December
1998December
1998
Announcements
PLEASE NOTE: The U.S./Colombia Coordinating Office is currently producing a calendar of events and activities that promote human rights, peace and justice in Colombia. The calendar will be updated and distributed on a monthly basis. Please send me announcements of advocacy activities (letter writing campaigns, demonstrations), educational events (tours, conferences, seminars, forums, etc.), publications (and website activities), ongoing projects (research or otherwise) in the U.S. and Colombia. We would like to include information on the sponsoring org and intended audience, so please include this in the email. The calendar will help many groups in the US and Colombia focus on proactive planning as well as have a betteridea how to coordinate activities. Please title the subject line of the.email "Events for calendar". Thanks for your participation.
The Colombia Update, a publication of the Colombia Human Rights Committee.will be released by early 1999 and will cover issues included in this.information bulletin in more depth. To subscribe, please contact the U.S./Colombia Coordinating Office (202) 232-8090
In the past two months we have witnessed striking setbacks in our work to promote human rights and peace in Colombia. Violence on all sides of the conflict has increased sharply, as guerillas mount offensives and the paramilitaries and military strike back.
It seems that the "honeymoon" period of the Pastrana administration has come to an end. Although the new Colombian administration set out on an ambitious path to establish a negotiated peace, it has become clear that the new government lacks the technical experience to implement or follow through on many campaign promises.
Both Colombian civil society and the U.S. government have begun to recognize Pastrana's inadequacies. The U.S. government has reacted by increasing military assistance and military ties (Please see analysis section below). Meanwhile, civil society groups are losing faith in the governments ability to make good on agreements.
Analysts recently returning from Colombia report that Colombians are leaving the despeje, or demilitarized zone designated for peace talks with the FARC, in fear of escalating violence prior to scheduled preliminary discussions in February. Although the FARC has chosen leaders to negotiate on their behalf, the ELN seems reluctant to designate spokespeople or make a firm commitment to negotiate.
Below is a timeline of events effecting U.S./Colombia relations.
OCTOBER 4, 1998
Historic agreement signed by Colombian government and displaced communities. The Barranca Bermeja agreement was signed between President Pastrana and displaced peasants after six weeks of negotiations. In this historic agreement, the displaced peasants agreed to return to their communities of origin if the government deployed special units to combat paramilitary groups in the region and provide emergency assistance to displaced families until they are able to reactivate their production projects. Almost two months later, the government has failed to begin to implement these measures and the civilian population is losing faith.
OCTOBER 20, 1998
Luis Ortega Garcia, Vice President of the Central Unitaria de Trabajadores was killed outside of his residence by a waiting gunman who shot him six times.
OCTOBER 28, 1998
President Andres Pastrana's official State visit with President Clinton. President Clinton met with President Andres Pastrana in Washington DC on October 28th, to promote democracy and economic growth, fight illicit drugs, strengthen respect for human rights, extend the rule of law and help bring an end to Colombia's armed conflict. Clinton pledged over $280 million dollars to assist in these goals. The commitment to Pastrana illustrates unprecedented bi-partisan support for the new Colombian leadership. In an NGO Sign-on letter, a number of groups took the opportunity of Pastrana's visit to urge President Clinton to shift U.S. policy towards human rights and peace initiatives rather than the militarization of the war on drugs. To read the sign-on letter please see:. http://www.igc.org/colhrnet/newscont/clintonpastrana.htm.
OCTOBER 27, 1998
US Drug Interdiction Effort Receives $690 Million Boost. Congress raised its anti-drug budget to $690 million with an emergency supplemental appropriations bill signed by Clinton this week in an effort
to prevent the flow of cocaine and heroin from entering the country from the Western Hemisphere. A large portion, $201 million dollars, is designated for Colombia. The funds will be used to increase the types and quantity of aircrafts and ships presently employed in the fight against drugs, including six UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters which will go to the Colombian National Police. The Republican sponsored initiative was an effort to both halt the growth of Marxist Guerrilla Movements and a vote of confidence in Gen. Jose Serrano, commander of the police.
NOVEMBER 9, 1998
The Robert F. Kennedy Memorial, Center for Human Rights, presented four Colombian Human Rights workers with the 1998 RFK human rights award. Jaime Prieto Mendez of Committee in Solidarity, Mario Humberto Calixto of Sabana de Torres Human Rights Committee, Gloria Ines Flores Schneider and Berenice Celeyta Alayon of MINGA received the RFK Human Rights Award on November 9. Tom Brokaw moderated the event and the Dalai Lama provided the keynote address.
NOVEMBER 10, 1998
Rightist Colombian militia massacres 11 peasants Rightist militiamen belonging to the group R-20 tortured and killed 11 peasants with chainsaws this past Monday. The peasants were from two rural hamlets near Vegachi (central Antioquia - about 155 miles northeast of Bogota). 13 others were kidnapped. R-20 accused the peasants of siding with leftist guerrillas.
