February 2011 Colombia Peace Update
Take a Step……to walk the roads of memory in ColombiaThe National Movement of Victims of State Violence in Colombia (Movimiento Nacional Colombian Senator Demands Explanationfor Pentagon’s Military Base Construction in ColombiaLast month, FOR revealed that the Pentagon has signed contracts for construction of an “Advanced Operations Base” in Colombia, despite a Constitutional Court ruling that the U.S.-Colombia base agreement is non-existent. Colombian Senator Robledo responded by demanding information from Colombia’s Defense Minister. El Espectador, February 17, 2011 In July 2009 an agreement that would allow U.S. soldiers to operate from seven bases in Colombia - as a strategy to fight drug trafficking and terrorism - was about to be signed by the Colombian and U.S. governments. When details of the agreement were revealed, it was a Trojan Horse. Then-President Álvaro Uribe described it as “the most convenient thing for the country”; armed forces commander General Fredy Padilla had to send a conciliatory message to neighboring Venezuela and Ecuador, who saw the agreement as a threat, and opposition sectors spoke of “violations of sovereignty.” Uribe even had to give explanations to the Union of South American Nations during a special meeting in August 2009. A year later, the Constitutional Court gave the final word by declaring the agreement illegal. The opinion, written by Justice Jorge Iván Palacio and supported by the majority of the court’s members, established that the document was not an agreement but a treaty that had to pass through the Congress. The decision took effect immediately, and the legislature was ordered to consider legislation for a treaty that, if approved, would allow the use of national military bases by U.S. soldiers. He says that the U.S. army signed agreements for nearly $5 million to construct facilities on Colombian bases in Tolemaida, Larandia, and Málaga Bay. In addition, there is an agreement signed September 30 by the Defense Department with the HCS Group, to provide services for an “advanced operations base center of the Special Operations Command South, in Tolemaida.” According to Robledo, the aim of these contracts is the same as the treaty overturned by the Court.
In response, the Defense Minister stated that, effectively, the U.S. government has financed with aid the construction of facilities and infrastructure on Colombian bases, with the purpose of strengthening the national military’s capacity, that in no case implies that U.S. soldiers may carry out operations on the facilities. “The United States Armed Forces are developing work of advising and training the Colombian military, in compliance with the agreement regarding an Army mission, a Naval mission, and Air mission of the United States Armed Forces in Colombia of 1974,” he explained from his office. In any case, questions and responses announce a debate. For former Constitutional Court magistrate Alfredo Beltrán Sierra, the building of infrastructure by a foreign government constitutes “a clear violation of national sovereignty,” more so when these are military structures. “Remember that the government already tried to justify the establishment of U.S. troops with a disguised agreement that the Court finally overturned.” Beltrán explained that the only way to allow this work to be carried out by foreign governments is by an international treaty that must comply with all the requirements of the law. “If this is really occurring, it is a flagrant violation of sovereignty and the president, as the chief executive, must come out to respond and give an explanation,” he concluded. Between Hope and FemicideBy Victor M. Quintana Seventy-two hours has been enough to show the two faces of reality in Ciudad Juárez, the state of Chihuahua, and all of Mexico. On Saturday and Sunday January 29 and 30, a pluralistic, committed, nonviolent and deeply active and reflective citizen participation marked the first Event for Justice, which has its epicenter in this border, with parallel mobilizations in Chihuahua and Mexico City. Victor M. Quintana is a Legislative Deputy in the State of Chihuahua. Translation by FOR. “Consolidation of What?”Colombia’s Displacement Crisis Keep Burning“Approximately 280,041 people (about 56,000 homes) were displaced in Colombia in 2010 as a result of the armed conflict or other manifestations of social and political violence,” the Consultancy for Human Rights and Displacement, CODHES, the principal non-governmental organization monitoring forced displacement in Colombia, reported in February. Referring to the Colombian government’s policy of “Democratic Consolidation,” CODHES called its report, “Consolidation of What?” “The most notable fact is that 32.7% of this population, at least 91,499 peple (18,300 homes) come from areas where the ‘national plan of territorial consolidation’ is developed, a flagship program of the government, conceived in 2007 ‘with the purpose of fulfilling the objectives of consolidation of the Democratic Security policy, maintain investor confidence and advance effective social policy.’” These zones, called Centers of Coordination and Integrated Attention (CCAI, for its Spanish acronym), are heavily supported by the United States, with both military and civilian assistance. The CCAIs have been criticized because they blur the lines between military and civilian roles, effectively militarizing development programs. “Of the 100 municipalities with the highest levels of forced displacement in Colombia last year, 44 were in CCAI zones, including six massive displacements that affected more than 2,684 people,” CODHES reported. “In 2010, in 62 of the 86 municipalities with CCAI zones, at least eight paramilitary groups contiued operating (between old paramilitaries, rearmed ones, and new structures), while the FARC [guerrillas] maintained or reactivated its presence in 30 [CCAI] municipalities and the ELN continued acting in another four,” CODHES says. Nineteen massacres occurred in the CCAI zones last year, they reported, with another 176 selective killings. “It is clear that violence is the primary cause of displacement, but it is also clear that, behind the armed actions and intimidation by armed groups against the population, and the inability of the State to protect it, powerful economic interests move through the territories that are the object of the consolidation policy.” |
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