Congressional Letters, Statements, and Resolutions

Current List of Co-Signers on this Letter

• Representative Jim McGovern (D-MA) - Original co-signer
• Representative Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) - Original co-signer

"We write to express our deep concern for the rights of Colombia's Afro descendents and indigenous populations, and to affirm that the U.S.-Colombia Free Trade Agreement (FTA) should not be considered as drafted. We believe that the United States and the Colombian Government should take the immediate steps to strenghthen Afro-Colombians' territorial rights and prevent further displacement of Afro-Colombians." Read the full letter here (PDF).

List of Members who signed letter:

• Hank Johnson (D-GA-4)
• John Conyers (D-MI-14)
• Gwen Moore (D-WI-4)
• Bobby Rush (D-IL-1)
• Barbara Lee (D-CA-9)
• Donals Payne (D-NJ-10)
• Raul Grijalva (D-AZ-7)
• Michael Michaud (D-ME-2)
• Keith Ellison (D-MN-5)
• Maurice Hinchey (D-NY-22)
• Jesse Jackson, Jr. (D-IL-2)
• Sheila Jackson-Lee (D-TX-18)
• Lynn Woolsey (D-CA-6)
• James McGovern (D-MA-3)
• Bob Filner (D-CA-51)
• Dennis Kucinish (D-OH-10)
• Maxine Waters (D-CA-35)
• Jan Schakowsky (D-IL-9)
• Marcy Kaptur (D-OH-9)
• Bennie Thompson (D-MS-2)
• Chellie Pingree (D-ME-1)
• Emanuel Cleaver (DD-MO-5)
• Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC-At large)
• Danny Davis (D-IL-7)

Current List of Co-Signers on this Letter (51)

• Representative Jim McGovern (D-MA) - Original co-signer
• Representative Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) - Original co-signer
• Representative Donald Payne (D-NJ) - Original co-signer
• Representative Mike Honda (D-CA) - Original co-signer
• Representative Hank Johnson, Jr. (D-GA)
• Representative Chaka Fattah (D-PA)
• Representative Gwen Moore (D-WI)
• Representative Lloyd Doggett (D-TX)
• Representative Bob Filner (D-CA)
• Representative Bobby Rush (D-IL)
• Representative George Miller (D-CA)
• Representative Tammy Baldwin (D-WI)
• Representative Lynn Woolsey (D-CA)
• Representative José Serrano (D-NY)
• Representative Raul Grijalva (D-AZ)
  
• Representative John Lewis (D-GA)
• Representative Dennis Moore (D-KS)
• Representative Jim Oberstar (D-MN)
  
• Representative Danny Davis (D-IL)
• Representative John Olver (D-MA)
  
• Representative Michael Capuano (D-MA)
• Representative Lacy Clay (D-MO)
• Representative Peter DeFazio (D-OR)
• Representative Rosa DeLauro (D-CT)
• Representative Betty McCollum (D-MN)
• Representative Donna Edwards (D-MA)
• Representative Maxine Waters (D-CA)
• Representative Peter Welch (D-VT)
• Representative John Tierney (D-MA)
• Representative Elijah Cummings (D-MD)
• Representative Jim Langevin (D-RI)
• Representative Barbara Lee (D-CA)
• Representative John Conyers Jr. (D-MI)
  
• Representative Pete Visclosky (D-IN)
• Representative Bruce Braley (D-IA)
  
• Representative Jesse Jackson, Jr. (D-IL)
• Representative Phil Hare (D-IL)
• Representative Rush Holt (D-NJ)
  
• Representative Linda Sánchez (D-CA)
• Representative Mike Quigley (D-IL)
• Representative Keith Ellison (D-MN)
  
• Representative Maurice Hinchey (D-NY)
• Representative Mike Michaud (D-ME)
• Representative Ed Markey (D-MA)
• Representative Stephen Lynch (D-MA)
  
• Representative Patrick Kennedy (D-RI)
  
• Representative Betty Sutton (D-OH)
  
• Representative Russ Carnahan (D-MO)
  
• Representative Barney Frank (D-MA)
• Representative Earl Blumenauer (D-OR)
• Representative Dennis Kucinich (D-OH)
  

"We write to you regarding the extradition last month from Colombia to the United States of several paramilitary leaders of the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia, which is on the U.S. Department of States's list of foreign terrorist organizations. We are pleased that these criminals will be tried for their U.S. drug-trafficking crimes. At the same time, we ask you to keep in mind the horrific human rights abuses these men have committed in Colombia." Read the full letter (PDF).