NOVEMBER 11, 1998
U.S. Customs Detains Colombian Air Force Plane After Seizing Cocaine A C-130 Colombian Air Force Hercules cargo plane was detained at Ft. Lauderdale International Airport on November 10th after 1,639 pounds of cocaine were discovered in its cargo hold. The load, located by a Customs crew and a drug-sniffing dog, was located inside pallets in the cargo hold and has an estimated value of $12.7 million. Air Force chief, Gen. Jose Manuel Sandoval, accepting his responsibility as commander, offered his resignation to President Pastrana. The Colombian government has been very cooperative and will permit the plane to remain at Ft. Lauderdale during the investigation. Washington Post, November 11, 1998
NOVEMBER 13, 1998
Colombia's Air Force Linked to Drug Cartels Secret court documents prove that prosecutors hold evidence that the Colombian Air Force has been infiltrated through higher levels - the evidence implicates two air force colonels, two lieutenant colonels, and at least six majors - by the drug cartels. The document was aired to the Herald following Monday's seizure of 1,600 pounds of cocaine off the Colombian airforce jet C-130 in Fort Lauderdale. Miami Herald November 13
DECEMBER 1, 1998
U.S. Defense Secretary William Cohen and Colombian Defense Minister Rodrigo Lloreda signed a new cooperation accord on December 1. The agreement, signed during the third bi-annual meeting of defense ministers of the Americas in Cartagena, Colombia, brings the United States much closer to Colombia's troubled armed forces, particularly the army. Due to a focus on counter-narcotics and some concern about human rights violations, Colombia's military has received much less assistance than Colombia's National Police in recent years (for more information, see analysis below).
By Adam Isacson, Associate
Center for International Policy
U.S. Defense Secretary William Cohen and Colombian Defense Minister Rodrigo Lloreda signed a new cooperation accord on December 1. The agreement, signed during the third bi-annual meeting of defense ministers of the Americas in Cartagena, Colombia, brings the United States much closer to Colombia's troubled armed forces, particularly the army. Due to a focus on counter-narcotics and some concern about human rights violations, Colombia's military has received much less assistance than Colombia's National Police in recent years.
The new agreement will set up a "bilateral working group" made up of defense officials from both countries. This structure is similar to groups that the United States sustains with Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Mexico. According to statements from defense officials, the working group will meet regularly to discuss defense policy, military justice, human rights, narcotrafficking, future U.S. military aid, future training and personnel exchanges, and the formation of a Colombian Army battalion dedicated exclusively to counternarcotics.
The Colombian Army is currently putting together this 1,000-person battalion, which is expected to begin operating in mid-1999. It is to be modeled on similar U.S. Special Forces units, according to the Colombian daily El Tiempo. On November 30, the commander-in-chief of the U.S. Southern Command ("Southcom," the U.S. military body "responsible" for Latin America and the Caribbean), Gen. Charles Wilhelm, gave Defense Minister Lloreda classified information about the way similar U.S. units operate. The information will assist the Colombian military in the formation of the new battalion, whose stated purpose is to support Colombian police anti-narcotics efforts.
As it is being created "from scratch," this new battalion will likely be made up of military personnel who have been "vetted" - undergone background checks -- for past involvement in human rights abuses. As a result, the unit will be "cleared" to receive U.S. assistance according to the "Leahy Amendment," a restriction on assistance that has been attached to both the foreign aid and defense-budget appropriations laws. (The Leahy Amendment, introduced by Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT), prohibits U.S. assistance [or, in the case of the defense-budget bill, only training] to units of security forces whose personnel face credible allegations of human-rights abuse and are not under official investigation.) To date, U.S. enforcement of the Leahy Amendment has allowed two units of the Colombian Army to receive assistance (the 24th Brigade and the Eastern Specified Brigade); a December 5 Associated Press story states that three units have now been "cleared," though the third unit is not named.
The new agreement, say U.S. defense officials, is part of an effort to help the Colombian armed forces to modernize, restructure and professionalize. The Colombian military is currently riven with corruption and accusations of human-rights abuse and cooperation with brutal paramilitary groups. It has also suffered several high-profile defeats in the past several months against Colombia's two largest guerrilla groups, the FARC and ELN (especially the former).
All advice, aid, training and intelligence the U.S. will provide is officially regarded as "counternarcotics" aid. (Some aid is not regarded as such, particularly satellite photographs of an area the Colombian security forces temporarily vacated as a precondition for peace discussions, and some training in counter-terrorism techniques.) U.S. officials assiduously deny that increased aid and cooperation with the Colombian security forces is intended to improve these forces' war-fighting capabilities. State Department spokesman Jamie Rubin's recent response to a reporter's question is typical:
MR. RUBIN: We do not provide assistance for counter-guerrilla operations in Colombia. Our assistance is provided to combat narcotics production and trafficking and may be used to counter all those who are actively involved in the drug trade. When personnel and equipment are attacked during counter-drug operations, whether by guerrillas, paramilitary or narcos, they will return fire in self-defense. The US government does not provide assistance for any counter-guerrilla operations.
