Dear Friends, here is your Colombia Peace Update for the month.

Contents

• Clinton stands by as president rails against justice
• Dreams of Youth Can't be Camouflaged: Objector Week in Medellín
  
• Presidential Elections Go to Second Round this Sunday
  
• Agribusiness Behind Forced Displacement
  
• Colombian Army in Afghanistan: No Bases Coalition Speaks
  
• Last Chance to Apply for Military Bases Delegation
• Women's and People's Summit Against Militarization

Colombia's President Rails against Justice, Clinton Stands By

Colombia's outgoing President has launched an assault against his country's courts for taking some initial steps to bring high-ranking military and government officials to justice for their role in murder, illegal wiretapping, disappearances and torture. This is no abstract political debate. When the President takes to the airwaves to denounce those working for justice, the judges, lawyers, witnesses and victims' families know that death threats, and sometimes murder, often follow. The threats and attacks usually appear to be from paramilitary groups. Colombia's Supreme Court made a call for help: "We make an appeal to the international community to accompany and show solidarity with the Colombian judicial system which is being assaulted for carrying out its duties."

These tirades come just as Hillary Clinton makes her first trip to Colombia, announcing in a June 9th joint press conference with President Uribe that, "The United States has been proud to stand with Colombia and we will continue to stand with you in the future." The Secretary sought to assure the Colombian government that U.S. military assistance would flow, and that the Obama Administration supported a trade agreement, seeming to signal that concerns about human rights and labor rights came from the Congress rather than the White House. "The security threats have not completely been eliminated and therefore the United States will continue to support the Colombian military, the Colombian people and their government in their ongoing struggle," Clinton said. "There is no resting until the job is done."

On June 10, President Uribe went on national television surrounded by the military's high command to denounce the justice system for a verdict against Colonel Luis Alfonso Plazas Vega for the disappearance of 11 people in 1985 following the army's storming of the Palace of Justice. The M-19 guerrillas had seized the Palace, taking hostages and demanding to put the President on trial. In the army's no-holds barred retaking of the Palace, more than 100 people were killed, including the guerrillas and 11 of the 24 Supreme Court justices. The colonel's conviction, however, was not for the methods used when the army retook the palace. Instead, it was for the disappearance of 11 people, mainly cafeteria workers, who left the Palace alive and then disappeared, "allegedly tortured and killed because they witnessed heavy-handed tactics by the army as it stormed the building."

Uribe blasted the verdict part of a "panorama of judicial insecurity which conspires against the maintenance of public order in Colombia." But to the families of the disappeared cafeteria workers, justice is finally at hand. "With this groundbreaking ruling the victims' families, who for almost a quarter of a century have campaigned for justice, have begun to break the silence that has for so long protected those responsible," said Marcelo Pollack, Colombia researcher at Amnesty International.

On June 1, President Uribe attacked the Attorney General's office for investigating his ex-director of the Special Administrative Unit for Financial Information and Analysis (UIAF), who was allegedly implicated in the DAS scandal regarding the illegal wiretapping of judges, human rights defenders, and journalists. He labeled the ex-director "an innocent, good man who has only served the country."

A few days later, Uribe blasted the Attorney General's office and lawyers for bringing General Freddy Padilla de León in for questioning. Padilla was summoned to testify regarding the system of armed forces' incentives which are believed to have driven soldiers to commit abuses in order to up their body counts.  "I raise my voice against the accusations against General Padilla de León. They are useful and useless idiots of terrorism who don't do anything more than make false accusations…. Terrorism now wants to win via ink-stained wretches who want to stop the advances of democratic security." Uribe called for new legislation to protect the military's high command from accusations regarding the conduct of their troops.

Clinton's one-day trip included a much-commented visit to a Bogotá restaurant, which was used to demonstrate that the country's improved security situation now permitted her to have a "wonderful meal" in safety. 

The Dreams of Youth Can't be Camouflaged:

Conscientious Objector Week in Medellin

By Rachel Dickson

May 15th was International Conscientious Objector's Day

Felipe Cordero, Jon Patberg, and Matt Johnson cooperate in the FOR Colombia volunteer training to turn over a small blanket they're standing on, as part of the June 3-8 program. And they succeeded! Photo: Shauen Pearce

For 25 years, May 15 has been celebrated as International Conscientious Objectors' Day, a tradition of struggle led by anti-war and pacifist groups. Conscientious

objectors stand up for human rights and dignity, democratic rights, and international law. Widespread public support and pressure can help protect these courageous individuals from feelings of isolation and from repression of them and their rights. That's why the Youth Network of Medellín is looking for international support to organize actions at Colombian Embassies and Consulates throughout the world, to draw attention to the problem of forced recruitment in Colombia, and the specific impacts on youth. Read more about the call to action below.

The Youth Network of Medellín (Red Juvenil de Medellín) has been actively dreaming, looking for, and creating peace and social justice for 20 years, and this year on May 15 was no exception. In the name of Conscientious Objector's Day, the Red Juvenil launched a campaign "For a dignified life and the demilitarization of our bodies and lands," whose objective is to encourage disobedience as a means to transform youth confronted with a militaristic and patriarchal culture.

