SOA, Colombia, + ranting... = my sunday afternoon

My letter to the editor of the NYT. watch for it....

To the Editor:

The Nov. 14 article, "Jesuit Killings In El Salvador Could Reach Trial in Spain," reminded us of the horrors that took place in Central America in the 80’s, including the massacre of six Jesuit priests. What the article failed to acknowledge was the United States' hand in these brutal murders.

The notorious School of the Americas (SOA), renamed WHINSEC, has trained some of the worst human rights violators in Latin America, including those who killed the Jesuit priests. Yet the school still operates in Fort Benning, Georgia, and is funded with taxpayer dollars. Of the 26 army personnel responsible for killing the priests, 19 were SOA graduates. The SOA also trained those who assassinated Archbishop Oscar Romero, and four U.S nuns.

As the anniversary of the Jesuit massacre approaches, and 15,000 take to the streets to call for the SOA’s closure, it is shameful to leave the U.S.'s role out of the story. With the SOA's long history of condoning torture and abuse, it is appalling that the Jesuit murders and other atrocities are not denounced and the institution shut down.



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Now for a new and exciting topic that I have never written about: Colombia! excuse me while I grab another beer. Or should i say glass of water. By accident I bought Corona light. I fail to see the point. Alcohol by its very nature has calories. It tastes like faucet water.


I have been monitoring trends in the major papers on what they write about Colombia. The logic is ridiculous at best at any attempt to justify Uribe, or our involvement there.

A statistic I have seen pop up at least twice, in both the Washinton Times and the Post (the latter by the editorial board) is that it is safer to be a union member in Colombia than a member of the general population. Considering Colombia is the most dangerous place for a union member in the entire world, this is a bit misleading. The math of this stat is as follows. lets say 70 union members are killed each year. and 8,000 civilians are killed. more civilians are killed than union members. Basic statistics lesson. To compare the two, you must use 70 divided by the total number of union members, not the whole population, dumbass.


Recently there has been a lot in the paper about Colombia concerning 'false positives' (killing civilians and pretending they are guerrilas), firing of military personnel, the free trade agreement, etc. Why congress should cut off the aid to Colombia in simple terms: as summarized from my current fantastic book "America's other War" by doug stokes.

The logic of Plan Colombia has failed miserably. In the war on drugs, 80% of the money was used in military spending due to the idea that to stop the drug flow was to defeat the guerrilla insurgency. This assumes: the guerrilas are the primary transporters of cocaine, and that the method of defeating them is by killing their support base.

Problem 1: FARC never has been a major narcotics trafficker. They historically used a 'taxation system" on the growers, but the major drug routes in the north and the major infrastructure is controlled by paramilitaries (a fact which has been well documented U.S officials since pre- Plan Colombia)

Problem 2: The coca growers are almost exclusively poor farmers with no other means of substinence. Measures were taken to give them compensation to not grow coca which might have been successful if followed through. it wasn't, and farmers are continuously displaced as a result of fumigation which effectively ruined the real crops, poisoned the water, poisoned people, and created a stronger need to grow coca because the other crops were ruined. result: support base strengthened.

Problem 3: The aid to Colombia is hinged on three basic criteria due to human rights concerns. 1 -suspension of military personnel who commite HR violations 2- prosecution of those suspended, and 2 -prosecute those who have committed, 3 - effective measure to severe links with paramilitary units.
The state department certified the aid despite the fact that Colombia failed to meet any of the above requirements. Supposedly no aid will be given to units that have evidence of serious human rights violations. Yet as Amnesty reported in its Oct. 28th report, half of the units that received U.S aid has records of serious HR violations. (as has been reported before numerous times, notably right after the conditions were certified)

So why was most of the money to Colombia (1.3 billion) given to combat the minor players in a drug war, to an army notorious for human rights violations, and strong ties to the major players in drug trafficking and terrorism? You do the math.

I have written on my thoughts on that before and will continue to be outraged everyday that another story on Colombia is printed: claiming that Uribe is doing fabulous, HR violations are under control, everything will be okay once FARC is eliminated, etc etc...

colombia

Amnesty International recently came out with a report on Colombia which I am reading right now. It has received decent press coverage and the trend is changing of how Colombia is viewed, although as noted in the report human rights groups have been saying the same things for decades. Some parts seem conflicting, and many of the recomendations are based on international law rather than a community centered solution. The report did actually say that the conflict is based on land, and that reparations must include the right to return to the land.
Summary:
massive transfer of wealth from small farmars, and collectively owned land frm afro-colombian and indigenous land owners through violence and paramilitary takeovers. This was done in collusion with the justice system that did not rule this illegal or turned a blind eye; politicians were elected with the help of paramilitaries through election fraud and intimidation and thus were bought off from interfering with the violence. Paramilitaries also worked with the security forces and had access to intelligence, the wealth of the state, and impunity. The security forces were often inseperable from the paramilitaries. Businesses and corportations hired them to break up unions, as well as to clear off land for fertile ground. Amnesty cites 4-6 million hectares of land was transfered. ( 1 hectare is equal to ~ 2.5 acres)
There is also evidence of FARC and paramilitary groups acting together to protect drug routes previously fought over.
thoughts on how to fix this: 1. Uribe still doesn't acknowledge that a civil war exists, continues to call the guerrilas terrorists, impunity reigns for demobilized paramilitaries (which most haven't actually demobilized) - the justice system should move forward, because of momentum with over 60 government workers charged or in prison, judges that were previously silenced can take on more cases. (although 15 people havebeen killed that have been associated with the 'justice and peace process in the last five years)
2. the government MUST have a real interest in peace, or else small victories will continue to be an uphill battle and what is needed is large victories, massive reparations and land distribution to its proper owners, inclusion of guerrilas into politics, cleansing of the security forces and trials for those who orchestrated the massive human rights violations. Investment in education, health, and sectors of the economy that benefit rural farmers. Colombia needs a new president that will say no to massive US aid that seeks to increase the military and continue a US presence in the area. most importantly though, the next president should return the stolen land to its rightful owners.
Of more importance,
GO OBAMA! Si se puede! Si se pudo...