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 In the coming days, FOR hosts Mexican peace movement leader Olga Reyes, who has seen six members of her family killed in the last two-and-a-half years.
Olga’s visit is part of longer-term work to change the militarized drug policy of the United States in Mexico, cross-border gun trafficking, and/or solidarity support for addressing the human rights crisis in Mexico. Olga brings a powerful testimony of the human costs of the drug war, militarism, and gun trafficking, and of the growing movement to forge a different path in Mexico. The United States plays an important part.
Tour Schedule
San Francisco Bay Area - Nov. 4-6
Salem/Corvallis, Oregon - Nov. 7-9
Dallas/North Texas - Nov. 10-13
Tucson - Nov. 14-17
Riverside, CA - Nov. 17-19
Read more.
 By Charlotte Melly
There is an old woman in our village who is possibly the most affectionate person I have ever met. Her skin is soft and wrinkled. Her warmth is effortless and comforting. She strokes my arm as we sit for hours talking about everything and nothing. She has an age of Colombia’s history in her, has outlived five of her seven children and has a beautiful spark about her in spite of the horrors she has witnessed. From her house, she can see the back of ours and is always comforted when she sees our lights come on in the evening and knows we’re home. Read more.
 By John Lindsay-Poland
A new and long-awaited report on civilian killings by the Colombian military from 2002 to 2010 argues convincingly that the spike of state violence during those years grew directly from the policies of “Democratic Security” that attempted to militarize all Colombian society. The study was produced by a coalition of more than 200 Colombian human rights organizations and their counterparts in Europe and the U.S., which has painstakingly compiled records of 3,512 reported extrajudicial killings from 2002 to 2010, during the presidency of Álvaro Uribe. Read more.
 "We reject the U.S.-driven policy being adopted in some countries of involving the armed forces in matters of internal security under the pretext of “new threats.” The alleged threats range from narco-trafficking to social protests, public opposition to infrastructure megaprojects and to an agribusiness model of economic development. Internal security is the absolute sphere of the police, which should maintain control over such matters with strict respect for human rights. Neither the armed forces nor the police should be used by governments to suppress social protest." More than 30 organizations from throughout the hemisphere set an agenda for American defense ministers. Read more.
Delegation to Panama, February 8-17, 2013
 This delegation will visit the Canal area and learn about the Panama Canal treaties, signed by presidents Jimmy Carter and Omar Torrijos, obligating the United States to leave Panama in 1999.
The delegation will investigate the U.S. Army’s Tropic Regions Test Center, which is testing weapons, possibly even land mines, and probe into U.S. training and militarization of Panama’s police. It will also explore the long history of U.S. military intervention, from the 1903 Panamanian struggle for independence from Colombia, the 1904 Canal project acquisition, and the School of the Americas, established in Panama in 1946. We’ll also learn about the rise and fall of notorious CIA informant Manuel Noriega, who studied at the SOA, became Panama’s de facto ruler, was convicted of drug trafficking in Miami, and has now returned to Panama.
We will examine ongoing issues affecting the indigenous people, such as mining and hydro-electric dams. In February an indigenous protest against mining and hydroelectric dams resulted in police violence, imprisonment, and at least two deaths.
Sponsored by the Marin Task Force on the Americas, and co-led by Diane Dunn, director of FOR affiliate Collective Voices for Peace. The $1,150 fee includes in-country travel, translation, hotels, and two meals/day. It does not include travel costs to and from Panama. For more information and an application, contact Dale Sorensen, geodale1@ earthlink.net or 415/924-3227.
P.S.: We hope you and your family are safe from the impact of Hurricane Sandy. FOR's Nyack, New York headquarters has been without power and phone service since Monday morning, and we are informed this could last two more weeks.
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