During the week in the name of the campaign, the Red Juvenil staged a collective direct action in the streets of Medellín, put on a play about the U.S. military bases in the University of Antioquia, and held a forum for the release of a 2009 study called "The Dreams of Youth Can't Be Camouflaged," about the increasingly violent and dangerous realities of city life for Colombian youth.

The report, released in a forum at the University of San Buenaventura on May 14, focused on abstract as well as pragmatic aspects of the reality of youth in Medellín. "The cement hides the poverty but does not make it disappear. Militarization controls the inconformity," said Alejandra, a four-year member of the Red Juvenil. "We talk of all time at the same time, because we recognize as reality the downtown city known by tourists, as well as the city overwhelmed by bullets and hunger. In Medellín, it's as real the asphalt and bright lights of Christmas (a dazzling display of lights sponsored by the government that features over 14.5 million light bulbs and has earned the city quite some fame), as the darkness reminiscent of the 14^th century that 60,000 families live today, disconnected from electricity," said Jhony, a University of Antioquia student and 5-year member of the Red Juvenil.

The presenters went on to scoff at the education projects offered by Medellín, which has publicized greatly its significant social investment, but that according to these students, has provoked few tangible results. Infrastructure is not a guarantee of the quality of education, they claimed. Furthermore, the said, schools teach students so that they graduate quickly, and get jobs to keep the economy going; they are not taught to think. The harsh realities become dire necessity for many teens, and for many in Medellín neighborhoods, joining an armed group represents the most viable means of survival. The armed groups use youth, specifically for "errands," or murders, taking advantage of the cheap labor and greater levels of immunity from prosecution for minors that commit crimes, one speaker exclaimed. The state's Democratic Security policy has naturalized force - one has to relate to the war in order to come out ahead, said another speaker at the forum.

The relentless violence encouraged by the Democratic Security policy means the Colombian military has a high need for bodies - recruitment, including forced recruitment, is a necessity. Several members denounced the practice of batidas, in which soldiers drive around in a truck without license plates, picking up young men who do not have their obligatory papers, trucking them off directly to the barracks to begin their military service. The commander of the Army's 4^th Brigade, Alberto Mejía Ferrero, has condemned the practice of batidas as prohibited, but he admitted it continues to happen when recruiters have trouble meeting their quotas.

Young men are not the only victims, as women face especially brutal persecution. Women are utilized and seduced for their services, explained Alejandra. She said that not only are they exploited sexually from a young age by virtually all of the armed groups, they are frequently forced to transport drugs and weapons, taking advantage of the machista and militarized culture that rarely requires women to be searched.

Read the rest of Rachel's account of the forum here.

In the context of the Red Juvenil's campaign, "For a Dignified Life and the Demilitarization of our Bodies and Lands," they are inviting internationals from all over the world (in particular U.S. residents, since U.S. foreign policy has a direct and distinct impact on Colombia) to organize direct actions at Colombian Embassies and Consulates, to draw attention to the problem of forced recruitment of youth.

The idea is that individuals and collectives come up with an action proposal and contact the Red Juvenil to get support and relevant information and texts to help plan the action. Specifically, they want to encourage direct action in the month of July (the month of Colombian independence), and the month of October (the month of Race Day in Colombia, or Columbus Day in the U.S. Actions can be big or small: staging a clown protest of 3 people or 300, writing a letter, calling the Embassy, calling your representatives, performing a play, making a mural. Contact the Red Juvenil using this page. Or contact the FOR team in Bogotá for support: bogota@forcolombia.org.

Photos courtesy of Sacha Klein.

Presidential Elections go to Second Round

By Peter Cousins

Mockus himself has said that the surveys failed to sufficiently take into account the rural vote, with campesinos (peasant farmers) largely ignored. Indeed, he went as far as to declare that polls brought his campaign false hopes. The extent to which corruption was also a factor is not easy to gauge, but one source has recorded over 500 incidences of unfair play across the countr

The Catholic Church limited itself to generalities about support for human dignity and human rights, which contrasts with the position taken by the World Council of Churches in February, when they reaffirmed their call for a negotiated end to the conflict.

In any case, Santos goes into the next round as a clear favorite, with it all to lose. Critical in this second phase are the positions taken by the remaining candidates. With Liberal candidate Rafael Pardo leaving the choice up to his followers, most legislators in his party are backing Santos. The Alternative Democratic Pole have called for voters to abstain, because Mockus refused to support what the Pole considered five essential political points. 

Mockus has applied his brand of political clean-up to the conflict with the FARC, saying that the armed conflict must be won within the limits of the Constitution, which is nevertheless different from declaring that he seeks negotiations and an humanitarian accord. Indeed, in order to maintain his credentials in the field of security, he even suggested that the FARC would be better off negotiating with Uribe now. But Santos, whose 'U' Party promises to keep in place President Uribe's Democratic Security policy (with all the associated costs in terms of human rights abuses), is likely to receive the backing of the uribista-inclined Conservative and Radical Change parties. The raw fact is that Santos would only need an additional 3% on top of the votes which he won in the first round, to take the Presidency.