"We wish to convey our grave concern regarding threats and attacks against human rights defenders preceding and following the March 6, 2008 nationwide rally against paramilitary and other forms of violence. We urge you to take a firm and public stance in support of those who promote and protect human rights." Read the full letter (PDF).

"We share with you a firm commitment for U.S. policy to consolidate Colombia's democratic institutions, increase respect for human rights and strengthen the rule of law... We write to call your attention to increased reports alleging extrajudicial executions of civilians by members of the Colombian armed forces." Read the full letter here (PDF).

List of senators who signed the letter:

Chris Dodd (D-CT)
Russ Feingold (D-WI)
Barbara Boxer (D-CA)
Herb Kohl (D-WI)
Tom Harkin (D-IA)
Richard Durbin (D-IL)
Barbara Mikulski (D-MD)
Ted Kennedy (D-MA)
Bob Casey (D-PA)
Tim Johnson (D-SD)
Bernard Sanders (I-VT)
John Kerry (D-MA)
Sherrod Brown (D-OH)
Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI)

"Colombia remains the most dangerous place in the world to be a part of a labor union...Strong, affirmative actions must be taken to protect the vital human right to organize a union and to negotiate for decent wages and benefits." Read the full letter (PDF).

"We would like to express our support for the carefully balanced aid package to Colombia that invests in the long-term economic prosperity of the country, while simultaneously attending to immediate security needs of Colombia. Colombia has made great strides in its effort to extend state institutions into areas that were once ungovernable. Now it is time to consolidate those gains through responsible aid for security and greater investment in social and economic development." Read the full letter (PDF).

"We write today to express our deep concern regarding what appear to be politically-motivated burglaries targeting human rights and peace organizations. We recognize the many difficult challenges you face in strengthening the rule of law in your country during an ongoing conflict and were encouraged after your recent visit to Washington, D.C., where you reiterated your commitment to human rights. In light of your stance, we are taking this opportunity to call on your government to act on these serious allegations." Read the full letter (PDF).

"We are writing to express our deep concern about criminal charges against Dr. Ivan Cepeda. Dr. Cepeda is a courageous human rights defender who has selflessly promoted the rights of victims of Colombia's civil war and created a national social movement to call for justice." Read the full letter (PDF).

"As you are well aware, strengthening human rights, democracy, and the rule of law are principle bipartisan goals of U.S. foreign policy towards Colombia. We are therefore greatly concerned about increased threats and continued attacks against Colombian human rights defenders and other leaders of civil society." Read the full letter (PDF).

"We write to urge you to express your strong support for the United Nations High Comissioner for Human Rights (UNHCHR) Office in Colombia and the full renewal of its existing mandate. We believe the UNHCHR Office in Bogotá, Colombia plays a highly credible and invaluable role in the promotion of human rights in the country." Read the full letter (PDF).

Last week, Reps. Sam Farr and Jim McGovern circulated a letter to Colombia’s President Uribe on drug crop fumigations. In a recent, post-reelection visit to Washington D.C., President Uribe asked the U.S. government to provide additional helicopters and spray planes to Colombia, in order to intensify the aerial fumigation program. Recent State Department figures, however, make clear that aerial fumigation has failed to reduce coca cultivation. In fact, the amount of coca produced in 2005 was greater than the amount of coca produced in 2000, the year Plan Colombia was initiated.

