The Colombia Action Network, coordinating with the Comite por la Nueva Colombia and the International Action Center, called for emergency demonstrations against U.S. war in Colombia in late February. Protest slogans included, “Stop bombing Colombia's Zone for Dialogue!”; “Protest President Pastrana breaking off peace talks!” and “Stop Plan Colombia!” Protesters in Chicago, New York, San Francisco, Minneapolis, Portland, and on various college campuses rallied at Colombian consulates and at federal buildings to get their anti-war message heard.
San Salvador, El Salvador – Participants from over twenty countries met here for the International Gathering in Solidarity and for Peace in Colombia and Latin America, July 20-22. People from across Latin America, Europe, Canada and the United States came together for three days, giving their solidarity to the popular movement and rebel forces of Colombia. Speakers included revolutionary leaders, union activists, indigenous activists, academics, and leftist politicians.
On Sept. 29, an important demonstration will take place in Washington D.C. In conjunction with the protests surrounding the meeting of the International Monetary Fund, thousands will raise their voices against U.S. intervention in Latin America and the Caribbean. What follows is a reprint of the call to the protest. We urge the readers of Fight Back! to build for, and attend the demonstration.
Washington, D.C. – Jessica Sundin, of the Colombia Action Network, spoke at the Sept. 29 protest, “There are over 100 of us here from Minnesota, and we are the face of the anti-war movement. With us, we have Palestinians, Afghanis, Latinos and African Americans, and we are led by students. We've got to unite to fight against this war and end the racism here at home. The Colombia Action Network has been fighting for years to oppose the U.S. military aid to and involvement in a brutal regime in Colombia. It is one of the many crimes around the world for which the U.S. bears responsibility. Every year, thousands die in Colombia by U.S. paid-for weapons. In Palestine, hundreds of thousands are plowed down by U.S. paid-for tanks and machine guns. In Iraq every month 5,000 people die. This is the case around the world. While we grieve the loss of people in New York and D.C., we refuse to forget the deaths of our brothers and sisters around the world. From Colombia Action Network, we ask you to join us in saying, for Colombia, Afghanistan, and the Middle East, we demand justice, we demand peace!”
Stratford, CT – Shortly before dawn, Feb. 12, 100 protesters came together here at the gates of the Sikorsky Aircraft factory to protest the manufacture and sale of Blackhawk helicopters to Colombia. 25 demonstrators risked arrest and blocked the gate, trying to prevent employees from entering or exiting the plant, thus slowing down or halting production. No arrests took place.
Chicago, IL – Around one hundred people gathered in Chicago April 7 and 8, for a historic meeting of Colombia solidarity activists from across the U.S. The Colombia Action Network (C.A.N.) is the first national network to bring together a true diversity of people to oppose U.S. intervention in Colombia and to support the self-determination of Colombian people struggling for peace with social and economic justice.
The Colombian people are fighting for liberation against a government that only serves the interests of the rich. The South American country has been involved in this civil war for decades, but, until recently, it has gone on unnoticed by the American public. In summer 2000, the U.S. Congress approved a $1.3 billion aid package, part of Colombian President Andres Pastrana's “Plan Colombia.” Its purpose is to fight the civil war in the name of a war on drugs. This aid will send military weapons and equipment, as well as U.S. Army personnel, to train Colombian soldiers.
Columbus, GA – “Shut Down the S.O.A.! Shut Down the S.O.A.!” rings in the ears of everyone the 12,000-plus protesters, students, faith activists, and also the sales clerks, waitresses, workers, U.S. and Latin American soldiers at the School of the Americas, Fort Benning, in Columbus, Georgia, Nov. 17-19. Far away in Colombia the leaders of trade unions, student organizations, peasant associations, and human rights groups also think quietly about and discuss, in out-of-the-way places, the need to shut down the S.O.A.
Jessica Sundin, of the Colombia Action Network, led a small delegation of three North American activists to Bogatá in July 2000, to attend a conference responding to U.S. military aid. The delegation also traveled to the area in Southern Colombia controlled by the guerrillas of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia – People's Army (FARC-EP). Fight Back! interviewed Jessica about what she saw there.