However, many analysts charge that the overlap between counter-narcotics operations and counter-insurgency is inescapably broad. They point out that counter-narcotics courses (such as small-unit tactics and light infantry skills) closely resemble counter-insurgency training, and most of Colombia's coca is grown in areas of guerrilla control or influence. Counter-narcotics aid also frees up military resources for war-fighting; as Defense Minister Lloreda told the New York Times, "The counter-narcotics aid will help liberate troops so they can fill other roles." It is likely, then, that U.S.-provided materiel and skills provided for counter-narcotics will play a role in Colombia's civil conflict.
The December 1 agreement is not the only new assistance for Colombia in recent months. In late October, Congress approved $201.25 million in additional aid over three years for the Colombian police. This package includes:
Six UH-60L Blackhawk utility helicopters;
This aid in turn follows a September 30 "drawdown" of $41.1 million worth of weapons and equipment for Colombia's military and police. Adding these and other sources, several newspapers are giving a figure of $289 million worth of assistance for Colombia's military and police in 1999 - almost $800,000 per day.
This massive infusion of aid may have a harmful effect on Colombia's beleaguered peace process, as former government peace commissioner Daniel García-Peña warns in the December 7 edition of Cambio16, a Colombian newsweekly:
The new assistance is complicated and dangerous if looked at from a national perspective, when a new stage of dialogue between the state and the insurgency is taking place.
On the one hand, part of the resources that are obtained is allocated for fumigation. This is not in agreement with the alternative-development plan of crop replacement as part of the peace process. Fumigation instead simply increases social tension by "tossing more wood on the fire of war."
It is also worrisome that in order to sell our ideas to certain right-wing Americans, we will increase the already-existing confusion between narcotrafficking and the internal armed conflict. This would result in a great threat to the peace process.
Thirdly, the idea that the fight against drugs is primarily a military issue brings negative consequences to the National Police. The increase in the police's military capabilities has deterred it from its original goal: the defense of citizens' security. This, and the recent statement by Secretary of Defense William Cohen in Cartagena reinforcing the support and training that the Pentagon will give the Colombian Armed Forces to help them fight against the cartels, generates an even greater worry: the increased military intervention of the United States in Colombia.
"Human Costs of America's Arms Sales," a documentary by the Center for Defense Information.
The United States is still the world's number one arms dealer and most client countries have bad records on human rights. Governments in Indonesia, Colombia, and Turkey rely on U.S. military weaponry rather than genuine political reform to remain in power. If you would like to purchase a copy, please contact: Center for Defense Information 1-800-234-3334.
Discounted Cost $19.00
War Without Quarter: Colombia and International Humanitarian Law
Contact: Human Rights Watch, http://www.hrw.org, or HRW 350 Fifth
Avenue 34th Fl., New York, NY 10118-3299
"Forced Displacement in Colombia,"Project Counseling Services.
This report released in May of 1998 paints a full picture of
displacement in Colombia - the history, the current situation and the
impact of violence on various sectors including women and children.
It has very useful charts and maps. Available in English.
Contact: Alison Giffen, U.S. Colombia Coordinating Office tel:
202-232-8090, fax: 202-232-8092 email: agiffen@igc.org or Project
Counseling Services tel: 445-7163 fax: 241-5139 email: pcs@amauta.rcp.net.pe
"Boletin Informativo, Numero 5, Edicion Especial,"
Coordinacion Colombia Europa.
This is the latest update on the activities of the Coordinacion. The
Boletin includes articles on human rights defendors. This issue
focuses on those who have lost their lives.
Contact: Alison Giffen, U.S./Colombia Coordinating Office, tel:
202-232-8090, fax: 202-232-8092 email: agiffen@igc.org
Human Rights Watch has recently updated their web page to include the 1999 country report: www.hrw.org/hrw/worldreport99/americas/colombia.html
The Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Center for Human Rights presented four Colombians with the 1998 RFK Human Rights Award. For more information on the Center visit: www.rfkmemorial.org. See the acceptance speeches of the award recipients.
For updated information on U.S. security and military assistance to Colombia visit "Just the Facts, a civilian's guide to U.S. defense and security assistance to Latin America and the Caribbean."www.ciponline.org/facts
A website dedicated to themes related to peace was recently published by Redepaz, Comité de Seguimiento del Mandato por la Paz, Consejo Nacional de Paz, Asamblea Permanente por la Paz y la Comision de Conciliacion Nacional, with technical support from Internet-Telecom. www.colombiaenpaz.org.
Alison Giffen
Director
U.S./Colombia Coordinating Office
Phone: 202-232-8090
Fax: 202-232-8092
Suite 200 1630 Connecticut Ave. NW
Washington D.C. 20009
agiffen@igc.org
