Milwaukee, WI – Colombia Action Network organizer Tom Burke came here Oct. 28 to speak about U.S. intervention in Colombia. Burke, who was served a Grand Jury subpoena in the FBI activist raids in late September, made strong observations on people’s movements both in the U.S. and Colombia.

“The U.S. government is targeting us for speaking out against war and oppression. In the U.S., for anti-war activists, repression comes in the form of FBI raids and grand jury investigations,” said Burke, “In Colombia, it comes in the form of prison, torture and death squads. We understand that the U.S. government is intent on putting some of us in prison, just as they target and set up hundreds of young Arab and Muslim men. The U.S. government imprisons young African-American, Chicano, Latino and other people in ever increasing numbers to control them and rob them of their dignity.”

Burke travelled on a fact-finding trip to Colombia hosted by the Oil Workers’ Union (USO) in 2003. At the time Burke was an executive board member of SEIU Local 73, a 23,000-member public sector union in the Chicago area. Burke was in Colombia at a time when death squads murdered three trade unionists every week. Colombia continues to be the most dangerous place in the world for union activists, with one murdered every week. Often implicated in these tragedies are U.S. corporations such as Coca-Cola, Drummond Coal and Chiquita Banana. Farm, labor, women and student activists in Colombia are regularly kidnapped, imprisoned, tortured and murdered simply for organizing for social change.

“For activists in the U.S. interested in supporting the people of Colombia, shutting down the School of the Americas is a major step,” said Burke, referring to the U.S. government-led training site in Fort Benning, Georgia for foreign paramilitaries, many of whom are implicated in human rights abuses.

Large national protests against the School of the Americas will be held Nov. 19-21 at Fort Benning. Buses are being organized around the country to attend. Look to www.soaw.org for more information.

#MilwaukeeWI #InJusticeSystem #Colombia #ColombiaActionNetwork #FBI #SchoolOfTheAmericas #USO #September24FBIRaids #Americas

Denunciamos al Buro de Investigaciones Federales, FBI. Por el hostigamiento a los activistas del movimiento Anti-Guerra y de Solidaridad en varios estados a través de país.

El FBI comenzó visitando seis casas en Chicago y Minneapolis esta ma ñana, Viernes, 24 de septiembre de 2010, a la 08:00 a.m. Tiempo del Centro. El FBI entrego Citatorios de Corte para testificar ante un Gran Jurado Federal a cerca de una docena de activistas en Illinois and Minnesota. Ellos además intentaron de intimidar a otros activistas en California y en Carolina del Norte.

“El gobierno espera usar un Gran Jurado para tender una trampa para acusarlos falsamente de actividades ilegales a los activistas. El objetivo de esas redadas es hostigar y tratar de intimidar el movimiento contra las guerras y ocupaciones militares de U.S.A. y a los que se oponen al apoyo de U.S.A. a regimes represivos,” dijo el activista de solidaridad con Colombia Tom Burke, uno de los que recibió un Citatorio de Corte por el FBI. “Ellos están diseñando para suprimir la oposición y la libertad de expresión, a dividir el movimiento pacifista y despejar el camino para mas intervenciones militares de U.S.A. en el Medio Oriente y Latinoamérica.

Esta supresión de los derechos democráticos esta dirigida hacia aquellos quienes dedican mucho de su tiempo y energía para apoyar las luchas de los pueblos de Palestina y Colombia contra la ocupación y guerras financiadas por U.S.A. Los activistas están involucrados con bien conocidos grupos anti-guerra, incluyendo muchos de los líderes de las grandes protestas en contra de la Convención Nacional de los Republicanos en St. Paul, MN. En Septiembre de 2008. El FBI enfatiza que el Gran Jurado estuvo investigando a los activistas por posibles cargos de terrorismo. Esto es un intento del gobierno de U.S.A. para silenciar a esos que apoyan la Resistencia a la opresión en el Medio Oriente y Latinoamérica.

Los activistas involucrados No han hecho nada ilegal y están rechazando a ser atraídos dentro de conversaciones con el FBI acerca de sus puntos de vista político ó la organización contra las guerras y ocupaciones. Los activistas están involucrados con muchos grupos, incluyendo el Grupo de Solidaridad con Palestina, Estudiantes por una Sociedad Democrática, el Comite Anti-Guerra Ciudades-Gemelas, Red de Accion por Colombia, la Organizacion Socialista Camino de Libertad y el Comite Nacional por la Libertad de Ricardo Palmera (Un Prisionero Político Colombiano).

Steff Yorek un activista anti-guerra por mucho tiempo y uno de los activistas a quienes sus casas fueron cateadas, llamó las redadas “Una indignante expedición de pesca.”

Nosotros Urgimos a todos los activistas progresistas a mostrar solidaridad con estos individuos señalados como objetivos por el gobierno de U.S.A. Los activistas tienen el derecho a No hablar con el FBI y son animados a negarse cortésmente, solo decir “NO.”

Por favor contactarse: info@colombiasolidarity.org ó info@fightbacknews.org si le gustaría proveer apoyo a los activistas.

#EstadosUnidos #StudentsForADemocraticSociety #PalestineSolidarityGroup #NationalCommitteeToFreeRicardoPalmera #AntiWarCommittee #ColombiaActionNetwork #FreedomRoadSocialistOrganization #FederalBureauOfInvestigationFBI

Fight Back News Service is circulating the following national call to action from the Twin Cities Anti-War Committee.

We denounce the Federal Bureau of Investigation harassment of anti-war and solidarity activists. The FBI raided seven houses and an office in Chicago and Minneapolis on Friday, September 24, 2010. The FBI handed subpoenas to testify before a federal grand jury to eleven activists in Illinois, Minnesota, and Michigan. The FBI also attempted to intimidate activists in California and North Carolina.

This suppression of civil rights is aimed at those who dedicate their time and energy to supporting the struggles of the Palestinian and Colombian peoples against U.S. funded occupation and war. The FBI has indicated that the grand jury is investigating the activists for possible material support of terrorism charges.

The activists involved have done nothing wrong and are refusing to be pulled into conversations with the FBI about their political views or organizing against war and occupation. The activists are involved with many groups, including: the Twin Cities Anti-War Committee, the Palestine Solidarity Group, the Colombia Action Network, Students for a Democratic Society, and Freedom Road Socialist Organization. These activists came together with many others to organize the 2008 anti-war marches on the Republican National Convention in St. Paul.

We ask people of conscience to join us in fighting this political repression, as we continue working to build the movements against US war and occupation.

Take Action:

Call the U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder at 202-353-1555 or write an email to: AskDOJ@usdoj.gov.

Demand:

• Stop the repression against anti-war and international solidarity activists.
• Immediately return all confiscated materials: computers, cell phones, papers, documents, etc.
• End the grand jury proceedings against anti-war activists.

Plan and Support national days of protest at FBI offices or Federal Buildings, September 27 and 28th.

A demonstration has been called at the Minneapolis FBI Office Monday, 4:30, September 27th(111 Washington Ave. S.).

In Solidarity, the Anti-War Committee – www.antiwarcommittee.org

#UnitedStates #AntiwarMovement #StateRepression #PalestineSolidarityGroup #RacismInTheCriminalJusticeSystem #AntiWarCommittee #ColombiaActionNetwork #StudentsForADemocraticSocietySDS #FreedomRoadSocialistOrganizationFRSO #FederalBureauOfInvestigationFBI #September24FBIRaids

We denounce the Federal Bureau of Investigation harassment of anti-war and solidarity activists in several states across the country. The FBI began turning over six houses in Chicago and Minneapolis this morning, Friday, September 24, 2010, at 8:00 am central time. The FBI handed subpoenas to testify before a federal grand jury to about a dozen activists in Illinois, Minnesota, and Michigan. They also attempted to intimidate activists in California and North Carolina.

“The government hopes to use a grand jury to frame up activists. The goal of these raids is to harass and try to intimidate the movement against U.S. wars and occupations, and those who oppose U.S. support for repressive regimes,” said Colombia solidarity activist Tom Burke, one of those handed a subpoena by the FBI. “They are designed to suppress dissent and free speech, to divide the peace movement, and to pave the way for more U.S. military intervention in the Middle East and Latin America.”

