agosto.
>
>  Las protestas en los EEUU fueron coordinadas por el Centro de Acci=F3n
Int=
>  ernacional (IAC), una organizaci=F3n anti-guerra y anti-racista fundada
en=
>   1992 por el ex Fiscal de los EEUU Ramsey Clark. Ponentes a la
manifestaci=
>  =F3n
>  en Nueva York hablaron sobre la escalante intervenci=F3n norteamericana
en=
>   Colombia y la necesidad de desarrollar un movimiento para desafiar los
pl=
>  anes b=E9licos del Pent=E1gono.
>
>  "Estas manifestaciones son los primeros pasos hacia el desarrollo de un
mo=
>  vimiento nacional anti-guerra contra la intervenci=F3n estadounidense en
C=
>  olombia," indic=F3 Teresa Gutierrez, l=EDder del IAC.
>
>  Otros grupos que participaron en la protesta en
>  Nueva York incluyeron Colombia Action Committee,
>  Vieques Support Campaign, Partido Nacionalista de
>  Puerto Rico, Casa de las Americas, Movimiento por
>  la Paz, y Frente Unido del Pueblo Colombiano. La
>  manifestaci=F3n en Chicago es auspiciada por el
>  Colombian Solidarity Committee. La actividad en
>  Helena fue auspiciada por la rama local del
>  Colombia Support Network.
>
>  En los pr=F3ximos d=EDas el IAC distribuir=E1 un sumario
>  de acciones del 30 de agosto en contra del viaje
>  de Clinton.
>
>  International Action Center
>  39 West 14th Street, Room 206
>  New York, NY 10011
>  email: iacenter@...
>  web: www.iacenter.org
>  CHECK OUT THE NEW SITE www.mumia2000.org
>  phone: 212 633-6646
>  fax:   212 633-2889
>



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For Peace with the Earth,
Andy Caffrey
Hayduke Rocks!


** EARTH DAY 2001 IN DETROIT** Mark your calendar!!
NO MORE SUVS!  No More Cars built with less than 70mpg - RETOOL NOW!
First International Day of Outrage Against Climate Destabilization
Evil flourishes when good people do nothing
_____________________________________________________________________
Brought to you by Hayduke Rocks! an, Earth First! Media and Action Network
http://www.efmedia.org
hayduke@...

Check out our news & discussion lists by visiting the Hayduke Rocks!
list sign-up page at
http://www.efmedia.org/elists.html

EF! Alert * EF! Biotech * Climate Crisis Action * Colombia Vigil * EF! Talk
Judi Bari Bombing  * Julia Butterfly Net * Climate Activist * Sea Mammals


Please support these projects. Money, zip disks, cassettes and blank
VHS tape really is needed. Please send to:
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P.O. Box 324
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Thanks!



________________________________________________________
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Date: Wed, 30 Aug 2000 20:18:20 -0700 (PDT)
From: "UTOPIA UNARMED THE MODERN LEFT.IN LATIN AMERICA"
<UTOPIAUNARMED@...>
Subject: DAMN: NOW COLOMBIA IS OFFICALLY IN PLAY LOOK FOR INSIGHTS


COLOMBIA IS NOW OFFICIALLY IN PLAY WITH THE CLINTON ARRIVAL TO BLESS 'Plan
Colombia' LOOK OUT
REMINDER PLEASE BE SURE TO READ ALL,THIS uu AT THEIR BEST INSIGHTSM THE REAL
GAME AND THE REAL TAKE =MOW WITH  THE USA SHOWING ITS HAND IN COLOMBIA
INSIGHTRFUL REMINDER COMMENTARY WILL FLOW
SUPPORT FARC-EP


WHAT THE US GOVERMENT HAS IN STORE FOR
COLOMBIA IN DEFENDING THEIR 'FREEDOMS'

Twenty years have passed since the Nicaraguan Revolution swept the
Sandinistas to power against tremendous odds, presenting the Latin
American people with a fragile glimmer of hope, in an otherwise horrendous
time.

The new government has pursued an ambitious program of social and
economic development: increasing spending on health and education and
carrying out
extensive land reform. Land formerly owned by absentee landlords has
been given to the peasants, who worked the land prior to the revolution.
They expanded production because they now work for themselves.

Land reform has offered the working peasants a sense of integrity and
hope. The United States, however, saw the land reform and the peasants "hope

and integrity" as a threat that needed to be put down immediately. The
United
States sees a country that embraces land reform, in which peasants
become landowners, as the enemy.

For more than a decade, the United States waged a bitter war against
the Campesinos throughout Central America. Several hundred thousand people
were killed during the decade of "Hope and Integrity".

The U.S. propaganda system attempted to hide the true nature and
significance of these battles from the public. Thus, when the Sandinistas
finally lost
power in the 1990 elections, the U.S. media recorded the event as a
victory for burgeoning Latin American democracy, notwithstanding the fact
that "the US government repeatedly announced that if their favored party,
the UNO coalition, did not win, the economic embargo, which had already
caused $3 billion worth
of damage, would continue, as would US sponsorship of Contra terrorism."
Similar U.S.-sponsored "free and fair" elections were held in El Salvador
and Guatemala, and were greeted with acclaim by the dutiful media The Cubans
were interested in the US definition of "sponsoring of terrorism" ,because
the US government was sponsoring the Contras and undermining "elected"
governments, which did not support the US agenda.and financing counter
insurgency throughtout
the Americas .

The deluge ofUS propaganda spans a period of 14 years: from the height of
the
Contra insurgency and Reagan's Cold War to Latin America's economic
crisis and the renewed U.S. assault on Cuba. It is important to
expose the truth about U.S. Latin America policy. More importantly, to
expose the continuity of the colonial process, from 1492 to the
present day affairs; from Columbus to Clinton. What the United States has
done in
Central America is not at all new, and apparantely similiar plans for
Colombia re now undeway. The American public is mislead by viewing these
matters in a myopic manner, because the US
media does not present the real agenga behind America effort to
maintain "freedoms" in Latin america.The US population believes that their
goverment is  helping the people of latin Americam obtain freedom and
defending their
right to Have "fair and Free" elections. The media refuses to expose the
real agenga of US
goverment,where free"and Fair "elections mean a puppet for USinterest

Colombian President Pastrana and Peru's President Fujimouri are two
major puppets controlled by US aid and weapons, Colombia is on
verge of recieving $1.6 BILLION dollars in "aid" more money than any
other country in the world recieves for domestic application. The
leaders continue the propaganda we are fighting the "War on Drugs",when
anyboby pays the slightest attention
to LatinAmerica understands that real purpose for America'sgenerosity is
make sure that the "FARC and ELN are defeated,hence American interest in
Colombia are perserved

The people of United States accept U.S. foreign policy, because it
satisfies the needs and wants of the American people. Once the American
people are made aware of cynicism with which US foreign policy is formed,
then US citizens
can comprehend what the USA is doing in the world. Americans who
understand the historical record of US foreign policy can also comprehend a
good deal
of contemporary history, in the context of the power and influencethe
United State wields.

Current U.S. policies in Colombia and Peru fall into place, fitting
historical patterns that have changed very little since the last
adventure in Central American. U.S. foreign policy is designed to create and
maintain an international order, in which U.S.-based business can prosper.
This means a world of "open societies": societies that are open to
profitable investment,

to expansion of export markets and transfer of capital, and to
exploitation of material and human resources on the part of U.S.
corporations and their local affiliates. "Open societies," have only one
true meaning: societies that are open to U.S. economic penetration and
political control!

The US prefers the "open societies" to be democratic within the
context of the leaders being elected in "fair and free" elections, (as long
as economic, social and ideological forces of the state are firmly
controlled by groups that can be trusted to act in a manner consistent with
US interests).

The US maintains that all "Democracies" are not formed in the same
fashion. But, realistically these governments are nothing more than client
states of the US, ensuring the dominance of the US foreign policy agenda. US
Political

leadership gains the domestic support of the US population by using
propaganda and misinformation .US foreign adventures are masked in
idealistic rhetoric of "defense of democracy", and "saving future
generations",
in addition to "defeating the evil "narco-guerillas" in a victory in the
"War on Drugs".

"Democracy" as the US sees it, is system of governance in which elite
elements based in the business community control the state by virtue
of their dominance of private society, while the population quietly
acquiesces.
The US population has one definition of democracy, and the US government has
quite another: a system of elite decision and public ratification, as in the
United States.

The US government sees popular involvement in the formation of public
policy in Latin America as a serious threat. On the surface, you would think
public involvement is a step towards democracy, but the US believes it is a
"crisis of democracy", that must be overcome.

Public involvement within the US client states is addressed by
different methods, depending on the target. The tactics range from
advertising and public relation campaigns to death squads, assassinations,
kidnapping
and coups. What all of this means for Latin America, is that the primary
concern of U.S. foreign policy is to guarantee the freedom to rob and
exploit.

The "Four Freedoms" the US government uses in pursuing foreign
stability are: freedom of speech, freedom of worship, freedom from want, and
freedom from fear.These "freedoms" are used as a means for the US government
to gain
public support for US Crusades in defense of the "freedom".

Despite the US government's awesome power and their use of propaganda,
public support for the United States "crusades" are not accepted by
everyone. Domestic dissent in the U.S. is crucial, and the role that this
domestic dissent plays in constraining U.S. foreign policy terror is
extremely important. Especially, if it is a matter of life and death. U.S.
intervention in Latin America during the 1980s would have been even more
devastating without the widespread popular opposition that emerged. What
took place is bad enough, and B-52 bombing would have been worse, much worse


.
US involvement in the internal affairs of Latin American countries
(client states) in the past has not been pretty, and if you look into the
future, it becomes very ugly.

Dissidents can help change the future, but we can not change things,
unless more people begin to understand what drives US foreign policy in
Latin America. If we assume that there is no hope, we guarantee that there
will be no hope. But, if we assume that there is an instinct for freedom,
that there are opportunities to change things, then there is a possibility
that
society Can contribute towards making Latin America a better place.

The US desires a capitalist world, where our youth's best talents are
consumed by the neo-liberal creed that the meaning of life resides in
acquiring business, purchasing and political power; where the end
justify
the
means.

If Latin America wants a true democratic society for the future, it
has to end exploitation and economic inequality, create a "real"
participatory democracy and end political elitism.

The most important change will be the "enlightenment" of Latin
American society. Enlightenment will not come easy, as the elite have no
incentive to

allow the rest of society to participate in governmental decisions.
The countries that are attempting to emerge from the chains of domination by
the American elite and the American foreign policy propaganda have turned to
armed struggle.

Unfortunately, the behavior of Latin America's elite is the direct
result of US foreign policy. Without popular support of armed struggle,
there will be no chance of "making a better world". How long can Latin
America survive the

subversive and destabilizing efforts of the White House, under a
bourgeois democracy? Here are just a few examples of US mettling in other
goverments Jacobo Arbenz's government in Guatemala lasted only three years
1951-54) before it was overthrown by a U.S. coup d'etat. The Salvador
Allende government lasted two-and-a-half years (1970-73), before suffering
the same fate; the Sandinista Revolution resisted for six years (1984-90)
and the Bolivian revolution held out for 12 years (1952-64) before being
overthrown by a Washington coup d'etat. Currently Peru's President
Fujimori is a recipient of US support, and is seeking another term. That
will
make his regime the longest "elected" government in Latin America. Colombia
is apparently next in line to
receive this American attention.

The differences in longevity among these examples are due to a simplefact:
Allende and Arbenz controlled governments but not the state, while the
Sandinistas and Bolivians controlled both elements of power, thus increasing


and prolonging the White House's subversive work. In light of these
reflections, the Cuban experience - resisting 41 years of U.S.
aggression -
acquires dimensions beyond those that arise from a simple abstract
reflection
on the desirability and undesirability of Latin America's bourgeois
democratic and socialist structures.

Another compelling example of US mettling: when Salvador Allende won
the
elections in 1970, the Nixon-Kissinger government tried to prevent the
democratically elected president from taking and maintaining power.
But it was not possible for Washington
to arrange a "preventive military coup" due to what the CIA referred
to in its secret documents as the "Constitutionalist Inertia" of the Chilean
Armed Forces.

The White House needed three years to destroy the economy of
the country and organize a pro-coup faction that would end the regime. In
order not to repeat that experience, the
United States is currently forming pro-coup factions - using the
absurd pretext of the war against drug barons - so that "preventive" coups
d'etat can occur rapidly whenever needed to destroy democratic government of
neo-liberals.

Colombia could be the exception to pro-US factions doing the US dirty
work. In Colombia, the insurgents are well armed and well trained, just as
the North Vietnamese solders/Viet Cong soldiers were (the last time the US
thought a country would simply roll over). If the US wants to ensure
stability in Colombia, they need to prepare the US population that the
"freedoms" we hold sacred
are being jeopardized by the "Narco-Guerillas", and will require a US
military invasion.

"The beginning and end of philosophy is freedom", warning that "human
beings are born to act and not to speculate."
"Che Guevara. "


"ENLIGHTENMENT" IS THE ONE THING THE US GOVT CANNOT AFFORD TO HAPPEN
IN LATIN AMERICAN,IF THE US WANT TO PERSERVE THEIR ABILITY TO ROB THEIR
RAWMATERIALS,AND EXPLOIT THE LABOR MARKETS


Utopiaunarmed.com/the modern left in Latin America &Cuba





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              all information contained within.  DAMN therefore disclaims
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              you to contact the reporter personally for further verification.

For Peace with the Earth,
Andy Caffrey
Hayduke Rocks!


** EARTH DAY 2001 IN DETROIT** Mark your calendar!!
NO MORE SUVS!  No More Cars built with less than 70mpg - RETOOL NOW!
First International Day of Outrage Against Climate Destabilization
Evil flourishes when good people do nothing
_____________________________________________________________________
Brought to you by Hayduke Rocks! an, Earth First! Media and Action Network
http://www.efmedia.org
hayduke@...

Check out our news & discussion lists by visiting the Hayduke Rocks!
list sign-up page at
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Please support these projects. Money, zip disks, cassettes and blank
VHS tape really is needed. Please send to:
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________________________________________________________
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PLEASE NOTE: I'M SENDING A BUNCH OF ITEMS TODAY THAT I'VE SAVED UP. I
DON'T EXPECT THIS TO BE NORMAL VOLUME FOR THIS LIST.

ANDY



Date: Wed, 30 Aug 2000 02:56:48 -0700 (PDT)
From: "UTOPIA UNARMED THE MODERN LEFT.IN LATIN AMERICA"
<UTOPIAUNARMED@...>
Subject: DAMN: Colombia's helo  starting to look as Clinton legacy is
being jumped unColpmbia
X-Sender-Ip: 208.13.137.58
Sender: worker-damn@...
Reply-To: damn-d@...
Status:  O

<x-charset iso-8859-1>
]COMMENTARY  WRITTEN ORGINALLY LAST JUNE SOUND amiliar
A view of US foreign policy in Latin-America and the Clinton
Administrationís spin to the American public and Congress...

Are U.S.lobbyists{corp,banks,arms mfg} taking advantage of President Bill
Clinton's desperation to leave a legacy of his Presidency? Lobbyists et al
are aware that Mr. Clinton needs a drastic turn of events in order to create
the legacy he so desperately wants. They are also aware that Mr. Clinton
needs to make things happen fastÖ

First,Al Gore needs to be elected President,and the Democrats need to win
back the House and Senate.President Clinton will campaign hard,and raise a
bundle of money.Unfortunately,that will not suffice,and this is where
the"help" comes in.

Without Goreís election,thereís no affirmation of Mr. Clintonís
presidency,and there certainly is no Legacy. A plan has been put into action
to secure Mr.Goreís victory in November. The plan must overcome the baggage
Mr.Gore accumulated during his two terms as Vice
President(Clinton/Gore).There are two scenarios:one obvious (votes &
money);the second is not so obvious to the majority of the American public
and will be devious,sinister,and will
be effective beyond the publicís comprehension.

Part Two of Elect Gore ( possible help to Hillary) plays out along the
following lines. First,precision orchestration with no room for foul ups is
required. The Administration is extremely adept when covert political
strategy is required. It is obvious that only the most skilled operatives
could maneuver in this climate.What makes PartTwo interesting is that all
the pieces are now in place,including having a few important former
adversaries on board,including the American Military Industrial Complex,{old
phrase sums all players} along with pathetic Politicians pandering to their
constituents.

The President will convince the public of the need to act with constant
reminders of the need to put an end to drugs, save our Children, Church and
Democracy.The clincher however, will be the complete capitulation of
Congress,and the total manipulation of the media by Mr.Clinton and his spin
machine.Mr.Clinton is not one to miss a political opportunity,no matter how
sinister.Especially,when the stakes are so high!"end justifies the means"

NO, I am not referring to winning,losing,or even loss of life.Iam talking
about the most frightening aspect of this scenario, which is that the
American public and politicians will support this initiative.Mr.Clinton will
play the
ìsave the future generations card",the equivalent of saving Europe (Bosnia
and WW II).Who is better qualified than Mr. Clinton to preside over such a
devious,ruthless scheme as outlined,and then rationalize that this "WAR" is
the right thing to do!In the end,the Big Picture justifies
the means.Children,Business,Democracy,Church all our great institutions will
be saved from the evil"NARCO GUERILLAS".

Its imperative to take into account when reading this scenario,that the
American electorate has never changed administrations while U.S. soldiers
were engage in "war". Clinton is absolutely counting on this, and in concert
with his previously stated objectives of saving family,church, stopping
drugs and saving Democracy {Freedom}, he will ensure a Gore victory and save
his Legacy.

As the November election draws closer,the second part of ìElect Goreîbegins
unfolding. Foreign officials,members of the DOD,DEA,CIA and Congress have
been pressuring the Administration to support the pending $1.6 billion aid
package to Colombia and lift weapons sanctions prohibiting the sales of
offensive weapons. The Administration has resisted until recently they had
an epiphany that action needs to be taken now.They need to do this in order
to save South America from a Cuban style revolution led by
Narco-Guerillas, who's ultimate aim (aside from taking power and spreading
revolution) is to destroy the Imperialist Yankees of the North!

So let's analyze this. The obvious means of getting the Vice President
elected is to vigorously campaign, relentlessly raise money, while
ferociously twist arms of resisters to pass the last major piece major
legislation before leaving office.Coincidently,the legislation is the
aforementioned $1.6 billion aid package to aid Colombia.

This will benefit Gore and is essential to Mr. Clintonís scheme. The
campaigning and fund raising will serve as a backdrop to Mr. Clintonís plan
to elect Gore. This is triggered by the passage of the "Aid package" and the

ìSpinî will accelerate about need to save Colombia and Latin-America from
the evil Narco-Guerillas.

As the money and weapons arrive in Colombia, the justification for US
intervention appears on the horizon, with the proviso,that new sophisticated
weapons and planes need at least an eighteen-month training period. In the
meantime, U.S. soldiers roll into ìhold the fortî until the
time they are no longer needed (RIGHT!)

Defense of Colombia in the name of freedom, children and GodÖwho is going to
argue with such a righteous cause? Especially in our own back yard!

Here's where it gets sticky. Once the tremendous aid has arrived, the
fighting escalates into a full-scale war in Colombia. Colombiaís neighbors
will be drawn into the fracas, with covert instigation from the U.S.
Military advisors and weapons technicians will be the vanguard of U.S.
military invasion.

I cannot emphasize the following enough, hence, I will repeat the
following"there has not been a change in administration while our boys were
fighting and dying in a just cause. By the time the fighting begins,this
Administration will convince the American public that we have no other
options. Everybody benefits (except the men sent to the jungles}, business,
Military, DEA, DOD, and Al Gore get elected. Bill Clinton has his Legacy
secured.

