May 2008 Colombia Peace Update

In this newsletter, you will find:

• Letter from the Field: Anti-Military Concert
• Victory in Congress for Disclosure on Military Training
• Extradition of Paramilitary Leaders: Sending Away Hope for Justice and Truth
• Our Dreams Will Not Be Recruited: Oakland Youth Launch Manifesto and Make Global/Local Connections
• AMOR Burglarized: Women's Organization in Eastern Antioquia
• Santa Cruz Calling to End Military Aid to Colombia, More Funds for Drug Treatment

Letter from the Field: Anti-Military Concert
By Mayra Sofia Moreno

The RED Juvenil (Medellín Youth Network), one of FOR’s partner organizations, has been working for the past 17 years on grassroots non-violence peace initiatives to resist military recruitment, defend human rights and promote active conscientious objection.

On May 17, the RED put together the tenth anniversary Anti-Military Annual Concert in Medellin. The concert is one of their biggest events of the year and it has gained much popularity over time. “The Anti-Military Concert is well known today,” says Kike, “because now we get calls and emails from lots of people who are anxious to know the date of the event.”

Particular Inconveniences

The concert was scheduled to start at noon on Saturday and all the RED members were anxious to organize the stage in Parque Obrero, where the concert has taken place for the past nine years. With their red t-shirts stamped with the concert’s logo, RED members headed down to the park ready to unload the trucks with various instruments, equipment, sound systems, and tarps. It was 11 in the morning and the adrenaline to start the much-anticipated teamwork was on the edge of their fingers. The RED had an hour to organize and set up an entire stage, tarps, and vending stands. They knew that they needed to work on fast-mode as time was running short.

Nonetheless, there were other factors that delayed the beginning of the concert: another event was taking place in the same park. By ”˜event,’ I mean the whole nine yards: tarps, stage, tables, an emcee, lunch tables, cooks, and an audience. The park, a public space, was double-booked and the RED was told that the other event would not end until around 2 pm.

The Corporation’s event was organized to honor the demobilized paramilitaries’ mothers who have been displaced. Could this be more surreal? Let us re-examine the scenario: The RED, a group of young activists who resist taking part in any way in armed forms of resistance and are against the use of violence as a means to achieve social change has an Anti-Military Concert scheduled the same day as an organization that, according to a member of the RED, “has managed to legalize much of their politics with demobilized paramilitaries, which sheds light on the existing marginalized power that is still seen in the city.” On the one hand we have the RED and a group that represents the antithesis of the RED’s values, both hosting an event, both on opposite sides of a spectrum.

Then again, when I really think about it, this seems like a perfect example of the kind of situations that arise here in Colombia, where one day you hear that the president’s cousin is in jail for ties with paramilitaries, and another day you hear that the president reached a popularity rate as high as 85%.

After a couple of hours of tension, passive aggressive discussions, and high doses of patience, the RED and the Democracy Corporation reached consensus: The Red would start setting up their stage at 2pm and the Corporation would clear the park. Not surprisingly, what ended up happening is that the RED had to wait about three hours for technicians to dismantle the Corporation’s main stage that was blocking the RED’s. In other words, there was one huge stage set up in front of the other until around 6pm when technicians arrived and the audience was finally able to gather in front of the live band.

Music: Shared through messages of non-violence

Music and art are a common strategy used by the RED to get their message of non-violence and conscientious objection across in a way that attracts youth and society. In putting together their annual concert, RED members are exercising proactive ways that are innovative and effectively promote their views on social change and resistance. Art and music allow for the creation of spaces that are inclusive, and tend to be attractive because they are bold and loud. “We are all here [at the concert] because we believe in our right to be able to live in a society that does not promote the use of weapons and violence to achieve change, and that the military structures are not a solution to our social problems,” says the RED member over the microphone to an audience of about 5,000 people.

The music came from a diversity of bands that ranged from hip-hop, to reggae, to hard metal and ska. All the bands, however, sang about social change, conscientious objection and the need for society to evolve without militarism. “Having different music genres in one concert is innovative here in Medellin where there is a historical division between Rastas, punkers, and hip-hoppers in terms of identity and territory. What the RED has created is a space with tolerance for different taste and styles, that [is] inclusive as no group can claim boundaries or territories. In the end, the common ground here is our view that as youth we all reject violent forms of resistance that fall into militaristic approaches,” explains *Rudy from the RED.