This suppression of democratic rights is aimed towards those who dedicate much of their time and energy to supporting the struggles of the Palestinian and Colombian peoples against U.S. funded occupation and war. The activists are involved with well-known anti-war groups including many of the leaders of the huge protest against the Republican National Convention in St. Paul, MN in September 2008. The FBI agents emphasized that the grand jury was going to investigate the activists for possible terrorism charges. This is a U.S. government attempt to silence those who support resistance to oppression in the Middle East and Latin America.

The activists involved have done nothing wrong and are refusing to be pulled into conversations with the FBI about their political views or organizing against war and occupation. The activists are involved with many groups, including: the Palestine Solidarity Group, Students for a Democratic Society, the Twin-Cities Anti-War Committee, the Colombia Action Network, the Freedom Road Socialist Organization, and the National Committee to Free Ricardo Palmera (a Colombian Political Prisoner).

Steff Yorek, a long-time antiwar activist and one of the activists whose homes was searched, called the raids “An outrageous fishing expedition.”

We urge all progressive activists to show solidarity with those individuals targeted by the U.S. Government. Activists have the right not to speak with the FBI and are encouraged to politely refuse, just say “No”.

Please contact info@colombiasolidarity.org or info@fightbacknews.org if you would like to provide support to the targeted activists.

Contact: Tom Burke, 773-844-3612; Steff Yorek, 612-865-8234

#UnitedStates #AntiwarMovement #StudentsForADemocraticSociety #StateRepression #PalestineSolidarityGroup #RacismInTheCriminalJusticeSystem #NationalCommitteeToFreeRicardoPalmera #AntiWarCommittee #ColombiaActionNetwork #FreedomRoadSocialistOrganization #FBI #FederalBureauOfInvestigationFBI #September24FBIRaids

NO to U.S. bases in Colombia!

Peace Not War

We oppose U.S. intervention and war in Colombia. We oppose the seven new U.S. bases being built to wage war on the Colombian people and threaten their neighbors. We say “NO to U.S. bases in Colombia!” We want peace and friendship with our neighbors, not war.

U.S. Dirty War—7 U.S. Bases

The U.S. is waging a dirty war in Colombia. Plan Colombia brings poverty, misery, and death to the Colombia people. It is a counter-insurgency war aimed at the poor peasants and workers. Plan Colombia is a war plan to fight the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), a growing and expanding rebel insurgency that defends the movements of workers and peasants.

The U.S. government supports the small wealthy Colombian elite and their corrupt death squad government. The U.S. funds, arms, and directs the Colombian military and its death squads. Death squads murder a Colombian trade unionist every week. The Colombian military and their death squads repress the mass movements of workers, peasant farmers, indigenous, Afro-Colombian people, students, and progressives. U.S. corporate military contractors spray plant-killing chemicals to displace poor peasants from areas where the rebellion is strong or land where U.S. companies want to exploit natural resources. Over 5 million poor peasants and rural people are displaced.

The new U.S. bases agreement calls for 800 U.S. military advisers and 600 corporate military contractors, but there is no limit. The U.S. bases are a reaction by the White House to the failure of Plan Colombia. Despite what you might read in the U.S. press, the Colombian elite and their politicians are less popular and growing more isolated from the Colombian people. They are losing control of the situation. The rebellion is spreading and growing stronger. The U.S. bases are an act of desperation to counteract the growing movement for independence in Colombia and Latin America.

Close the SOA and Cut Off the Colombian Military

As part of the campaign to say “NO to U.S. bases in Colombia!” we are calling for mobilization to shut down the School of the Americas (SOA) at Fort Benning, Georgia, November 19-21st, 2010. It is at the SOA, where the U.S. trains the Colombian military officers who direct the death squads and abuse human rights.

Solidarity with the Colombian People

We are in solidarity with the Colombian people. Colombian’s do not want U.S. bases any more than American tax-payers want to pay for them. The U.S. government is doing the bidding of the rich people who rule the U.S. and attempt to dominate other countries. We are in this struggle together as we demand “NO to U.S. bases in Colombia!”

Colombia Action Network – CAN

http://www.colombiasolidarity.org

#UnitedStates #Colombia #ColombiaActionNetwork #Americas

The jailing and repeated postponement of trials of Liliany “Lily” Obando tells the story of a powerful woman. She is dealing firsthand with the extreme repression facing many Colombians who oppose the government. In Colombia there are over 7000 political prisoners. Colombian trade unionist Liliany Obando was arrested in the summer of 2008. Her arrest came during a string of attacks by the Uribe government targeting leaders of Colombia's growing struggles for social change.

Obando is a typical Colombian. She has taken up the challenge to fight for the rights of the people – the ones who don't matter to the rich in charge in Colombia and their puppeteers here in the U.S. government. Through her work with FENSUAGRO, a Colombian union, Obando championed the rights and welfare of Colombian farmers and rural wage laborers. Her work was transparent and legal under Colombian law, but Liliany Obando now sits in prison.

In Colombia dissent is dangerous. This is especially so for FENSUAGRO, as Colombia's largest peasant and farm worker federation. “We consider our struggle a just and important struggle. We fight for farm workers in defense of life, land and territory,” explains one of the union's leaders. The union fights for farmers because they have learned repeatedly that the Colombian government will prioritize the rights of multinational corporations over the rights of a Colombian farming community. Their organization teaches organic growing practices, seed preservation and union organizing.

In their many years of struggle FENSUAGRO became a strong union, a union that has saved communities, changed lives for the better and that brought the voice of rural workers to the ears of all of Colombia. For the work that they do, their members and supporters are abducted, detained, arrested and murdered. FENSUAGRO is the most targeted union by military and paramilitary violence in Colombia.

“Lily's trial has everything to do with her work with FENSUAGRO,” says James Jordan of the Alliance for Global Justice. “The Colombian government is trying to destroy the union. The war in Colombia is built around driving farmers off their land and of course the union is at odds with that goal.” Obando is charged with rebellion. This is a charged linked with the Colombian government's claim that she raised money for Colombia's growing insurgency, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC-EP).

The charge of rebellion is a non-specific charge used in the country to imprison student, union and social justice leaders, often for years at a time. The government uses these long imprisonments as an attempt to cripple a growing movement. “It's a consecutive process of arrests. They can imprison 20 people in jail for two or three years and only after that length of time are the prisoners released because there is no evidence against them. By then they've already arrested another 20,” further explained the FENSUAGRO leader.

This concept is certainly clear in the Obando trial. Her trial only began after a year of imprisonment and since then she has faced constant postponements. “Basically she's dealing with a system and, in particular, a judge who has shown himself overly lenient towards the military and paramilitaries but with Lily, won't even consider routine home detention and presents a court process that is constantly delayed”, stated Jordan.

Jordan continues, “Lily spends a day or two in court and then waits weeks and weeks in prison for another session while members of the military are being released after 90 days for not yet having been brought to trial. The military officials – who everyone knows are responsible for the massacre in Mapiripan- the judge is just letting them walk.” In Obando’s most recent two-day session on Feb. 15 and 16, her trial was again postponed for another two months. This has happened repeatedly over the course of seven months since the trial was scheduled to begin. The constant rescheduling is an exhausting process to put Obando through, it makes it difficult for Obando’s supporters to attend the court sessions, and furthermore, makes home detention and ever more reasonable request.

“Of course they're not going to be fair,” stated Jeremy Miller. Miller traveled to Colombia as a representative of the Colombia Action Network this past summer and met with Obando in prison. “Lily's trial is another attempt by the Colombian government to criminalize any dissent. We have to remember too that this is also a fight for the sovereignty of Colombia. The U.S. is trying to build seven military bases in Colombia and has always intervened in Colombian affairs for their own interests. They've spent $7 billion trying to control people in Colombia. Lily is a threat to the rich because what she is doing is right. She stands for the truth and for justice. They're scared of her and the people like her because they are losing their battle.”

Supporters of Liliany Obando all over the world, including trade unionists in Canada and Australia as well as Latin America solidarity activists in the U.S., have been targeted for interrogation and harassment. This is in addition to the ongoing intimidation Obando herself deals with every day. In Colombian prison, Obando faces misrepresentation of facts, outright lies, coercion from guards, the theft and mistreatment of personal belongings, as well as the threat of being moved to another prison.

