Colombian High Court Throws Out U.S.-Colombia Military Bases Deal
Colombia’s Constitutional Court ruled invalid the agreement signed last October allowing the United States to use at least seven military bases in Colombia. In a ruling issued on Tuesday, the high court said the agreement is an international treaty, and must be approved by the Colombian Congress and its constitutionality reviewed by the court itself.
“The Obama and Uribe governments in Washington and Bogotá signed this military base agreement in defiance of Colombia’s constitutional requirements, riding roughshod over Colombian sovereignty,” said Susana Pimiento, action director of the Fellowship of Reconciliation (FOR), which last month organized a U.S. delegation to visit military bases identified in the agreement.
The agreement would permit U.S. troops and contractors based in Colombia to “confront common threats to peace, stability, freedom, and democracy.” According to Colombian government statements last year, the agreement would allow the Colombian military to increase military training of other nations’ militaries, despite more than 3,000 civilian killings reportedly committed by Colombian military troops.
The Colombian constitution prohibits stationing foreign troops in its territory, unless in passing, and then only after approval of its Congress. “The ruling by Colombia’s high court that this is an international treaty should compel the U.S. Senate to undertake a fundamental review of whatever treaty may be submitted to Colombia’s Congress. Senate treaty ratification and basic democracy require at least consideration of the treaty’s problems,” said Mark Johnson, FOR” executive director.
A report last month by FOR (http://forusa.org/colombia-report-2010) showed alarming ties between U.S. assistance to the Colombian army and extrajudicial killings in Colombia that have not been prosecuted.
Fellowship of Reconciliation
For Immediate Release
August 18, 2010
Media Contact: Susana Pimiento, FOR, 512-542-1796 (cell, in Texas, USA), spimiento@forusa.org
