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Urgent action alert - oppose military aid
to Colombia
Danger of escalating U.S. involvement in counterinsurgency
war
Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA)
October 1999
The United States is embarking on a dangerous new partnership with the
Colombian army, equipping, training and providing intelligence to the army
in the name of counternarcotics operations, with more aid on the way. However,
this aid will only worsen the civil conflict in Colombia, and drag the
United States further into an unwinnable counterinsurgency war.
The Colombian army has the worst human rights record in the hemisphere,
and continues to actively collaborate with murderous paramilitary forces
in many areas of the country. In the past, the U.S. has refused to provide
funding for the army because of human rights concerns. Now, U.S. Drug Czar
General Barry McCaffrey is calling for a $600 million aid package for Colombia,
possibly including hundreds of millions for the army.
Increased military assistance for Latin America will probably come up
in Congress in the form of an emergency supplemental (an aid package that
bypasses the normal foreign aid process) before the end of October. Act
now to let Congress and the administration know that you oppose an increase
in military aid to Colombia.
Escalating aid to the Colombian army will have disastrous consequences
in Colombia and represents a danger for the region as a whole. By designing,
funding, and implementing militarized anti-drug programs, the United States
puts assistance into the hands of human rights violators, strengthens militaries
at the expense of civilian, democratic institutions, and increasingly involves
itself in Colombia's brutal and intractable counterinsurgency war.
Action request:
encourage your members of congress to:
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Oppose aid to the Colombian army. See talking points below.
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Fund positive programs that will alleviate, not aggravate, Colombia's crisis,
including:
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Protection programs for threatened human rights monitors and human rights
education;
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Judicial reform to end impunity and drug-related corruption;
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Consensus building programs that encourage local and national civil society
and governmental efforts for peace;
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Humanitarian aid for the displaced;
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Alternative development programs that help small coca growers switch to
legal crops.
Call the congressional switchboard (202/224-3121) for your Senators'
and Representatives' phone numbers and ask to speak to their foreign policy
aides.
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