RED members say that this year they had the largest audience ever. Throughout the night, two nurses under the first-aid tent were on alert, while the RED’s protective team circulated the periphery and maneuvered their bodies between the crowd, handling and mediating between individuals who were causing trouble. As a whole, the RED demonstrated their multi-talents and multi-tasking skills, as their emcees went from being on stage to selling drinks behind a stand, while others switched between being mediators to jugglers, and some traded drumsticks for walkie-talkies. The music, the crowd, and the event went on until 2:30 am.

Afterwards, as exhausted as they were, the RED collectively picked-up trash, filled the trucks with their equipment, and congratulated each other for their commitment and effort in putting together such an important event. “I am so tired can’t feel my feet,” said *Rita from the RED with a voice that was almost gone, “but we are proud that besides the fact that we had inconveniences and tensions in the beginning, we know that the Anti-Military Concert was once again a success”.

*Pseudonym

Victory in Congress for Disclosure on Military Training
Thanks to the efforts and hard work of many people in defense of human rights, the culture of secrecy and lack of accountability surrounding Defense Department policies suffered a blow May 22 when the U.S. House of Representatives approved the McGovern-Sestak-Bishop (GA) amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act for FY 2009. The amendment forces the public release of names, rank, country of origin, courses and dates of attendance of graduates and instructors at the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation (WHINSEC), formerly known as the School of the Americas. The amendment was approved by a vote of 220-189.

Shortly after the House action, Ecuador’s new defense minister, Javier Ponce, announced that Ecuador will not seek military training for its soldiers in the United States. “I am absolutely against continuing that kind of training,” he said. WHINSEC, especially, “has been a fundamental means to control the military policies of the region’s countries,” he added. Instead, Ecuador will seek military training through the newly-created South American Defense Council promoted by Brazil — without US participation.

The amendment requiring the release of WHINSEC graduate names now must be approved by the Senate to become law. School of the Americas Watch has set up a Post-Vote Action page for tips, on-line letters and contact information to contact Senate offices about the amendment.

In recent years, WHINSEC has denied information that in the past has been vital in identifying the perpetrators of massacres, assassinations, and other human rights abuses committed in Latin America. But WHINSEC is not the only institution that refuses to release the names of soldiers receiving military training from the United States. Randolph AFB in Texas, Naval Postgraduate Academy in California, Fort Rucker in Alabama train hundreds of Colombian soldiers and officers each year, but denied Freedom of Information Act requests by the Fellowship of Reconciliation for the names of Colombian officers and soldiers who received military training there. Other schools stated they had no records for the foreign soldiers trained at their institutions.

The access to information regarding students and instructors attending US military courses will allow human rights organizations to continue to monitor training programs and identify those graduates and instructors who have violated human rights or taken part in criminal activities in their home countries. For example, recent disclosures indicate that 200 Mexican security forces trained at Fort Benning in Georgia later joined drug trafficking syndicates that have committed killings on both sides of the US-Mexico border — using their training against the same forces the United States is supporting. Information is power, and the more information we have, the better tools we have for stopping US militarism in Latin America and the illegal and destructive abuses committed by unaccountable armed forces.

The approval of this amendment will now lead us to face a new challenge to insure that WHINSEC also be held accountable by the U.S. Senate. In the coming weeks we will continue to keep you updated so we can work together towards another victory.

Extradition of Paramilitary Leaders:
Sending Away Hope for Justice and Truth

May 13 brought promising news in the field of justice and accountability for human rights violations committed against the Peace Community of San José de Apartadó. Captain Guillermo Gordillo, the highest army official arrested so far in connection with the February 2005 massacre, seeking some leniency, had finally decided to cooperate with prosecutors, and confessed that the massacre was perpetrated in a joint operation by the 17th Brigade and right wing death squads under the command of paramilitary leader Don Berna.

He went further to say that his superiors were implicated in the massacre, and were aware of what was happening. According to the daily El Tiempo, Gordillo told human rights prosecutors that the military operation had been “planned long ago from above, with ranking commanders”.

The hearing was adjourned. The next day, May 14, Don Berna and 13 other paramilitary leaders who had demobilized in the framework of the so-called Justice and Peace Law were sent to the United States to face drug-related charges. With the extradition of paramilitary bosses went Gordillo’s willingness to confess: on May 15, Gordillo’s attorney requested that the hearing be suspended indefinitely, a move suggesting that his client’s willingness to cooperate with prosecutors had come to an end.

What is at stake
Gordillo’s confession to the brutal killing of Peace Community members brings the “para-politics” scandal to a new dimension. It reveals strong ties between the high-ranking officers of the Colombian armed forces and the paramilitary death squads. The ties go beyond the army’s passive tolerance of paramilitary activity — or its refusal to go after them—, and includes planning and carrying out brutal atrocities.