Here the cynical ìspinî and a profile of the new enemy: "NARCO GUERILLAS",
who are now a threat to the entire Western Hemisphere! They are responsible
for the drugs, violence and the Moral Decay of America's youth;are enemies
of the Church, and will destroy " DEMOCRACY". They will eradicate the many
freedoms and outstanding working conditions that the
peoples of Colombia & Peru now enjoy under the current system of "free and
fair" elections. The "NG"will end all the rights of the people who have
become spoiled by the rewards of their labors. They eventually will become
prisoners and be returned to their prior status of being
uneducated,unhealthy, godless and homeless,just like in Castro's
Cuba.{according to the "CANF" (I missed that part of Cuba on my visits!)

Finally, this military juggernaut will continue to spread throughout Latin
America, endangering the existence of the current political landscape and
environment. America industry is the engine that provides the quality of
life now enjoyed in Colombia and the other Latin-American countries. America
needs to protect American Industry and the jobs created in order for the
workers to continue to enjoy the benefits that American companies now
provide.The task of replacing the loyalty,working conditions,benefits and
wages provided by U.S. companies and the changing of governments will create
extreme tension. This tension will cause a huge migration of people fleeing
to the USA to escape the "NARCO GUERILLAS".This migration will make the
Cuban boat lift seem like a beach party

The United States is left with only one real choice. In order to prevent the
above mentioned disasters the "NARCO GUERILLAS" will create, the US is
forced in the name
of Humanity and Democracy to arm the Colombians to the tune of an additional
$1.6 billion dollars{recently pending passed} and a commitment of troops
(not to be discussed at this time).We are also committed to arm our
"friends" in Brazil and Peru, so that when the "NARCO GUERILLAS" arrive at
their doorstep,they will be prepared.

The Administration, Military and the arms industry lobbyists have been
successful in the past.When Clinton was first elected in 1992, it was a time
when the Pentagon first faced threats of major cuts in defense spending.

Suddenly Clinton is defending former President Bush's honor by
attacking Iraq. He decides that saving Bosnia is critical,hence deployment
of US soldiers in Europe.
The spin in 1992 -this in order to "prevent" civil war from spilling into
other countries.

The window of opportunity was created and the Administration took advantage
of an opportunity to arm the military and purchase new weapons.Today's
situation is a repeat of 1992 -only difference is that arms exports have
become"crucial"to the survival of Colombia.

The administration,in concert with the U.S. military-industrial
complex,intervenes to stop the NG advance, thus securing American interests
throughout Latin America, specifically in Colombia.The success of this
venture by the administration, lobbyists,foreign officials and arms
manufacturers depends on the sale of new modern
weapons,used equipment such as sophisticated F-16 fighter-planes and left
over rebuilt helicopters, and other Vietnam era weapons, whose exportation
had long been prohibited due to their definition as strategic equipment.

U.S. newspapers recently confirmed reports that the Clinton
Administration,lobbyists, manufacturer representatives, and political and
military officials from Colombia have been pressuring the Congress to
approve the $1.6 billion dollar aid package presently pending.They are also
stepping
up pressure on the State Department to lift restrictions on the sales of
sophisticated weapons and equipment to Colombia

.The Administration and U.S.military lobby not only wants to sell planes,
but is also applying pressure to be able to sell missiles and helicopters to
countries such as Brazil,
Peru, Chile, Ecuador and Venezuela (Clinton should not count on Chavez).

A Congressional Report revealed last year that the United States now
controls 42% of the Latin-American arms market, and predicted a doubling of
this percentage by end of 2000,in spite of the economic crisis plaguing
Colombia, and others. The war for the survival of Colombia has made Latin
American markets strategic targets, in spite of their limited financial
capacity.

The United States benefits more from cheap labor, raw materials and
controlthan any potential losses that might be incurred from the inability
to repay loans for weapons purchases guaranteed by the US taxpayer. The
rational is
that this is merely the cost of doing business.

Colombia has assumed new importance, because the purchase of
state-of-the-art equipment such as smart missiles, fast-moving land vehicles
and computerized equipment for long-distance detection of enemy forces will
help in the efforts of the US to save Colombia,and the future of
Latin-America.

Nobody has determined the type of equipment that will be needed to actually
win a war fought in the Amazon and the dense jungles of Colombia, Brazil and
Venezuela.This is not exactly Bosnia or Iraq, nor is the opposition the
caliber of soldiers encountered in the last few conflicts.

The ex- Marxist, Communist guerillas (now the Narco-Guerillas NG) are well
armed, experienced fighters,who been fighting in this environment for
decades.Their motives,focus and, determination is beyond the comprehension
of what any military training could ever instill into 18-21 yr. old soldiers
in six weeks of training

When American soldiers enter into the to fight in Colombia. Colombia will be
unlike anything they have ever imagine or experienced.The "NARCO GUERILLAS"
have existed
and fought in the Amazon for the past forty years. They are trained, live
and fight in the same environment,and have the advantage of also having
lived in cities, mountains and in the jungles.

One of the unintended consequences of the war in Colombia at a time when the
country is facing a sharp rise in fear and uncertainty due to the advancing
"NARCO GUERILLAS" is a large exodus of people.The departures do not consist
of only the educated and professionals(doctors and engineers),but also the
working class.In Colombia there are 800-1000 requests for passports each
day, with no relief in sight.Eight hundred thousand people or 2% of the
population of forty million have already left in just the past four
years.With $1.6
billion dollars in military aid looming, the fear is intensifying that
Colombia will erupt into the "killing fields" of the Western Hemisphere.

Yet, the possibility of obtaining modern weapons from the U.S. has sparked
the interest of the military in countries like Brazil, Chile, and Peru. They
have become like Laos, Cambodia, Thailand and South Vietnam during the
Vietnam experience.Weapons and time have changed,while the objectives remain
the same: sell arms, protect raw materials, cheap labor, markets,and
American business profits. Assisting the American people in maintainingan
excessive life style is paramount, even at the expense of sacrificing
American lives.

The United States had cut back its old alliances with the region's armed
forces in order to back the reestablishment of "democracy". However, the
U.S. Government now finds itself under strong pressure to
abandon"principles" for business deals. U.S. backed Colombian and South
American officials look the same as the past regimes to the people: hence,
insurgencies have become even more aggressive than previous efforts. The US
has apparently changed course in Colombia, as the US did in recent years in
Central America, Southeast Asia, Bosnia, Iraq, and a host of lesser-known
countries.
The U.S. has decided that the people in these areas are incapable of
choosing a leader or selecting a system under which to live and prosper
unless, of course they choose a system which American businesses and
politicians agree with.

The only countries not subject to our exploitation are the Western European
countries, due to the fact that we share the same mores and cultures, and
most importantly, they are our allies. The citizens and businesses of our
allies need to prosper and profit,and it is good to be our ally (after all,
somebody has to work,and who better to select the pool of available labor
than this enlightened group led by the United States)?

Note If someone had told me this is what happen while i was in coma i
certainly would not shocked! Would you?

#Colombia is now the third largest recipient of foreign aid

#Colombia is the only country to recieve aid and weapons -not to defend
their country from an enemy or their neighbors,The money is used to defeat
the anti -goverment insurgents? A CIVIL WAR!!





bob d



Utopiaunarmed.com/the modern left in Latin America &Cuba
VERCERIMOS





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              ***DAMN DISCLAIMER - IMPORTANT PLEASE NOTE***

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              all information contained within.  DAMN therefore disclaims
              responsibility for the information in this message and urges
              you to contact the reporter personally for further verification.

For Peace with the Earth,
Andy Caffrey
Hayduke Rocks!


** EARTH DAY 2001 IN DETROIT** Mark your calendar!!
NO MORE SUVS!  No More Cars built with less than 70mpg - RETOOL NOW!
First International Day of Outrage Against Climate Destabilization
Evil flourishes when good people do nothing
_____________________________________________________________________
Brought to you by Hayduke Rocks! an, Earth First! Media and Action Network
http://www.efmedia.org
hayduke@...

Check out our news & discussion lists by visiting the Hayduke Rocks!
list sign-up page at
http://www.efmedia.org/elists.html

EF! Alert * EF! Biotech * Climate Crisis Action * Colombia Vigil * EF! Talk
Judi Bari Bombing  * Julia Butterfly Net * Climate Activist * Sea Mammals


Please support these projects. Money, zip disks, cassettes and blank
VHS tape really is needed. Please send to:
Earth First!
P.O. Box 324
Redway, CA 95560

Thanks!



________________________________________________________
                            1stUp.com - Free the Web
    Get your free Internet access at http://www.1stUp.com

------- Forwarded Message Follows -------
Organization:    University of Minnesota
To:              actioncolombia@egroups.com
From:            Jessica Sundin <sundi008@...>
Date sent:       Wed, 23 Aug 2000 12:46:27 -0500
Send reply to:   actioncolombia-owner@egroups.com
Subject:         [actioncolombia] Colombia news 8/23/00

Hello friends. We just re-organized our website, and have added many new
resources & links. Please take a look at
http://www.freespeech.org/actioncolombia

- the Colombia Action Network
    ------------------------------------------------------------------------

1.Clinton Signs Aid Package for Colombia
2. Demonstration: No Yankee intervention in Colombia (Toronto 8/30)
3. Throwing Money at Colombia will only make things worse
4. Support grows for INTERNATIONAL PROTESTS VS. CLINTON'S TRIP TO
COLOMBIA AUG. 30 (en espanol tambien)
5. Drugs and Injustice: Europe encouraged to withhold support

    ------------------------------------------------------------------------

Wednesday, August 23, 2000, Washington Post

Clinton Signs Aid Package For Colombia
By Ellen Nakashima and Matthew Vita

President Clinton last night signed a waiver authorizing distribution of a
$1.3 billion aid package to help the Colombian government fight drug
traffickers even though it has not met all the human rights conditions set
by Congress, administration officials said.

The decision comes one week before Clinton is to make a one-day visit to
Colombia to demonstrate his support for President Andres Pastrana's
efforts to combat the country's drug trade, which is responsible for 90
percent of the cocaine consumed in the United States. Clinton's signing of
the waiver is the final step in a year-long debate over how best to assist
the Pastrana government.

Congress approved Clinton's request for Colombia aid in July on a
bipartisan basis despite the opposition of human rights groups concerned
about human rights abuses by the Colombian military. The U.S. plan calls
for more than $1 billion to train and equip the Colombian army and police
forces, and includes delivery of 18 Black Hawk helicopters and 42 Huey 2
helicopters. The package also provides money aimed at promoting human
rights programs, judicial reform and economic development.

Bowing to concerns that the money would reward the Colombian military
despite its poor human rights record and ties to right-wing paramilitary
groups, Congress conditioned the package on the Colombian government
curbing rights abuses by the armed forces.

Among the conditions was a requirement that Pastrana issue a written
statement that military personnel accused of human rights abuses will be
brought to justice in the country's civilian courts. Pastrana issued that
statement last Wednesday.

"This is an important step," National Security Council spokesman P.J.
Crowley said. "It's saying military courts cannot be used to shield human
rights abusers from accountability."

Congressional critics of Colombia's human rights policies expressed
disappointment that the president would release the aid package, even
though his decision was widely anticipated. Some said they wished the
administration had pressed harder for human rights improvements.

"These conditions are nothing more than what the Colombian government said
they were prepared to do, and it is not too much to ask, given the risks
involved and the amount they are asking us to provide," said Sen. Patrick
J. Leahy (D-Vt.). "We need to see a consistent good faith effort [to curb
human rights abuses], and we don't even see that."

The Pastrana directive satisfied one of seven human rights criteria that
Congress said had to be met before the money could be released.

State Department officials said they expect two other criteria to be met
within the next several weeks. One would require the Colombian army
commander to suspend personnel alleged to have committed "gross violations
of human rights." The other would require the military to develop a judge
advocate general corps to investigate military misconduct. Other
provisions include demanding that the government prosecute leaders of
paramilitary groups.

The State Department recommended Friday that Clinton waive the criteria
that could not be met on national security grounds &#150; to free up the
money as soon as possible. "We think it's necessary to get the money out
now," a senior State Department official said. "We've already seen the
difficulty down there with the program because of delays."

The fact is, administration officials say, that the Colombian government
has not had sufficient time to meet all the conditions laid out by
Congress.

Perhaps the toughest demand to meet is one calling for the elimination of
all coca and opium poppy by 2005, a requirement that conflicts with
Colombia's own plan calling for reducing coca production by half in the
same time period. That could be why, officials say, Republican supporters
of the aid package inserted the national security waiver provision.

Nonetheless, they said Pastrana, who was elected two years ago, has made
progress in fighting the drug trade, where his predecessors had not. He
has, for example, extradited three major narcotics traffickers &#150; one
last week &#150; to the United States to face prosecution here, senior
administration officials said.

And though administration officials say "serious" progress still needs to
be made in halting human rights abuses, they say Pastrana seems to be
heading in the right direction. He has already dismissed several generals
who allegedly have been involved in some of the worst atrocities. One of
them was reportedly involved in a series of massacres in the state of
Norte de Santander in which more than 200 people were killed in a
three-month span.

Amid a backdrop of economic disarray, Pastrana is battling a
long-running internal conflict featuring powerful drug traffickers,
right-wing paramilitary groups and leftist guerrillas.

Clinton will visit Colombia on Aug. 30 to help bolster Pastrana's
efforts. He will be accompanied by Secretary of State Madeleine K.
Albright and a large bipartisan congressional delegation headed by House
Speaker J. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.), a leading proponent of aiding
Colombia's efforts to curb drug trafficking.

Human rights organizations, which have held a series of meetings with
administration officials to discuss Colombia policy, warned that the
presidential waiver would reinforce the belief of elements in the
country's military that they can act with impunity.

"It's an extremely dangerous policy given the record of the Colombian
armed forces and its close ties to paramilitary groups," said Jose Miguel
Vivanco, director of the Americas division of Human Rights Watch. "It's
not in the best interest of the U.S. government to do business with the
Colombian military without real supervision of human rights."

Leahy warned that the Colombian government will face a "tougher
standard" next year when Congress is asked to approve the final part of
the two-year, $1.3 billion aid package.

"We're going to be monitoring it very closely," said Rep. Sam Farr
(D-Calif.). "We'll be watching Colombia. They can't screw it up. The
usage of this money will determine whether they get any more."

Leahy, among others, called attention to last week's attack by army
troops on a school hiking trip in northwestern Colombia that left six
children ages 8 to 10 dead as an example of Colombia's inability to rein
in its armed forces.

After initially blaming guerrillas for the deaths, the government
announced Saturday that it was investigating 25 soldiers and officers of
the army's Fourth Division in connection with the shootings. The army said
the attack occurred while army units were chasing insurgent rebels in the
region.

© 2000 The Washington Post Company
    ------------------------------------------------------------------------

DEMONSTRATION: NO YANKEE INTERVENTION IN COLOMBIA!

Protest Prez Clinton's Visit to Colombia
No to U.S. Intervention!
No to "Plan Colombia"!

WEDNESDAY AUGUST 30 6:00 p.m.
U.S. CONSULATE, 360 UNIVERSITY AVE., TORONTO

On August 30, President Clinton arrives in Bogota, Colombia. The trip's
main purpose will be to promote the U.S. government's "Plan Colombia,"
including US$1.5 billion in additional military aid and more US personnel
under the phony pretext of enforcing Washington's "war on drugs."

In reality, this "Plan" is part of U.S. military strategy to intervene in
the internal conflict on the side of the Colombian oligarchy, its state,
armed forces and their paramilitary gangs, and to carry out a US-organized
counter-insurgency campaign under cover of fighting the narco-traffickers.

"Plan Colombia" will result in more torture, repression and massacres of
the unarmed civilian population by the Colombian army and right-wing death
squads. It will undermine the current peace negotiations, and lead to an
escalation of the civil war. It might even result in direct U.S. military
intervention, on the scale of the Vietnam War!

In Canada as elsewhere, more and more people are learning the truth
about the political conflict in Colombia, and the growing danger of U.S.
imperialist intervention. On August 30th, demonstrations will be held
across Canada, throughout the Americas and around the world to protest the
Clinton visit. Add your voice in protest against Washington's escalating
war against the Colombian people.

US IMPERIALISM, GET OUT OF COLOMBIA!
BILL CLINTON, GO HOME!
SUPPORT THE PEACE PROCESS IN COLOMBIA!
VICTORY TO THE COLOMBIAN PEOPLE!

FOR A NEW COLOMBIA, WITH PEACE, SOCIAL JUSTICE AND NATIONAL
SOVEREIGNTY!

Organized by: International Support Group FARC-EP, Action Committee in
defence of Colombian People

Please circulate as widely as possible! For more information, call
416-466-1219
    ------------------------------------------------------------------------

Wednesday, August 23, 2000. Los Angeles Times

Throwing Money at Colombia Will Only Make Things Worse
by Paul Wellstone

CD Editors note: This article was written before President Clinton
waived the human rights standards and signed 'Plan Colombia' on August 22.

President Clinton faces a major human rights challenge this week on the
issue of counternarcotics aid to Colombia. Will his administration certify
that the Colombian government has met the human rights requirements set by
Congress as a precondition to releasing a $1.3-billion U.S. military aid
package to the country, or will he suspend the aid until the requirements
are met? Will Clinton waive the human rights conditions--an admission that
the human rights situation in Colombia remains a disaster--and release the
funds regardless?

Whatever his decision, it will help define his legacy and our country's
international standing and foreign policy for years to come.

As the president considers his decision, the Colombian government
pledged to investigate a recent Colombian army operation that left dead
six schoolchildren who had been on a hiking trip. Over the past weekend,
authorities reported that paramilitaries, often working closely with the
Colombian military, killed 10 farmhands in two villages in northeastern
Antioquia province.

Next week, President Clinton makes a one-day visit to Colombia to
spotlight the  administration's assistance package, the bulk of which will
be used to train and equip  special counternarcotics battalions for the
Colombian army and to supply them with at least 60 Huey and Blackhawk
helicopters.

Releasing these funds, either by certification or by waiver, will do
harm to the American claim of leadership on the issue of international
human rights.

Many members of Congress expressed concern about human rights abuses in
Colombia but reluctantly supported the package because they trusted the
certification process to ensure no aid would be delivered to an abusive
military.

After an honest and objective assessment of the human rights situation in
Colombia, it should be clear to all that certifying Colombia today is
impossible: The military maintains links to the paramilitaries; the
government of Colombia has not vigorously pursued members of
paramilitaries; many members of the armed forces who are credibly accused
of human rights violations have not been suspended; the military continues
to challenge the jurisdiction of civilian courts; and the president of
Colombia has not issued a written order for human rights cases to be tried
in civilian courts.

The only responsible alternative for the administration is to deny the
military aid to Colombia. Waiving the human rights conditions would be a
profound mistake. It would send a dangerous message to the Colombian army
and to the civilian leadership that the U.S. commitment to human rights
does not go beyond rhetoric.

Instead of throwing taxpayers' dollars at a war neither side can win and
aligning ourselves with a questionable military, I believe that the U.S.
should play a more effective role by helping create genuine economic
alternatives for the peasant farmers and others involved in the Andean
drug trade. And it should better combat drug abuse here at home by funding
drug treatment and education programs.

A landmark study of cocaine markets by the Rand Corp. found that, dollar
for dollar, providing treatment to cocaine users is 10 times more
effective than drug interdiction schemes and 23 times more cost effective
than eradicating coca at its source. We must make a commitment to reducing
demand in the United States.

