June 2007 Peace Presence Update

Human Rights Computer Burglaries Continue — Call Your Congressional Representative Today to Support A New Appeal

The effectiveness of the Fellowship of Reconciliation (FOR) and other human rights and peace organizations in Colombia relies upon respect for our work — respect that a pattern of attacks shows is in grave peril. We wrote to you last month about the June 2 break-in of FOR's office in Bogotá and theft of two computers with sensitive information. Since then, unknown individuals have burglarized two other human rights and peace organizations and stolen computers with human rights records.

Now, the U.S. Congress has a chance to go on record calling for this to change. Until July 10, Rep. James Langevin of Rhode Island is circulating a letter seeking endorsements from all Representatives in Congress. The letter calls on Colombian President Álvaro Uribe to publicly reject these attacks and publicly express support for organizations and churches working to defend human rights, further peace, and provide accompaniment for victims.

Help mobilize Congress in response to this pattern of attacks. Please take a moment today to call your Representative, ask for the foreign policy aide, and urge that the Representative sign on to Rep. Langevin's Colombia letter. The number for the Congressional Switchboard is 202-224-3121. To read the letter's text, click here (pdf).

Offices interested in signing onto the letter should contact Kirtley Fisher in Rep. Langevin's office (please don't contact Rep. Langevin's office directly, but ask your Representative to do so). The deadline for signatures is July 10.

Background: On June 2, FOR was victim of what appears to be a politically motivated break-in of its offices in Bogotá, Colombia. On June 14, another break-in occurred in Bogotá: at the office of the Colombian Mennonite organization Justapaz. There, perpetrators stole two computers with sensitive information about sanctuary churches with which Justapaz works, while leaving laptops and other valuable items in view. The most recent break-in on June 21 was at Corporación Yira Castro, an organization of women attorneys who assist internally displaced Colombians, where assailants stole five CPU units, a laptop and two video cameras, all containing sensitive human rights information.

Along with similar assaults on civil society groups, human rights organizations, and ethnic minority communities in the past several weeks, this attack indicates worsening conditions for human rights activists and their defenders in Colombia. Ivan Cepeda, director of the National Movement for Victims of State Crimes, has been the target of libel and slander charges after he accused the mayor of San Onofre, Sucre department, of connection to paramilitary groups. On May 29, Afro-Colombian community leaders were physically assaulted in the city of Guapi, Cauca department, after participating in a meeting with representatives of the Colombian government in which the leaders expressed grave concerns about the lack of protection of Afro-Colombian human and territorial rights by local government officials. Last year, CODHES (Consultancy for Human Rights and Displacement) reported two thefts of information from its headquarters in Bogota, while two computers were stolen from the home of a lawyer from the Jose Alvear Restrepo Lawyers' Collective.

This environment of violence and intimidation for human rights groups threatens the integrity of the democratic institutions that Uribe's government portends to uphold. Uribe's predecessor, President Andrés Pastrana, issued Directive #7 in 2001, which prohibited government officials from obstructing the work of human rights groups or making false statements about them. The Uribe government has yet to issue such a directive, putting at risk the safety of human rights groups. Until his government does so, Colombia remains a more dangerous place for those working for a peaceful solution to the country's conflict.

Responses to date: Many of you made calls and wrote letters to Colombian officials in response to our appeal in the wake of the June 2 break-in, and you weren't alone. Seven Congressional Representatives wrote to President Uribe June 15 to urge a prompt and thorough investigation of the FOR break-in. "As strong supporters of Colombia's vibrant civil society," said the signers, who included Reps. Sam Farr of California and Eliot Engel of New York, "we are concerned about maintaining a safe environment for non-governmental organizations to flourish and strengthen Colombian democracy. We are gravely concerned by this recent attack on FOR and for the security of the Colombian groups that FOR accompanies."

On June 20, more than 30 leaders of religious and human rights organizations called on the acting U.S. ambassador to Colombia to take a clear and public position rejecting these crimes and expressing respect for groups and churches working for human rights and peace. After both burglaries, the letter noted, "investigators failed to retrieve physical evidence such as fingerprints which would have been a key building block in a case that could lead to the arrest and successful prosecution of the perpetrators."

But, as the continuing attacks on humanitarian groups show, the response to date has failed to stop this string of politically-motivated thefts of human rights files. It is critical that the Colombian Government hear from as many Members of Congress as possible about these attacks to show that the work of FOR, Justapaz, and other organizations, and especially the security of the Colombian communities, churches and organizations they work with are respected.