The letter urged President Uribe to support proven alternative development programs, in order to provide Colombians the means to stop growing illicit crops. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime has reported that when eradication efforts are combined with assistance for farmers to plant licit—and economically viable—crops, coca production decreases. 35 members of Congress signed on to the letter, sending a strong message to Colombia’s President Uribe. If your representative signed this letter, make sure to call him/her and express your appreciation.

Here's a list of co-signers:

Rep. R. Andrews
Rep. Baldwin
Rep. Clay
Rep. Sherrod Brown
Rep. Fattah
Rep. Frank
Rep. Charles Gonzalez
Rep. Grijalva
Rep. Gutierrez
Rep. Honda
Rep. EB Johnson
Rep. Kilpatrick
Rep. Kind
Rep. Kucinich
Rep. Langevin
Rep. Rick Larsen
Rep. McCollum
Rep. McDermott
Rep. Brad Miller
Rep. Gwen Moore
Rep. Oberstar
Rep. Payne
Rep. Bobby Rush
Rep. Tierny
Rep. Linda Sanchez
Rep. Schakowsky
Rep. Serrano
Rep. Stark
Rep. Waters
Rep. Watson
Rep. Waxman
Rep. Wexler
Rep. Woolsey

"We are writing to ask you to refrain from certifying that the Colombian government meets human rights conditions...until the Colombian Army's 17th Brigade improves its human rights practices. We also believe that certification requires more substantial progress in prosecuting a number of other outstanding cases involving allegations of gross human rights violations." Read the full letter (PDF).

"I want to speak about a matter that I suspect few Senators are aware of, but which should concern each of us. On February 21, 2005, in the small Colombian community of San Jose de Apartado, 8 people, including 3 children, were brutally murdered. Several of the bodies were mutilated and left to be eaten by wild animals. This, unfortunately, was not unusual, as some 150 people, overwhelmingly civilians caught in the midst of Colombia's conflict, have been killed by paramilitaries, rebels, and Colombian soldiers in that same community since 1997. None of those crimes has resulted in effective investigations or prosecutions. No one has been punished. That is an astonishing fact. Think of 150 murders, including massacres of groups of people, in a single rural community, and no one punished." Read the full statement.

"We are confident that you share our admiration for journalists who risk their lives to bring us the news each day. Over the last ten years, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists, Colombia has been the third most dangerous country in the world for journalists to work. Thirty journalists have been killed since 1995, and many more have been threatened and forced into exile." Read the full letter (PDF).

"We are writing to ask you to refrain from certifying that the Colombian government meets the human rights conditions included in the foreign operations appropriations act until further progress is demonstrated. The U.S. law requiring certification is vital. In appropriating funds to the Colombian military, we have a responsibility to ensure that the Colombian government upholds the rule of law and will hold those accountable when abuses occur." Read the full letter (PDF).

"We write to express our strongest condemnation of the murders of Luis Eduardo Guerra, a leader of the San Jose de Apartado community in Antioquia who was personally known to some of us, and seven other people, among them women and children as young as ages two and six. We also wish to express our great concern for the safety of the inhabitants of the San Jose de Apartado Peace Community." Read the full letter (PDF).

"We are encouraged by the decline in the level of homicides, massacres, kidnappings, and forced displacement. However, we remain deeply concerned about the continued levels of violence directed at the civilian population. We believe that adherence to UNHCHR's recommendations will help to establish the "democratic security" for all Colombians..." Read the full letter (PDF).

The Honorable Alvaro Uribe Velez
President of Colombia
Palacio de Nariño
Carrera 8, No. 7-26
Bogotá, Colombia

Dear President Uribe:

Please let us take this opportunity at the beginning of the New Year to extend our regards and best wishes for 2004. We write in acknowledgment of the difficult ongoing conflict in your country and in appreciation of your efforts to promote security and stability in Colombia. We also recognize the troubling human rights crisis that is the product of such a protracted and bloody conflict. It is in this context that we express our continuing support for the human rights and civil society groups who daily work to protect the innocent and to strengthen democracy in Colombia.