Since 1989, virtually all U.S. assistance to Colombia has been related to
counternarcotics efforts, helping the police and military fight illicit
drug cultivation, production and trafficking. But the administration's own
estimates show a 140% increase in Colombian coca cultivation over the past
five years. Given this record, had the drug war been evaluated like most
other federal programs, I believe that we would have tried a different
strategy long ago.

Paul D. Wellstone (D-Minn.) is a member of the Senate Foreign Relations
Committee.

Copyright 2000 Los Angeles Times

    ------------------------------------------------------------------------
*** Send local protest info, and we'll forward to the list! ***

23 August 2000

Support grows for INTERNATIONAL PROTESTS VS. CLINTON'S TRIP TO
COLOMBIA
AUG. 30 No to the Plan Colombia! Stop the U.S. war against Colombia!

When U.S. President Bill Clinton travels to Cartagena, Colombia on Aug.
30, thousands of people in Colombia, the United States, and around the
world will hold demonstrations to protest the escalating U.S. military
intervention in Colombia.

The International Action Center (IAC) encourages all anti-war and
progressive forces to join in the Aug. 30 demonstrations, to organize
pickets at U.S. government offices and military recruiting centers, and to
stage activities to denounce the U.S. war in Colombia.

"Clinton's visit is a slap in the face to the millions of Colombians who
are struggling for peace with social justice," IAC leader Teresa Gutierrez
said.

"The people of Colombia have spoken loud and clear: the Plan Colombia is
an act of war," she continued. "We will not sit by while the U.S. prepares
another Vietnam War."

In Colombia, union, peasant, student, political and community
organizations have announced plans for protests during Clinton's visit.
Demonstrations are also planned for New York, San Francisco, Chicago,
Atlanta, Montreal, Toronto, Stockholm, London, Buenos Aires, and other
cities.

"The list of cities where Aug. 30 protests are taking place is growing
every day," Gutierrez said.

The Colombian government is holding talks with the Revolutionary Armed
Forces of Colombia-People's Army at the same time that it is imposing
drastic IMF-sponsored austerity measures against the population. The Plan
Colombia is a $7.5 billion proposal to support the government's efforts to
continue the austerity and increase its military force.

Key to the plan is the $1.3 billion U.S. military aid signed by Clinton in
July. The package includes 60 combat helicopters, counterinsurgency
training, and deadly chemicals to be used on Colombian crops. In August,
the first detachment of nearly 100 U.S. Special Forces troops arrived in
Colombia, joining the 200-300 U.S. troops already there.

"If Clinton really wanted to wage a war on drugs, he would start by
providing jobs and education in the U.S. to decrease demand and provide
drug treatment to all who need it," Gutierrez charged. "He would
investigate the U.S. embassy in Bogot·, where U.S. Col. James Hiett
presided over a drug- running operation until last year, and would
investigate the biggest banks for the profits they make on drug funds."

Clinton's war plans must be challenged by the solidarity of the people of
the U.S. Stop the U.S. war in Colombia!

To endorse these actions, to send solidarity messages, or to inform us of
local activities, contact the IAC at iacenter@... or (212)
633-6646.

=======================
23 de agosto 2000

Crece el apoyo para las  PROTESTAS INTERNACIONALES CONTRA EL VIAJE
DE
CLINTON A COLOMBIA EL 30 DE AGOSTO °No al Plan Colombia!  °Alto a la
guerra de los EEUU contra Colombia!

Cuando el presidente estadounidense Bill Clinton viaje a Cartagena,
Colombia el 30 de agosto, miles de personas en Colombia, los Estados
Unidos y la nivel mundial se manifestar·n en protesta contra la
escalante intervenciÛn de los EEUU en Colombia.

El Centro de AcciÛn Internacional (IAC) solicita a todas las fuerzas
anti-guerra y progresistas para unirse a las manifestaciones el 30 de
agosto, para organizar piquetes frente a las oficinas gubernamentales
norteamericanas y centros de reclutamiento militar, y para realizar actos
de denuncia contra la guerra de los EEUU en Colombia.

"La visita de Clinton es un insulto a los millones de colombian@s que
luchan por la paz con justicia social," dijo Teresa Gutierrez, lÌder del
IAC.

"El pueblo colombiano se ha manifestado claramente: el Plan Colombia es un
acto de guerra," indicÛ. "No vamos a sentarnos tranquilos cuando el
gobierno estadounidense prepara otra guerra al estilo de Vietnam."

En Colombia, organizaciones sindicales, campesinas, estudiantiles,
polÌticas y comunales han anunciado planes para manifestaciones durante la
visita de Clinton. Van a haber actividades tambien en Nueva York, San
Francisco, Chicago, Atlanta, Montreal, Toronto, Estocolmo, Londres, Buenos
Aires, y otras ciudades del mundo.

"La lista de ciudades donde van a haber protestas crece cada dÌa m·s,"
dijo Gutierrez.

El gobierno colombiano esta envuelto en di·logos con las Fuerzas Armadas
Revolucionarias de Colombia-EjÈrcito del Pueblo a la misma vez que est·
imponiendo brutales medidas de austeridad, auspiciadas por el FMI, contra
la poblaciÛn. El Plan Colombia es una propuesta de $7.500 millones para
respaldar los esfuerzos del gobierno para continuar con la austeridad y
aumentar sus fuerzas militares.

Clave al plan son los $1.300 millones de ayuda militar estadounidense,
firmado por Clinton en julio. El paquete militar incluye 60 helicÛpteros
de combate, entrenamiento contrainsurgente, y quÌmicos mortales para usar
contra el ambiente. En agosto llegaron las primeras unidades de casi 100
soldados de las Fuerzas Especiales (los conocidos Boinas Verdes) a
Colombia, aÒadiÈndose a las 200- 300 tropas norteamericanas ya en el paÌs.

"Si Clinton quisiera hacer una verdadera guerra contra las drogas,
empezarÌa con proveer trabajos decentes y educaciÛn para bajar el
consumo de las drogas y con proveer tratamiento para todos los que lo
necesitan," Gutierrez explicÛ. "InvestigarÌa a la embajada norteamericana
en Bogot·, donde el coronel estadunidense presidiÛ sobre una operaciÛn de
narcotr·fico hasta el aÒo pasado, y tambiÈn a los bancos m·s grandes que
se lucran del narcotr·fico."

Los planes de guerra de Clinton deben ser desafiados por la solidaridad
del pueblo norteamericano. °Basta con la guerra de los EEUU contra
Colombia!

Para endosar estas actividades, para mandar mensajes de solidaridad o para
informarnos de actividades locales, contacta al IAC (212) 633- 6646 o
iacenter@...

    ------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Irish Times, August 23, 2000

Drugs And Injustice: Europe urged to withhold support
by Anna Carrigan

As President Clinton prepares to visit Bogota in the middle of next week
Ana Carrigan raises doubts about his mission and asks disturbing questions
concerning the real US agenda

COLOMBIA: Three weeks ago, President Clinton interrupted a family
holiday to announce that he would travel to Colombia on Wednesday next to
meet President AndrÈs Pastr ana. His visit, he claimed, would "underscore
America's support for Colombia's efforts to seek peace, fight illicit
drugs, build its economy and deepen democracy".

Clinton will promote "Plan Colombia", which many observers see as a
vehicle his State Department has devised to permit the US to enter the
counter-insurgency war against the FARC guerrillas under the cover of
"counter-narcotics". Plan Colombia is the biggest aid package every
offered to a Latin American country.

Yet it is opposed by many in Colombia who have no sympathy with the
guerrillas, because they believe it will provide no exit from the
quagmire of 30 years of conflict. Far from bringing peace, they believe it
will drag the country deeper into bloodshed. Besides the Colombian
President, Clinton will meet selected business interests but not the
representatives of civil society, including church groups, trade unions
and peace activists, who reject the US plan.

Ironically, with Clinton keen to enhance the image of his presidency, Plan
Colombia may leave a stain on his legacy and present a poisoned chalice
for his successor. It also poses a problem for his European allies who
will need to unite if they are not to be dragged into the Colombian
quagmire.

Far from helping Colombia to "strengthen its democracy", Clinton's
policies have done the opposite. The Pentagon has formed an alliance
with an army that refuses to disengage from drug trafficking and from the
notorious "paramilitaries" - Colombian jargon for right-wing death squads.
"Army watched gunmen kill Colombian peasants" is how Reuters headed its
report of last month's massacre in La Union. This is the village where an
Irish priest, Father Brendan Forde, has courageously decided to stay,
despite threats from the paramilitaries to kill more members of his "peace
community".

While the US Embassy recites statistics about the number of Colombian
officers who have passed Washington-sponsored army human rights courses,
Colombians continue to be terrorised, driven into exile and slaughtered
with impunity. La UniÛn is just one instance in a trail of massacres - 402
last year - attributed to "paramilitaries". Their military strategy
consists of slaughtering defenceless villagers with macabre cruelty.

However deplorable the methods of the FARC (the Revolutionary Armed
Forces of Colombia) and ELN  (Army of National Liberation) guerrillas, it
is not left-wing terrorism but the rapid rise in the political and
military power of the "paramilitaries" which now presents the greatest
risk to the elected government. Only Washington has the financial and
political clout to rein in this threat. Last week there were alarming
signs that the US is moving in the opposite direction. Serious allegations
have emerged that agents of the US Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) have
offered to subsidise the "paramilitary" leader, Carlos CastaÒo, in return
for his support in combating the traffickers.

Speaking on national television from his northern fiefdom, CastaÒo said he
did not know whether a request for his help reflected US policy or came
from agents acting on their own initiative. A DEA informant, who says he
acted as translator at meetings between DEA agents, traffickers and
members of CastaÒo's paramilitaries, claims it was agreed that US
officials should meet CastaÒ o to conclude a deal.

"They [the DEA agents] were supposed to bring US Army officials, even
people from the Department of State, and a series of politicians [to meet
CastaÒo]," he said. "They spoke of 10 or 12." The story may be a fantasy,
as the Clinton administration claims, but it would not be the first time
US intelligence agencies have had dealings with Carlos CastaÒo. In 1993,
while working for the Cali Cartel, he collaborated with the CIA and the
Colombian police to bring down the fugitive drug baron, Pablo Escobar.

Paramilitaries have been endemic to Colombia since President Betancur
began peace talks in 1983. When Betancur opened a door to the guerrillas,
the army sought allies for a dirty war to derail the talks. They turned
for help to the Medellin cartel.

Escobar and his partners provided the money and the generals contracted
crack Israeli and British mercenaries to come to Colombia to run a death
squad school. Carlos CastaÒo was the school's star pupil.

He has never been out of a job: hit man for Escobar; drug trafficker;
death squad leader contracted by the army to cover their tracks while they
eliminated the UniÛn Patriotica party in the late 1980s; founder of  a
paramilitary group in the 1990s which he used to  murder his way to
control a neo-feudal empire stretching across half of northern Colombia.
CastaÒo's criminal career neatly encapsulates Colombia's institutional
collapse.

Today CastaÒo is in a process of metamorphosis, from psychopathic
gangster to political icon. In the last two years he has unified the
disparate, autonomous, regional paramilitaries into a national force of
some 10,000 men in uniform. Under his leadership, this army provides the
muscle for a shadowy, fascist political movement, whose civilian
leadership is invisible though its goals are not: first, to close down the
peace talks between the government and FARC; then, to provide a launching
pad for a military-civilian "national unity government".

CastaÒo now controls territory and population in the Middle Magdalena
valley, right up to the strategic oil refinery river port of
Barrancabermeja. Since April, he has mobilised "popular protests" against
the establishment of a neutral zone where talks with ELN leaders could
begin. The talks have been blocked for months. Last month, when the Swiss
government invited the Colombian government to come to Geneva with the ELN
leaders and a civic society delegation to start peace talks in neutral
territory, some of CastaÒo's friends came too.

His paramilitaries almost wrecked the conference through a savage
onslaught on ELN villages timed to coincide with the talks. After the
conference, two men cornered the sound engineer in a hotel elevator and
made off with the only official recordings of the two-day peace meetings.
no's CIA contacts are back in business. Such fears may be paranoid or they
may not. But one thing is clear: in the midst of chaos, CastaÒo is the
only political actor who is consistently gaining gound. He now has a
large, rapidly growing following in among the middle class in Colombia.
CastaÒo personifies what happens to societies in failed states.

Next month, EU officials meet in Bogota to decide on their response to
Plan Colombia. One week ago, a coalition of 37 Colombian human rights and
other NGO groups signed a statement rejecting the plan's funds for
development. Citing "ethical and political difficulties (in) receiving aid
from this programme", they told Clinton his money was tainted. Their
message to Europe: withhold support from Plan Colombia and become actively
involved in the search for alternatives.

http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/world/2000/0823/wor3.htm
    ------------------------------------------------------------------------





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Time to get serious.

To:              actioncolombia@egroups.com
From:            Jess Sundin <actioncolombia@...>
Date sent:       Fri, 11 Aug 2000 14:44:33 -0500
Send reply to:   actioncolombia-owner@egroups.com
Subject:         [actioncolombia] Colombia news 8/11


Welcome new members to the Colombia Action Network! Sorry the news has
been slow in coming, I've been battling a little bug I picked up in Colombia.
We'll get back on schedule soon.
- Jess & the CAN

1. Colombian Death Squad Chief Says US Asked for Help
2. Panama rejects US visiting forces proposal
3. Clinton to visit Colombia (statement from the White House
& background briefing)


August 10, 2000
Colombia Death Squad Chief Says U.S. Asked for Help
BOGOTA, Colombia (Reuters) - The leader of Colombia's outlaw ultra-right death
squads said he had received a message, via one of his collaborators, from U.S.
anti-drug agents requesting his help in wiping out the drug trade.
In an interview with RCN television, Carlos Castano, feared leader of the
paramilitary United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC), denied meeting U.S.
officials in person but said he had warned drug traffickers that he
would target
them if they did not cease their illicit smuggling operations.
"A cattle rancher came to me with some information saying he had a friend who
was a narco-trafficker and had been talking to the (U.S.) Drug Enforcement
Administration (DEA) and they had sent me a message and through that there
was a possibility of ending narco-trafficking in Colombia,'' Castano said.
"I received a call saying the DEA was opening the doors so that Colombian drug
traffickers could surrender to U.S. justice and ... it needed a
significant force in
Colombia that would induce these people to take that decision,'' added Castano.
The right-wing warlord controls a force of some 5,000 fighters blamed for
massacring thousands of civilians in the course of Colombia's long-running
conflict that has claimed 35,000 lives in just the last 10 years.
His comments could not immediately be confirmed with U.S. authorities.
The U.S. Congress approved a record $1.3 billion package of mostly military aid
to help Colombia fight the drug trade and Communist rebels, the
bitter rivals of
Castano's AUC.
TOP-LEVEL US VISIT
The RCN interview coincided with a visit to Colombia's Caribbean
coast resort of
Cartagena by a high-level U.S. delegation including U.S.
Undersecretary of State
Thomas Pickering and the White House's top anti-drug official Barry McCaffrey.
President Clinton is himself due to visit Cartagena on Aug. 30, the
first visit to
Colombia by a U.S. president since George Bush in 1990.
In the two hour-interview late Wednesday, Castano rejected suggestions U.S.
officials had offered him money or weaponry in return for forcing
narco-traffickers
to surrender.
In the past, U.S. authorities, including the DEA, have accused Castano's
paramilitary force of smuggling cocaine and heroin and using the
proceeds to fund
its fight against the guerrillas. Castano has admitted receiving
contributions from
drug capos but insisted he was "an enemy of drugs.''
"I could not ask for U.S. aid when (U.S. officials) are always accusing us of
financing ourselves with drug trafficking,'' Castano said.
NO DIRECT CONTACT WITH DEA
Castano said he did not know if the request for the assistance of his
paramilitary
force was a U.S. policy or a personal request by a handful of agents acting
without government authorization.
"I have never had (direct) contact with members of the State Department or any
U.S. intelligence agencies. ... I have no proof that this was a
policy of the DEA or
the U.S. administration or just some individuals within those agencies,'' he
explained.
It was not clear whether Castano had responded to the U.S. request for his help
but he conceded he had threatened some drug traffickers whom he considered
had close ties with Marxist guerrilla groups.
"(I told the traffickers) that sooner or later U.S. support in the
fight against
(guerrilla) subversion and the AUC's anti-subversive fight would
eventually target
them,'' he added.
Both Colombian and U.S. authorities have accused the country's estimated
22,000 guerrilla fighters of funding their uprising with millions of
dollars a year in
profits from the drug trade.
http://www.foxnews.com/national/0810/d_rt_0810_3.sml

#########################################################

Sat, 5 Aug 2000, The Panama News
Panama rejects US visiting forces proposal
The Moscoso administration has turned down an American proposal for a "visiting
forces agreement" that would have ceded extraterritorial legal
jurisdiction over
criminal charges arising from acts committed by US military personnel in Panama
to US courts. The proposal, which referred to joint anti-drug maneuvers with
Panama's non-existent military forces, also appeared to have a general loophole
that would have allowed the United States to conduct "other"
military missions in
Panama, the same provision that kept Panama from accepting the US proposal to
turn Howard into an anti-drug base. The Moscoso administration has
not ruled out
a visiting forces agreement in principle, but it did find this
particular proposal
unacceptable.
US envoy discusses RP role in Plan Colombia
On July 25 US undersecretary of state Peter Romero came to Panama to meet
with President Moscoso and some of her ministers about "Plan Colombia," the
$1.3 billion anti-guerrilla military offensive recently approved by
the US Congress
and signed by President Clinton, and how it will affect Panama. Details of the
discussion were not released.
RP doubles police force on border
The Moscoso administration has ordered the National Police presence along the
Colombian border to be doubled, in anticipation of waves of refugees
headed this
way. The United States government has approved a $1.3 billion escalation of
Colombia's civil war, and the United Nations High Commission for Refugees is
warning all of the neighboring countries that more people will come
fleeing across
their borders. The Panamanian government hopes to prevent the influx, so is
reinforcing police strength on the border to prevent it.
(From The Panama News, http://www.thepanamanews.com )

#########################################################

   THE WHITE HOUSE Office of the Press Secretary
(Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts)

For Immediate Release August 4, 2000
STATEMENT BY THE PRESIDENT
I am pleased to announce I will travel on August 30 to Colombia to meet with
President Andres Pastrana and to personally underscore America's support for
Colombia's efforts to seek peace, fight illicit drugs, build its
economy, and deepen
democracy. I am delighted that Speaker Dennis Hastert and Senator Joe Biden,
two longtime champions of peace and democracy in Colombia, will join me on the
trip.
Colombia's success is profoundly in the interest of the United
States. A peaceful,
democratic, and economically prosperous Colombia will help to promote
democracy and stability throughout the hemisphere.
I have also signed a Presidential Decision Directive ordering, as a matter of
national priority, an intensified effort to aid the Colombian government in
implementing Plan Colombia -- President Pastrana's bold plan to build a better
future for his country.
The Presidential Decision Directive complements and supports the $1.3 billion
assistance package that I requested from Congress, and that Democrats and
Republicans passed in a bipartisan spirit last month. The cornerstone of our
Colombia Initiative, this supplemental includes a ten-fold increase
in U.S. funds to
promote good government, judicial reform, human rights protection, and economic
development in Colombia. It will help Colombia strengthen its democracy while
helping the government staunch the flow of drugs to our shores.
This Directive, along with the sharp increase in funding from Congress, will
intensify our efforts to help the Colombian government implement its
comprehensive national strategy. It is the right way to advance America's
interests in the region, and I am proud of the bipartisan effort that
has made it
possible.
30-30-30