A Special Appeal: HELP FOR!
The wave of break-ins threatening the work of FOR and other groups in Colombia has entailed many days of work by our team in Colombia and the U.S, as we rally support for a full investigation and responses by officials in Washington and Bogotá. Your participation has meant a lot to all of us. Amid all of this, we still need to replace the two computers that were stolen, a contingency that we had not budgeted for. We also need to replace clothes of a field team member that were stolen in the break-in.

So we are asking those of you able to do so to make a special contribution, beyond what you might have already planned, to help us replace these computers and supplies. In short, we need to raise some $3,500, quickly, so that our team can continue to function, accompany the Peace Community of San José de Apartadó, Medellí Youth Network, Antioquia Peasant Association, and others, and contribute to the movement to demilitarize U.S. policy in Colombia.

You may send checks payable to "FOR" to 2017 Mission St. #200, San Francisco, CA 94110. Please write "computer appeal" in the memo. Let us know if you'd like to do this with a credit card. And many, many thanks for your support.

Legislative Update: Military Aid, SOA, FTAs

House Approves Partial Cut in Colombia Military Funding
The House of Representatives on June 22 approved a $156 million cut in aid to the Colombian military in the 2008 foreign aid bill. This is the legislation in which a majority of military and economic funding for Plan Colombia is laid out.

Since 2000, over 80% of U.S. aid to Colombia has gone to Colombia's security forces. The Bush administration's 2008 aid request would have continued that proportion, giving 76% of all aid through the State Department to Colombia's military and police. This year, the House Appropriations Committee, encouraged by NGOs in Washington and led by Rep. Nita Lowey (D-NY), shifted the proportion of aid to 55% military/police and 45% economic/social assistance. Taking into account the extra $150 million that goes to Colombian military aid out of the Defense Budget appropriations, the proportions become: military/police 65%, economic/social 35%). The Senate will consider its version of the legislation later this summer, and any differences will then be negotiated in a House-Senate conference committee, so the House action is not final.

The FOR advocates a complete cessation of U.S. military aid to Colombia. While the reduction in military aid in the Foreign Operations bill approved by the House is an improvement, it still means that $400-$450 million dollars of U.S. taxpayer funds will support and train the Colombian military. This is a military that continues to be linked to paramilitary death squads that are responsible for more than 60% of atrocities committed in the country. A recent State Department report reveals that just under half of U.S. military aid is paid to U.S. contractors.

School of the Americas closure defeated
As described in a recent FOR action alert, Representatives Jim McGovern and John Lewis introduced an amendment to cut funding for the School of the Americas, a military training facility at Fort Benning, Georgia, now known as the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation. Many soldiers implicated in torture and executions have been trained there, from Colombia as well as other Latin American countries. On June 21, Congress defeated this amendment by a margin of six votes. See SOA Watch for more information.

Free Trade Agreements
As we've discussed before, the U.S. is considering a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with Colombia that is problematic for multiple reasons. In our efforts to stop that agreement, FOR joined with San Francisco Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi, Global Exchange, and others on June 12th to support an SF Board of Supervisors resolution opposing Fast Track trade authorization and the four pending U.S. trade agreements (Colombia, Peru, Panama and South Korea). We will now use the momentum of this unanimously approved resolution to urge House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to come clean about her plans for the FTAs and to give the Bush administration "fast track" authority for such treaties, and appeal to her not to push for their passage.

See also the American Friends Service Committee's excellent Trade and War web site for detailed information.

Letter from the Field: The echo of a Si Dios Quiere (If God Wills)
By Mayra Moreno

[Mayra Moreno is serving on the Fellowship of Reconciliation's Peace Team in the Peace Community of San José de Apartadó.]

In these past months that I have been living in La Unión, I have once again come to hear the same expression that my parents and relatives would often use: "Si Dios Quiere." When I first heard it, I thought of it as being one of those culturally familiar expressions that I associate with being a Latina and having a Catholic background. However, one day I heard it at least six times from different people and it suddenly struck me that this expression must have more meaning here than what I initially gave it credit for. More so, I thought about the different setting and history of this place, as opposed to my own lifestyle and environment. Could it be that the statement had the exact same meaning despite such drastic differences in political planes and geographical locations? I then began to pay attention to when individuals were using it and realized that it is indiscriminately used for all sorts of plans and events such as visits, arrivals, departures, meal plans, work plans, celebrations, and any sort of anticipated activity. It seems that Si Dios Quiere always follows any stated plans.