The work of human rights defenders is critical in a democratic society that respects the rights of all people. This work is legitimate and necessary—not just in giving a voice to the victims of human rights violations, but also in supporting and strengthening democratic and judicial institutions. As you are well aware, human rights defenders in Colombia are at great risk because of their work, suffering intimidation, death threats, forced exile, disappearances and even murder. According to international human rights organizations, last year in Colombia, 13 human rights defenders were murdered or disappeared, while countless others lived under the threat of violence. Other members of civil society, such as trade unionists, teachers, journalists, church leaders, lawyers and local elected leaders, experience similar threats and attacks as a result of their work. We write in concern for the safety of these people, a concern heightened by the recent trend in the public debate to discredit their work.

Mr. President, we trust that your government shares our belief in the importance of human rights work and our conviction that democratic governments allow for a plurality of viewpoints, including criticism. Therefore, we encourage you to take actions that will underscore the legitimacy of human rights defenders and other civil society actors and enable them to continue in safety. In particular, we encourage you to engage in meaningful dialogue with human rights groups so that they can voice their concerns and hear serious responses. We also encourage you to consider, commensurate with the March 2003 recommendation by the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, the adoption of a Presidential Directive prohibiting the defamation by public officials of human rights groups, with sanctions for its violation, in order to clarify the government’s support for such work.

Thank you for your serious consideration of these suggestions. We look forward to your response and to working with you throughout the coming year.

Sincerely,

The Honorable James P. McGovern (Massachusetts)
The Honorable Christopher Smith (New Jersey)
The Honorable George Miller (California)
The Honorable Maxine Waters (California)
The Honorable Amo Houghton (New York)
The Honorable Martin O. Sabo (Minnesota)
The Honorable Nancy Pelosi (California)
The Honorable Carolyn B. Maloney (New York)
The Honorable Luis V. Gutierrez (Illinois)
The Honorable Nita Lowey (New York)
The Honorable Marcy Kaptur (Ohio)
The Honorable Nick Rahall (West Virginia)
The Honorable Jim Oberstar (Minnesota)
The Honorable Chaka Fattah (Pennsylvania)
The Honorable Bobby Rush (Illinois)
The Honorable Tim Holden (Pennsylvania)
The Honorable John Conyers, Jr. (Michigan)
The Honorable Bob Filner (California)
The Honorable Maurice Hinchey (New York)
The Honorable Eliot L. Engel (New York)
The Honorable Rosa DeLauro (Connecticut)
The Honorable Donald M. Payne (New Jersey)
The Honorable Lane Evans (Illinois)
The Honorable Howard L. Berman (California)
The Honorable Marty Meehan (Massachusetts)
The Honorable Edolphus Towns (New York)
The Honorable Bernie Sanders (Vermont)
The Honorable Richard Neal (Massachusetts)
The Honorable Peter DeFazio (Oregon)
The Honorable William O. Lipinski (Illinois)
The Honorable Jim Leach (Iowa)
The Honorable David Price (North Carolina)
The Honorable Sherrod Brown (Ohio)
The Honorable Alcee L. Hastings (Florida)
The Honorable Dennis J. Kucinich (Ohio)
The Honorable Barbara Lee (California)
The Honorable Mike Honda (California)
The Honorable Gregory W. Meeks (New York)
The Honorable Donna M. Christian-Christensen (Virgin Islands)
The Honorable Rahm Emanuel (Illinois)
The Honorable Raul M. Grijalva (Arizona)
The Honorable Hilda L. Solis (California)
The Honorable Karen McCarthy (Missouri)
The Honorable Trent Franks (Arizona)
The Honorable Danny K. Davis (Illinois)
The Honorable Sam Farr (California)
The Honorable Christopher Shays (Connecticut)
The Honorable William Delahunt (Massachusetts)
The Honorable Rush Holt (New Jersey)
The Honorable Tammy Baldwin (Wisconsin)
The Honorable Tom Lantos (California)
The Honorable Jim McDermott (Washington)
The Honorable Brad Sherman (California)
The Honorable Betty McCollum (Minnesota)
The Honorable John Olver (Massachusetts)
The Honorable Stephanie Tubbs Jones (Ohio)
The Honorable Elijah Cummings (Maryland)
The Honorable Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick (Michigan)
The Honorable James R. Langevin (Rhode Island)
The Honorable John Tierney (Massachusetts)
The Honorable Eleanor Holmes Norton (District of Columbia)
The Honorable Jose Serrano (New York)
The Honorable William L. Clay, Jr. (Missouri)
The Honorable Pete Stark (California)
The Honorable Chris Bell (Texas)
The Honorable Robert I. Wexler (Florida)
The Honorable Charles A. Gonzalez (Texas)
The Honorable Jay Inslee (Washington)
The Honorable Jan Schakowsky (Illinois)
The Honorable Dennis Cardoza (California)
The Honorable Shelley Berkley (Nevada)
The Honorable Dennis Moore (Kansas)
The Honorable Lynn Woolsey (California)