“Despite everything, Lily's spirits remain strong”, reports Jordan. “She continues to organize from the prisons and to fight for the rights of all political prisoners. In the face of everything she has not backed down, nor given in to the false claims against her. She's a fighter. She's an inspiration.”

The next session of Obando’s trial is scheduled to begin April 22 and 23. To donate to Liliany Obando’s legal defense send a check or money order made out to the “Alliance for Global Justice” to AFGJ, 1247 E Street SE, Washington, DC 2003 with “Lily Obando Defense Fund” in the memo line.

#Colombia #BogotáBDC #ColombiaActionNetwork #LilianyObando #Americas

Fight Back! Forum at the SOA: No to U.S. Intervention in Colombia!

Saturday, November 21, 2009

Time: 7:00pm – 9:00pm

Location: Howard Johnson Presidential Room

1101 Veterans Pkwy, Columbus, GA

No To US Bases In Colombia!

Close the School of the Americas!

Free Lily Obando!

The US is expanding its dirty war in Colombia. Training death squads at the School of the Americas is a big part of that, but there is more. The Pentagon will soon occupy seven bases in Colombia, adding to the $7 billion spent on a war against the Colombian people over ten years. US troops will increase to 1400, with 600 US mercenaries fighting in the counter-insurgency war. The US will pour $46 million into the Palenquero base alone for “refurbishing”. This is bad news for the Colombian people who live under a corrupt and criminal government led by President Uribe. It is also bad news here at home too, as we face the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression—as well as a health care crisis, a housing crisis, and two ongoing US occupations. Why is the White House escalating the war in Colombia instead of seeking peace? Our HOPE is for peace with our neighbors, not more US bases! We want CHANGE, not more US intervention!

The fact is that the US Empire is in decline and is losing its grip on Latin America. Throughout the region, people’s movements are sweeping into power, with democratic, reform minded, and socialist leaders. Militarizing Colombia is central to US plans to stop this progressive wave and reverse it. However, Plan Colombia, the current US war plan, is failing. Plan Colombia is aimed against the most powerful revolutionary group in Latin America—the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). The FARC organizes poor peasants and the disenfranchised to defend themselves against the rich Colombian elite and to take back their country from US corporations. Inside Colombia, the revolution, both armed and unarmed, is deepening and spreading, even reaching the cities. In the face of this, the White House and Congress are siding with the wealthy land owners and big corporations by funding and supporting Colombia’s corrupt government—nearly tripling the Colombian Military in ten years. The new US bases will clearly threaten Colombia's neighbors too.

Colombian Death Squads – “Made In America”

Colombia sends more soldiers to the School of the Americas than any other country in Latin America. Colombia also has the highest number of human rights abuses. The Pentagon directs the Colombian Military and their training at SOA, and gives the nod to their death squads. Colombia's former top general, Mario Montoya trained and instructed others at the SOA. Montoya along with two other Colombian generals and 24 Military officers were forced to resign last year due to the “false positives” scandal – they “hired” unemployed men in the cities, shot them dead in rural areas, and then dressed them in FARC uniforms to claim success against the revolutionaries. We say, “Close the SOA!”

Free Lily Obando

Liliani “Lily” Obando is a political prisoner of the Colombian government. Unfortunately, Lily's story is all too familiar—she works as union organizer with FENSUAGRO, the largest peasant and farm worker federation. She produces documentary films and writes about the struggles of those who work the land. Here films show that in Colombia, there are more displaced people – around four million, than in Iraq. It is outrageous! Thousands of labor unionists and other activists are routinely assassinated and threatened by death squads. Coca-Cola, Drummond Coal, and Chiquita Banana are all known for funding death squads.

Like many unions and other groups, FENSUAGRO is heavily repressed. The Colombian Army and their death squads killed 1500 members of FENSUAGRO over the past 30 years. Counting 450 murdered since President Uribe took over in 2002. Lily Obando was about to release her study of these assassinations when Uribe ordered her arrest in August 2008. Besides assassinating popular leaders, arrest and detention is the new tactic of the reactionary government. Liliani Obando is charged with “rebellion” and “managing resources related to terrorist activities”. Despite the danger, Lily is willing to challenge the injustices that are imposed by the US supported war in Colombia. Now Lily is fighting for the rights of women prisoners. Since her imprisonment, Lily’s two young children and her elderly mother barely scrape by. We demand “Free Lily Obando!”

Speakers Include:

• James Jordan from the Campaign for Labor Rights
• Angela Denio from the National Committee to Free Ricardo Palmera
• Sarah Buchner from Students for a Democratic Society
• Jeremy Miller from the Colombia Action Network
• Kosta Harlan from Freedom Road Socialist Organization

#ColombusGA #ColumbusGA #Colombia #NationalCommitteeToFreeRicardoPalmera #ColombiaActionNetwork #SchoolOfTheAmericas #LilianyObando #Americas

A spirited picket line protested outside the Colombian consulate in Chicago Oct. 1. 30 students, solidarity and labor activists chanted in support of political prisoners held by the Colombian government of President Uribe. Passersby stopped to read leaflets and listen to chants of, “Free Lily Obando,” “No to U.S. bases,” and “The people of Colombia are under attack! What do we do? Stand up! Fight back!” Chicagoans were joined on Michigan Avenue by activists from Arizona, Minnesota, Ohio, California, Florida and Washington D.C. for this international day of action.

James Jordan of the Campaign for Labor Rights, which organized the protest, said, “There are more than 7200 political prisoners in Colombia, most arrested on the basis of fabricated evidence. Lily Obando is one of those. Lily is a labor leader, sociologist and video maker about to expose the Colombian government's role in running paramilitary death squads. Death squads have killed hundreds of peasants and farm workers belonging to the largest agricultural union – FENSUAGRO.”

He concluded his speech saying, “Those arrested are union members, farmers, students, teachers and members of the political opposition. Repression in Colombia is paid for and overseen by the U.S. government in service to big corporations. We call on the U.S. government to stop supporting repression and war. We demand dialogue and a just peace.”

Banbose Shango of the National Network on Cuba spoke about U.S. hypocrisy: “Posada Carriles, an internationally known terrorist who bombed a Cuban airplane killing 73 civilians in 1976, is walking the streets freely in Miami, Florida. The U.S. government is protecting this murderer. In the meantime, five Cubans, who monitored the planned activities of these Miami-based terrorist groups, have been languishing unjustly in several U.S. prisons for the past ten years. When there is no justice, there is no peace. We oppose U.S. aggression towards Cuba and Colombia.”

Tom Burke of the Colombia Action Network spoke last, saying, “We protested the outrageous trials in Washington D.C. that imprisoned Ricardo Palmera and Anayibe 'Sonia' Valderrama, members of the FARC. Our protests exposed the Palmera trials as a sham put on by a declining empire. The U.S. is overreaching. Ricardo Palmera is now a political prisoner of the U.S. government held in total isolation in the Florence, Colorado Super Max. Professor Palmera's imprisonment is inhumane.”

Next Burke spoke of the recently announced plan to build seven U.S. bases in Colombia, saying, “The U.S. is losing its control over Latin America. 'Plan Colombia,' the U.S. counter-insurgency war is a failure. While the U.S. increases repression and terror in Colombia, the revolution, led by the FARC and other groups, is spreading and building. The U.S. is forcing dozens of Colombian military officers trained at the School of the Americas in Columbus, Georgia to resign. Some are going to jail for murdering 1300 or more poor workers and dressing them up in FARC uniforms. The U.S. is losing its war and U.S. bases will only bring more suffering to the Colombian people. In solidarity with Colombians, with Venezuelans, Bolivians and Ecuadorians – with all Latin Americans, we need to oppose the U.S. bases in Colombia. We do not benefit from the war and repression in Colombia. Only the rich do. No to U.S. bases!”

Organizers are making plans for more events to build for the Nov. 21 School of the Americas protests in Georgia. Similar protests to the Chicago event took place in Colombia, Australia, France, Mexico and Canada.

#ChicagoIL #Colombia #ColombiaActionNetwork #PoliticalPrisoners #LilianyObando #FENSUAGRO #CampaignForLaborRights #Americas

In August, a delegation of U.S. students, trade unionists and anti-war activists traveled to Colombia to meet with leaders in the struggle there. The Colombian Action Network and the Campaign for Labor Rights, two grassroots organizations here in the United States fighting against U.S. intervention in Colombia, hosted the trip.

