Date: Sun, 17 Mar 2002 23:07:59 -0800
From: martinjg@flash.net
Subject: [azsecularhumanists] Bush plans for Columbia
Reply-To: azsecularhumanists@yahoogroups.com


MAJOR SHIFT IN US POLICY TOWARD COLOMBIA PROPOSED!!!

COLOMBIA MOBILIZATION EMERGENCY NATIONAL CALL-IN DAYS: March 19-21st

What we have feared is now becoming reality.  We must all participate in a 
major, national response against the Bush administration's new proposal to 
lift restrictions on US aid to Colombia and allow for US-sonsored 
counter-insurgency in Colombia (details and talking points below).

ACTION
Tuesday, March 19th- Thursday, March 21st have been designated EMERGENCY 
NATIONAL CALL-IN DAYS by Witness for Peace and the Colombia 
Mobilization.  Every single Senator and Representative must be flooded with 
calls and faxes: saying NO to Bush's proposal to lift restrictions and YES 
to the McGovern Dear Colleague letter (talking points below).
1.      Send this alert to everyone you know.
2.      Call your Senators and Representative on Tuesday (or as soon as you 
receive this).  Even if your Senators/Reps are strong on this issue, they 
need your support right now!
3.      Have all your friends and family call on Wednesday.
4.      Make sure all their friends and family call on Thursday.
5.      Anything else you can think of!  E.g. take some cell phones to the 
local grocery store or mall, set up a table, and ask people walking by to 
make calls or sign letters that you then fax in.
Congressional switchboard: 202-224-3121.  Find out your Rep: 
http://www.house.gov/writerep and Senators http://www.senate.gov .

BACKGROUND
The Bush administration plans to ask Congress sometime the week of March 18 
to remove restrictions on US military aid to Colombia.  This would mean: no 
more constraints that military aid must only be used for counter-narcotics, 
no more human rights conditions for the Colombian military, and no more 
limits on the number of US military personnel allowed in the country.  This 
proposal would allow US money and intelligence to be used for 
counter-insurgency.  See the Washington Post article: 
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A29575-2002Mar14.html

This language will be included in a larger bill that the administration 
expects to submit to Congress next week asking for additional funds for 
global and domestic anti-terrorism efforts.  This bill will go first to the 
appropriations committees in the House and Senate and then to the full 
House and Senate.

TALKING POINTS
Many members of Congress have good intentions, and want to support an end 
to violence in Colombia.  But adding more military aid is not the way to do 
it.  Tell your Senators and Representative that you and members of your 
community are against US military involvement in Colombia and are 
particularly against this expansion.

1. Representative Jim McGovern will be circulating a Dear Colleague against 
the new Bush proposal to lift restrictions.  Ask your Representative to 
sign on to that Dear Colleague ASAP.

2. Sending more military aid to Colombia is not going to help protect 
civilians.  The Colombian military still maintains close ties with 
paramilitary groups, who are on the US terrorist list and who commit 
upwards of 70% of civilian killings in Colombia.  Human Rights Watch, 
Amnesty International, and the Washington Office on Latin America released 
a report in February proving the human rights situation in Colombia is EVEN 
WORSE than a year ago.

3. Sending military aid to Colombia brings the US into another Vietnam 
quagmire.  Colombia is the size of 53 El Salvadors, and the amount of money 
necessary to defeat the FARC militarily will be tremendous, and perhaps 
incalculable.  This civil war has been going on for over 40-years and a 
political solution is the only way out.

4. Real solutions.  US support for a negotiated peace process with the FARC 
and the ELN, and real pressure on the Colombian government to break ties 
with the paramilitaries, will go much further at protecting civilians than 
increased military aid will.  Violent actions on the part of the FARC have 
a tremendous human cost, but supporting a military that collaborates with 
the paramilitaries has a huge human cost as well.

*** GET READY!!!  The Colombia Mobilization starts in one month and is 
obviously more important than ever!  This is our best chance to really show 
Washington that we oppose continued and increased military aid to 
Colombia.  Start getting ready by checking out
http://www.colombiamobilization.org .

Janet M. Hostetler
Advocacy and Campaigns Coordnator
Witness for Peace
1229 15th St, NW
Washington, DC 20005
(202) 588-1471
fax (202) 588-1472 

***

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