The Honorable Ike Skelton (Missouri)

Dear Secretary Powell:

During your trip to Bogota, Colombia last year, you remarked upon the Colombian government's national security strategy as a "comprehensive plan to build a healthy democracy." We strongly concur with the goal of fostering a "healthy democracy" in Colombia today. We are alarmed, however, by a recent speech by Colombian President Alvaro Uribe which would weaken, not strengthen, his country's democratic values.

Speaking on September 8th before the assembled armed forces' leadership at the inauguration ceremony for the new head of the air force, President Uribe devoted a major portion of his address to accusing members of the human rights community in Colombia of acting in the service of terrorism. He suggested that some human rights defenders were "spokespeople for terrorists" and called others "traffickers for human rights." He called upon these human rights defenders to "take off their masks" and end "this cowardice of hiding their ideas behind human rights." President Uribe pointedly did not mention specific human rights groups and also referred generally to "NGOs"; thus, his remarks put at risk the entire community of human rights, humanitarian and service organizations in Colombia.

Ties between some members of the military and paramilitary forces have been extensively documented by the State Department and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in Bogota, as well as by Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International. Moreover, paramilitary forces have specifically targeted, threatened and killed human rights defenders and community and labor union activists. Thus, this broad accusation associating human rights defenders with terrorists before the assembled armed forces' leadership can be read as an endorsement of the view that human rights defenders are entitled to less protection from paramilitary aggression-- and could be heard by some as a green light for collaboration with paramilitary abuses.

Mr. Uribe's remarks cast a chill over the already tense climate for human rights defenders in Colombia. Many already are living in exile; others continue to carry out their critical work despite regular threats, in some cases with bodyguards, metal detectors and other protective measures the United States has helped to finance. These activists merit and need protection from the government; they do not deserve to be placed in further peril.

We urge you to make a strong public statement dissociating the United States from President Uribe's remarks, indicating strong US concern with these statements, and asking him to protect, by his words and by his actions, human rights defenders and the broader nongovernmental community in Colombia.

As we all know, a "healthy democracy" includes civil society, dissent and public debate.

Sincerely,

Representatives
McGovern
Grijalva
DeFazio
Evans
Holmes Norton
Farr
Olver
Payne
C. Maloney
Hinchey
Cummings
Kucinich
Oberstar
Clyburn
George Miller
Skelton
Towns
Tubbs-Jones

Waters

H.E. Álvaro Uribe Vélez
President
Republic of Colombia
Casa de Nariño
Bogota, Colombia

Dear Mr. President:

In recognition of the tremendous challenges which your country faces in its war against terrorism and narcotics trafficking, we write to commend you for your government’s stated commitment to helping to ensure greater security for all Colombians, but also to express our deep concerns about continuing links between segments of the Colombian security forces and paramilitary terrorist organizations.

