[Peace] Fwd: Update on House Colombia debate, calls needed ASAP

[Martha Zarate]

>From: "Elanor Starmer" <estarmer at lawg.org>
>To: <Undisclosed-Recipient:@smtp.primusdsl.net;>
>Subject: Update on House Colombia debate, calls needed ASAP
>Date: Fri, 10 May 2002 15:34:58 -0400
>X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook Express 5.50.4133.2400
>
>To: Colombia Grassroots list
>From: Elanor Starmer, LAWG
>Re: Update on emergency supplemental-- some success, more work needed!
>
>The House committee debate on the emergency counter-terrorism bill is 
>almost over, and we've got a good sense of what the committee version of 
>the bill will look like (this is the version that the full House will be 
>debating next week or the week after).  Thanks to all your hard work, 
>there were some positive changes to the section of the emergency 
>supplemental bill that deals with Colombia military aid.  Our major 
>success was that the human rights conditions and the fumigation conditions 
>were kept in the bill-- this is an important success!  For a full update 
>on the supplemental debate and what happened with specific amendments, 
>please see 
><http://www.lawg.org/supupdate.htm>http://www.lawg.org/supupdate.htm.
>
>But there's still lots of work to do, and we need your help, especially 
>generating support for a Skelton/McGovern amendment that will be offered 
>on the House floor.
>
>Below, please find LAWG's urgent action on the Colombia section of the 
>emergency supplemental.  Please circulate widely ASAP!  We need 
>constituent calls on this bill before MAY 16.  Thank you!
>
>Urgent Action: Vote in Full House on Emergency Supplemental Bill Likely in 
>Next Two Weeks-- US Involvement in Colombia Could Massively Expand If We 
>Don't Act Now!
>Skelton, McGovern To Offer Amendment to Stop Mission Creep in Colombia
>Calls Needed Immediately in Support of This Amendment!
>
>In this alert: Update; Calls needed on Skelton-McGovern Amdt.; Next steps; 
>Why this call is so important; how to stay updated.
>
>May 10: House staff expect the Bush Administration's massive emergency 
>supplemental bill for global counter-terrorism efforts to reach the House 
>floor sometime next week or the week after.  This bill has a section on 
>Colombia which, if passed, would add some $35 million more in military aid 
>for this year (including a $6 million down payment on a project to protect 
>an oil pipeline owned by Los Angeles-based Occidental Petroleum) and would 
>expand what past and current aid can be used for.  Currently, US aid in 
>Colombia is limited to counter-drug activities in a small area in the 
>south; but the expanded mission would allow the aid to be used to fight 
>terrorism anywhere in Colombia, and will likely go to support the 
>Colombian government's war against the FARC.  This is a massive shift in 
>policy that will pull the US further into Colombia's civil war.  It 
>rewards the brutal human rights record of the Colombian military.  The 
>administration does not want it debated.  We need to make our voices heard!
>
>FIRST STEP: Call your rep before MAY 16 and urge him or her to support the 
>Skelton-McGovern Amendment.  Reps. Skelton (D-MO) and McGovern (D-MA) will 
>be offering an amendment to take out the part of the bill that expands the 
>US mission in Colombia from counter-drugs to counter-terrorism.  We need 
>to make calls IMMEDIATELY and tell our representatives to support this 
>amendment.  If you do not know who your rep is, please see 
><http://www.house.gov/writerep>www.house.gov/writerep.  PLEASE note that 
>there will likely be other good amendments offered at the same time, 
>including one that would cut the $6 million for the pipeline 
>program.  While we do not know who will be offering them yet, please urge 
>your rep to support any amendments that limit military aid to Colombia.
>
>NEXT STEPS: There will be a number of critical votes on Colombia policy in 
>the coming months, and we need to mobilize for all of them.  The emergency 
>supplemental will be debated in the Senate after the House.  Then, shortly 
>after, Congress will begin debates on the 2003 foreign aid bill, which 
>will contain another massive military aid package for Colombia.  We will 
>be asking you to make calls on this series of votes, and will keep you 
>updated throughout with policy alerts and talking points.
>
>Why Your Call This Week is Especially Critical: The emergency supplemental 
>bill will massively expand US involvement in Colombia, and will set the 
>stage for years of aid for Colombia's civil war against the FARC.  While 
>FARC violence is atrocious and intolerable, funding the Colombian military 
>for their war against the FARC at this point will not help protect 
>civilians against violence, and could make things worse.
>    * The Colombian military maintains close, high-level ties to brutal 
> right-wing paramilitary groups, who are responsible for the majority of 
> civilian killings in Colombia each year. The paramilitaries are on the US 
> terrorist list.  It does not make sense to send anti-terrorism aid to a 
> military that works with a terrorist group.
>    * The Colombian military often ignores civilian pleas for protection, 
> instead giving the paramilitaries free reign to go into areas with a FARC 
> presence.  But the paramilitaries also target civilians-- human rights 
> workers, teachers, union leaders, etc-- who are not affiliated with the 
> FARC.  As long as the military allows these brutal killings to take place 
> and refuses to uphold its duty to protect civilians against violence by 
> any armed actor, our aid is not going to help.  Rather than making the 
> military more 'efficient' or 'professional,' the aid sends a terrible 
> message that it's ok for a military to ignore the security of its own 
> civilians and use illegal militias to fight their war.
>    * As US aid expands to cover counter-terrorism as well as counter-drug 
> activities, the chances that our tax dollars will get into the hands of 
> the paramilitary groups also expand.
>    * The war between the FARC and the government has been going on for 40 
> years, and 400,000 civilians have died.  To try to defeat the FARC 
> militarily is clearly a difficult task, and US aid is not going to make 
> the difference.  Colombia is 53 times the size of El Salvador, where US 
> counterinsurgency efforts in the 1980s cost $6 billion and 70,000 
> Salvadoran civilians lost their lives.  Are we willing to risk a 
> bloodbath of unimaginable proportions in Colombia?  A negotiated 
> political solution will go much further at limiting violence against 
> civilians than more military aid will.
>Before the Bush Administration pulls the US into a military quagmire in 
>Colombia, we need to make our voices heard!  Many congressional offices 
>tell us that they are still waiting to hear from constituents on this 
>issue.  Make your call TODAY, and be ready to follow up when the next vote 
>comes.  Only concerted, ongoing pressure on Congress will make a 
>difference in US policy.
>
>How to Stay Involved: If you are not already on the LAWG's Colombia 
>listserv and are receiving this message from another source, please write 
>us and sign up!  Send a message with your name and address (or 
>representative/congressional district) to 
><mailto:estarmer at lawg.org>estarmer at lawg.org.  If you have a particular 
>area of interest and would like more talking points for your calls, please 
>let us know.  The listserv sends timely action alerts when major 
>legislation is coming up to help you stay up-to-date and involved, without 
>flooding your inbox.
>
>Thank you for your hard work and dedication to peace and human rights in 
>Colombia.  Those of us following these policies in Washington depend on you.
>
>