THE WHITE HOUSE Office of the Press Secretary
(Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts)

For Immediate Release August 4, 2000
FACT SHEET
Presidential Decision Directive on the Colombia Initiative: Increased U.S.
Assistance for Colombia
Colombia is enduring difficult, mutually reinforcing social, economic
and security
challenges, with serious implications for U.S. national security and
humanitarian
interests. The President has directed, as a matter of national priority, an
increased U.S. Government effort to support the creation or enhancement of
Colombian host-nation capabilities essential to the successful
implementation of
Plan Colombia.
Plan Colombia is President Pastrana's comprehensive and balanced response to
Colombia's interrelated challenges. In addition to targeting the critical drug
trafficking problem, the integrated strategy addresses human rights,
democratization, judicial reform, social development, the economy,
and the peace
process.
Colombia's lawlessness, corruption, and long internal conflict are
exacerbated by
the immense profits generated by the drug trade. Ninety percent of the cocaine
supplied to the United States originates in or passes through Colombia, as does
two-thirds of the heroin seized in this country. As a result,
Colombia has become
the central focus of the United States' Western Hemisphere efforts to
reduce the
supply of illicit drugs.
Domestic drug abuse costs the United States society an estimated 52,000 lives
and $110 billion annually. In Colombia, pervasive violence has cost
an estimated
35,000 lives in the past fifteen years and displaced more than
700,000 people in
the past three years alone. According to some estimates, there are as many as
1.4 million internally displaced persons in Colombia, the fourth
largest such crisis
in the world and the largest in the Western Hemisphere. Colombia is also a
dangerous working environment for American government officials and private
citizens, with homicide and kidnapping rates among the highest in the world. In
addition, regional security is increasingly strained by the spillover of drug
trafficking, insurgent and paramilitary activities into neighboring countries.
This Administration has been actively pursuing a comprehensive and balanced
strategy to help Colombia fight the drug trade, institute judicial
reform, promote
the rule of law, enhance respect for human rights, assist the
internally displaced,
expand economic development, and foster peace. With today's announcement,
the Administration is intensifying that coordinated effort at a
critical juncture in the
fight against illicit drug production both in Colombia and throughout
the Andean
region.
In support of the Colombia initiative, Congress recently approved an
Administration request for a substantial increase in assistance for
Plan Colombia
implementation. The $1.3 billion package also provides increased assistance for
other countries in the region, primarily to consolidate counterdrug
gains in the
major Andean drug-producing countries and to ensure that successful law
enforcement efforts in Colombia do not simply drive illicit drug
cultivation and
production into neighboring countries.
The additional U.S. assistance for Colombia will target:
-- Boosting democratic governing capacity and respect for human rights
throughout Colombia through programs that will provide human rights training to
the military, strengthen human rights monitoring and enforcement, promote the
rule of law and expand access to justice;
-- Increasing the capability of the Colombian National Police, in
conjunction with
Colombian Armed Forces, to curtail the cultivation and production of
illicit drugs in
Colombia;
-- Increasing the drug interdiction capabilities of both the Colombian National
Police and the Colombian Armed Forces;
-- Promoting a broader based macro-economic recovery, including through
economic reform and incentives to create new jobs and lawful economic activity
throughout Colombia.
Our increased support for the Colombian National Police and Armed Forces will
continue to be focused on the common counter-drug objective. As a matter of
Administration policy, the United States will not support Colombian
counterinsurgency efforts. The United States will, however, provide support, in
accordance with existing authorities and this policy, to the Government of
Colombia for force protection and for security directly related to counterdrug
efforts, regardless of the source of the threat. The Administration remains
convinced that the ultimate solution to Colombia's long-standing
civil conflict is
through a successful peace process.
Increased U.S. assistance for Colombia will support important programs that
strengthen human rights monitoring and enforcement throughout Colombia and
that provide human rights training to Colombian security forces. In
addition, U.S.
assistance will be restricted to only those police and military units that are
carefully vetted with respect to allegations of human rights abuses.
The classified Presidential Decision Directive establishes the coordination
framework and assigns key agency roles and responsibilities for enhancing the
U.S. effort to assist President Pastrana and the Colombian people in
implementing their national strategy. This broad-scope support will entail
significant efforts by many agencies throughout the U.S. government, including
the Departments of State, Defense, Justice, and the Treasury, as well as the
Agency for International Development, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and
the Office of National Drug Control Policy.

#########################################################

THE WHITE HOUSE Office of the Press Secretary
(Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts)

For Immediate Release August 4, 2000
BACKGROUND PRESS BRIEFING BY SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIALS
MR. CROWLEY: Good afternoon to the assembled journalists here in the briefing
room, and good afternoon to our colleagues up in Martha's Vineyard. I
understand
it's raining up in the Vineyard; it's now raining here, so all things
considered, I
think those of us here in Washington would probably prefer to be up in the
Vineyard. We didn't exactly do this right.
We'll, at the end of the briefing, have a statement by the President
for you and
factsheet announcing a trip by the President, a one-day trip, to Colombia, on
August 30th. And the statement also indicates that the President has signed a
presidential decision directive to implement our support for President Pastrana
and his Plan Colombia.
We have two senior administration officials here to give you some
perspective on
the trip and the PDD, and I will call them up here. What we're going
to do, just for
mechanical purposes is they'll have brief opening statements to give you some
background and then we'll start questions. We'll just simply
alternate a journalist
here in Washington, and a journalist up in Martha's Vineyard, and
we'll go as long
as there's interest.
So, with that, I'll introduce -- and for those of you also here who
need something
afterwards in Espanol, our distinguished senior administration
official number one
does speak that language. Our distinguished senior administration
official number
two speaks French -- so if you want something in a different
language, we'll take
care of you as well.
So with that we'll introduce senior administration official number one.
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Thanks very much, PJ. The President
announced today that he will be traveling to Colombia on August 30th, to meet
with President Pastrana. In his statement he said that he wants to underscore
personally to Pastrana and to the Colombian people the commitment on the part
of the United States to help Colombia in its efforts to seek the
peace, to fight illicit
drugs, to build the economy, and to deepen democracy.
In his statement he also says that Colombia's success is profoundly in the
interest of the United States. A peaceful, democratic and economically
prosperous Colombia will help to promote democracy and stability throughout the
region.
He will travel -- it's a one-day trip; he will travel to Colombia,
meet with the
President, meet with some of the top officials, and we're working with the
Colombian government right now to try to arrange the particulars of
the visit, which
haven't been fully worked out as yet.
At the same time, the statement that was released today -- the President notes
that he has signed the presidential decision directive ordering, as a matter of
national priority, the intensified effort to aid the Colombian government in
implementing Plan Colombia. This complements the package of assistance, the
$1.3 billion package of assistance that was requested by the
administration from
Congress and approved in a bipartisan show of support for this
initiative. And in
that spirit, the President also announces that he will be accompanied by a
bipartisan group of legislators, including Speaker Dennis Hastert and
Senator Joe
Biden, both of who have been very deeply involved in this effort.
As you know, Colombia faces very difficult interrelated problems on
insurgency, a
narcotic-drug threat, problems of economic challenge -- a severe downturn, 20
percent level of unemployment -- and at the same time, weak state capacity in
many areas of the country. This plan of support is an integrated plan
of support
that addresses all of these different dimensions.
I think it's important to stress that while it is in the fundamental
interest of the
United States, as the President noted here, to help Colombia address the drug
problem, 90 percent of the cocaine coming into the United States comes from
Colombia, and this is a fundamental interest. This package is also one that
addresses a broader interrelated series of problems -- building state capacity,
helping the Colombians develop alternative development programs, and supporting
the peace.
A fundamental cornerstone of this package is the assumption that the peace
effort in Colombia is ultimately the solution to Colombia's
fundamental problems.
And indeed, there is substantial increases in support in these areas,
as well as in
the counter-drug area, for Colombia.
I think that's all I want to say right now, and we'll just open it up
for questions.
Q When was the last time a U.S. President visited?
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: The last time a U.S. President visited
Colombia was President Bush.
Q Do you know when?
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: I'm not sure exactly when, what date.
Q What about this common criticism now that the U.S. aid cannot be
successfully targeted between the insurgency and the drug -- and it seems like
events on the ground in recent weeks have underscored that. How do we keep the
United States from being dragged into the insurgency?
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Well, I think that we've made it very clear
from the outset and in our program with the Colombians that this is a
counter-drug
effort. The battalions that are being stood up are counter-drug battalions. The
effort is aimed primarily at southern Colombia where you have the
cultivation of
most of the coca fields. And in many cases, these are agri-business type coca
cultivation fields, so the idea is that you're going to have
springing of these fields,
you're going to have counter-narcotics battalions of the army going
in and helping
to secure these fields, and you're going to have police going in to dismantle
laboratories and to eradicate the coca production.
This is not an effort to get involved in Colombia's insurgency. Now,
it is true that in
some areas in southern Colombia some of the insurgents, some elements of the
FARC, are involved in some ways in the drug business. And in that sense, there
could very well be some clashes with guerrillas if they're indeed
involved in the
drug business. But the purpose of this particular support package is very, very
clear -- it is not one that's aimed at the insurgents, per se; it's
one aimed at
fighting drugs.
I don't know if you want to add anything to that.
MR. CROWLEY: Our first question from the Vineyard. Understand that the
President will be going to Cartegena. If that is true, how do you
explain the fact
that Cartegena, itself, is an oasis from the drug and crime problems that most
Colombians are experiencing?
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: I'm not sure that we have come to a final
conclusion yet as to exactly where in Cartegena the President -- I mean, in
Colombia -- the President is going. Whether it's Cartegena or Bogata,
that's still
under discussion, and a lot really depends on some of the logistics of travel.
Q Could you be a little bit more explicit about the PDD? Is it calling for more
resources or is it simply directing that the resources that have already been
appropriated be used?
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: I think the best way to understand the
rationale for and the fundamental thrust of the President's decision
directive is to
recognize that it is a logical next step following the recent approval by the
Congress of a $1.3 billion increase in the amount of assistance going
to support a
Plan Colombia and related regional objectives. I think that the quick summary I
would offer you of the content of the decision directive would be as follows:
As Senior Administration Official Number One has indicated, it is the President
directing as a matter of national priority an intensified effort to support
implementation of Plan Colombia. Secondarily, it is a vehicle that
the President is
utilizing to establish the coordinating network and framework for what will be
undertaken across government by numerous government agencies in the overall
U.S. effort to support Plan Colombia implementation.
Clearly I think everyone would recognize that where you have four or five major
federal departments and numerous agencies involved, that there is a special
necessary to ensure adequate coordination. And finally, the directive also
specifies a number of specific roles and responsibilities for the many federal
agencies involved.
Q If I could follow up, I've never heard this term, national priority
program. Could
you explain the significance of that to you all?
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: In this particular instance, the use of that
phrase in the President decision directive is simply intended to have
the normal
meaning associated with what you would expect upon reading the document. It is
the President saying to his administration that he wishes to make unequivocally
clear that this is a matter of national priority.
Q Was it not a matter of national priority before?
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: I certainly think it has been a priority for
us for a long time in terms of addressing the Colombian program, but this is an
opportunity to reenforce that. And it is also an appropriate signal
to send following
the recent approval by the Congress of the administration's request
for additional
assistance.
Q If I could be clear on that, that means there's no new money going under this
signing today?
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: I think that's the best way to understand
the decision directive, that it is, in fact, the organizational framework. It
essentially is one part and a very important visible part of the
administration's
taking that additional funding and making sure that we have an adequate
arrangement throughout the administration to ensure that those funds
are well and
effectively spent.
Q Can you tell us in terms of manpower, what will be the assistance
given by the
U.S. to Colombia? Do you have any idea?
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: At this juncture I wouldn't want to go very
far in terms of specifics, other than to offer some very general
comments. First,
as I think most or all of you are aware, the recent appropriations that have
provided the additional assistance for Colombia are subject to a number of
requirements and limitations. Those requirements and limitations, of
course, as a
matter of law, must be adhered to by the administration.
We already have, as I think you're aware, a very significant U.S. presence in
Colombia in order to implement the ongoing assistance programs that we have
had there for a while. I think that everyone who is associated with
the planning for
implementation of the increases is well aware of the fact that we will need an
increase in the number of U.S. government personnel there. I would not describe
that increase, and no one is thinking of that increase, in terms of an order of
magnitude. But there will be increases. That planning is underway, and I think
that's a matter where we'll simply have to see that play itself out.
Q How many U.S. trainers, for instance, are there now?
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: On any one particular day, I, frankly,
would not be able to give you the number without checking. What I can
tell you is
that there have been instances where I have checked recently because of the
discussion in Congress associated with the proposed ceilings that were
discussed as the appropriations were being developed, and the number that I got
in terms of military personnel was approximately 280 military personnel in
country. And a good number of those personnel were associated with the ongoing
effort at that point in time to train the first Colombian army
counter-drug battalion.
In the pattern recently -- and this will continue into the future --
has been that the
number of military personnel there will vary, depending on what we're doing in
country at that particular point in time. And usually, a spike in the number of
personnel will be because we have a major training evolution ongoing at the
particular time.
Q Would you remind us what the ceiling is on personnel?
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: I'm informed by my colleagues -- I
wouldn't have remembered that -- but the current ceiling is 500 for
U.S. military
personnel.
Q And is there any limit on civilian personnel?
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: There is a limit. I think that is still the
subject of some ongoing discussion in terms of how it applies to civilian
contractors and others. I would have to get back to you after the
briefing with an
answer on that, unless one of my colleagues has the answer now.
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: I don't have the answer of the actual
number now. But let me remind you that one of the things that is
really significant
about this package is that the proportional increases in support for
other aspects
of the package, besides this strictly drug interdiction and the drug combatting
side of the thing -- that is alternative development, promotion of governmental
institutions, support for the peace, and so on -- that portion of the
package has
increased in a significant percentage.
For example, I'm aware of the fact that over the last period the AID mission in
Colombia has been very small. With the increase in alternative development
support, for example, which is a significant amount of funding -- I
think it goes up
to $120 million, if I'm not mistaken -- you're going to see a
significant increase in
some of the support -- some of the personnel dealing with those aspects of the
support package.
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: But there's a tenfold increase in the
support for those elements of the package over what we've been funding in
Colombia in the past.
Q Do you think that the limited time of the trip will be enough for
President Clinton
to press for --
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Yes, I think so. I think that the visit of the
President of the United States is a very significant event for
Colombia and it will
be something that will rivet the attention of Colombians. And there are several
events that will be planned during the period that the President will
be there that
will drive home the importance of the different dimensions of this
support package.
Because, let me reiterate once again, the counter-drug portion is absolutely
critical, but it's not the only part of the package, that it
involves, in fact, support for
many other elements of the multifaceted challenges that Colombia faces.
Q Apart from the visit with President Pastrana, does he intend to address the
parliament or the Colombian people, or can you tell us a little bit
about the visit?
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Since we're announcing this today, and
we're beginning to discuss with the Colombian government authorities the
appropriate venue for such activities, this hasn't been worked out as
yet. But we
are looking for opportunities for engagement on the part of the President.
Q Do you know if Chelsea will join, as she's done on the last few
foreign trips?
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: I don't know.
Q Could you talk a little bit about security on this trip? Colombia is widely
regarded as the most dangerous post for Americans -- listed by the State
Department as one of them.
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: I think I'm going to just say that certainly
that will be of the highest priority.
MR. CROWLEY: There are no more questions from Martha's Vineyard. Unless
there are any more questions from here, we'll conclude.
THE PRESS: Thank you.
END 3:04 P.M. EDT


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NPC wrote:

Independent Media Center: Philadelphia Listserv - http://www.phillyimc.orgThe following is a flyer against the U.S. war in Colombia, that we want to hand outto participants at tomorrow's Labor Day Parade, 10AM.  If you can help out, call 610-352-3053.......................................................................................................................................................STOP the U.S. WarAgainst Colombia!!!<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

On August 30,U.S.President Clinton delivered a check for $1.3 billion in military supplies to Colombia, just two weeks after Colombian soldiers massacred six children.Despite the continuing murder of over 3,000 Colombian civilians each year, Clinton signed a waiver of the U.S. legislative requirement that the aid would not go to units accused of “human-rights violations”.

Colombia is already the third largest recipient of U.S. military aid in the world. The aid package, part of the proposed $7.5 billion “Plan Colombia”, includes 60 combat helicopters, counterinsurgency training by U.S. Special Forces, and defoliation efforts with lethal chemicals and dangerous biological agents like the toxic “Fusarium oxsporum” fungus.The plan supports the Colombian government’s efforts to continue IMF-sponsored austerity measures and increase its military force against a guerilla uprising supported by working people.

The military aid is disguised as part of a “war on drugs”.But Colombia’s biggest drug traffickers – the big landlords, the paramilitary death squads and their allies in the military high command – and the U.S. banks that profit from the drug trade through money-laundering, are the ones benefiting from the huge infusion of U.S. cash and hardware.The leader of Colombia’s death squads recently admitted in a TV interview that 70 percent of their funding came from the drug trade.But our tax dollars won’t be used to go after them.Nor will this money help Colombia build its economy or provide a marketable alternative to growing coca for millions of unemployed peasants if they are to survive.

The aid package has nothing to do with narco-trafficking.These weapons are clearly aimed at escalating the civil war that has gripped Colombia for 50 years, at the very time that Colombian President Andres Pastrana claims to be looking for an accord with the insurgencies who already control over 40% of the country.

Clinton’s visit was a slap in the face to the millions of Colombians who are struggling for peace with social justice.Widening the war in Colombia will not “deepen democracy”, but instead will further destroy what little is left of it.

By giving the Colombian government another enormous blank check, the Clinton administration is encouraging more massacres and impunity for the perpetrators.There is no reason for Colombian officials to negotiate an end to the conflict if they know they have unlimited support for war, even if it includes civilian massacres.Scores of Colombian human rights, labor and community groups have labeled Plan Colombia an “act of war”.The latest escalation of military aid is another step down the road to open U.S. intervention in Colombia, which could easily spread to the neighboring countries of Peru, Brazil, Venezuela, Panama and Ecuador.

U.S. intervention in Colombia also involves the Caribbean.The Pentagon has built a special radar called ROTHR (Over the Horizon Radar) in Puerto Rico and Vieques that is capable of tracking down the movement of guerillas in Colombia.There is a huge mass movement in Puerto Rico opposed to ROTHR and especially the U.S. Navy military practices on the tiny island of Vieques.The U.S. also trains Colombian troops on Puerto Rican soil.

The people of the United States have nothing to gain by being drawn into another Vietnam-style military adventure.If Clinton really wanted to wage a war on drugs, he could start by providing jobs and education in the U.S. to decrease the demand and provide drug treatment to all who need it.He could begin to reverse the trend of spending more money building prisons that house drug users than building new schools and hiring more teachers to improve the future for our youth.

It’s time to build a movement to stop U.S. intervention now.We can begin by letting Clinton and Congress know where our priorities lie!!!

Issued by:Philadelphia INTERNATIONAL ACTION CENTER

813 S. 48^th St., Philadelphia, PA 19143, 215-724-1618; e-mail:philnpc@...

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The Associated Press, July 31, 2000

Colombian Rebels Besiege Town

Filed at 11:35 a.m. EDT

BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) -- Colombian troops flew in U.S.-made combat
helicopters to a remote mountain town to battle rebels who attacked a
police station and claimed to have killed nearly two dozen officers.