If applied to a context where conflict is a fresh reality — a place where conflict can always interrupt a day unexpectedly — then Si Dios Quiere can mean something different. Although I believe that regardless of where you find yourself or what circumstances surround you, this expression has much to do with the juxtaposition of the present and the unknown. This unknown, however, can mean death, torture, threats, and illness, all which lie in the limitless spectrum of possible human experiences. In the end, the key question in understanding the implications behind a simple but meaningful Si Dios Quiere, might depend on who you are and where you live. When the adults say it here in the community, there is an underlining tone to it that whispers, "I don't own my future." As Mrs. Rinades* explained, "Nosotros no somos dueños de nuestras vidas, entonces no podemos asegurar cuando se puedan terminar (We do not own our lives, therefore, we can not determine when they will end)." Could this expression be used as a reminder and/or as an extension of their understanding that there are no guarantees of a tomorrow because they have seen that the larceny of time takes so much with it, including lives, plans, and tranquility? Even habitual events in the community, like harvesting cacao every morning, are expressed as "Si Dios Quiere mañana vamos a sacar un cacao." They could be referring to the possibility of uninvited visits from armed actors who not only change the course of the day just with their mere presence, but who by their mere presence automatically put the entire community in a very vulnerable position. Or, they could be referring to bad weather, waking up sick, having to go finish other work instead, or any other less negative reason that could impede them from going out and about.

I wonder if the habitual use of this expression is a reflection of the confusion that living in a conflict zone can create. People are presented with the challenge of making sense of why so many atrocities have taken place against them for reasons that fall outside of their own control. When armed forces and illegal armed groups want to claim territory/victory, they often times dichotomize the conflict reducing it to an Us vs. Them issue. This was called to mind during George W. Bush's post-911 address to Congress: "Either you are with us or with the terrorists." A third category — innocent civilians caught in the middle of the struggle — is nullified from the analysis. The individuals living in the middle of this highly contested Urabá region have endured so much for almost half a century and they continue in their struggle to make room for the space they claim as their homeland. Why are they subjected to such a violent experience that has not ceased to exist? How can there be an explanation that can convince people that all the massacres, the displacements, and the violence are logical? And above all, how can anyone conceive that there is something fundamentally reasonable and right that could justify all of this suffering?

And who is to answer such questions? In a country like Colombia, overcome by conflict, it seems that no one is free from being affected in some form or another. Armed struggles almost always include unnecessary deaths, forced recruitment, suffering, losses, corruption, propaganda, financial incentives for the perpetration of violence, violations of all sorts and across all scales, and a threat and lack of respect for individual autonomy. Individuals who end up taking an active role in the armed struggle do not cease to be human — someone's son/daughter, partner, or someone's relative — just because they pick up a weapon. They are the agents that are trapped in a world that continues to breed violence as a means to achieve a goal; a society where survival requires that you feed your hungry stomach with an ideology that you might not necessarily agree with and where laws force you to pick up a weapon if you are to be a patriotic citizen with access to your due rights. It is a society where violence constantly attacks and systematically eradicates "threatening" peace initiatives. It is another place in the world, where every time innocent blood is spilled, dignity evaporates, the value of a human life is destroyed, respect for others diminished, hate is magnified and violence weaves one more thread into the social fabric.

In the end, conflicts that use arms and violence as a means to declare victory and gain power and status tend to result in more victims than warriors. Those who are forced to kill anything that threatens their ideas are trained to identify each and every lethal enemy; all are condensed to the word victim — a word that can stretch to even include each and every one of us.

All in all, the unknown is still a powerful mystery that can forever fill our minds with dreams and hopes, with fears and worries, and with pride and honor. The gift of an imagination allows us to swim into the endless possibilities of an unknown next moment — of a tomorrow that arrives in the now. In our yesterdays we can find the moments that were experienced with or without a preceding Si Dios Quiere. I only hope that in seeing Colombia's yesterday, people here can imagine a better tomorrow and that the unknown becomes a promising and peaceful one.

Si Dios Quiere.

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June 2007 Peace Presence Update

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End U.S. Military Aid to Colombia

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