“I knew what I heard in the U.S. media about the benefits of U.S. tax money and aid to Colombia was true only for the rich. I wanted to see for myself what the reality is for Colombians,” said Jeremy Miller, a member of the Colombian Action Network when explaining his decision to go on the delegation. Members of the Colombian Action Network and the Campaign for Labor Rights arranged meetings with peasant, indigenous and student groups, as well as with political leaders, unions, political prisoners and families of Colombians killed or imprisoned by the government.

The first union the delegation met with was the National Peasant-Farmer Federation, FENSUAGRO. They unite farmers from all over Colombia to struggle for land reform and everyday rights for rural workers. It is the largest rural labor organization in Colombia and is unwavering in its principled defense of workers. Because of the work they do, this union is the most targeted for violence by the wealthy and their pro-government death squads.

During a rural community meeting, a FENSUAGRO leader told the delegation, “75 of our members are currently in jail. We fight for a public policy that favors the peasant farmer and we are always clear about our demands. Because of this the government works daily, looking for ways to finish us off. The government tries to connect us to the FARC [the largest armed rebel group in Colombia], in attempts to discredit us. The Uribe government goes after anyone who defends the working class. They claim that we are not the victims of violence, that we are the aggressors. Farmers have no support from the government. No rights even to housing or health care. The government does not care for the poor and has completely abandoned us to poverty. Human life is worth only the value of a bullet.”

The stories from other groups told much of the same – of being afraid to leave the house in the morning, of being followed, of having family members killed by death squads, of being arrested for implausible charges – all of this because of the fight for the rights of workers and peasants, indigenous people and Afro-Colombians, everyday people. “I was shocked to hear the stories of the university students in Bogotá. They are doing the same kind of activism we are here in the U.S., but because of it, they are facing death threats, they are being imprisoned or assassinated,” said Sarah Buchner of Students for a Democratic Society, another delegate on the trip, speaking one night after a particularly intense day of stories.

During the trip, the theme that repeatedly came up was “what is most important for us as U.S. activists to bring back?” We decided to bring back the stories and pictures but also something more: to drive home the message that the terrible violence in Colombia is directly connected to the United States government. We can do something to change that, to stop it. It is the U.S. government that foots the bill for the war and violence that happens in Colombia. The people of Colombia are very clear on this. The people the delegation met with had all sorts of ideas about ways to build a better Colombia and about ways for peace. But all of them were united in saying U.S. intervention must stop, that the seven proposed U.S. military bases in Colombia would do nothing to end violence in the country and would serve only to increase it, that peace in Colombia would only come with the end of U.S. violations of Colombian sovereignty.

From this trip, members of the delegation have returned to the U.S. with the hopes of continuing to build a movement in the United States against imperialist intervention in Colombia.

Hands off Colombia!

No to the U.S. bases!

#Colombia #ColombiaActionNetwork #FENSUAGRO #CampaignForLaborRights #USMilitaryBases #Americas

The difference between the city and countryside in Colombia is dramatic. Rural communities often lack electricity, health care, schools, drinkable water and sanitation. Peasant farmers don’t have roads to transport their crops to market and cannot compete with cheap, free-trade goods from American agribusinesses. As a result, many peasants must grow coca to feed their families.

Unfortunately, these are not the only hardships that peasants face. The Colombian government, working with paramilitary death squads and the U.S. military, has employed state terrorism against peasant, indigenous and Afro-Colombian communities for 40 years. The Colombian government’s goal is to open Colombia’s natural resources to U.S. and multinational corporations by violently forcing rural inhabitants from their land.

One method of displacement is fumigation. Under the U.S. government’s Plan Colombia, U.S. military contractors spray toxic chemicals from planes across the Colombian countryside. The Bush administration claims that fumigation will stop the growth of coca, the raw material for cocaine. Hubert Gomez, national vice-president of FENSUAGRO, has another view. “In Colombia we have suffered from fumigation for over 30 years. Fumigation destroys the ecosystem and the livelihood of campesinos.” Food crops, livestock and people are routinely sprayed with chemicals. Victims report skin diseases and birth defects. While its record for reducing coca production is abysmal, aerial fumigation succeeds in displacing thousands of peasants.

The state also uses violence. Under the pretext of eliminating ‘guerrilla sympathizers,’ the Colombian military attacks social activists. The U.S. helps by supplying military advisers, weapons and vehicles. In these operations the military and paramilitaries work side by side. “The soldiers in the Colombian military become paramilitaries by putting on a paramilitary armband,” said one peasant activist. “The paramilitary go into town, kill people, leave, remove their armbands and return as soldiers to the scene, supposedly to help. Commanders of these military units are trained at the School of the Americas.” The School of the Americas at Fort Benning, Georgia trains Latin American soldiers in torture, intimidation and counter-insurgency warfare.

In spite of the brutal repression, peasants resist. Leading the struggle is FENSUAGRO, which coordinates peasant associations nationwide. They use a number of tactics to defend the land, lives and livelihood of peasants. To protest the lack of roads and infrastructure in rural regions, FENSUAGRO mobilizes communities to blockade highways. In two southwest provinces in May, 150,000 people mobilized and shut down the Pan-American Highway for eight days. They were immediately attacked by the military and police. Their action forced the government into a round of negotiations over tax spending on rural development. “Under the current regime,” said Eberto Diaz, FENSUAGRO’s national president, “we can only move forward through mass mobilizations, even though this means some of our people will die.”

Everywhere the delegation traveled, peasants agreed: Without U.S. military aid, the Colombian government would be unable to violently persecute the Colombian people. Katrina Plotz, delegation member, explained, “It’s time for a drastic reassessment of our national priorities. Billions of dollars are being spent on Plan Colombia for the so-called wars on drugs and terror. What does this mean for Colombians? Displacement, starvation, death threats, torture, murder. The U.S. government is waging a war of terror on Colombians. We must educate people about how U.S. tax dollars are being spent. If Americans knew the truth about U.S. intervention in Colombia, they would overwhelmingly oppose it.”

#BogotáColombia #Bogotá #AntiwarMovement #News #Colombia #ColombiaActionNetwork #FENSUAGRO #Americas

Washington D.C. – 300,000 marcharon aquí el 24 de septiembre en contra de la guerra y la ocupación de Irak. La gran cantidad de gente que vino a la marcha sorprendió a los organizadores. En la protesta anti-guerra más grande en Washington D.C. desde la época de la guerra en Vietnam, los manifestantes gritaron “¡No sangre por petróleo! ¡EEUU fuera de Irak!” Muchos tomaron fotos de amigos y familiares con consignas anti-guerra frente a la casa blanca.

El presidente Bush había evacuado la casa blanca antes de la marcha, para evadir la ola de gente protestando la guerra en Irak y su falta de acción durante el desastre del huracán Katrina. En Irak, la ocupación va de mal a peor, con la resistencia iraquí ganando fuerza y golpeando a las fuerzas de ocupación más fuerte y con más eficacia. El gobierno títere en Irak es corrupto y no es capaz de gobernar.

En la avenida Pennsylvania, el movimiento anti-guerra fue grande, amplio y fuerte. El contingente Bolivariano, formado por la Red de Acción Colombiana y los Círculos Bolivarianos en los EEUU, se unió con otros grupos como el comité anti-guerra de Minnesota y organizaciones de solidaridad con Palestina que llevaron una bandera palestina del tamaño de un bus. Todos se unieron a gritar, “Venezuela, Palestina, Colombia, Irak – ¡EEUU fuera y no regresen!” y “¡Bush, Bush, Bush! ¡Fuera, Fuera, Fuera!” Cientos de personas se unieron al contingente, gritando y animando a la gente que les vio. Jóvenes latinos se rieron cuando unas señoras copiaron su grito de “¡Bush – Mentiroso! ¡Encenderemos tu pantalón con fuego!” La gente que participó en esta marcha poderosa va a regresar a todas partes de los Estados Unidos para seguir construyendo el movimiento para terminar la guerra ya.