Just before dusk Sunday, 150 army troops and national police flew into the
town of Arboleda aboard Blackhawk and Huey helicopters, said national
police chief Gen. Ernesto Gilibert. Some troops also arrived on foot and
clashed with rebels as they approached the town.

Security forces found only three survivors of Arboleda's 25-man police
contingent, said Alfonso Rodriguez Guerrero, an officer at national police
headquarters in Bogota, the capital.

The army was looking for the 14 missing police officers, and said they had
found the bodies of eight officers and at least four civilians. They said
the death toll was likely to rise as soldiers secure the area.

The bodies were found "amid the ruins of their barracks, which was totally
destroyed,'' said Army Col. Alberto Ardila, commander of the army's Eighth
Brigade, which went to the scene of the two-day rebel attack.

Troops and police reinforcements, operating in the dark in a chaotic
situation, were trying to determine the fate of the rest of the besieged
policemen.

Ardila told local radio that two civilians were killed. Rodriguez Guerrero
put the number at three.

The attack by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, was one
of the bloodiest since the United States approved $1.3 billion in aid to
battle leftist rebels and other armed groups who are involved in narcotics
production.

Controversy has arisen over whether U.S.-supplied combat helicopters, which
provide security for planes fumigating drug crops in Colombia, should be
used in counterinsurgency operations.

Gutierrez said radio transmissions from the besieged police officers had
been cut after midnight, about 15 hours after the attack began Saturday
morning. Rebels told a local photojournalist who tried to enter the town
Sunday morning that they had killed 23 police officers.

"Communications with Arboleda have been severed and there is no way to
verify this information, but we fear the worst,'' said police Col. Norberto
Pelaez, police commander of Caldas province, where Arboleda is located.

Low cloud cover prevented reinforcements from arriving until late Sunday.
Troops also spent hours hiking over twisting mountain trails to Arboleda,
located 90 miles northwest of Bogota.

U.S. Ambassador Curtis W. Kamman said Colombian security forces weren't
restricted to using the U.S.-made helicopters only in anti-drug operations.

"These helicopters can be used ... to defend the police and military forces
if they are under attack in a zone where there are anti-narcotics
activities,'' Kamman was quoted as saying in an interview on Saturday with
ANCOL, the Colombian government's news agency.

However, Arboleda is not believed to be in a region producing cocaine or
heroin.

Some observers say U.S. policy regarding military aid to Colombia is
growing increasingly blurry, and can lead to the United States being drawn
into the South American nation's 35-year civil war. But others charge that
restrictions on the U.S. support are too tight.

This weekend's attack was similar to one mounted by the FARC on July 15 on
the southwestern town of Roncesvalles. The rebels besieged the police
station in the town, and after police ran out of ammunition, the guerrillas
allegedly executed 13 of the officers. The deaths drew criticisms --
including in the U.S. Congress -- that the Blackhawks, if used, could have
saved the policemen.

Under the new U.S. aid package, approved by President Clinton on July 13,
Washington will provide 60 more helicopters, including Blackhawks and
Hueys, to Colombian security forces.



Louis Proyect

The Marxism mailing-list: http://www.marxmail.org
END FWD

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Subject: What Clinton's little trip yesterday means for
Panama