What do these results tell us about the political barometer of Colombia? Despite his apparent hard line regarding the armed conflict, the supposed 'green wave' could be read as an expression of support for cleaner politics, in the light of the 'false positives' and illegal wiretapping of a wide sector of society by the secret services, known as the 'chuzadas'. That is to say, Colombians were looking for both continuity and change. The final results suggest that they sought less in the way of change and more continuity.

Agribusiness behind Forced Displacement

By Susana Pimiento 

On May 18, a human rights prosecutor ordered the arrest of twenty-two oil palm businessmen. The businessmen are accused of colluding with paramilitary death squads for promoting the forced displacement of Afro-Colombian communities of lower Atrato River, in the province of Choco. A total of 23 oil palm companies are being investigated and more arrests are expected.

Raul Jazbun, an agro-businessman also investigated for links with death squads and a key witness in the Chiquita case, told prosecutors in a separate investigation, that that once soil studies showed that the lower Atrato River area was ideal for oil palm cultivation, agribusiness companies such as Urapalma were organized. And then the horror campaign began, that included several massacres, assassination of community leaders and massive military operations. Those companies were subsequently granted extensive government subsidies.

Over the last decade, the Atrato River Afro-Colombian communities have been waging an impressive non-violent struggle to recover their lands and evict the invaders, accompanied by organizations such as Justicia y Paz and Peace Brigades International and supported by prominent human rights defenders. They have been trying to enforce their collective rights as Afro-Colombian to their ancestral land, granted by the Colombian constitution. On May 11, the Colombian Constitutional Court had halted a government move to give title to a community council because it became evident that the council did not represent the community and was instead a mechanism used by the oil palm companies to keep their crops.

The recent decisions by the Human Rights prosecutors and the Constitutional Court constitute an important first step towards justice, truth and reparation for the Afro-Colombian communities. A lot remains to be done, including making the 17^th Brigade commanders accountable for the key role they played in many of those horrific acts.

Colombian Army Shouldn't be Used to Attack Other Nations

Colombia No Bases Coalition

In a shameful attitude for the Colombian people that further isolates us from the world's democratic nations, the Colombian government on March 26 decided to send a new contingent of soldiers to support the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan. There is no conflict between the Colombian and Afghan people to justify the sending of these troops.

Obsequious to United States expansionist interests to the very last day, the Uribe government's actions in support of war and human rights violations have led our country to be seen as a threat to the stability of the region and a systematic enemy of global democratic processes.

The Colombia No Bases Coalition rejects military interference in any country of the world, and we demand of the government the immediate withdrawal of Colombian troops from Afghanistan, as well as the expulsion of the United States military presence in our territory.

Bogotá, May 31, 2010

Military Bases Delegation to Colombia

What role do the bases play in upholding free trade orthodoxy and advancing the counterinsurgency, anti-narcotics program known as Plan Colombia? How does the increasing militarization of Colombia affect grassroots politics?

JOIN US AS WE EXPLORE THESE ISSUES IN COLOMBIA. ON THIS DELEGATION, WE WILL:

• Visit several U.S. military bases
• Talk with Colombians who live and work near the bases
• Meet with human rights, labor, peasant, and community groups
• Meet with U.S. and Colombian government and military personnel

DELEGATION LEADERS: The delegation will be led by Susana Pimiento Chamorro and by Lesley Gill (Ph.D. 1984, Columbia); Vanderbilt U., Department Chair, Anthropology. Lesley's research in Latin America focuses on political violence, human rights, global economic restructuring, the state, and transformations in class, gender, and ethnic relations. Her books include The School of the Americas: Military Training and Political Violence (Duke, 2004). Susana Pimientois a Colombian-American attorney who co-directs Fellowship of Reconciliation's Task Force of Latin America and the Caribbean. Based in Bogotá, she has undertaken research on military bases and played a very active role in the formation of the Colombia No Bases Coalition.

CONTACTS: Lesley Gill 615-322-2851, Lesley.gill@att.net

Ken Crowley 202-423-3402, ken@witnessforpeace.org

COST: Full Delegation Cost $1,225

FOR is collaborating with Witness for Peace (WFP) the sponsor of this delegation. WFP is a politically independent, nationwide grassroots organization of people committed to nonviolence.

Women and People's Summit of the Americas against Militarization

Colombia: August 16 - 23, 2010

"Silence the weapon so that women and the people
may speak in defense of life and sovereignty."

We call on our colleagues, women and men, to join in solidarity with our common struggle for a negotiated political solution to the social and armed conflict that lives in our country. Together, we raise our voices against The United States' military bases in Colombia and in our America.

The Summit is designed to have three moments:
First moment: Solidarity and Resistance Action to the regions of Colombia (August 16-20, various locations)
Second Moment: Round Table Discussions (August 21 - 22, Barrancabermeja)
Third Stage: Vigil for life. (August 23, Puerto Salgar)

"As Women, we construct loving relations with Mother Earth
and affirm the sovereignty of our people.

For further information or to confirm your participation, write to: encuentrodelasamericas@gmail.com
The Women's Social Movement against War and for Peace