| Breaking News--Hostages Freed | On July 2 the Colombian Army freed 15 hostages being held by the FARC, including three U.S. Defense Department contractors, a former presidential candidate and 11 members of the Colombian police and military. Read the latest news here. | | Action Alert: Tell Congress to Cut Military Aid to Colombia | | Let's continue our momentum. With abuses by the Colombian military on the rise, we need to cut military aid NOW. As you will recall, last year the Congress made many positive changes in U.S. policy towards Colombia - changes that couldn't have been made without committed activists like you picking up the phone, demanding your voice be heard. Now the foreign aid subcommittees in the House and Senate are set to work on legislation that includes military aid to Colombia in mid-July.  It's time to call your representative and senators and urge them to stand by Colombia's victims of violence by ending military aid. While overall killings may be down from their historic highs in Colombia, abuses committed by the U.S.-backed Colombian armed forces are actually on the rise. Colombian human rights groups documented 955 extrajudicial killings committed by the armed forces between July 2002 and June 2007, a 65% increase over the previous five year period. Our partners report 128 killings by the armed forces just in the first six months of 2007. Internal displacement is also once again on the rise in Colombia. CODHES, the primary institution tracking internal displacement, reports that 305,966 people were displaced last year, a 27% increase over 2006.  Call the Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121 today to be connected to your representative or senators. When you call, ask to speak to their foreign policy aide. Here is a sample call script: "I am a constituent calling to encourage Rep./Senator ____________ to ensure that this year's foreign aid bill stands by Colombia's victims of violence. Last year, the Congress moved U.S. policy in the right direction by reducing military aid. Now, with credible reports linking the Colombian military to extrajudicial killings of civilians, Congress must continue to cut aid to Colombia. Instead of fueling war, the U.S. should be supporting Colombia's victims of violence - small farmers trying to turn away from coca, refugees and the internally displaced, and Afro-Colombian and indigenous communities - in addition to the courageous efforts of human rights defenders. I urge you to share my concerns on U.S. aid to Colombia directly with the chair of the foreign operations subcommittee before the foreign aid bill goes to mark up." Please click here to make a donation to Witness for Peace today to support our Colombia work. After you speak to your congressional representatives, email Jess at jess@witnessforpeace.org to let us know what kind of a response you got. |
| | Peace Community Massacre Update--Colombian Military--and an SOA Graduate--Implicated | For members of the San Jose de Apartadó Peace Community and the national and international organizations that have accompanied the community for years it was no surprise that 100 members of the 17th Brigade and 50 paramilitary soldiers were on a joint patrol in the rural area of San Jose de Apartadó when they massacred three children and five adults on February 21, 2005. Nor was it surprising that Capitan Guillermo Armando Gordilla, at the time of massacre stationed at the 17th Brigade, revealed to the Human Rights wing of the Attorney Generals office that high level commanders, including the General of the 17th Brigade, were not only aware but "had been talking of the operation for some time".  Peace Community leader Luis Eduardo Guerra remembered. Community leaders have been making the same claim all along, and instead of taking the accusations seriously Colombian government officials, including President Uribe, had attributed the massacre to the FARC and accused community leaders of having connections to Marxist guerrillas. It wasn´t until May 12th, just days after Diego Fernando Murillo alias "Don Berna" admitted to the joint military and paramilitary operation, that Capitan Gordilla gave his testimony even though he had been detained in November of 2007 for alleged participation in the massacre. However, another wrench has been thrown into the already slow investigation. On May 14th "Don Berna" was suddenly extradited to the U.S. to face drug charges along with 13 other top paramilitary bosses. Since the extradition, Capitan Gordilla has decided not to talk. Just after the extradition Capitan Gordilla asked for an indefinite suspension of questioning. Many Human Rights NGOs see the surprise extradition as an effort to silence the paramilitary bosses that began to reveal bits and pieces of their sordid past and the connections between the AUC paramilitary structure and politicians and the Colombian armed forces. Capitan Gordilla not only implicated a number of lower level soldiers but also General Héctor Jaime Fandiño, then the commander of the 17th Brigade and a 1976 graduate of the School of the Americas with training in Small-Unit Infantry Tactics. General Fandiño's second in command and the commander of the Battalion accused of actively participating in the massacre were also named by Capitan Gordilla. Although the 17th Brigade has not directly received U.S. funding in the past years as a result of its atrocious human rights records, clearly U.S. training continues to result in grave human rights violations that can not be tolerated. Capitan Gordilla and "Don Berna's" testimonies are just the first steps to finally clarifying the truth behind the February 21st massacre and many other grave crimes against humanity that have been committed at the hands of a U.S.-funded military supported by an illegal paramilitary structure. It is of fundamental importance that the paramilitary bosses being tried in the U.S. on drug trafficking charges also face trial for the atrocities committed against Colombia's civilian population. For the members of the San Jose de Apartadó Peace Community and tens of thousands of other victims truth, justice and integral reparations-not just the incarceration of a few paramilitary bosses-is necessary to begin to reweave Colombia's torn social fabric. |
| | Thank you for your continued commitment to social justice. Sincerely, Witness for Peace Colombia Team | | | | DELEGATIONS TO COLOMBIA | | Travel with WFP to Colombia in 2008! Check out our delegation schedule! |  | | Donate NOW! |  | | |