Several actions by your government have served to promote human rights in Colombia. Most notably, we welcomed your government’s invitation to the United Nations’ Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights to extend its mandate in Colombia through 2006, and your stated commitment to implement fully the recommendations of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in his February 2003 report. Of particular interest to us are the recommendations which address the need for: a sustained government security presence in rehabilitated or consolidated zones where many vulnerable populations, like Afro-Colombians and indigenous peoples, reside; the security forces to learn and adhere systematically to international human rights and humanitarian norms; the establishment of a task force within the Attorney General’s Office which would specialize on investigating possible links between members of the security forces and paramilitary groups; and the immediate suspension from duty of any member of the security forces who has been involved in serious human rights violations.

We highlight these recommendations because we are deeply troubled by continuing credible reports of persistent links between members of the Colombian security forces and paramilitary terrorist organizations. In the latest Country Report on Human Rights Practices in Colombia, the U.S. Department of State found credible allegations of passive support and direct collaboration by members of the public security forces, particularly the army, and paramilitary groups. The State Department also found evidence suggesting that there were “tacit arrangements between local military commanders and paramilitary groups in some regions,” where “members of the security forces actively collaborated with members of paramilitary groups — passing them through roadblocks, sharing intelligence, providing them with ammunition, and allegedly even joining their ranks while off duty.”

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights made similar findings. In his February 2003 report on the human rights situation in Colombia, the High Commissioner revealed that the UN Office in Colombia had received reports of “security forces themselves announcing the impending arrival of pa
ramilitary groups, and even of cases where local inhabitants recognized members of military forces among paramilitary contingents.” The High Commissioner also noted that the impression of direct links between members of the security forces and the paramilitary was fueled by reports of the direct involvement of security forces in paramilitary activities, including massacres, theft, and organizational meetings.

Mr. President, these reports are troubling not only because of the humanitarian toll inflicted by this collaboration on vulnerable populations who are caught in the cross-hairs of the conflict, but also because we simply cannot condone any cooperation with known terrorists, such as the paramilitaries, whether that cooperation comes from private individuals, firms, or governments.

As we continue to work with you and your government on a broad range of initiatives of mutual concern, certain actions by your government would greatly ameliorate our concerns, including the immediate suspension of officers against whom there is credible evidence of paramilitary collaboration. We also would welcome increased funding and high-level support for the Public Advocate’s office (Defensoria del Pueblo) and the Inspector General’s office (Procuraduría). Finally, a clear sign of your government’s commitment to shattering the links between members of the security forces and the terrorist paramilitaries would be the aggressive prosecution of high-ranking officers, such as former Navy Admiral Rodrigo Quiñones, who have reportedly been involved in serious human rights abuses with the paramilitaries.

Lastly, although we applaud your courage and commitment to securing a lasting peace with the umbrella organization for the paramilitaries, the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (known by the Spanish acronym, the “AUC”), we have doubts about your government’s willingness to prosecute AUC members, including Carlos Castaño and Salvatore Mancuso, for their gross violations of human rights and drug trafficking in Colombia. Recent public statements made by Colombia’s High Commissioner for Peace Luis Carlos Restrepo indicate that your government may consider allowing these criminals to receive suspended sentences and pay reparations in lieu of jail time. We believe that such an exchange would amount to impunity for serious human rights violations and would erode the rule of law in Colombia, encourage further violence, and establish an undesirable template for future negotiations with the guerrillas. Instead, we encourage you to ensure that an eventual peace agreement with the AUC includes accountability for human rights violations, excludes the possibility of cash-for-justice swaps, provides for the rapid disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration of the AUC combatants, and requires that your government control disarmament and demobilization zones.

Mr. President, we recognize our nation’s responsibility to help Colombia and look forward to working with you and your government towards our shared objective of a peaceful, secure, and prosperous Colombia.