Such explosive revelations do not bode well for US and Colombian interests in approval of the US-Colombia Free Trade Agreement by the Democrat-controlled Congress. The paramilitary leaders are also key witnesses in the probes of politicians in the para-politics scandal that continue to get closer to President Álvaro Uribe. So the US and Colombian sudden apparent interest in punishing the paramilitary leaders for exporting cocaine into the United States doesn’t come as a surprise. In practice, the move makes drug charges trump justice and truth for thousands of victims.

Suspicious loss of information
Since the paramilitary leaders were shipped to the United States, it has been revealed that several hard drives, memory cards and cell phone SIM cards went missing inside the maximum security prison where the rightwing bosses were being held. Such gross negligence in the handling of potentially relevant information is ironic, in view of the laptop computers seized by the Colombian army at the FARC compound after it was bombed from the air in March.

Victims demand truth and reparation
The victims of paramilitary violence have not responded idly to this move. Relatives of the victims appealed to the courts to prevent paramilitary leader Carlos Mario Jimenez, alias Macaco, from being sent to the US to respond to drug charges. A political storm erupted April 11 when they were granted an injunction, though it a high tribunal later overturned it and the militia leader was promptly shipped to the US on May 6.

Human rights groups have also sharply criticized the extradition of paramilitary leaders. The Inter American Human Rights Commission warned that the extradition “interferes with efforts to determine links between agents of the State and these paramilitary leaders” and “impedes the investigation and prosecution of — grave crimes through the avenues established by the Justice and Peace Law.”

Fate of 2005 massacre investigation
Despite Gordillo’s change of heart in his cooperation with prosecutors, there seems to be ample evidence linking higher military officials in the massacre. For a start, a cover-up operation took place immediately after the massacre, which included reportedly coerced testimonies accusing the victims of being guerrilla members, as well as the Defense Minister’s assertions that no army troops were in the area in the days when the massacre occurred. There is also the testimony, according to a Reuters press report, of paramilitary soldier alias Pirulo indicating that the order to kill Alejandro Bolivar’s children, Natalia (6) and Santiago (1), had been issued by Capitan Gordillo, under the pretext that those children would grow up to become guerrillas. The same testimony indicated that Natalia walked to her death carrying a doll and a plastic bag with clothes for her brother, thinking that she was about to go into a journey. Let’s hope that full justice will be done.

Our Dreams Will Not Be Recruited
Oakland Youth Launch Manifesto and Make Global/Local Connections

Beats and words were laid down by Oakland youth on Friday, May 23, to the tune of “our dreams will not be recruited!” Through performance, poetry, hip hop and the newly launched Youth Manifesto, youth activists demanded that they will not be recruited by the military, that they will not be sent off to war and that they “should not have to kill in order to advance themselves!” Javier Reyes of Colored Ink., a hip hop theater group led an afternoon workshop attended by 40 Oakland high school students. The workshop engaged the participants to develop a creative presentation of their Youth Manifesto for the evening event and future actions or presentations.

During the evening event, youth and adults alike heard stories and saw photos from the recently returned FOR Youth Arts and Action delegation to Colombia. Two Bay Area delegates, Escenthio Marigny, an eighteen-year-old counter-recruitment activist and slam poet along with Sharon Lungo, the Ruckus Society coordinator of the Not Your Soldier campaign explained the context of what is going on in Colombia, the militarization of life that young people face there and how they are non-violently resisting.

They shared photos of the young Colombian conscientious objectors, workshops and food: a beautiful plate of Colombian food served to the delegates in juxtaposition with a huge pot of gloppy “American” food (what’s American food, we asked??). In this case it was good ole’ mac and cheese, which the Colombians insisted was delicious! “We weren’t convinced!” said Sharon. They showed a video of the creative action that members of the Red Juvenil did in front of a military base where a young man named Diego, who had been illegally recruited and declared himself a conscientious objector, was being held. (He was freed shortly afterward.) The video ended with Colombian youth jumping up and down and yelling, “La juventud no va, no va a la guerra!” (the youth won’t go, won’t go to war!).

Part of the evening was dedicated to launching the Youth Manifesto (see below), a declaration written by BAY-Peace’s youth action team that clearly explains what these youth Believe, Want and Demand. Supporters in the audience committed to gathering more than 2,000 signatures on the manifesto that will be brought to school board members. Hopefully this will create enough pressure to change practices in the Oakland school district, like limiting military recruiters’ access to students’ personal information and time. Those present also made commitments to find organizational endorsements.