#WashingtonDC #AntiwarMovement #News #Iraq #AntiWarCommittee #ColombiaActionNetwork #IraqWar #EEUUFueraDeIrak

Dear Supporters,

There is a growing debate in Congress concerning Plan Colombia. There needs to be an end to U.S. military aid to Colombia. The almost $5 billion the U.S. has sent in military aid since 2000 has had horrendous results in Colombia. It has paid for military and para-military human rights abuses including massacres, disappearances, kidnapping and threats to social justice and labor activists and their families.

Some in the Latin America solidarity movement are calling for a shift in funding from military aid to humanitarian aid. However, the Colombia Action Network does not support a call for ‘humanitarian aid’ in lieu of military aid. Repeatedly over the past seven years, the Colombian social movement has demanded that the government spend money on social services rather than war. The movement has also demanded that the U.S. stop sending military aid and advisors to Colombia. The movement has not called for the U.S. to send humanitarian aid because they know that the Colombian government would not increase social spending. The Colombian government would instead just use the funds to offset more military spending. As long as the Colombian government spends their resources fighting, killing and torturing the Colombian people the solidarity movement in the U.S. should demand an end to all aid – both military and ‘humanitarian’ – to Colombia.

Now is a key time to end Plan Colombia. Between the Uribe’s and Chiquita’s death squad scandals and the unpopularity of Bush’s foreign policy in general, the Democrats are considering ending Plan Colombia. We need to stand together to say a clear “no” to aid to Colombia. Please do everything you can to demand an end to Plan Colombia. Call Congress at 202-224-3121 or go www.house.gov and www.senate.gov. Thanks for your support.

Peace,

Meredith Aby

Colombia Action Network

#UnitedStates #AntiwarMovement #Colombia #Statement #ColombiaActionNetwork #PlanColombia #Americas

Meredith Aby of the Colombia Action Network said, “It’s outrageous that days after the FARC released unilaterally hostages for the second time that the blood thirsty Colombian government responded by attacking the FARC and killing one of their top leaders. The U.S. is arming and directing a government that truly has no interest in peace.”

Tom Burke, who helps lead the effort to free Ricardo Palmera, the kidnapped FARC leader who is on trial in Washington D.C., stated, “The National Committee to Free Ricardo Palmera extends its sympathy to the family, friends and comrades of Colombian martyr Raul Reyes. Raul Reyes sacrificed his life in the revolutionary service of the Colombian people. The leadership of Raul Reyes brought the peoples of Latin America closer to fulfilling the dream of Simon Bolivar – a unified, independent and peaceful future.”

Burke added, “The National Committee condemns the killing of Raul Reyes by the Bush administration, the Pentagon and the U.S. puppet president in Colombia, Alvaro Uribe. The U.S. is conducting a dirty war in Colombia, spending $5 billion to support the most anti-democratic and reactionary regime in the history of Colombia. The drug-soaked and criminal administration of Alvaro Uribe – a death-squad government that assassinates trade unionists, community organizers, peasant leaders and anyone opposed to tyranny and oppression in Colombia. The U.S. is trying but failing to quench the growing revolution lead by the FARC in Colombia.”

#UnitedStates #News #RaulReyes #Colombia #ColombiaActionNetwork #AlvaroUribe #Americas

Aby continued, “The U.S. needs to drastically change its policy towards Colombia. We need to demand a change from the Bush agenda of free trade and military aid that only promotes poverty and war The Colombian people risk their lives denouncing these policies and we must stop the FTA in its tracks.”

A showdown over this Free Trade Agreement is shaping up in Congress this week.

#UnitedStates #News #Colombia #WorkersAndGlobalization #ColombiaActionNetwork #FreeTradeAgreement #Americas

The Colombia Action Network is issuing the following call for protests at John McCain's campaign events and at the Republican National Convention, September 1-4 in St. Paul, MN. McCain arrived in Colombia on Tuesday and is promoting his close relationship to death squad leader Colombian President Uribe as a campaign issue.

Hands Off Colombia! End Military Aid to Colombia Now!

Republican presidential candidate John McCain's position on Colombia is unacceptable for advocates of peace and justice. McCain supports free trade policies that benefit wealthy corporations while exploiting the poor. McCain favors spending billions on military aid to the brutal right-wing government in Colombia. McCain has already expressed his unconditional support for the U.S. occupation of Iraq. His current visit with Colombian President Alvaro Uribe proves that he would deliver a continuation of the Bush Administration's brutal policies in Latin America as well. By standing with Uribe, McCain is showing that he supports terrorism, death squads and bloodshed.

The U.S. role in Colombia:

Since 2000, the U.S. has spent over 5 billion dollars funding a right wing government that uses our dollars to kill trade unionists, human rights workers, and campesinos (peasants). The paramilitaries are armed, trained, and directed by the Colombian military, under the leadership of U.S. Generals and 800 U.S. Military advisors. The paramilitaries are funded by Colombian and American narco-traffickers and U.S. corporations like Coca-Cola, Chiquita, Drummond Coal and Occidental Oil. Their paramilitary cohorts cut off the heads of peasants with machetes and dismember bodies with chain saws to terrorize and silence peasants who attempt to organize. In Colombia, speaking out against unjust land grabs and unjust labor practices often involves risking one's life.

The U.S. is supporting an oligarchy in Colombia—a small class of rich families who rule through fire and blood. To maintain this tiny elite, the U.S. is conducting a dirty war against the poor peasants and workers of Colombia, known as “Plan Colombia”. The peasants and workers are not helpless victims however, and many have joined the guerrilla movements, especially the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) that has grown and developed into the most powerful rebel force in Latin America today. The FARC, like most people, believes that Colombians should receive the economic benefits of their natural resources, not U.S. corporations. The FARC uses a variety of tactics to fight against the theft of indigenous and peasant lands by the expansions of foreign oil companies.

No Blood for Oil!

Just like Iraq, Colombia has oil. The U.S. imports a substantial amount of oil from Colombia. Corporations like BP Amoco and Occidental Oil want to claim even more of Colombia's oil. This comes at the expense of Colombia's national oil company ECOPETROL and hurts the national income of the Colombian people.

In addition to oil, Colombia is rich in minerals and agricultural products including coal, emeralds, silver, bananas, and other fruits. The Amazon rainforest is rich in water sources and medicinal plants. McCain favors a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) that would weaken Colombian labor and environmental protections, allowing U.S. corporations to maximize profits while denying sovereignty to the Colombian people. McCain is bad news for the majority of Colombia's people.

The Republican agenda: An agenda for war!

McCain has a track record of supporting war in both Afghanistan and Iraq. However, his bloody foreign policy is not exclusive to the Middle East. President Bush expanded “Plan Colombia”, labeling peasant rebels as “terrorists” and McCain has embraced every bloody aspect of it. McCain has loudly defended Colombian President Uribe from charges that his government violates human rights. McCain calls for closer U.S.-Colombian relations and an expedited FTA – despite proof of Uribe's connections to paramilitary death squads. Republicans have thwarted the Latin America solidarity movements' efforts to close the School of the Americas. Republicans have defended the use of torture in Iraq, at the School of the Americas and at Guantanamo Bay. Lastly, McCain is committed to continuing the attacks on Venezuela's president, Hugo Chavez. Attacks on Chavez are a vehicle to attack the entire Bolivarian Revolution, along with all the great gains made for the people under Chavez. The U.S. has built three military bases on Colombia's border with Venezuela to threaten the Venezuelan people's efforts. McCain stirs up fear of Chavez to justify continued military aid to Colombia and a FTA with Colombia, Panama, and Peru.

March on the RNC!

The people of Colombia, like the people of Iraq, need us in the streets protesting at the Republican National Convention. We need to stop the U.S.-sponsored wars in their countries. We need to stop our tax dollars from being spent to prop up the corrupt narco-trafficking regime of President Uribe. McCain is making Colombia an issue in this presidential campaign and we must respond!

The American public is increasingly aware of the U.S. atrocities committed in Iraq, and a majority in this country opposes the war. This public outrage will manifest itself at the RNC. We have an opportunity to educate the 50,000+ people who come to the RNC that the U.S. occupation of Iraq is just one example of this country's quest for empire. Current U.S. policies toward Latin America, particularly Colombia, are the cause of widespread violence and injustice. These policies, which McCain promises to continue, must be confronted at the RNC.