Salon did this worthy take on what it all means in this neck of the
woods.

~~~

Panama next Thailand?

PANAMA CITY -- As President Clinton stands in Cartagena Wednesday to
formally launch the United States' $1.3 billion anti-narcotics offensive
in
Colombia, top political figures in neighboring Panama appear to be
taking a
lesson from history.

"We do not want to become the next Thailand," says Marco Ameglio,
chairman
of the Foreign Relations Committee of Panama's National Assembly.
Ameglio,
like others in the Panamanian government, fears that the coming
U.S.-funded
offensive will drag his country into a war in much the same way that
Thailand was dragged into the Vietnam War: as a staging area for U.S.
troops and a destination for refugees.

The U.S. anti-narcotics offensive, known as Plan Colombia, will provide
military training, helicopters and surveillance to the Colombian
military
as part of an effort to cut off the world's biggest source of illegal
drugs
into the U.S. While the U.S. insists the anti-drug push is not a
military
offensive, critics say the line between fighting drugs and fighting
leftist
guerrillas is dangerously blurred. Many critics also point to troubling
human rights records on the part of the Colombian military, which will
be
receiving the bulk of the U.S. funds.

Only nine months ago, the last American troops left Panama as part of
the
final turnover of the Panama Canal. Now the State Department is
demanding
that Panama allow U.S. forces back in. Since mid-May, acting
undersecretary
of state for Western hemispheric affairs Peter Romero has been shuttling
to
this capital city to pressure the government to sign a visiting forces
(Fuerza Visitante) agreement that would return U.S. troops to Howard Air
Force Base, the former headquarters of the Army's Southern Command, as
well
as other now-vacant U.S. military installations.

Ameglio's fears about Panama's role in Plan Colombia are shared by
practically the entire political spectrum in Panama -- including the
major
opposition parties and the president, Mireya Moscoso. She has thus far
resisted pressure to sign an agreement that would permit U.S. troops to
use
the country as a support zone for its operations in Colombia.

Official State Department policy is not to speak about the specific
provisions of the Fuerza Visitante proposal. Public statements thus far
are
limited to invitations to join in the war on drugs. Earlier this month,
the
U.S. Embassy in Panama issued a statement explaining that the agreement
would involve "joint anti-drug maneuvers and training, a program that
would
assist the security of the United States, and the enforcement of
international conventions [against narcotics]." U.S. Ambassador Simon
Ferro
has expressed impatience and incredulity with the Panamamians'
resistance.
He says the agreement would only "benefit" Panama by "improving their
capacity for joint [anti-narcotics] exercises."

Panamanian officials familiar with the negotiations discussed some of
the
details of the U.S. proposal with Salon News. They say the country would
become a staging and rest area for troops rotating into Colombia to
train
and assist the Colombian military and national police. Military
airstrips
in Panama would be used for anti-narcotics surveillance flights, and
training would be provided to the Panamanian police (the country has no
standing army).

Most controversially, the proposed agreement sets no limits on the
number
of troops to be stationed here; and demands that U.S. forces be subject
not
to Panamanian legal jurisdiction, but to U.S. military law. That proviso
hits a raw nerve in a country which only 11 years ago was invaded by
U.S.
troops.  Panama has a long history of what Carlos Lopez Guevara, a
former
ambassador to the U.S. who helped negotiate the Panama Canal treaty,
calls
a "regimen de capitulacion" with the United States. (The country's
declaration of independence in 1903 was provoked partly by Theodore
Roosevelt's desire to dig the canal through what was then a province of
Colombia. The country's first ambassador to the U.S. was a Frenchman who
negotiated the sale to the U.S. of the French Panama Canal Company).

The Fuerza Visitante comes at a delicate moment, when obtaining control
over the canal has spurred a process of redefining Panama's national
identity. "For Panamanians, it's a whole new story," says Ameglio.
"Starting January first this year, we are rewriting our story as a
nation.
Now the U.S. wants permission for an unlimited amount of military forces
to
come here at anytime with diplomatic status. The Plan Colombia, that's
almost a declaration of war against the guerillas, or the
narco-traffickers. I don't think their plan will be successful. But it
will
affect our country."

Though it barely warranted notice in the U.S. press, in Panama the
battle
over the Fuerza Visitante has been front-page news for weeks -- hitting
at
a time of resurgent nationalism and concern over being dragged into a
conflict not of their own making. "They are following the same steps
that
McNamara and others made during Vietnam," comments Miguel Antonio
Bernal, a
former advisor to Foreign Affairs Minister Jose Miguel Aleman, now a
political analyst and law professor at the University of Panama.
"Trainers,
technical support. Soon, we will be suffering from a war we have nothing
to
do with ... There is a saying, 'When the elephants struggle, it is the
grass who suffers.' We are the grass in this case."

Panama is one of several countries in the region to express concern that
Plan Colombia blurs the line between the drug war and the Colombian
civil
war. Costa Rica refused U.S. entreaties for troop placements and support
facilities.

In the meantime, Plan Colombia support forces are spreading across the
region. Today surveillance operations once headquartered at Howard Air
Force Base have been distributed to what the State Department calls
forward
operating locations (FOLs). The FOLs are serving as radar stations and
launch pads for surveillance planes headed for and around Colombia and
coordinated from Miami, according to an official with the State
Department.
Between 10 and 20 ground support personnel are stationed at each locale,
and those numbers are slated to increase as Plan Colombia shifts into
high
gear. FOLs exist in the Dutch Caribbean islands of Aruba and Curacao, on
a
base along Ecuador's eastern frontier and in El Salvador. Once again
U.S.
military flights are taking off from San Salvador's Comalapa
international
airport -- as they once did during El Salvador's civil war.

The U.S. military's return to El Salvador eight years after that
country's
hard-fought peace agreement was hardly welcomed with open arms. The
peace
agreement had led to the withdrawal of U.S. trainers and military
advisors
who once supported that country's right-wing government in its civil war
with guerillas. The new pact to cooperate with U.S. surveillance was
passed
by the country's legislature in July after three months of heated
debate,
and only after the conservative majority parties declared it an
agreement,
and not a treaty. That evaded the need for a two-thirds vote, which
would
have been blocked by the minority party of former
guerillas-turned-parliamentarians, the Farabundo Marti National
Liberation
Front. That party has challenged the vote in the country's Supreme
Court.

"One of the great ironies [of Plan Colombia] is that a major
justification
of U.S. policies has been how the drug trade is destabilizing the
region,"
asserts Winnifred Tate, a senior fellow at the Washington Office on
Latin
America, which has been opposing Plan Colombia on the grounds that it
could
lead to an increase in human rights violations. "The irony is that this
infusion of military strength will contribute to the destabilization and
erosion of democracy in countries where we're supposed to be
strengthening
newly democratic and civilian governments."

Back in Panama, negotiations over the return of U.S. forces are
intensifying as President Moscoso faces increasing pressure to sign the
Fuerza Visitante agreement. Panama is undergoing a budding economic
crisis
-- provoked partly by the earlier U.S. withdrawal from the canal -- and
the
importance of the State Department's goodwill, on outstanding aid
requests
to international financial institutions, cannot be underestimated.

Reportedly, one of the issues on the negotiating table is the cleanup of
U.S. bases left behind when the last troops departed in December: About
10,000 acres of land around the Canal and Panama City were left with
tons
of live munitions and toxic waste -- a violation, Panama asserts, of
provisions of the 1977 Canal Treaty. But signing an agreement to bring
the
troops back may be the only way to ensure that the waste from their
previous stay is removed.

In Washington, the State Department is countering the Vietnam analogies
presented by critics of Plan Colombia by offering a page on their Web
site.
"Why Colombia Is Not the Next Vietnam" presents seven points enunciating
the differences between present-day Colombia and 1960s-era Vietnam:
"Colombia has not asked for U.S. troops," it reads; "U.S. military
assistance will be minimal, monitored and transparent"; "The people of
Colombia are determined to counter the menace posed by narcotraffickers
and
their guerilla protectors."

But events in Panama already suggest that references to Vietnam-era
Thailand are not simply rhetorical flourishes. Over the last 18 months,
the
flow of refugees into Panama's Darien Jungle border with Colombia have
dramatically increased, according to estimates from government and the
United Nations High Commission on Refugees. Temporary refugee camps
providing shelter to some 300 to 800 Colombians have already been
established in the Darien interior. Most of those refugees are farmers
rousted from their land by the violence. Higher income Colombians are
moving direct to Panama City (along with thousands more moving to Miami,
New York and other U.S. cities), keeping real-estate agents busy in the
towering apartment blocks overlooking the Pacific.

The UNHCR estimates that there are 1.2 million internally displaced
people
in Colombia today, half of those made homeless in the last year alone.
The
numbers promise to skyrocket exponentially as fighting across the border
intensifies. Panama's national police recently announced plans to
upgrade
its fleet of helicopters and double the number of units along the Darien
frontier to deal with the expected flood of refugees.

On August 24, Panama's minister of justice, Winston Spadafora,
reaffirmed
his unease with the Plan Colombia, claiming that it will obligate the
country to expend additional funds for its own security. "Even though we
are in no condition to say whether the plan should be fulfilled, I
believe
it would be better that it does not happen in this way," Spadofora told
Panama's leading newspaper, La Prensa.

While it considers whether to sign the Fuerza Visitante agreement,
Panama
is demanding $30 million from the U.S. to assist its security forces, to
protect itself from incursions by Colombian guerillas, drug traffickers
and
coca growers on the run from the fighting. If Panamanian officials do
find
themselves opening the door once again to U.S. troops, they want to get
something out of the deal.

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Hello WSN. This time let me share with you my interpretation of the
history of Colombia. It is sent in two posts and it may have some
common points with other colonized nations. Here, Usona means United
States of North America, and usonian refers to its people. Thanks,
Emilio
**************
Colombia's History Puzzle

Colombia's last 500 years have not been peaceful. Three centuries of
spanish colonialism plus  180 years of republican life under equally
excluding, corrupted, racist and violent elites never solved the
inherited unequal distributions of land, income, opportunities nor
the structural dependence on neocolonial powers. We have elections
but not real democracy, and two main elite parties -consevatives and
liberals - control the nation. Dozens of civil wars between them
caused the death of millions of peasants, afro-colombians, mestizos
and youth taken from popular classes, because elites used militars or
contracted people to fight for them.  Last time that elites sons went
into combat was in 1900.

During XX century we had one declared civil war, three undeclared
ones and two dictatorships. Left candidates and representatives,
union leaders, teachers, university students, human rights workers,
honest periodists, judges, peasants have been assasinated by
thousands per year during last two decades. In 1960s a militar
bombing with napalm of 48 peasant-families (supported by Usona
planes) became a 1000 fold bigger guerrilla known as Farc; the
repression of a university strike became a guerrilla called ELN; the
electoral fraud of 1970 ended in another guerrilla called M-19, and
the church harrasment to father Camilo Torres social-discourse sent
him and other priests to combat and death on the side of ELN
guerrilla. Surprisingly, we were called the most stable democracy of
Latin America by usonian political-science experts.

In the 1950s, pressed by Usona Gov, a colombian militar batallion
made of peasants (always they) was sent to fight in Corea; those that
survived still do not know why they fought there, but were happy to
travel abroad.

During the last 42 years liberal-conservative parties learned to
share power,  disolved their theoretical differences, gradually
became fervent neo-liberals obedient to imperial orders, and
established a modus vivendi with drug barons -including Usona-Europe
mafias-. They recently agreed with guerrillas to dialogue for peace
-while fighting war- , and have aproved the usonian war project
called Plan Colombia, plus new debts for war.

This peace process has several obstacles: 1) Elites declare that
peace is a precondition for social justice -in spite of their 400
years failure- while guerrilla argues that social peace is a
precondition for peace. 2) Elites do not want to share their lands,
but expect that somebody pays them for it. 3) Elites are using the
army and their narco-paramilitars in violations of human rights of
people. 4) Usona intervention in our internal problem is on elites
side, is interested in our strategic position and resources, uses
drug as a pretext, forms part of an andean policy of domination,
fears the anti-neoliberal stand of guerrillas and considers the whole
thing as a technical problem of killing-machines and strategies. 5)
Colombian top rank militars, which administer a good percentage of
government budget and are heavily corrupted, do not want to be
reformed by a peace-dialogue.

In summary, present colombian civil war is still trying to solve
problems more than 400 years old, at a time when neither Usona
neither Marx existed, neither drug-traffic was a crime. Usonian
official versions reduce the problem to the last four decades.

Next there are mentioned some elements present during last five
centuries after spanish colonization started. Some of them belong to
the field of necrophylia:

1) The practice of dismembering victims was heavily practiced during
spanish domination with the plain support of christian hierarchy (to
suppress indian, slaves and criollos resistance,  as a lesson against
popular insurrections). Conquerors used to throw indian women and
their children to feed big dogs when they rejected to serve them
sexually (they even had the word "emperrar" for this practice). After
1810 independence, during XIX and XX centuries, we had dozens of
civil wars between the two main elite parties (Conservatives and
Liberals); soldiers were obtained from small villages, plantation
slaves and haciendas' peasant-indians and put to kill theirselves. If
you look at the first edition of book "La Violencia in Colombia",
there is a picture of around 1950, where many army soldiers play
soccer with a victim's head.

2) The racial pyramid and the land problem.
Colony meant the take over of the best lands which included docil
servants as part of them, which were given to spaniards. Indians that
were not killed entered to serve haciendas, or were simply pushed
toward jungles and high mountains. Spain also imported african slaves
to work in their suggar plantations and mines. After a time, many
slaves  escaped and created independent communities; since then, they
became our afro-american natives, with their own particular cultures.
Soon, it also appeared an important percentage of mestizos (mixes of
all races), which were neither slaves, neither servants of haciendas.
In order to distribute land rights, Spain created a complex scale to
classify people based on "blood purity", with more than 36 different
words for possible spanish-afro-indian combinations. In some regions,
today, racism exists from euro-descendants toward the rest, from
indians toward afros, from mestizos toward indians and afros, etc.
Today's landlords are predominantly decoloured, and a 4% of them owns
close to 60% of rural property, while the poorest 60% of peasants
only have 15% of the lowest-quality land-area, far from markets. So
after 5 centuries, our elites never solved the unequal property of
lands created by the spanish conquest, and maintained the racist,
authoritarian and patriarcal tendences.

3)  Colombian elites mentality and their political parties.
During the last half of XVIII century, a new kind of criollo's
landowners appeared. Educated at Europe, and good travellers, they
brought the liberal ideas from masonic groups, new science and
Illustration. Finally they succeeded with Bolivar. (Remember that 80%
of the signers of Usona Independence Declaration had masonic ties,
huge lands and slaves). Our heroes of independence only wanted to
push Spain out of here, but as far as racist ideas, land-ownership
and slavery, they remained equal -with few exemptions-. Due to the
hard-mountains topography, big rivers, and dense jungles,
communications were slow, and the nation was controlled, and still it
is,  by  a few regional caudillos, quite hard to handle by Spain, or
by the central government of the new republic.
After Bolivar, two elite parties appeared: Conservatives, which
promoted ties with the church declared Bolivar as their icon, and
Liberals, with "free-thinking", masonic influence, and radical
anti-clericalism, chose Santander as icon. The two of them, plus the
church, were of course huge landowners, slave-owners, and racists.
Church elite, as it may be supossed, has always been a close ally to
conservative party. After a violent process of 180 years of wars,
mutual electoral frauds and rivalty,  today (2000), the two parties
and the church elites support neoliberal ideas and elite global
order, with a few exemptions inside their ranks. In the process,
millions of simple peasants, and urban dwellers, learned to hate
theirselves and to kill theirselves, in defense of their masters
ambitions. But land reform,  urban property reform,  human rights, or
workers wellfare has never been acomplished as required in proportion
to our development.

4)  Colombian relationship with colonial or neo-colonial powers.
After independence, our heroes had a hard identity problem and
question: "To whom shall we look like?" Bolivar chose England as his
cultural model. He brought british mercenaries and got support from
the Crown which implied a debt that took several decades to be paid.
Bolivar mistrusted Usona. He ordered vice-president Santander to
convoque a Panamerican Congress without Usona. But Santander invited
them and spoiled the idea of a continental block to balance Usona.
British influence was important during XIX century. Usona neocolonial
influence over us became definitive at the start of the XX century,
asfixiating after WWII, and unbearable during last three decades.

In a famous letter, (1929) Bolivar wrote: "Usona seems predestinated
by the Providence to plague America with misery in the name of
freedom". During the independence war, Bolivar troops captured a
usonian ship loaded with guns for spaniards. Usona protested, and
some agreement was reached. It is easy to see that the interest of
Usona in hispanoamerican independence and democracy never existed,
and Monroe's doctrine "America for Usonians" is just the formulation
of a continental domination project.

8) Bolivar and Afro-Americans
Libertador Simon Bolivar was a complex and interesting personality.
He spent his whole huge fortune, his energy and health for the cause
of independence. In contrast, most ot the other heroes claimed huge
lands, pensions and haciendas as compensation for their
participation. During his last years, Bolivar lost power to the
liberal radical sector and tried to retain it through an autocratic
style, and even proposed a monarchic constitutional system as the
only way to keep unity. He was a hyper-dynamic guy, impatient,
stuburn, good organizer, a lover of adventures, with a romantic
concept of heroe, mainly interested in fame; generous with friends,
he normally despised beaurocratic and possesive minds. He was good in
convincig and joining regional leaders around his ideas.
Bolivar's mother was a very sick woman, so he was breast-fed and
cared by an afro-american slave called Hipolita, a very important
feminine presence in his life.
His father died when he was 3, her mother when he was 9. He inherited
a huge fortune, had private tutors, and travelled through Europe when
young.
After the failure of a revolutionary trial in 1812, he seeked refuge
in Haiti, the first free nation in the non-british colonies. Petion,
the afro-american president, gave him arms, ships, soldiers and money
to start again, with the condition that he should decrete slaves
freedom as soon as independence were obtained. After Napoleon's
defeat, the Sacred Allience formed by european monarchies joined and
attacked Haiti. At the time, Usona remained quiet; reasons are easy
to guess.

After independence Bolivar tried to push slaves freedom, but the
constitutional assembly defeated the idea, and just declared that
only new born afro-americans would be free -thus getting the time to
sell their slaves to other nations, prior to the final freedom law-.
Slaves were only freed like 12 years after Bolivar died.

In some moment Bolivar calmed local elites by saying "I will not
permit a brown-cracy".
After the failed conspiracy of radical-liberals to kill him, he
signed the death penalty of Admiral Padilla, an afro-american heroe
of the naval war who was in jail during the events; however, he
exiled vice-president Santander (a criollo heroe), one of the two
main complot organizers.

Bolivar defended public services in health, education, care for poor
children, payment in currency for any work, social care without
exclusions and natural resources preservation. His idea of progress
was designed on three axes: industry, work and science. Besides the
executive, legislative and judicial branches of power, he proposed a
Moral branch to control the other ones.

Also, he made a terrible warn against the use of army force: "Beware
of the army that points the guns against its own people". This
sentence is not tought by those that train our militaries at the
School of Americas.


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Texto en español se encuentra abajo

INTERNATIONAL PROTESTS VS. CLINTON'S TRIP TO COLOMBIA AUG. 30
No to the Plan Colombia!
Stop the U.S. war against Colombia!


Join people nationwide and internationally on
Wednesday, Aug. 30 5 pm at Powell and Market in
San Francisco to say NO to US military aid to Colombia.



Endorsed by Global Exchange and SOA Watch

Contact: iacenter@..., 415-821-5782
*************************************************************************
****
More information below:

When U.S. President Bill Clinton travels to Cartagena, Colombia on Aug.
30, thousands of people in Colombia, the United States, and around the
world will hold demonstrations to protest the escalating U.S. military
interve ntion in Colombia.

The International Action Center (IAC) encourages all anti-war and
progressive forces to join in the Aug. 30 demonstrations, to organize
pickets at U.S. government offices and military recruiting centers, and
to stage acti vities to denounce the U.S. war in Colombia.

"Clinton's visit is a slap in the face to the millions of Colombians who
are struggling for peace with social justice," IAC leader Teresa
Gutierrez said.

"The people of Colombia have spoken loud and clear: the Plan Colombia is
an act of war," she continued. "We will not sit by while the U.S.
prepares another Vietnam War."

In Colombia, union, peasant, student, political and community
organizations have announced plans for protests during Clinton's visit.
Demonstrations are also planned for New York, San Francisco, Chicago,
Atlanta, Montreal , Toronto, Stockholm, London, Buenos Aires, and other
cities.

"The list of cities where Aug. 30 protests are taking place is growing
every day," Gutierrez said.

The Colombian government is holding talks with the Revolutionary Armed
Forces of Colombia-People's Army at the same time that it is imposing
drastic IMF-sponsored austerity measures against the population. The Plan
Colomb ia is a $7.5 billion proposal to support the government's efforts
to continue the austerity and increase its military force.

Key to the plan is the $1.3 billion U.S. military aid signed by Clinton
in July. The package includes 60 combat helicopters, counterinsurgency
training, and deadly chemicals to be used on Colombian crops. In August,
the f irst detachment of nearly 100 U.S. Special Forces troops arrived in
Colombia, joining the 200-300 U.S. troops already there.

"If Clinton really wanted to wage a war on drugs, he would start by
providing jobs and education in the U.S. to decrease demand and provide
drug treatment to all who need it," Gutierrez charged. "He would
investigate the U.S. embassy in Bogotá, where U.S. Col. James Hiett
presided over a drug- running operation until last year, and would
investigate the biggest banks for the profits they make on drug funds."

Clinton's war plans must be challenged by the solidarity of the people of
the U.S. Stop the U.S. war in Colombia!

To endorse these actions, to send solidarity messages, or to inform us of
local activities, contact the IAC at iacenter@... or (212)
633-6646.

=======================
Texto en español:

Crece el apoyo para las
PROTESTAS INTERNACIONALES CONTRA EL VIAJE DE CLINTON A COLOMBIA EL 30 DE
AGOSTO
¡No al Plan Colombia!
¡Alto a la guerra de los EEUU contra Colombia!

23 de agosto 2000

Cuando el presidente estadounidense Bill Clinton viaje a Cartagena,
Colombia el 30 de agosto, miles de personas en Colombia, los Estados
Unidos y la nivel mundial se manifestarán en protesta contra la escalante
intervenci ón de los EEUU en Colombia.

El Centro de Acción Internacional (IAC) solicita a todas las fuerzas
anti-guerra y progresistas para unirse a las manifestaciones el 30 de
agosto, para organizar piquetes frente a las oficinas gubernamentales
norteamerica nas y centros de reclutamiento militar, y para realizar
actos de denuncia contra la guerra de los EEUU en Colombia.

"La visita de Clinton es un insulto a los millones de colombian@s que
luchan por la paz con justicia social," dijo Teresa Gutierrez, líder del
IAC.

"El pueblo colombiano se ha manifestado claramente: el Plan Colombia es
un acto de guerra," indicó. "No vamos a sentarnos tranquilos cuando el
gobierno estadounidense prepara otra guerra al estilo de Vietnam."

En Colombia, organizaciones sindicales, campesinas, estudiantiles,
políticas y comunales han anunciado planes para manifestaciones durante
la visita de Clinton. Van a haber actividades tambien en Nueva York, San
