From: U.S./Colombia Coordinating Office
<agiffen@igc.org>
COLOMBIA INFOinBRIEF ALERT - UPDATED MARCH 17, 2000
Please Distribute and Post
FROM THE PEOPLE WHO BROUGHT YOU EL SALVADOR AND VIETNAM...
U.S. EYES REMAIN WIDE SHUT AS CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEE
VOTES YES FOR U.S. AID PACKAGE TO ABUSIVE ARMY
_____________________________________________________________
ACT NOW MARCH 17 - MARCH 23, 2000
FINAL HOUSE VOTE ON PACKAGE: As early as THURSDAY MARCH 23
SENATE COMMITTEE VOTE: As early as TUESDAY MARCH 21
_____________________________________________________________
The vote on the supplemental aid package, which includes the
$1.7 billion
for Colombia has been delayed in the House of Representatives.
The vote
may come as early as THURSDAY MARCH 23 or be pushed to the week
of March
27th, giving grassroots groups more time to ACT. The Senate
could vote on
the supplemental aid package for the first time on TUESDAY MARCH
21 in the
Appropriations Committee.
On Thursday, March 9, the Appropriations Committee of the House
of
Representatives passed the emergency supplemental aid package.
This
supplemental package includes $1.7 billion in aid for Colombia,
most of
which is destined for the Colombian military (widely recognized
as THE most
abusive army in the Western Hemisphere). The package includes
$400 million
more for Colombia than originally anticipated and confirms U.S.
policymakers' commitment to a disastrous approach to stemming
the drug
trade and ending the South American nation's brutal armed conflict.
If
approved by the entire House, this aid could make the United States
a major
actor in Colombia's counterinsurgency war.
This aid for Colombia's military was approved by the House
Appropriations
Committee without any significant human rights conditionality
or aid for
the 1.8 million people in Colombia who have been displaced by
the violence.
There is still time to make a difference in the House and Senate;
________________________________________________________
T I M E T O A C T
________________________________________________________
The supplemental package is moving quickly through Congress.
However,
grassroots efforts and recent reports linking Colombian military
and
paramilitary forces have initiated debate in Congress over sending
military
aid to Colombia.
Now is the time for grassroots groups working on Colombia to
affect the
supplemental package.
The supplemental could go to the floor of the House for a vote
as early as
MARCH 23.
The supplemental could go to the Senate Appropriations Committee
as early
as MARCH 21st.
_______________________________________________________
A C T I O N A C T I O N A C T I O N
_______________________________________________________
CALL YOUR MEMBERS OF CONGRESS (HOUSE AND SENATE) AND ASK THEM TO:
1) Oppose the portion of the supplemental aid package that
provides
military aid to Colombia
2) Support positive amendments to the supplemental package
in both the
House and the Senate that cut, shift or condition military assistance
to
Colombia. Amendments are likely to be offered that:
A. cut or shift funding from military assistance to positive
social
investments in Colombia
B. add or shift funds for military assistance to demand reduction,
education and treatment programs in the United States
C. put strong human rights conditions on military assistance.
3) SPEAK-OUT! The more members of Congress that speak out
during the
debates in the House or the Senate, the better. Please ask your
representative and senators to share their concerns over human
rights in
Colombia with the Congress during the vote.
***In the Senate, it is especially urgent to speak to your
senator if
he/she is on the Senate Appropriations Committee: Stevens (AK),
Cochran
(MS), Specter (PA), Domenici (NM), Bond (MO), Gorton (WA), McConnell
(KY),
Burns (MT), Shelby (AL), Gregg (NH), Bennett (UT), Campbell (CO),
Craig
(ID), Hutchison (TX), Kyl (AZ), Byrd (WV), Inouye (HI), Hollings
(SC),
Leahy (VT), Lautenberg (NJ), Harkin (IA), Mikulski, (MD), Reid
(NV), Kohl
(WI), Murray (WA), Dorgan (ND), Feinstein (CA), Durbin (IL).***
IN ADDITION;
**Thank the following representatives for doing the right thing
- either
voting no on the package, speaking out against it, or offering
positive
amendments -- during the House Appropriations Committee vote on
March 9.
Please note this is not a complete list.
David R. Obey, Wisconsin
Nancy Pelosi, California
Sam Farr, California
José E. Serrano, New York
John Edward Porter, Illinois
Randy "Duke" Cunningham, California
Jesse L. Jackson, Jr., Illinois
John W. Olver, Massachusetts
**Put pressure on the following representatives who were particularly
obstructive of positive amendments during the House Appropriations
Committee vote on March 9.
James P. Moran, Virginia
Sonny Callahan, Alabama
Jerry Lewis, California
C.W. Bill Young, Florida, Chairman
__________________________________________________
H O W T O C O N T A C T Y O U R
MEMBERS OF CONGRESS
__________________________________________________
U.S. Capitol switchboard: 202-224-3121
Web address for email addresses and phone #'s:
http://www.house.gov http://www.senate.gov
__________________________________________________
TALKING POINTS
__________________________________________________
+ This aid package will not only pour hundreds of millions
of dollars into
the most abusive military in the Western Hemisphere, but it will
almost
certainly destabilize fragile peace negotiations and undermine
support of a
negotiated settlement.
+To avoid getting the United States more deeply involved with
Colombia's
infamous armed forces, I ask you to oppose aid to the Colombian
army due to
human rights concerns, especially army links at a regional and
local level
to brutal paramilitary forces.
+Instead, I urge you to support a substantial positive aid
package for
Colombia, including: humanitarian relief for people displaced
by violence;
crop substitution programs for small farmers to switch from coca
to legal
crops; economic assistance; programs to strengthen Colombian government
investigations into human rights violations and drug trafficking;
aid for
civil society efforts for human rights and peace.
+Finally, because the United States "War on Drugs"
is one that must be
fought at home, I ask you to increase funding for drug treatment
and
prevention programs here in our own country.
_______________________________________________
END
_______________________________________________
Alison Giffen
Director
U.S./Colombia Coordinating Office
Phone: 202-232-8090
Fax: 202-232-8092
Suite 200 1630 Connecticut Ave. NW
Washington D.C. 20009
http://www.igc.org/colhrnet/
************************************************************
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_________________________________________________________
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