For more information about the September 1 demonstration at the Republican National Convention go to marchonrnc.org. For more information about protests at the RNC go to protestrnc2008.org.

Colombia Action Network

The Colombia Action Network (CAN) is an organization of U.S. activists in solidarity with the Colombian people. We stand resolutely opposed to U.S. intervention in Colombia. For more information, please contact us info@colombiasolidarity.org

#UnitedStates #AntiwarMovement #Colombia #RicardoPalmera #RepublicanNationalConvention2008 #Statement #FTAA #ColombiaActionNetwork #PoliticalPrisoners #NoBloodForOil #Americas

Dos miembras de la red Colombia Action Network (CAN, Red de Acción por Colombia), Thistle Parker-Hartog y Meredith Aby, entrevistaron al líder campesino Miguel Cifuente, secretario ejecutivo de la Asociación de Campesinos del Valle del Río Cimitarra. Debido a la duración de la entrevista, la publicamos en dos partes. La primera parte de la entrevista está en la edición de octubre / noviembre 2004 de ¡Lucha y Resiste!.

Una delegación de activistas estudiantiles y anti-guerra de la Red de Acción por Colombia viajó a dicho país para investigar los efectos de la ayuda militar estadounidense hacia Colombia. Evidencia presentada a la delegación muestra que los paramilitares derechistas coordinan sus actividades con el ejército colombiano apoyado por los Estados Unidos.

¡LyR!: ¿Cómo resisten los campesinos contra esta militarización y represión aumentada?

Miguel Cifuente: Tenemos como una estructura de denuncio que nos permite saber si es una operación militar o no. Entonces averiguamos que eso es una operación militar. Y sencillamente enviamos cartas a todo el mundo diciendo que se respete la vida y los bienes y onda y los campesinos, porque es la función del ejército. Y entonces, ya que es más difícil decir que no eran ellos y eran otros. [A menudo los militares dicen que las atrocidades cometidas fueron cometidas por otras fuerzas. – Editora]

Resistimos organizando la población. Entonces, cuando sabemos de que va incursiones paramilitares o queremos que el Estado haga un poco más de inversión social en la región, hacemos acciones de hecho. En las décadas 80 resistía una organización campesina que es la Coordinadora Campesina de la Magdalena Medio, que hizo varias marchas, buscando la reivindicación de los campesinos. En el año 96 se hizo otra marcha muy grande en el sitio de San Pablo y en el sitio de Barrancabermeja, tratando también de que el Estado invirtiera en el desarrollo de la región. Acuerdos que siempre incumplió. En el año 98, hicimos una movilización, del Valle Río Cimitarra y el sur de Bolívar con 10,000 campesinos. El Presidente Luís Pastrana firmó una seria de acuerdos con nosotros como refinanciar un plan de desarrollo por derechos humanos del Magdalena Medio, que nunca financió. Estuvieron de acuerdo de crear un bloqueo de busca contra el paramilitarismo; tampoco lo creyó.

Por lo que estamos luchando hoy, es el cumplir de ese acuerdo. La crearon por toda la presión nuestra, pero la han suspendido. Entonces, hemos hecho unos distintos tomas. Hemos hecho tomas a la Defensoría del Pueblo aquí en Bogotá, en dos ocasiones. Hemos hecho la alcaldía de Bucaramanga, la alcaldía del Jondón, y la alcaldía de Barrancabermeja. Y junto con otras organizaciones sociales, como los desplazados [personas echadas de sus tierras por los militares, los paramilitares, u operaciones de combate]. De esta manera, hemos estado siempre en esas actividades protestando frente a las políticas del gobierno, frente a la paramilitarización y militarización de la región.

¡LyR!: ¿Qué quiere Ud. que haga el pueblo norteamericano para ayudar en este trabajo y para demostrar solidaridad con Uds. y con los campesinos aquí en Colombia?

MC: Fundamentalmente, para que nosotros podamos a avanzar con la propuesta de resistencia del desplazamiento forzado, necesitamos el acompañamiento internacional, el hermanamiento con el pueblo estadounidense o el pueblo europeo, porque eso es la practica que nos ha hemos notado que funciona y que podemos resistir.

Creo que debe seguir adelante con su compromiso de estar consciente de lo que está haciendo el gobierno de los Estados Unidos como financiando el plan de guerra, el Plan Colombia. Prácticamente es una intervención extranjera en todos los asuntos internos, políticos, sociales, económicos, con la excusa de la guerra contra las drogas. Pienso que el pueble norteamericano debe ver más allá. Creo que los Estados Unidos está repartiendo la guerra por todas partes, no solamente en Colombia. Pero, sí, Colombia es uno de los países que recibe más ayuda militar y económica asesoría de los Estados Unidos. Entonces, el evento de que se puede suspender toda tipa de ayudas, pienso que los colombianos podemos encontrar una solución al conflicto que tenemos. Creemos que el conflicto que sea armado que tiene Colombia, el cual llega a cuarenta años se tiene que dar una solución política, una resolución política. Y que se tiene que ser el pueblo colombiano, el que tiene que llegar a esa solución política. En la media que los Estados Unidos tengan intereses de cualquier tipo, como a través de multinacionales, en todos recursos económicos o recursos naturales, y el control social en esto país. No va a servir. Los Estados Unidos nunca van a tener la autoridad para participar en ese proceso. Entonces, creo que nosotros colombianos tenemos que llegar allá a esa solución política.

#Interview #Colombia #Interviews #ColombiaActionNetwork #MiguelCifuente #Americas

Este verano, una delegación de estudiantes y dirigentes contra la Guerra fueron a Colombia con Colombia Action Network (CAN, Red de Acción por Colombia) para investigar los efectos del ayuda militar estadounidense. Los tres millones de dólares de ayuda militar estadounidense que se envían a Colombia se caen directamente en las manos de las fuerzas armadas colombianas y los paramilitares colombianos. Los paramilitares sirven como escuadrones de muerte derechistas quienes asesinan, torturan, y desaparecen sindicalistas, dirigentes estudiantiles y campesinos, y trabajadores de derechos humanos. La evidencia presentada a la delegación muestra que los paramilitares coordinan sus actividades con las fuerzas armadas de Colombia.

La delegación CAN fue recibida por la Asociación de Campesinos del Valle del Río Cimitarra. Juntas con la asociación campesina, la delegación se reunía con líderes campesinos y escuchaba testimonias de las comunidades campesinas en el departamento de Antioquia. Cuando estábamos en Bogotá, conseguimos una entrevista con Miguel Cifuente, el secretario ejecutivo de la Asociación de Campesinos del Valle del Río Cimitarra.

LYR: ¿Cómo ha afectado Plan Colombia (el ayuda militar de los Estados Unidos desde el año 2000) la situación de los campesinos?

Plan Colombia tiene un elemento que se llaman las fumigaciones [la aplicación desde el aire de químicas para matar a cultivos]. Ya se han adelantado tres fumigaciones ahora. Es la cuarta fumigación que se hace en la región, y fundamentalmente se violan cuatro derechos. El derecho a la alimentación, porque se fumigan todos los cultivos de pan coger. El derecho a salud porque esto nos da un grave crisis sanitaria—enfermedades de piel, gastrointestinales, de las vistas, bueno en fin, y fundamentalmente, en la población infantil y la población anciana. Esas operaciones militares y fumigaciones hacen que la gente se desplace, y entonces nos están violando el derecho a tener una raigo a un territorio. Y la contaminación que en general está violando el derecho a tener un ambiente sano. Contamina las aguas, los peces, las gallinas, las vacas fumigaban. Eso se mira toda una crisis.

Por otra parte, el Plan Colombia contiene una componente a reformar la justicia. Hoy tenemos cuatro de nuestros miembros de Junta anterior, y dos dirigentes más de nuestros grupos comunales, quienes tienen orden de captura. El gobierno con sus montajes, han dicho que ellos son guerrilleros, y entonces hoy tienen orden de captura por rebelión y hurto.

LYR: ¿Cómo es la situación en la cual los campesinos se encuentran en cuanto a tener los paramilitares apoyados por el gobiernos presentes en sus comunidades?

