From: Sandra Alvarez (sandra@globalexchange.org)
Date: Sat Jun 01 2002 - 16:28:17 EDT
Dear friends,
Please excuse the fact that we are sending two e-mails this week. With
elections in Colombia, current legislation in Congress and upcoming actions,
we didn't want to send a very long e-mail so we divided the information in
two. Below you will find an update on current legislation in Congress and
two action pieces. Following legislation in Congress can be quite difficult
but it is very important that our representatives hear about our concerns.
Once again, don't forget that we add new articles to our news updates a
couple of times a week (http://www.globalexchange.org/colombia/update.html)
and we will have more information on the elections available as well.
-- Colombia Human Rights Program Global Exchange 2017 Mission Street #303 San Francisco, CA 94110 colombia@globalexchange.org 415.575.5534 or 800.497.1994 415.255.7498 fax1) Colombia Legislation Update from Latin America Working Group, a coalition of over sixty religious, human rights, policy, grassroots and development organizations, including Global Exchange.
2) Stop the Impunity Campaign! Justice for Coca-Cola Workers in Colombia! Actions in July in Atlanta, Georgia.
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1) Emergency supplemental/Colombia Update, Latin America Working Group
Emergency Supplemental: This is the bill that passed the House last week, granting almost $30 billion in funds for global counter-terrorism efforts. The version passed by the House includes Colombia in the US's global "war on terrorism", expands the US mission in Colombia from counter-drug efforts to counter-insurgency, and grants a $6 million downpayment for the creation of a brigade of the Colombian military to protect a pipeline in northern Colombia belonging to US oil company Occidental Petroleum.
The House did not pass the Skelton/McGovern amendment to the emergency supplemental bill. This amendment would have taken out the language in the bill that expands the US mission in Colombia from counter-drug efforts to direct counter-insurgency. While the amendment lost, there was an excellent debate on the House floor-- thanks in part to your hard work-- and a lot of strong doubts were raised. We need to cultivate these doubts, because we'll see the debate over the mission expansion again in a month or two, when the House starts debating the 2003 foreign aid bill. Therefore, any feedback we can give our representatives NOW about how they voted may mean they'll vote better next time. If you rep voted wrong this time, please urge him or her to support any effort to limit US military assistance to Colombia in the 2003 aid bill debate this summer. If they voted right, thank them, and ask them to do so again!
Giving members of Congress feedback on how they voted is especially important because it shows that we're paying attention. They'll be more likely to listen to constituent pressure if they know that we're watching how they vote on these issues-- and calling them on it when we're not happy with how they voted!
Senate may debate Emergency Supplemental starting Monday, June 3rd! Urge your senators to speak on the floor with their concerns!
What does the Senate bill look like? The version that the Senate will debate next week is different from the House version in a number of important ways. This version was drafted by the Senate Appropriations Committee; and thanks to your hard work, Senator Leahy (D-VT) and other Senate leaders added helpful language on Colombia into their version of the bill. The Senate version in its current form does the following:
-Keeps the human rights and fumigation restrictions on current aid in place, same as the House version (this was a direct result of your pressure-- thank you!) -Cuts the $6 million requested by Bush for the pipeline brigade to $3.5 million, and, in an interesting twist, mandates that Occidental Oil REIMBURSE the US government for money spent on the brigade -Allows US aid to be used for counter-insurgency, but adds language that says that before our mission can expand from counter-drug efforts, the Secretary of State has to certify that the Colombian government is working to support democracy and human rights, and that they are going after illegal paramilitary groups.
What should you tell your senators to do? Given the language that Senator Leahy and others added to the bill, it's unlikely that additional amendments will be offered-- so you don't need to tell your senators to support a specific amendment on Colombia. However, it's still important to tell your senators that they should SPEAK ON THE SENATE FLOOR and express their concerns. The Senate version still raises a lot of questions, and the underlying issues-- the impact of military aid on human rights, and the lack of alternative development funds or support for a negotiated peace process-- are unaddressed. While it's difficult to offer an amendment to address these problems in the context of THIS bill, speaking on the floor keeps concerns fresh in people's heads. Remember, there will be another debate on Colombia aid over the summer-- so we need senators to voice concerns now in preparation for that debate.
Please ask your senators to voice concerns on the floor next week. Also, please tell them that they'll be seeing these issues again soon, when they start debate on the foreign aid bill for 2003 (this debate will happen mid-summer). Tell them to keep your concerns in mind when they look at the foreign aid bill, and to support any amendments on that bill that limit US military assistance to Colombia.
