Another reason to oppose the Colombia Free Trade Agreement
This coming weekend, communities across North America will participate in the annual "Days of Prayer and Action for Colombia." It is an opportunity to show solidarity with the Colombian people, who continue to endure war, violence, displacement, and political unrest. Indeed, another massive scandal struck the Colombian government this week, as President Álvaro Uribe's cousin and confidant, Mario Uribe, was accused by prosecutors in that country of ties to right-wing paramilitary death squads.
This revelation — which builds on increasing numbers of reports in recent months of ties between members of the Colombian political and military leadership with those paramilitaries (some of which have emerged as a result, in part, of research and analysis by FOR's Colombia program) — comes at a terrible time for Uribe's government. Colombia is rarely in the U.S. media headlines, but gained unwelcome attention in recent weeks due to the U.S. presidential campaign's focus on the Bush administration trying to win Congressional approval of a free trade agreement with Colombia.
As an article in Reuters this Wednesday noted:
"Colombian President Álvaro Uribe enjoys high popularity ratings, but a widening scandal over lawmaker ties to paramilitaries has the Washington ally on the defensive as he seeks to salvage a U.S. free trade deal.
"Prosecutors on Tuesday arrested Mario Uribe, the president's cousin and political confidant, the latest capture in the scandal which has investigators probing more than 60 lawmakers for suspected links to paramilitary death squads.
"His arrest draws the scandal closer to the presidency, fuels doubts over the parliament's credibility and has sparked a debate about reforms in a country where armed gangs and drug lords have long sought to influence politics."
Please join FOR this weekend in praying for peace in Colombia, and then act on Monday for a just U.S. foreign policy with that country. It's not too late to participate in the Days of Prayer & Action, and to call on your members of Congress to oppose the Colombian Free Trade Agreement due to the human rights problems that trade unionists, human rights activists, and other members of civil society face in that country.