Francisco , Chicago, Atlanta, Montreal, Toronto, Estocolmo, Londres,
Buenos Aires, y otras ciudades del mundo.

"La lista de ciudades donde van a haber protestas crece cada día más,"
dijo Gutierrez.

El gobierno colombiano esta envuelto en diálogos con las Fuerzas Armadas
Revolucionarias de Colombia-Ejército del Pueblo a la misma vez que está
imponiendo brutales medidas de austeridad, auspiciadas por el FMI, contra
la población. El Plan Colombia es una propuesta de $7.500 millones para
respaldar los esfuerzos del gobierno para continuar con la austeridad y
aumentar sus fuerzas militares.

Clave al plan son los $1.300 millones de ayuda militar estadounidense,
firmado por Clinton en julio. El paquete militar incluye 60 helicópteros
de combate, entrenamiento contrainsurgente, y químicos mortales para usar
con tra el ambiente. En agosto llegaron las primeras unidades de casi 100
soldados de las Fuerzas Especiales (los conocidos Boinas Verdes) a
Colombia, añadiéndose a las 200-300 tropas norteamericanas ya en el país.


"Si Clinton quisiera hacer una verdadera guerra contra las drogas,
empezaría con proveer trabajos decentes y educación para bajar el consumo
de las drogas y con proveer tratamiento para todos los que lo necesitan,"
Gutier rez explicó. "Investigaría a la embajada norteamericana en Bogotá,
donde el coronel estadunidense presidió sobre una operación de
narcotráfico hasta el año pasado, y también a los bancos más grandes que
se lucran del narc otráfico."

Los planes de guerra de Clinton deben ser desafiados por la solidaridad
del pueblo norteamericano. ¡Basta con la guerra de los EEUU contra
Colombia!

Para endosar estas actividades, para mandar mensajes de solidaridad o
para informarnos de actividades locales, contacta al IAC (212) 633- 6646
o iacenter@....


International Action Center 39 West 14th Street, Room 206 New York, NY
10011 email: iacenter@... web: www.iacenter.org CHECK OUT THE
NEW SITE www.mumia2000.org phone: 212 633-6646 fax: 212 633-2889


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Hello WSN. Here it goes the second and final part. Thanks, Emilio
**********************
6) Colombian economy
Our  economy has always been concentrated in a few hands, and based
on the exports of natural resources (wood, coffee, gold, emeralds,
quina, tobacco, bananas, oil, coal, nickel ...and recent illegal
drugs). It was always self-sufficient in food production prior to
neoliberal imposition.
In 1899, Usona sold guns to both sides of the civil war: to the
dictatorial conservative government and to the liberal party
opposition, during a bloody war where peasants and simple people put
the deads. Dismembering was encouraged by those elites: when
ammunitions were over they ordered to continue with machetes. At the
end, in 1903 they signed a peace treaty, Usona stole the Canal, and
Panama became a new nation.
Few years later, it started the caucho boom. Usona-latin companies
enslaved and killed indians of the Amazonic jungle to profit. Decades
later, usonian biologists took the best caucho seeds and the
multinationals planted them in South-East Asia.
From 1920 to 1970 we had an slow but firm process of
industrialization based on protectionism (Keynes-Prebisch). First
unions and left parties were created, and the first masacre of union
workers was accomplished by the colombian army instigated by the
Usona ambassador. (Eduardo Galeano and García Márquez wrote about it).
Around 1946, the conservatives launched a terror campaign in the
rural areas to clean them from liberals and to take over their lands.
They used civil gangs called "birds" and police gangs called
"chulavitas", which today are called as "paramilitaries", or simply
"army". This pushed millions of refugiated people to the cities, and
increased misery and the land and income inequality social problems.
Some liberals tried to defend theirselves and formed gangs called
"bandoleros". After some hundred thousand deaths and dismemberings,
the elites joined at elegant hotels in Europe, and signed peace among
them. But some of the bandoleros created their own independent
communities, far from official control, around 1958. At this point,
Usona pushed the government to launch a heavy attack on them with
napalm, planes,  bombs, and thousands of soldiers. When they took the
area, the 48 families had moved to another place and multiplied later
to become the left guerrilla Farc that has conducted a low intensity
civil war during last 36 years. At the same time, another guerrilla,
ELN, inspired by christian and urban students, developed their armed
resistance.

During 1970s marihuana appeared as an export product. The boom lasted
a few years: as soon as usonians learned to cultivate it in their
land, it became good, legal and full of medical properties.
Later came cocaine and heroine; coca was an spiritual and medicine
plant of andean people who chewed their leaves. Occident developed it
as concentrated cocaine, a luxury product, and it became common among
high income artists, executives, politicians, militars and university
students in Usona during hard working moments. Colombia is a nation
ideal for smugglers and when coca was displaced from Bolivia and Peru
it became a plantation product. Soon, capos became big landowners,
and industrial investors. Even the church benefited from their
donations. Traditional elites, always criminal and corrupted, found a
new political and rich business partner, pushed more peasants to the
jungle and financed their growing. The rest is easy to observe:
highly trained paramilitars started another round of killings and
dismemberings. Militars looking to another side, elites quiet, while
colonels North and Hyett trafficked at the White House and embassies.
Small peasants and those ones pushed to the jungle found a way to
survive from the cultives, just when agricultural basic prices and
exchange rates fell down.

Around 1970 some colonizers medium land-owners of the east-plains
invited close to 100 indians for a lunch. Once they finished the
lunch they killed the indians. Only anthropologists and left
newspapers protested. When justice asked the colonos they said "We
did not know that killing indians was that bad". They soon recovered
freedom. The only difference with usonian thanksgiving day is in the
timing of the killing.

Conclussions:
1. Through history, we have had elites with assasin, patriarcal and
racist mentalities, but highly civilized manners. Our history is a
mixture of dominations, colonialist genocides, medioeval practices,
slavery, inquisitions, and efforts to modernize. Marxist analysis is
useful in several moments, but not enough to understand the process.
2. Land, racial and social problem have completed more than 400 years
without solution.
3. Empires like Spain, Britain or Usona, their armies, diplomatics
and TNC elites, have been promoters of resources pillage, social
injustice, cruelty and death squads in this nation.
4. It would be great if usonians learn to cultivate coca and heroin
in their land, legalize it, and leave us without the advantages of
their presence and help. But it is not probable, because it goes
against the Usonian Dream and those of their needed allied colombian
elites.
5. Usonian and colombian official versions of our conflicts may be
found in big media news and their apologetic history text-books.
6. Usonian middle class naivete about this topics is so huge, that we
suspect it has to be intentional.
7.  Usonian official stand declares that the problem started 40 years
ago due to communist guerrillas which recently became financed
-directly or indirectly- by narco-money, and recomends a militar
solution bombing our peasants with  bullets, chemicals and fungus,
while favouring their arms industry. That is as ridiculous as solving
usonian anguish by poisoning their anguished people with fungus, and
calling them corrupted ones.
8. Our corruption is considered a problem only when it does not fit
the corrupted practices of the nordic imperial forces and elites.
9. The main difference between usonian necrophylia and colombian one
is that ours needs a closer contact with the victim, while they
prefer a long distance, more technical, efficient, civilized and
antiseptic killing. Both are cultural problems to be solved by each
nation, and both come from centuries ago.
10. If usonians want to repeat the Vietnam experience with us, of
course it will be very hard for us. If that is the case, I wish they
would not try to help us in reconstructing ourselves after destroying
us, just to prove how noble they may be. It would only add
humilliation to a tragedy they could have avoided on time. Perhaps
such an  action might help to build the latinoamerican unity that
Bolivar never got, but which it is still part of our dreams.
11. I think our social-psychologists, and theirs, should re-read
Erich Fromm to understand and change our/their sick souls and values,
there and here.
********************************************

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Via Bay_Area_Activist list:
http://www.egroups.com/community/bay_area_activist From: "Coalition on
Homelessness, SF" <coh@...>
Date: Sat, 12 Aug 2000 09:57:06 -0700
Subject: !b_a_Act: Y2GO2D2KLA

http://www.sfbg.com/News/34/45/45nfdnc.html

Crashing the party
(Or: Y2GO2D2KLA)

By Daniel Zoll

WHEN AN ANGRY army of protesters descends on the Democratic National
Convention in Los Angeles Aug. 14, members of Colombia's indigenous
U'wa tribe will be leading the way.

It's a perfect expression of how globalization - so aggressively
fast-tracked by Democratic nominee Al Gore - is inspiring far-flung
movements to get connected.

The U'wa have been fighting L.A.-based Occidental Petroleum's
environmentally destructive plans to drill in their sacred homeland,
and they vow to commit mass suicide if it goes through. Occidental's
partner in the project, Royal Dutch/Shell, has pulled out, citing
human rights and public relations concerns.

Al Gore, whose father was a vice president and board member of
Occidental, owns at least $500,000 in the company's stock.
Environmentalists have lobbied Gore to divest or to pressure
Occidental to abandon the project. Instead, as the Nation reports,
the Clinton administration "has been quietly helping the company - a
generous donor to the Democrats in recent years - to win support in
Colombia for its drilling plans."

If the U'wa can travel thousands of miles to highlight corporate
crime, environmental destruction, and social injustice, Bay Area
activists have little excuse to stay home.

Paul Boden of the San Francisco Coalition on Homelessness says such
forums are much more effective than simply voting for political
change. "If we don't use these kinds of forums and we don't apply
direct action as a way of applying pressure, then we lose out to the
moneyed interests," he told the Bay Guardian. "Poor people and
working-class people have never gotten shit in this country unless
they demanded it."

The Democratic convention is the perfect venue for activists to
educate a mass audience about the party's rightward, pro-corporate
agenda and to connect concerns about globalization, the death
penalty, and poverty with the party's advancement of these problems.
A huge hell-raising in Los Angeles can deepen the growing public
awareness of the Democrats' abandonment of the poor, people of color,
workers, and democratic government.

But the L.A. mobilization (popularly known as D2KLA) is not just
about Gore, his corporate sponsors, or the Democrats. It's about
momentum. This is a pivotal moment in the new global justice
movement, and it's happening in our backyard. The protests and events
will shine a bright spotlight on issues of particular urgency to
California, such as the criminalization of youth, and the
prison-industrial complex.

That's why hundreds of Bay Area activists are now booking youth
hostels and making carpool plans. Local grassroots social justice
groups have been actively involved in planning D2KLA events, which
means the protests should be more diverse than those in Seattle and
Washington, which were dominated by white twentysomethings (see
"Moving the Movement," page 23). Activists say the convention
protests need to prove that Seattle was not a fluke, that the World
Trade Organization and World Bank protesters didn't just go home and
turn on cable and call it a day. "Nothing will really happen unless
we crash the party," says hip-hop musician Rashidi Omari, whose
Oakland-based band, Company of Prophets, will play at the Aug. 13
Santa Monica event.

The U'wa-led march through downtown L.A. kicks off four days of
alternative convention activities. Every day has an "action theme,"
beginning with "Human Need Not Corporate Greed" and ending with
"Global Economic Justice." Participants can choose between permitted
marches and civil disobedience actions at corporate offices or other
targets coordinated with the daily theme. The DNC should also expect
creative actions at its fundraising shindigs, organizers say.

Events include a mock Million Billionaire March; a Shadow Convention
focusing on campaign finance reform, the widening wage gap, and the
war on drugs; a "No More Ramparts!" march against police brutality;
and a rally by the antiracist, pro-mass transit Bus Riders Union.

Those who can be in Los Angeles only one day should try to make it
the first day of the convention, Aug. 14, organizers say. There are
still free or low-cost rides and accommodations available for the
week (see "Protesters' Resource Guide to Major Rallies and Events,"
page 23).

Here are several good reasons why you should walk, crawl, do whatever
it takes to get to the protest next week.

Keep the pressure on Gore

The protests will remind Gore of the price he and the party will pay
for deserting their traditional base. The party has rejected platform
planks, proposed by the progressive caucus, calling for fair trade
policies and a living wage. A few of Gore's many failing points:

Trade Though the L.A. protests will encompass a range of issues, the
one that started it all, in Seattle, was trade. In a June 2000
report, the United Nations Development Program, no bastion of
radicalism, concluded that "multilateral trade agreements have
serious consequences for human well-being and human rights." But the
Clinton administration is still pushing its unfair trade agenda.

Environment Incredibly, many San Francisco progressives still believe
the hype about Gore and the environment. Gore, who so eloquently
defended NAFTA in 1992, must be pressured to explain the
environmental disaster that has resulted on the U.S.-Mexico border.

Capital punishment While roughly the same number of blacks and whites
are murdered, 82 percent of executions in the United States since
1977 have been of prisoners convicted of murdering a white person.
Finally there is some discussion in this country on the inequities -
and the moral bankruptcy - of capital punishment. But Gore and many
Democrats continue to support the death penalty.

Poverty Poverty has disappeared from the party's radar screen.
According to a U.N. report, 750,000 Americans are homeless on any
given night, some 40 million go without health insurance, and one
adult in five is functionally illiterate. Clinton-Gore's welfare
"reform" has swelled vastly the ranks of the homeless and hungry. The
scandal of poor people being discarded by the state should be
trumpeted as a central symbol of Gore's politics.

Food safety Before becoming vice president, Gore said he would
support regulations on agricultural biotechnology. The Clinton Food
and Drug Administration has been for sale to the highest bidder. "The
Clinton FDA has been worse than Bush Sr.'s administration, because
they have absolutely not listened to the public on anything," says
Ronnie Cummins, national director of the Organic Consumers
Association. Clinton's FDA has fought all calls for mandatory
labeling or safety testing of genetically engineered food.

Defense and foreign policy There are two parties of war in
Washington. One of the most shameful Clinton-Gore legacies is its
economic sanctions against Iraq, which have killed hundreds of
thousands of innocent women, men, and children. The Clinton
administration is also considering deployment of a national missile
defense system, which Gore supports. According to Physicians for
Social Responsibility, such a system is "not only technologically
unfeasible and expensive, it will only serve to undermine global
stability and security by causing unnecessary tensions among various
nations in order to defend against a threat that does not exist."

It's in L.A.

What better place to protest issues like police brutality, sprawl,
underfunded public transportation, the water crisis, and the fact
that Baywatch is now our country's number one cultural export? It' s
also a great opportunity to support our L.A. allies. Paul Lee, of
Korean Immigrant Worker Advocates, says his group is going to call
Democrats' attention to the country's largest sweatshop zone -
located just under the nose of convention attendees. "Given that the
DNC is going to be held basically a few blocks from this massive
sweatshop industry we have here, we want to bring this issue as much
as possible to the eyes of the Democratic Party leadership," he said.

Support organized labor

Though the AFL-CIO has already endorsed Gore, many rank and filers
say they will be on the streets. Among the unions that have endorsed
some or all of the D2K Actions are the International Longshore and
Warehouse Union (ILWU), the California Nurses Association, Justice
for Janitors, and the Steelworkers.

Yell at Gov. Gray Davis

On the state level, nobody better represents the rightward shift of
the Democratic party than Governor Davis. Among his many cave-ins to
corporate contributors, the man vetoed a "Buy American" bill aimed at
promoting domestic industry, citing potential conflicts with WTO
rules. After he raised $129,000 at a July 1999 timber industry party,
Davis's Board of Forestry watered down proposed timber regulations.
The governor denies any connection between the contributions and his
legislative agenda.

Make history

There's nothing like the smell of pepper spray in the morning. If
that's not enough of an enticement, ask anyone who attended the
Battles of Seattle or Washington, and they will tell you: it was fun,
inspiring, scary - an unforgettable experience.

Educate yourself

The convention week is packed with teach-ins, speeches, and shadow
conventions, all with speakers you are not likely to see on the
Sunday-morning news shows. Among the many educational events is
Global Exchange's pre-convention "Reality of Los Angeles Tour," which
begins Thurs/10 and will spend three days exploring the prison
industry, sweatshops, and environmental racism in the city. And on
Sat/12, experts from Food First, Organic Consumers Association, and
Greenpeace will march and speak at the "Stop Genetic Engineering"
teach-in.

Get the media to listen

The turnout in Philadelphia was apparently not enough to get the
media to cover the issues. As the watchdog group Fairness and
Accuracy in Reporting observed in its July 25 report on convention
coverage, "What emerges from this coverage is an image of activists
as a paramilitary mob preparing to take to the streets to frustrate
and discredit the police." The greater - and louder - the turnout,
the more difficult it will be for them to ignore us.

For complete information on all D2KLA events, go to www.d2kla.org.

*******************************************************
HOMELESS PEOPLE'S NETWORK <http://aspin.asu.edu/hpn>
7,000+ POSTS by or via homeless & ex-homeless people.
Nothing About Us Without Us - Democratize Public Policy
*******************************************************


--
Coalition on Homelessness, San Francisco
468 Turk St.
San Francisco, CA 94102
vox: (415) 346.3740
Fax: (415) 775.5639
coh@...
http://www.sfo.com/~coh

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http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml
-----------------------
--------------------------------------------------------------------


** EARTH DAY 2001 IN DETROIT** Mark your calendar!!
NO MORE SUVS!  No More Cars built with less than 70mpg - RETOOL NOW!
First International Day of Outrage Against Climate Destabilization
Evil flourishes when good people do nothing
_____________________________________________________________________
Brought to you by Hayduke Rocks! an, Earth First! Media and Action Network
http://www.efmedia.org
hayduke@...

Check out our news & discussion lists by visiting the Hayduke Rocks!
list sign-up page at
http://www.efmedia.org/elists.html

EF! Alert * EF! Biotech * Climate Crisis Action * Colombia Vigil * EF! Talk
Judi Bari Bombing  * Julia Butterfly Net * Climate Activist * Sea Mammals


Please support these projects. Money, zip disks, cassettes and blank
VHS tape really is needed. Please send to:
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P.O. Box 324
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Thanks!



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>Date: Fri, 01 Sep 2000 07:54:42 -0800
>Organization: CounterPunch
>
>The Globe And Mail (Canada)
>
>Colombia: this week's Kosovo
>
>RICK SALUTIN
>
>Friday, September 1, 2000
>
>'This is not Vietnam, nor is it Yankee imperialism."
>(President Bill Clinton, in Colombia yesterday to hand over
>$1.3-billion in military aid to, ho ho, combat the drug
>trade harming America's cities.)
>
>Well, when was the last time you believed a Clinton denial?
>Actually, denials are great from public figures. Most of the
>time, their denials are the closest we get to what's truly
>on their minds. The telltale sign is usually that no one
>asked.
>
>Still, let's "parse" the Clinton claims, as the press loved
>to do with his Lewinskyisms but are less keen in foreign
>policy. He says the aid is to stop drug traffic. That's
>insultingly false for these reasons: (1) It will only be
>used in the half of the country controlled by rebels, who
>don't even grow crops, though they "tax" them. Army-backed
>paramilitary groups will be left alone, though they get most
>of their money -- 70 per cent, says their leader -- from
>drug traffic. (2) A Rand Institute study for the Pentagon
>found that money spent treating addicts in the U.S. is 23
>times as effective as money spent on "source country
>control" and 11 times as effective as trying to stop drugs
>from entering. (3) The Colombian military is up to its eyes
>in drug trafficking, say U.S officials. (4) The U.S. itself,
>largely through the CIA, bears a heavy burden for drugs in
>its own cities. (I know that sounds kooky, but I swear it's
>well-documented by, for instance, a 1988 U.S. Senate
>subcommittee on narcotics and terrorism.) The crack
>explosion of the '80s was used, maybe even created, to help
>fund Nicaragua's contras.
>
>The President also claimed that his aim was to improve human
>rights, a good idea since massacres of innocents, mainly by
>paramilitaries, have reached more than one a day, says
>Colombia's ombudsman. Then why did Bill Clinton sign a
>"human rights waiver" last week, meaning that Colombia will
>not have to live up to human-rights conditions originally
>part of the package? A U.S. official said yesterday the aid
>was too important to human rights to let some atrocities
>hold it up.
>
>This may seem more trouble than anyone thinks is needed to
>prove Bill Clinton Lies, but it clears the way to ask: So
>what's the aid really for? Colombia's civil war is almost 40
>years old. Between 1986 and 1995, 45,000 people died, 36,000
>of them civilians. There are 4,300 political murders a year
>(and rising), and 1.5 million displaced people. About 2,500
>trade-union leaders have been assassinated since 1986, in a
>Canada-size population. Colombia is rich in oil and gold,
>but 3 per cent of the people control 70 per cent of the
>arable land, and 40 per cent live in "absolute poverty" and
>18 per cent in "absolute misery." The rebels have a social
>democratish program -- freeze privatization, subsidize
>farmers, help local industry. They get along with populist
>Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez, whose demonization in the
>American media is heading to Saddamian levels. You could say
>they represent a mild challenge to globalization, at the
>same time it's stalled in the U.S. Congress -- and they're
>not going away. It's a situation up with which, in
>Churchillian terms, the U.S. shall not put. Send in the
>gunships. Cue the Ride of the Valkyries. Sounds like Vietnam
>to me.
>
>How do they get away with it? Here's where a co-operative
>media come in. Colombia is only in the news when the U.S.
>government decides to put it there -- by, say, toddling down
>for a day -- and then defines the story on its own fanciful
>terms. "Colombia has become a first-tier foreign policy
>issue, and this trip will show that," said a U.S. official.
>Once they leave, it doesn't exist. Next day, you can't find
>it on The New York Times Web site. Count me in. I hadn't
>written on Colombia till now. What's the hook? your editors
>will say, or the editor in your head, though a massacre a
>day sounds like it has hook potential. Getting Bill Clinton
>to deny his real reason for being there was a major outing
>of truth in this context.
>
>In case this sounds like doctrinaire Chomskyism -- rational
>imperial self-interest disguised by a steaming pile of media
>hooey -- I'd say there's irrationality, too. Talk about
>addiction, you could call the U.S. a nation addicted to
>intervention. It's hard to think of a time they weren't
>assaulting some small place: Lebanon in '58, Cuba in '61,
>Dominican Republic in '65, Vietnam for 10 years, Libya,
>Grenada, Panama, Iraq, Yugoslavia -- have I left any out?
>Doubtless. In all cases, there are media excuses covering
>real motives. But there's something else, too, akin to
>exhibitionism. Colombia, for instance, had already surpassed
>Turkey as the top recipient of U.S. arms (aside from Egypt
>and Israel, which are pretty much in-house items at the
>Pentagon). But now we get the big media buildup to the
>inevitable mayhem. You could call it the psychopathology of
>power, or not. Probably doesn't matter a lot to the six
>schoolkids on a hike gunned down by the Colombian army two
>weeks ago -- instead of by the customary paramilitaries,
>with the army merely looking on.
>
>
>--------------------------------------------------------------------
>List:    counterpunch-list@...
>Info:    http://counterpunch.org/mailman/listinfo/counterpunch-list/
>Archive: http://counterpunch.org/mailman/private/counterpunch-list/
>--------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>
END FWD

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-----------------------
NOTE: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material is
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interest in receiving this information for non-profit research and
educational purposes only. For more information go to:
http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml
-----------------------
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** EARTH DAY 2001 IN DETROIT** Mark your calendar!!
NO MORE SUVS!  No More Cars built with less than 70mpg - RETOOL NOW!
First International Day of Outrage Against Climate Destabilization
Evil flourishes when good people do nothing
_____________________________________________________________________
Brought to you by Hayduke Rocks! an, Earth First! Media and Action Network
http://www.efmedia.org
hayduke@...

Check out our news & discussion lists by visiting the Hayduke Rocks!
list sign-up page at
http://www.efmedia.org/elists.html