Hay un control de los alimentos que ingresen y salen a la región por parte de los paramilitares en las distintas bases militares que tienen en los cascos urbanos que hacen parte de la región. Hay una seria de señalamientos constantes por parte de los comandantes de las bases donde nos culpen a nosotros de cualquier acción que cometa la guerrilla. Dicen que por culpa nuestra, la guerrilla entra y hace una toma, es culpa nuestra porque estamos señalando esa comunidad. Y nos ha culpado, es públicamente de las acciones de la guerrilla. [Acusaciones de ser guerrillero o simpatizante de la guerrilla pone a dirigentes en peligro, y a menudo resulta en amenazas y intentos de asesinato por parte de las fuerzas militares y paramilitares.]

Está una componente paraestatal y paramilitar que desde hace cuatro años viene haciendo un bloqueo alimentario, sanitario de movilización a toda la región. Entonces a cinco, diez minutos de las bases militares, están retenes paramilitares donde hacen un control social absoluto. Cobran 10% a los productos que ingresan o salen de la región. Tienen que colocarle un sello o una firma a las facturas de los productos. Si no llevan este sello, no pueden pasar.

Ellos tienen listas allí en todos los retenes, y las personas que estén las listas sencillamente desaparecen. En algunos casos, aparece el cuerpo; en otros casos, nunca se vuelve a saber de ellos. En estos cuatro años, nosotros llegamos a un calculo de unos quinientos campesinos que han sidos víctimas de esas desapariciones o asesinatos. Desde esos retenes están en constante amenaza a los campesinos

De allí hacen incursiones de tierra razada saqueando todo los bienes de los ganados de los campesinos, y haciendo masacre, descuartizando. A fines de enero de este año [2004], el último caso que tenemos de una persona descuartizada, un señor Victor. Lo descuartizaron, y lo colocaron su cabeza en un sitio para que la gente tuviera terror y se fuera.

En el mes de mayo, en las dos últimas semanas de mayo y primera semana de junio hubo una operación de paramilitares en el sur de Bolivar donde asesinaron tres personas, golpearon otras tantas, quemaron treinta y cinco viviendas en el área de Jardín y de Alto Cañabraval. Supuestamente están en un proceso de cese unilateral de fuego con el gobierno, cuando eso es falso. [Actualmente hay un “proceso de paz” falso entre el gobierno colombiano y las fuerzas paramilitares, aunque las fuerzas paramilitares sirven los intereses del gobierno colombiano. – Editora]

LYR: ¿Cómo resisten los campesinos contra esta militarización y represión aumentada?

Tenemos como una estructura de denuncio que nos permite saber si es una operación militar o no. Entonces averiguamos que eso es una operación militar. Y sencillamente enviamos cartas a todo el mundo diciendo que se respete la vida y los bienes y onda y los campesinos, porque es la función del ejército. Y entonces, ya que es más difícil decir que no eran ellos y eran otros. [A menudo los militares dicen que las atrocidades cometidas fueron cometidas por otras fuerzas. – Editora]

Resistimos organizando la población. Entonces, cuando sabemos de que va incursiones paramilitares o queremos que el Estado haga un poco más de inversión social en la región, hacemos acciones de hecho. En las décadas 80 resistía una organización campesina que es la Coordinadora Campesina de la Magdalena Medio, que hizo varias marchas, buscando la reivindicación de los campesinos. En el año 96 se hizo otra marcha muy grande en el sitio de San Pablo y en el sitio de Barrancabermeja, tratando también de que el Estado invirtiera en el desarrollo de la región. Acuerdos que siempre incumplió. En el año 98, hicimos una movilización, del Valle Río Cimitarra y el sur de Bolívar con 10,000 campesinos. El Presidente Luís Pastrana firmó una seria de acuerdos con nosotros como refinanciar un plan de desarrollo por derechos humanos del Magdalena Medio, que nunca financió. Estuvieron de acuerdo de crear un bloqueo de busca contra el paramilitarismo; tampoco lo creyó.

Por lo que estamos luchando hoy, es el cumplir de ese acuerdo. La crearon por toda la presión nuestra, pero la han suspendido. Entonces, hemos hecho unos distintos tomas. Hemos hecho tomas a la Defensoría del Pueblo aquí en Bogotá, en dos ocasiones. Hemos hecho la alcaldía de Bucaramanga, la alcaldía del Jondón, y la alcaldía de Barrancabermeja. Y junto con otras organizaciones sociales, como los desplazados [personas echadas de sus tierras por los militares, los paramilitares, u operaciones de combate]. De esta manera, hemos estado siempre en esas actividades protestando frente a las políticas del gobierno, frente a la paramilitarización y militarización de la región.

LYR: ¿Qué quiere Ud. que haga el pueblo norteamericano para ayudar en este trabajo y para demostrar solidaridad con Uds. y con los campesinos aquí en Colombia?

Fundamentalmente, para que nosotros podamos a avanzar con la propuesta de resistencia del desplazamiento forzado, necesitamos el acompañamiento internacional, el hermanamiento con el pueblo estadounidense o el pueblo europeo, porque eso es la practica que nos ha hemos notado que funciona y que podemos resistir.

Creo que debe seguir adelante con su compromiso de estar consciente de lo que está haciendo el gobierno de los Estados Unidos como financiando el plan de guerra, el Plan Colombia. Prácticamente es una intervención extranjera en todos los asuntos internos, políticos, sociales, económicos, con la excusa de la guerra contra las drogas. Pienso que el pueble norteamericano debe ver más allá. Creo que los Estados Unidos está repartiendo la guerra por todas partes, no solamente en Colombia. Pero, sí, Colombia es uno de los países que recibe más ayuda militar y económica asesoría de los Estados Unidos. Entonces, el evento de que se puede suspender toda tipa de ayudas, pienso que los colombianos podemos encontrar una solución al conflicto que tenemos. Creemos que el conflicto que sea armado que tiene Colombia, el cual llega a cuarenta años se tiene que dar una solución política, una resolución política. Y que se tiene que ser el pueblo colombiano, el que tiene que llegar a esa solución política. En la media que los Estados Unidos tengan intereses de cualquier tipo, como a través de multinacionales, en todos recursos económicos o recursos naturales, y el control social en esto país. No va a servir. Los Estados Unidos nunca van a tener la autoridad para participar en ese proceso. Entonces, creo que nosotros colombianos tenemos que llegar allá a esa solución política.

#Interview #Colombia #Interviews #ColombiaActionNetwork #MiguelCifuente #ayudaMilitarEstadounidense #laAsociaciónDeCampesinosDelValleDelRíoCimitarra #Americas

These are statements from some of the many people who will protest against the Republican National Convention in St. Paul, MN on September 1-4, 2008.

Carlos Montes, Latinos Against War

I am marching on the RNC to unite with thousands of people who will be there to expose the Bush-McCain politics of war, racism and anti-immigrant attacks. I am marching to represent the Chicano-Mexicano people's struggle for self-determination and equality. Our struggle has a long history of resistance to U.S. oppression of our land, culture and economic and political power. We

as Chicanos stand in solidarity with the people of Iraq in their fight against U.S. occupation. The RNC agenda represents a pro-corporate anti-people politic. It is also an agenda that promotes the increased attacks and oppression against Chicanos and Mexicanos in our own homeland in the Southwest U.S. and other major cities.

Anh Pham, Anti War Committee, MN

When I first started protesting, it was amazing to me how much it mattered to other anti-war protesters; especially those who protested the U.S. war in Viet Nam War, to have me – a Vietnamese American woman join them. When I had the chance to go to Palestine after the start of the second intifada, I was deeply moved and inspired by the Palestinian people's struggle for the right of return and an end to the occupation. They saw their struggle as part of a whole movement against injustice worldwide. Drawing inspiration from them and others that I know are in the struggle with me, I march on the RNC to say no to the Republican agenda, no to racism and to any agenda that seeks to oppress the many to serve the needs of the few.

Steff Yorek, Freedom Road Socialist Organization

I am marching on the RNC to stop the war in Iraq and to defeat the Republican agenda. U.S imperialism is devastating the Iraqi people. John McCain is an advocate of war and occupation. A movement in this country to oppose the war and defeat McCain will help the Iraqi people free themselves. I am also marching to stop the devastation that capitalism is causing here at home. Homelessness and hunger are rising and New Orleans is still a disaster three years later. The rich care nothing about the people of this country and the Republicans are a big

part of that.