Talking Points for Your Senators: While the Senate version of the supplemental is an improvement on the House version, it still represents a massive shift in policy toward Colombia. Getting into direct counter-insurgency, regardless of what conditions are attached, could mean the beginning of years of US involvement and could lead to an escalation in violence in Colombia. We should not forget the lessons of the past: US counter-insurgency in El Salvador in the 1980s cost $6 billion in US taxpayer dollars and 70,000 Salvadoran lives. Colombia is 53 times the size of El Salvador. Trying to find a solution to the conflict through military means is not just impractical, but extremely dangerous.
Furthermore, sending aid to a military that collaborates with the paramilitaries-- who are on the US terrorist list and commit some 70% of politically-motivated civilian killings each year-- rewards this relationship, and sends a terrible message that we'll look the other way even when human rights are being violated.
Thank you for all your hard work!
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2) STOP THE IMPUNITY CAMPAIGN! JUSTICE FOR COCA-COLA WORKERS IN COLOMBIA!
A diverse group of human rights, labor rights, and peace and justice activists are coming together to plan a weekend of testimonies and actions in Atlanta. Atlanta is the corporate headquarters of Coca-Cola. The Colombia National Food Industry Workers? Union (SINALTRAINAL) in collaboration with United Steelworkers of America union and the International Labor Rights Fund suing Coca-Cola and related entities and individuals for their role in human rights violations in Colombia.
SINALTRAINAL has been the victim of a systematic campaign of destruction, which has seen the assassination of 14 union leaders (7 from Coca-Cola), death threats, forced displacements, the incarceration of workers and union leaders on trumped up charges, the raiding of union offices, cooperatives, and homes of union members, union decertification, extortion and kidnapping of union members and the violation of collective agreements.
EVENTS WILL TAKE PLACE IN ATLANTA, GEORGIA, U.S.A. ON JULY 20TH, 21ST AND 22ND, 2002. *Locations and specific times TBA *Events will include a teach-in, testimonials, an interfaith vigil, press conference and direct action.
For more information about events in Atlanta contact Mary Beth Tschantz at Atlanta Jobs with Justice 404-525-3559, mbtschantz@yahoo.com
How to support these events:
1) Become an official endorser (answer questions below and email to atlantajwj@yahoo.com, english@contraimpunidad.org, audpubcoka@hotmail.com).
2) Spread the word about the weekend to your organization's members and your friends (we will get out more specific information soon).
3) Host a forum in your city in the days leading up to or after July 20-22, 2002. For those near Atlanta, Ken Little, a trade unionist who went to Colombia on a labor delegation sponsored by Witness for Peace and Global Exchange, will be in the area to give presentations and background information. Please contact us at colombia@globalexchange.org for more information.
4) Come to Atlanta!
5) Do local fundraising for transportation and to support the events in Atlanta (left over funds will be used to support organizing in Colombia; help trade unionists get out of the line of fire).
6) Plan a solidarity action in your city.
Partial list of Sponsors: Atlanta Jobs with Justice Atlanta Labor Council Global Exchange School of the Americas Watch Witness for Peace
For Background Information: http://www.cokewatch.org http://www.laborrights.org http://www.globalexchange.org/colombia/ http://www.witnessforpeace.org/tools/colombia_tools.html http://www.soaw.org/Articles/current%2520info/new/coke.htm
*ORGANIZATIONAL AND INDIVIDUAL ENDORSEMENT FORMS*: Please send this info to organizers in Atlanta: atlantajwj@yahoo.com AND SINALTRAINAL in Colombia: english@contraimpudidad.org and audpubcoka@hotmail.com
Organizational Endorsement 1) Name of Organization as you wish it to appear, an acronym: 2) Scope of Organization (local, regional, national, international): 3) Nature of Organization (trade union, human rights, youth, student, women, community, religious, ethnic, indigenous, other): 5) Name of person authorized to represent your organization, title, organizational address, telephone, fax, e-mail address: 7) Do you wish to receive bi-monthly communiques by e-mail? 8) Availability to respond to phone calls:
Individual Endorsement, please include 1) Name 2) Address 3) Telephone 4) Fax 5) E-mail 6) Do you wish to receive bi-monthly communiques by e-mail? 7) Availability to respond to phone calls:
___________________________________________________________________ Global Exchange http://www.globalexchange.org To unsubscribe, email colombia-news-request@globalexchange.org with unsubscribe in the body of the message.
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