Take Action! If you live in the Bay Area (or know someone who does), please sign a copy of the manifesto and send it to the BAY-Peace office. Also, if you know of any Bay Area organizations that would endorse this campaign, please download the organizational endorsement form and ask them to sign on.

BAY-Peace Youth Manifesto

AMOR Burglarized: Women’s Organization in Eastern Antioquia

The Women’s Association of Eastern Antioquia, better known as AMOR, work for women in 23 counties in the eastern part of Antioquia state. It began 14 years ago in the town of El Peñol, and gradually grew throughout the region. Women with a variety of experience work to train and advise women and defend their rights.

“AMOR’s work is aimed at strengthening and facilitating women’s organizations as protagonists in the country and the area, through training, participation, and networking with other groups,” a representative explained.

In April, AMOR joined the list of organizations that have been victims of information theft in Colombia. It occurred on the night of April 23 in the town of Marinilla, where AMOR’s office is located. According to a representative, on the morning of the 24th she found the office in horrendous disarray, with clear evidence that their files and materials had been manipulated and some of them stolen. “Everything was thrown around on the desks and the filing cabinets were open,” she said. Among the objects stolen was a CPU with its hard drive and files on cases, and a camera with photos from internal case information.

AMOR’s office is located within a building in a space shared with other groups. The office is just in front of the police station. Nevertheless, there are still no witnesses to the theft.

Thefts of information have been committed recently all throughout Colombia. Affected organizations include the Colombian Women for Peace Initiative Alliance, Permanent Assembly of Civil Society for Peace (APSCP), JustaPaz, the Yira Castro Legal Corporation, and the National Coalition of Displaced People (CND), and FOR.

Whose strategy are these robberies? Where is the greatest interest in obtaining certain information used by social organizations? Why are the thefts strategically concentrated in groups that work in the human rights field?

The national government has not evidenced a strong response to resolve the matter and put an end to the thefts. Last October 17, President Álvaro Uribe told the Inter-American Human Rights Court, “Here, every time the guerrillas and their [aulicos] feel they are going to be defeated, the resources they use is an appeal to human rights.” When will there be a public statement rejecting these thefts of information against social, religious and international organizations?

It is worth asking why the majority of investigations into these cases have gone nowhere. This week marks a year since FOR was burglarized, and then joined other organizations to present their cases to Colombian officials and collectively expressed their concern for the security of the thousands of people and groups that work with communities at risk. 36 US Congressional Representatives wrote expressing their concerns for the vulnerability of social organizations that have become targets for the theft of information. Nevertheless, the collective of information theft victims continues to await results from the investigations. With these cases still in their initial states of investigation and far from resolution, all appears to indicate that these cases are likely to continue in impunity.

Santa Cruz Calling to End Military Aid to Colombia, More Funds for Drug Treatment

On June 10, the Santa Cruz City Council will consider (and likely pass) a resolution requesting that all US military aid to Colombia be re-directed to domestic drug prevention and rehabilitation programs. This is the second of its kind to be passed in California this year — the Berkeley City Council approved a similar resolution on January 29. The resolution urges the mayor and Santa Cruz residents alike to mobilize around the issue: “BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Santa Cruz mayor publicize the City Council’s action and send a letter to mayors elsewhere in California encouraging them to take a similar stand on this issue—. and [that] local residents contact friends and family in other congressional districts to ask them to communicate on the above issues with their own Congressional representatives.”

The resolution also recognizes the leadership that Representative Sam Farr has taken to support human rights in Colombia, and urges him to support an end to all US military aid to Colombia. It notes that, “human rights violations and impunity enjoyed by the Colombian armed forces are comparable to those of Guatemalan and Indonesian forces in recent years and the United States suspended assistance to the Guatemalan and the Indonesian militaries because of human rights violations.”

While only the second resolution of its kind, it is exciting that the initiative be repeated in other city councils and that local politicians are willing to tackle US drug policy, which has remained largely unchallenged at the national level. While budgets for drug treatment programs in Santa Cruz were cut by 10% just last week, US taxpayers continue to fund the training of Colombian military officials who kill civilians, while presenting them as guerrillas killed in combat. It is no secret that the 25-year-old, $25 billion drug war is a complete failure. Yet members of Congress are still trying to appear “tough on drugs” by supporting strict sentencing measures for nonviolent drug offenders, funding for eradication and interdiction programs in Colombia and Mexico, while cutting prevention and rehabilitation programs, the only proven method to reduce drug demand.

For information and a tool kit on how to pass a resolution in your city, please contact FOR Colombia Program national organizer Liza Smith: liza[at]igc.org, 510-763-1403.