EF! Alert * EF! Biotech * Climate Crisis Action * Colombia Vigil * EF! Talk
Judi Bari Bombing  * Julia Butterfly Net * Climate Activist * Sea Mammals


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VHS tape really is needed. Please send to:
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From: wildnet@...
Date: Thu, 03 Feb 2000 01:51:26 +0300
X-Accept-Language: de,en-GB,en-US,fr
To: WILD_ROAR@...
Subject: U'wa communique Jan 31

WILD_ROAR, issue 02.02.2000

SUPPORT THE DEFENCE OF THE U'WA PEOPLE!
"CONTACT" FIDELITY!
BOYCOTT OXY!


WILDNET
ECOTERRA - Freedom for People and Nature
	 FIRST PEOPLES & NATURE FIRST!


   In this post, derived from compilations by Patrick Reinborough
<rags@...>: (thanks Patrick)
1. Update on campaign against Fidelity Investments
2. U'wa communique English and Spanish 31. Jan 2000
3. Message from Rainforest Action Network
4. U'wa communique Jan 25 - English and espanol
5. Virtual Sit-in on Occidental's webpage Feb 3

FIDELITY INVESTMENTS REFUSES TO TALK ABOUT THE U'WA!
Greetings friends of the U'wa,
	 A quick update  from the U.S. as we go into the final day before the
Feb 3 Day of  Solidarity and Action for the U'wa people.  In December
of last year several member groups of the U'wa Defense Working Group
(UDWG) requested to meet with senior Fidelity management to discuss
what role they could play in stopping Occidental Petroleum's attempts
to drill on U'wa land in Colombia.
As  one of the largest shareholders in Occidental Petroleum, Fidelity
has an unparalleled power to intervene on behalf of the U'wa people
and their lands.  However as of  Feb 1 Fidelity has officially refused
to meet with advocates for the U'wa.
	 Well if they won't listen then maybe the world will! On Feb 3 let us
speak with one clear voice :  Fidelity Investments is willing to
profit from the genocide of the U'wa people.  They have the power to
stop the invasion of the U'wa lands and we will collectively hold them
responsible for the safety of the U'wa people!
	 We must tell the media, the general public and most importantly
Fidelity investors.  We need to show the world that we will not
tolerate such complicity in a crime against  an entire culture.   Urge
everyone concerned with basic human rights, environmental protection
and the right of sovereign peoples to control their own homelands to
contact Fidelity and register there outrage!  Also  talk to your
friends, family, investigate your university or employer's holdings
and retirement options.  Find the Fidelity investors and tell them
that they have the power to help the U'wa by divesting their money!
Fact sheets and flyers about Fidelity are posted in downloadable pdf
files at www.ran.org
CONTACT patrick at Rainforest Action Network (SF, USA 415-398-4404)
rags@... to coordinate
Find Fidelity's global locations on the international section of their
webpage.
(http://www100.fidelity.com/global/global.html)

Also find free phone numbers to their US offices from almost every
country in the world.
http://www100.fidelity.com/about/contact/inter.html
-------------------------------------------
(Spanish original therafter)

FROM THE U’WA PEOPLE

OF THE STATES OF BOYACA, SANTANDER, NORTH OF
SANTANDER, ARAUCA AND CASANARE, COLOMBIA

COMMUNIQUE TO THE NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL PUBLIC:


1. We denounce the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) for
the
various actions that they have carried out against the U’wa people;
such as armed intimidation against indigenous inhabitants of our
communities in past months; the machine-gun fire attack on Mr. Carlos
Tegra Uncaria’s home; and the detention, kidnapping, and subsequent
murder of our North American sisters and brother activists, Terence
Freitas, Ingrid Washinawatock, and Larry Gay Lahenae, who defended our
cause in a humanitarian way.

2. We condemn all support from Colombians for the multinational oil
company OXY.
   In this way, we energetically reject the collusion mounted by the
Colombian government through the armed forces, the FARC, the
multinational OXY and the subcontracting company Rocas del Llano to
protect and safeguard vehicles, equipment and machinery belonging to
OXY, in the area from the municipality of Pamplona to the Samore
Block; the tight coordination to achieve their goal, is evident.

3. A strong militarization took place on January 19 in Cedeno on
property that belongs to us, where our U’wa brothers were surrounded
by soldiers and riot police North of Santander, and were physically
and psychologically abused, and their personal goods were destroyed.

4. There have been death threats and intimidation made against civil
officials to persuade them to act against our constitutional and legal
rights, as in the case of Toledo’s judge, Dr. Yamile Vergel, who has
been pressured into causing our forcible removal from our own lands.

5. There are strange circumstances surrounding the murder of Dr.
Daniel
Jordán Penaranda, notary public of Pamplona, who aided us in the
process of gaining legal title to the farms of Santa Rita and
Bellavista, as a
collective U’wa property.
These farms are located in the village of Cedeno, municipality of
Toledo.

6. We reiterate our noble purpose to continue our peaceful struggle in
defense of our ancestral and traditional rights to our territory, and
we don’t agree with the actions by the National Liberation Army (ELN)
to destroy the machinery and equipment of the transnational oil
company OXY, since actions like these only make the conflict worse.

7. We invite campesinos, workers, students, teachers, truckers,
merchants and indigenous peoples in our region to show solidarity with
our struggle, because we are convinced that DEFENDING OUR TERRITORIAL
RIGHTS  IS THE ONLY GUARANTEE OF OUR EXISTENCE. Today, we publicly and
officially inform Colombia and the world that starting Tuesday,
February 1, we declare a civilian strike in defense of the social
rights of the U’wa people and the people of the Sarare area.

Cubará, January 31, 2000.
Sincerely,
U’WA AND GUAHIBO INDIGENOUS PEOPLES OF BOYACA, SANTANDER, NORTH OF
SANTANDER, ARAUCA AND CASANARE.

ROBERTO PEREZ GUTIERREZ ISMAEL UNCACIA
AsoU’wa Representative CRIA Representative
Translation by Florencia Valle, Rainforest Action Network.

---------------------------

EL PUEBLO INDIGENA U&acute;WA DE LOS DEPARTAMENTOS DE BOYACA,
SANTANDER,
NORTE DE SANTANDER, ARAUCA Y CASANARE,
DENUNCIAMOS ANTE LA OPINION PUBLICA NACIONAL E INTERNACIONAL 1. A las
fuerzas armadas revolucionarias de Colombia (FARC) por las diferentes
acciones que ha venido adelantando contra el pueblo ind&iacute;gena
U&acute;wa, como son, la intimidaci&oacute;n armada realizadas contra
ind&iacute;genas moradores de nuestras comunidades en meses
anteriores, como
es el ametrallamiento de la vivienda del se&ntilde;or Carlos
Tegr&iacute;a
Uncaria, la retenci&oacute;n, secuestro y posterior asesinato de los
tres
hermanos indigenistas norteamericanos Terence Freitas, Ingrid
Washinawatock
y Larry Gay Lahenae, quienes humanitariamente defend&iacute;an nuestra
causa.
2. Condenamos todo apoyo de colombianos a favor de los intereses de la
empresa multinacional del petr&oacute;leo OXY. Es as&iacute;, que
rechazamos
en&eacute;rgicamente la confabulaci&oacute;n del Estado Colombiano, a
trav&eacute;s de sus fuerzas militares, las FARC, la multinacional OXY
y la
empresa subcontratista Rocas del Llano, para proteger y salvaguardar
veh&iacute;culos, equipos y maquinaria de la transnacional OXY, desde
el
municipio de Pamplona, hasta el Bloque Samor&eacute;, pues es evidente
la
estrecha coordinaci&oacute;n para cumplir tal prop&oacute;sito.
3. La fuerte militarizaci&oacute;n realizada el d&iacute;a 19 de los
corrientes en Cede&ntilde;o en predios que son de nuestra propiedad
donde
fueron acordonados hermanos U&acute;was, por efectivos del ejercito y
de la
polic&iacute;a antimotines Norte de Santander, quienes maltrataron
f&iacute;sica y sicol&oacute;gicamente a los compa&ntilde;eros
ind&iacute;genas que se encontraban all&iacute;, destruyendo bienes y
enseres que eran nuestros. 4. La amenaza de muerte e
intimidaci&oacute;n que
vienen adelantando contra funcionarios p&uacute;blicos para
act&uacute;en en
contra de nuestros derechos constitucionales y legales que nos
favorecen
como es el caso de la juez de Toledo Dra. Yamile Vergel, quien ha sido
presionada para que provoque a la fuerza el desalojo de nuestros
predios. 5.
Los extra&ntilde;os hechos en que fue asesinado el Dr. DANIEL JORDAN
PENARANDA notario primero del circuito de Pamplona, quien nos
colabor&oacute; en la formalizaci&oacute;n de la Escritura
P&uacute;blica de
propiedad colectiva a favor del pueblo U&acute;wa, predios Santa Rita
y
Bellavista ubicadas en la vereda Cede&ntilde;o, municipio de Toledo.
6.
Reiteramos nuestro noble prop&oacute;sito de seguir luchando
pac&iacute;ficamente por la defensa de nuestros derechos territoriales
ancestrales y tradicionales, y no compartimos las acciones realizadas
por el
ejercito de Liberaci&oacute;n Nacional ELN, al destruir maquinaria y
equipo
de la transnacional de petr&oacute;leo OXY, pues acciones como estas
solo
agudizan el conflicto. 7. Invitamos a campesinos, trabajadores,
estudiantes,
docentes, transportadores, comerciantes e ind&iacute;genas de la
regi&oacute;n a solidarizarse con nuestra lucha, pues estamos
convencidos
que "LA DEFENSA DE NUESTROS DERECHOS TERRITORIALES ES LA UNICA
GARANTIA DE
NUESTRA EXISTENCIA". Hoy, p&uacute;blica y oficialmente informamos a
Colombia y el mundo que ha partir del d&iacute;a martes 01 de febrero
declaramos el paro c&iacute;vico en defensa de los derechos sociales
del
pueblo U&acute;wa y del Sarare.

8.
Cubar&aacute;, enero 31 del 2000
Atentamente,

PUEBLO INDIGENA U&acute;WA Y GUAHIBO DE LOS
DEPARTAMENTOS DE BOYACA, SANTANDER Y NORTE DE
SANTANDER, ARAUCA Y CASANARE
ROBERTO PEREZ GUTIERREZ ISMAEL UNCACIA
Representante AsoUwa Representante CRIA


-------------


"THE UWA TERRITORY IS SACRED
CULTURES WITH PRINCIPLES ARE NOT FOR SALE
WE THE UWAS DEFEND THE LIFE OF HUMANITY AND PLANET EARTH
WE WILL NOT RENOUNCE OUR RIGHTS."
          - U'wa communique Jan 25


EL TERRITORIO U`WA ES SAGRADO


LAS CULTURAS CON PRINCIPIOS NO TIENEN PRECIO


LOS U`WAS DEFENDEMOS LA VIDA DE LA HUMANIDAD Y
DEL PLANETA TIERRA.


NO RENUNCIAREMOS A NUESTROS DERECHOS


Cubará, 25 de enero de 2000


CABILDO MAYOR U´WA

Cubará, Boyacá, Colombia

INFORMES: teléfonos

091 2812071

091 3376950

091 2458906

091 2456860


E-mail:

cobacata@...

censat@...


Sus comunicaciones deben ser dirigidas a:


      a.. JUAN MAYR, Ministro del Medio Ambiente,
Juan_Mayr_M@... y
      Jmayr@... 3361166, 2886877, 2840363


      b.. Dr. ANDRÉS PASTRANA, Presidente de la República de
Colombia,
      Palacio de Nariño, Fax 2867434. Bogotá.
pastrana@...


      c.. Dr. GUSTAVO BELL LEMUS, Consejero Presidencial para
los Derechos
      Humanos, Fax 571 3418364. Bogotá.


      d.. Dr. JAIME BERNAL CUÉLLAR, Procurador General de la
Nación, Fax 571
      2840472, 3429723. Bogotá.


      e.. Dr. ALFONSO GÓMEZ MÉNDEZ, Fiscal General de la
Nación, Fax 571
      5702000. Bogotá.


      f.. Dr. FERNANDO CASTRO CAICEDO, Defensor del Pueblo,

Fax 571 3461225. Bogotá.


      a.. Dr. NÉSTOR HUMBERTO MARTÍNEZ NEIRA, Ministro del
Interior, Fax 571
      2515884.


Censat Agua Viva (FoE Colombia)
Apartado Aéreo 16789
Tel: +57-1-2456860
Telefax: +57-1-2458906
Santafé de Bogotá, D.C. Colombia
SUR AMERICA

--------------

----------------

Greetings comrades and friends of the U'wa,

          As many of you have heard the situation in U'wa land has grown
very serious. The region around the proposed drillsite has been
invaded
by thousands of Colombian soldiers and the U'wa have been forcibly
removed.  Please see their communique below for more details.  I know
that some of you are organizing emergency response demonstrations and
other actions of solidarity.  We are also organizing demonstrations,
vigils and meetings with Colombian officials.  I wanted to give you
all an update on what we are doing here in the U.S. and hopefully
raise
some issues about how we can all communicate better.
          Here in the United States the campaign to get Occidental out
of
U'wa land is taking two directions.  Immediately U'wa Defense Working
Group
members RAN, Amazon Watch and Project Underground  are targeting Vice
President Al Gore.  He has a close and long standing relationship with
Occidental Petroleum.  He owns 1/2 million dollars of Oxy stock and
has
provided them with a number of political favors.  Activists have
swamped
his campaign phone lines, staged demonstrations and disrupted his
rallies.
As you will see below activist stormed his campaign headquarters and
got
a lot of media on his connection to Occidental and the situation in
Colombia. That work will continue targeting his presidential campaign.
If anyone of you would like more information on the Gore Occidental
link
let me know and I can email you a number of articles.  There is also
extensive information up on our website - www.ran.org.
          Secondly and more relevant to the international network is the
targeting of Fidelity Investments.  Fidelity is a major shareholder in
Occidental, controlling approximately 10% of the company.  A coalition
of environmental and human rights groups has given Fidelity a deadline
of getting all efforts to drill in the Samore block cancelled by March
1.  The first mass protests against them are scheduled for early
February.
   Fidelity has offices in many places around the world.  They list some
of their global locations on the international section of their
webpage.
(http://www100.fidelity.com/global/global.html) On another part of
their
website Fidelity lists phone numbers to allow free calls to their
US offices from almost every country in the world.
http://www100.fidelity.com/about/contact/inter.html  This could be an
extremely effective way to let Fidelity know that the U'wa have
friends
in many places so spread the word and phone Fidelity on Feb 3!  We
have
called for Feb 3 to be a day of solidarity and action for the U'wa.
Perhaps activists in other parts of the world could encourage people
to
call Fidelity particularly on that day. Let's us know if you are
planning
demonstrations at consulates or other events that we should included
in
our Feb 3 press release and updates to activists.
          I know that information about the U'wa is circulating on many
email
lists among many different groups.  I think this is very important.
We must
help link the U'wa struggle with those of other frontline communities
and
the larger movement for global justice.  Perhaps it would be helpful
to set
up an U'wa specific email list for all of us to share information,
action
ideas and help coordinate our solidarity work.  I know we all get too
much
email already but hopefully an international U'wa solidarity email
list
would be a very low-traffic list but give us all a better way to talk
to
one another.  Let me know what your thoughts are on this.
          In the article from Oil and Gas Journal below you will see
that the oil
industry is sacred of this campaign and scared of us.  They are scared
of
our ability to organize together internationally.  They are scared of
the
truth of their unethical actions coming out to the world.  Let's make
sure
they've got something to be scared of by spreading solidarity with the
U'wa
resistance as far and wide as possible.

In solidarity for the Earth,
Patrick Reinsborough,
Grassroots Coordinator

Rainforest Action Network
221 Pine St Suite 500  San Francisco CA USA 94104
phone - 415-398-4404    fax - 415-398-2732 www.ran.org


-----------------

English version of the U'wa statement (slightly edited)

Version en Espanol sigue ---

COMMUNIQUÉ TO PUBLIC OPINION
INVASION AND EVICTION OF THE UWA PEOPLE

Violation of national interest and cultural identity

Today, the 25th of January, 2000, in a shameful action by the military
   and police forces, headed by Major Victor Hugo Rojas Aragón, we the
indigenous U'wa people were evicted from our land at Santa Rita and
Bellavista, where the oil drilling site Gibraltar 1 is located. The
army used helicopters to take us out from our land, and since this
action three of our indigenous brothers are missing.

Since the 22nd of January, 10 big trucks have arrived in the area
of the Samoré Block, transporting machinery to start opening up a
road through Cedeño , in order to reach our territory, which confirms
the absolute determination of Occidental to start oil activity,
disregarding men, women, children, elders, cultures and history,
with the goal of extracting the oil which is found in our land.

These violations have been supported by the General Director of
Indigenous Affairs of the Ministry of the Interior, the lawyer
Nubia Morales, judge from the municipality of Toledo, and the
governor of Northern Santander, Jorge Garcia Herreros, who in a
cynical tone said: "those animal Indians have to be evicted
violently".

We hold the Colombian Government responsible for this action of
eviction and what it could lead to, and in particular the President,
Andres Pastrana Arango and the company Occidental of Colombia, OXY.

This eviction action disregards our rights of property and possession
that we, the U'wa People and authorities, have acquired over these
territories, through a contract of sale, carried out on the 18th of
Novermber, 1999, before the First Notary and duly registered in the
Office of Register and Public and Private Instruments, Pamplona
Section.

Communal indigenous and ethnic territories are inalienable, cannot
be seized and are unassailable, according to the constitutional
and legal rights (articles 1, 2, 63, 70, 286 and 330 of the National
Constitution, Agreement 179 of the ILO, law 21 of 1921).

We are calling the General Procurator of the Nation, The People's
Defenders office and Human Rights groups to come to our invaded
territory immediately. We invite the national and international
community to redouble their actions of support, denunciation and
solidarity with the U'wa people.

We are appealing to the governments of the world to reject the calls
to support the Plan Colombia, deny resources to the Colombian
government, which seeks through this Plan to increase violations
against the Colombian people and in particular, against indigenous
groups.

THE UWA TERRITORY IS SACRED
CULTURES WITH PRINCIPLES ARE NOT FOR SALE
WE THE UWAS DEFEND THE LIFE OF HUMANITY AND PLANET EARTH
WE WILL NOT RENOUNCE OUR RIGHTS.

Cubará, January 25, 2000

CABILDO MAYOR U´WA
Cubará, Boyacá, Colombia

TO COMMUNICATE WITH THE U'WA AND COLOMBIAN SUPPORTERS DIRECTLY :
011 571 2812071; 011 571 3376950; 011 571 2458906;
011 571 2456860

E-mail: cobacata@...; censat@...

___________________________________________________

COMUNICADO A LA OPINIÓN PÚBLICA

INVASIÓN Y DESALOJO AL PUEBLO U`WA

Atropello a los intereses nacionales y a la identidad cultural

El día de hoy, 25 de Enero del año 2000, en vergonzosa acción de
las fuerzas militares y de policía, en cabeza del Mayor Víctor Hugo
Rojas Aragón, indígenas del pueblo U`wa fuimos desalojados de nuestras
propiedades Santa Rita y Bellavista, donde se encuentra ubicado el
punto de perforación Gibraltar I. Los militares utilizaron
helicópteros
para sacarnos de nuestros predios y después de esa acción resultaron
desaparecidos tres de nuestros hermanos indígenas.


Ya desde el 22 de enero habían llegado diez tractomulas al área del
bloque Samoré, transportando la maquinaria para iniciar la apertura
de la carretera a través de la vereda Cedeño, hasta llegar a nuestras
tierras, con lo que se ratificaba la absoluta determinación de la
Occidental de iniciar la actividad petrolera, pasando por encima de
hombres, mujeres, niños, ancianos, culturas, historia, con tal de
extraer el petróleo que se encuentra en nuestras tierras.


Estos atropellos han contado con el respaldo de la Dirección General
de
Asuntos Indígenas del Ministerio del Interior, de la abogada Nubia
Morales,
juez del municipio de Toledo, y del gobernador de Norte de Santander,
Jorge García Herreros, quien en forma cínica manifestó : "esos indios
animales hay que desalojarlos violentamente".


Hacemos responsable de la acción del desalojo y de lo que pueda
generarse
con ella al gobierno colombiano, en particular, al presidente de la
República, Andrés Pastrana Arango, y a la empresa Occidental de
Colombia,
OXY.


La acción del desalojo desconoce el derecho de dominio y posesión que
adquirimos el pueblo y las autoridades U`wa sobre estas tierras,
mediante
contrato de compraventa, exento de todo vicio, celebrado el día 18 de
noviembre de 1999, ante la Notaria Primera y registrado debidamente en
la
Oficina de Registro e Instrumentos Públicos y Privados, seccional
Pamplona.

Las tierras de las comunidades indígenas o grupos étnicos, son
inembargables, inalienables e imprescriptibles, según disposiciones
constitucionales y legales (artículos 1º, 2º, 63, 70, 286, 287 y 330
de la
Constitución Nacional, Convenio 179 de la OIT, ley 21 de 1921).

Convocamos a la Procuraduría General de la Nación, a la Defensoría del
Pueblo y a los organismos de Derechos Humanos para que se hagan
presentes de
manera inmediata en nuestro territorio invadido.

Invitamos a la comunidad nacional e internacional a redoblar las
actividades
de apoyo, de denuncia y solidaridad con el pueblo U`wa.

Hacemos un llamado a los gobiernos del mundo para que rechacen las
solicitudes de apoyo al Plan Colombia y nieguen recursos al gobierno
colombiano, que busca con ese Plan incrementar los atropellos contra
el
pueblo colombiano, en particular, contra los pueblos indígenas.

EL TERRITORIO U`WA ES SAGRADO
LAS CULTURAS CON PRINCIPIOS NO TIENEN PRECIO
LOS U`WAS DEFENDEMOS LA VIDA DE LA HUMANIDAD Y DEL PLANETA TIERRA.
NO RENUNCIAREMOS A NUESTROS DERECHOS

Cubará, 25 de enero de 2000

CABILDO MAYOR U´WA
Cubará, Boyacá, Colombia

INFORMES: teléfonos (desde EEUU, marque 011 571 en lugar de 091).
091 2812071
091 3376950
091 2458906
091 2456860

E-mail:cobacata@... censat@...

Sus comunicaciones deben ser dirigidas a:

JUAN MAYR, Ministro del Medio Ambiente, Juan_Mayr_M@... y
Jmayr@... 3361166, 2886877, 2840363

Dr. ANDRÉS PASTRANA, Presidente de la República de Colombia, Palacio
de
Nariño, Fax 2867434. Bogotá. pastrana@...

Dr. GUSTAVO BELL LEMUS, Consejero Presidencial para los Derechos
Humanos,
Fax 571 3418364. Bogotá.

Dr. JAIME BERNAL CUÉLLAR, Procurador General de la Nación, Fax 571
2840472,
3429723. Bogotá.

Dr. ALFONSO GÓMEZ MÉNDEZ, Fiscal General de la Nación, Fax 571
5702000.
Bogotá.

Dr. FERNANDO CASTRO CAICEDO, Defensor del Pueblo,  Fax 571 3461225.
Bogotá.

Dr. NÉSTOR HUMBERTO MARTÍNEZ NEIRA, Ministro del Interior, Fax 571
2515884.
-----------------------------------------------------
PRESS RELEASE
From:  ACERCA (Action for Communities and Ecology in the
                          Rainforests of Central America)
         AMAZON WATCH
         NATIVE FOREST NETWORK
         RAINFOREST ACTION NETWORK

For Immediate Release:  January 26, 2000

CONTACTS: Stephen Kretzmann, Amazon Watch, 510-551-7953 (mobile) or
                          310-456-1340
           Lauren Sullivan, Rainforest Action Network,
415-305-RAIN (mobile)

Eight Arrested for Shutting down Gore's New Hampshire Campaign HQ

Environmentalists Target VP for Ties to Oxy's Colombia Oil Project

Manchester NH - Eight environmental and human rights activists were
arrested
around 1:00 p.m. today for staging a sit-in at the Gore campaign
headquarters in Manchester. Supported by dozens of demonstrators
outside,
activists engaged in civil disobedience calling on Gore to use his
deep
family and financial ties to Occidental Petroleum to block the
company's
planned drilling on the U'wa tribal lands in the Colombian cloud
forest.

The U'wa people, who are the legal owners of the land where Occidental
plans
to drill, are so opposed to the project that they have repeatedly
stated
their willing to die defending their land from the oil project.  Last
week,
a large number of Colombian troops were sent to secure this area so
that
Occidental can begin drilling. Yesterday, the Colombian Army forcibly
evicted the U'wa from their land via helicopters. Three U'wa people
are now
reported missing.

Vice President Gore's ties to Occidental Petroleum have come under
intense
public scrutiny in recent weeks.  Articles in the Financial Times,
Time
Magazine, Salon Magazine, and The Wall St. Journal have all questioned
Gore's deep connections to Oxy. Gore holds some $500,000 in stocks
and, and
stands to reap large financial rewards if Oxy finds the 1.5 billion
barrels
of oil that the company estimates is under U'wa land.  Oxy and its
employees
are also frequent and generous contributors to both the Gore campaign
and to
the Democratic party.

"Gore can make the difference. He can save the U'wa and avert a public
relat
ions disaster for himself by intervening now," said Lauren Sullivan of
the
Rainforest Action Network.

The conflict in Colombia is intensifying for the peaceful U'wa tribe.
According to a communiqué issued by the U'wa people and information
from the
Colombian military, since January 19, at least 500 --and as many as
several
thousand-- Colombian soldiers have been occupying an area of the
traditional
territory to which the U'wa have recently gained legal title.
Yesterday,
soldiers forcibly removed dozens of U'wa men, women, children, and
elders
who had been occupying the site since mid-November.

"We prefer genocide at the hands of the Colombian government over
relinquishing our Mother Earth to the oil companies," states the U'wa
communiqué.   U'wa leaders have vowed to continue to nonviolently
fight Oxy'
s efforts to drill on their land.

In recent weeks, Gore campaign offices have been flooded by calls of
concern
about Gore's connection to Occidental and the planned drilling on U'wa
lands. Dozens of human rights and environmental organizations have
sent
letters to Gore, including the Sierra Club. Additional protests are
planned
at future Gore campaign stops in the coming days. For more
information,
contacts above, or: www.ran.org; www.amazonwatch.org

                  #  #  #
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
#4
--Please Pass This On--

FEDERATION OF RANDOM ACTION

CALLS FOR A VIRTUAL SIT-IN
ON
OCCIDENTAL PETROLEUM
**( Oxy and CdnOxy )**


IN SUPPORT OF THE U’WA’S
CAMPAIGN TO STOP THEM.

++++++++
WHEN?

FEBURARY 3, 2000

FROM 9:00 AM TO 12:00 PM (BOGATA, COLOMBIA )

http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/

++++++++++
WHERE?

Europe:
http://www.lamtar.com/guest/%5b...%5d/fra/fidox/

U.S.A
http://www.this.is/etoy/fidox/


++++++++++
WHY?

The U'wa of the Colombian cloud forest are in a
life-and-death struggle to protect their traditional culture
and sacred homeland from an oil project slated to begin
on their land at anytime. The U'wa are adamantly opposed
to the drilling and warn that the project will lead to an
increase in violence as seen in other oil regions of Colombia.
Despite this, Los Angeles-based Occidental Petroleum
and the Colombian government continue to move forward
with plans to drill. The U'wa have made a call for
international support; now is the time for us to answer.

+++++++++++
   DISCLAIMER

FRA supports Rainforest Action Network  and the Uwa's campaign
against Occidental Petroleum (Oxy and CdnOxy).
We have built a mirror site to their mailing action, so you can
send a fax  or a send mail as you can on RAN’s website.

http://www.ran.org

This Virtual Sit-In is independent of both RAN
and RAN’s mailing project.

Federation of Random Action movement is entirely
responsible for this Virtual Sit-In.


--------------


ECOTERRA - Freedom for People and Nature
	 FIRST PEOP



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