Hatem Abudayyeh

As a Palestinian Arab who was born and raised in this country, I have seen nothing but death, destruction and catastrophe for my people in Palestine, the rest of the Arab world and here in the U.S. Although these U.S. government policies have been consistent throughout both parties' administrations, this past era has possibly been the most devastating in generations for Palestinians and Arabs. So we must all march on the RNC, demand an end to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, demand self-determination, the Right of Return and liberation for the Palestinian people, and demand an end to all U.S. aid to Israeli occupation and colonization.

Larry Davis, Teamsters Local 743 Vice-President

There are a number of issues important to us – the Employee Free Choice Act, health care for everyone. The United States is a very rich country and everyone in America should have health care. Fair trade. Full equality for everyone – all workers in America should be treated fairly regardless to race, religion, sex, sexual orientation or where they were born. We believe in affirmative action. The next president needs to support affirmative action as well as enact an affirmative action program. End the war – the human cost and the cost to America's economy are far too great.

Juzel Sanders, Welfare Rights Committee

The Poor People's Contingent at the RNC march is very important because it's time that we let these beasts in office hear what America is really thinking. We are tired of being poor, hunger, stressed and dying because we're living off of they feel is 'fare.' We have a chance to make history in more ways than one.This is the time that we all have to stand together and fight. It's time for a change and only we can make that change, so let's stand and march for us. Make them understand that we need money for human needs, not for war!

Guillermo Rafael Cohen, Colombia Action Network

This past June, President Bush said he had to handle many disasters, referring to Hurricane Katrina, the housing and financial crisis and the oil crisis. Nevertheless, I say Bush and the Republicans have been a great disaster for Latin America, especially promoting Plan Colombia and war against the poor. In his support for the corrupt, narco-trafficking President of Colombia, Bush said, “President Uribe has done everything we asked for and more.” We do not want more of the same, so we are protesting the Republicans and McCain in Saint Paul.

Jacob Flom, member Iraq Veterans against the War, Milwaukee Wisconsin

I'm attending the mass protests of the RNC to join and support the majority of Americans who are opposed to the Republican agenda. As a veteran I experienced the costs of the ongoing occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan. I saw friends and co-workers die, commit suicide, receive debilitating injuries and suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), drug abuse, and alcoholism. The massive amount of suffering experienced by the Iraqis, soldiers and their families made me look deeper into the root causes for war. The occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan are not wars on terrorists, but occupations designed and executed to fill the pockets of American corporations.

Chapin Gray, SDS Tuscaloosa AL

Our chapter of Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), like many other chapters across the country, will be skipping classes to make the long trek to Saint Paul to face the Republicans head on. We're determined to show McCain that we refuse to be silenced by the increased repression we face from our own schools in this post 911 era and that we as students are a powerful force in the anti-war movement who will continue to fight to end the occupation of Iraq.

#StPaulMN #SaintPaulMN #AntiwarMovement #ImmigrantRights #PoorPeoplesMovements #StudentMovement #Labor #News #WelfareRightsCommittee #SDS #Palestine #Colombia #RepublicanNationalConvention2008 #AfricanAmerican #ChicanoLatino #AntiWarCommittee #IraqVeteransAgainstTheWar #ColombiaActionNetwork #LatinosAgainstWar #TeamstersLocal743 #FreedomRoadSocialistOrganization

Chicago, IL - A noisy crowd of protesters, with banners demanding, “No to war and occupation,” marched here, Mar. 19. Over 3000 gathered in Federal Plaza at 2:00 p.m. to hear speeches by Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney of Georgia and a marine that refused orders to go to Iraq, among others. They were marking the second anniversary of the invasion of Iraq.

For hours before the rally, a drama played out between the anti-war crowd and the Chicago Police Department. On the one hand, 1500 cops were deployed to stop a noon rally and march from occurring. On the other hand, over 1000 people stood up to this repression. Marches and confrontations took place over a number of hours. The largest showdown was on North Dearborn Street at noon. Hundreds took to the street, demanding the right to march, and refusing to accept a ‘protest spot’ where they were being forced.

Stand Up for Civil Liberties at Home

People first gathered at the intersection of Oak and Michigan, which has major symbolic importance for the anti-war movement in this city. On that spot, on Mar. 19, 2003, Mayor Daley ordered the Chicago Police Department to arrest over 800 people at an emergency response demonstration the night the war started. The arrests took place when the march, which had taken over Lake Shore Drive, tried to proceed down Michigan Avenue, the main commercial area in town.

This act was followed by two years of overwhelming police numbers at major anti-war events, continuing the city’s efforts to intimidate and discourage protest. For their part, the anti-war movement has continued to insist it has the right to resist this imperialist war, including the right to complete the march route we were on that night in March 2003. However, the city has refused the coalition’s repeated requests to go down Michigan Avenue. This year, the coalition went to court in an effort to compel the city to grant a permit. When the judge took the city’s side, the stage was set.

This year, the coalition succeeded in holding a press conference at Oak and Michigan. After that, two leading activists were arrested. The cops then tried to force the hundreds of people arriving at the location several blocks away to a protest area that they had chosen for us.

Powerful Resistance to War and Repression

Meanwhile, hundreds more anti-warriors were arriving in a feeder march that had been swelling for hours. Some had set out to march through a number of neighborhoods since 6 a.m. More gathered at several targets at 10:30. A Palestine solidarity feeder rallied at the Israeli consulate, anti-military recruitment activists had protested the “Army of One” recruitment campaign at the world headquarters of the Leo Burnett ad agency and others marched from the corporate offices of Boeing, one of the main suppliers of military aircraft to the U.S. military. The Colombia Action Network rallied on Michigan Avenue in front of the Colombian consulate, demanding an end to Plan Colombia and the Gay Liberation Network held a rally for gay marriage rights in front of the mansion of Cardinal George. Both of these contingents then joined the anti-war demonstration.

The feeders came together and then moved north, challenging hundreds of cops in riot gear and on horseback. The marchers refused to accept a route on a street with no traffic; then moved off the sidewalk and onto the street. The march was not successful in taking Michigan Avenue, but it did liberate the people trapped in the protest pit. After a lengthy standoff with the cops, the crowd, now totaling nearly 1000 people, turned and marched back into the Loop to the Federal Plaza rally.

Sussan Navabi, one of the tactical leaders of the march and an activist with Students for Social Justice at the University of Illinois at Chicago, summed up the success of the march. “This was powerful. We made a strong statement against the occupation and we stood up to the police.”

The March 19th Coalition used the fight with the city to help make the war a social question in Chicago. The good turnout, in spite of the massive harassment by the city, is an important advance for the anti-war movement. It’ll be important to keep the momentum gained from this second anniversary protest.

#ChicagoIL #Chicago #AntiwarMovement #News #Iraq #ColombiaActionNetwork #IraqWar #GayLiberationNetwork #MiddleEast

Chicago, IL – A noisy crowd of protesters, with banners demanding, “No to war and occupation,” marched here, Mar. 19.

Over 3000 gathered in Federal Plaza at 2:00 p.m. to hear speeches by Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney of Georgia and a marine that refused orders to go to Iraq, among others. They were marking the second anniversary of the invasion of Iraq.

Hundreds of anti-warriors arrived in a feeder march that had been swelling for hours. A Palestine solidarity feeder rallied at the Israeli consulate, anti-military recruitment activists had protested the “Army of One” recruitment campaign at the world headquarters of the Leo Burnett ad agency and others marched from the corporate offices of Boeing, one of the main suppliers of aircraft to the U.S. military. The Colombia Action Network rallied on Michigan Avenue in front of the Colombian consulate, demanding an end to Plan Colombia and the Gay Liberation Network held a rally for gay marriage rights in front of the mansion of Cardinal George. Both of these contingents then joined the anti-war demonstration.

Sussan Navabi, one of the tactical leaders of the march and an activist with Students for Social Justice at the University of Illinois at Chicago, summed up the success of the march: “This was powerful. We made a strong statement against the occupation and we stood up to the police.”

#ChicagoIL #AntiwarMovement #News #Iraq #ColombiaActionNetwork #March202005 #StudentsForSocialJustice #MiddleEast