Most Cordially,

Representatives

Ackerman, Gary L.
Abercrombie, Neil
Baldwin, Tammy
Becerra, Xavier
Bell, Chris
Berman, Howard L.
Brown, Sherrod
Clyburn, James E.
Conyers, John Jr.
Crowley, Joseph
Cummings, Elijah E.
DeLauro, Rosa L.
Emanuel, Rahm
Engel, Eliot L.
Evans, Lane
Farr, Sam
Frank, Barney
Grijalva, Raúl M.
Gutierrez, Luis V.
Harris, Katherine
Hinchey, Maurice D.
Honda, Michael M.
Jones, Stephanie Tubbs
Kucinich, Dennis J.
Langevin, James R.
Lantos, Tom
Leach, James A.
Lee, Barbara
Levin, Sander M.
Lipinski, William O.
Lowey, Nita M.
Maloney, Carolyn B.
McCarthy, Karen
McCollum, Betty
McGovern, James P.
Meeks, Gregory W.
Miller, George
Nadler, Jerrold
Oberstar, James L.
Payne, Donald M.
Rangel, Charles B.
Rush, Bobby L.
Ryan, Timothy J.
Schakowsky, Janice D.
Shays, Christopher
Skelton, Ike
Solis, Hilda L.
Tierney, John F.
Towns, Edolphus
Udall, Tom
Van Hollen, Chris
Waters, Maxine
Watson, Diane E.
Weiner, Anthony D.
Wexler, Robert

Woolsey, Lynn C.

Secretary of State Colin Powell
The US State Department
2201 C Street
Washington, DC

Dear Secretary of State Powell,

We are writing to express our concern over the State Department’s decision to certify Colombia’s compliance with section 567 of the FY2002 foreign operations appropriations bill. We are not convinced that the evidence supports the contention that the Colombian military is suspending personnel credibly alleged to have committed serious human rights violations, cooperating with civilian judicial authorities, and taking effective measures to sever links with paramilitary groups. As you consider your decision on the second round of military aid, which we understand may be made in September, please take the following comments into consideration. The Congress included conditions in the FY2002 foreign operations legislation to ensure that the Colombian Armed Forces, which receive the bulk of the funds destined to Colombia through the Andean Regional Initiative, are respecting human rights.

We appreciate the State Department’s efforts to make clear to the Colombian government the importance of improving the human rights situation and meeting the specific requirements of section 567. We are dismayed, however, by the lack of response from the Colombian government. In particular, we are unconvinced that the short list of primarily lower-level soldiers and officers who have been suspended for human rights violations from January 2001 to April 2002 constitutes progress, given the substantial evidence against a number of high-level officers who remain on active duty despite credible evidence that they have tolerated, aided or abetted paramilitary forces. In addition, there is disturbing evidence that the Colombian attorney general lacks the political will to investigate and prosecute army officers implicated in grave violations.

The State Department’s report on the certification decision cited the appointment of General Rodrigo Quiñones to a military attaché position as evidence of progress. But, despite an outstanding decision by the Procuradería concluding that General Quiñones had planned and ordered the murders of at least 57 trade unions, human rights, and community leaders in the Barrancabermeja area in 1991-92, this officer remains on active duty. In 2000, troops under his command were implicated in helping paramilitaries to carry out the El Salado massacre. A year later, those same troops, with Quiñones as commander, allegedly allowed heavily armed paramilitaries to travel past them to Chengue, where paramilitaries committed a massacre. A Navy sergeant under Quiñones’ command was subsequently charged with supplying weapons to paramilitaries and helping coordinate the attack in Chengue. Quiñones was charged with ignoring detailed information received in advance about paramilitary movements near Chengue. The failure to investigate, prosecute, and punish high-level officers like Quiñones, General Gabriel Diaz, and others who are strongly implicated in aiding and abetting paramilitary forces has a profound impact on the attitudes of other members of Colombia’s military.

Events surrounding the Chengue massacre case also demonstrate the Colombian military’s continued resistance to cooperate fully with civilian justice officials. Prosecutor Yolanda Paternina Negrete, who led the Chengue investigation, told her superiors that officers in Colombia’s Marine Infantry failed repeatedly to provide her with the support necessary to search a ranch where witnesses claimed the paramilitaries responsible for the massacre were located. On May 27, 2001, two investigators working on the case were detained by known paramilitaries and are now presumed dead. On August 29, 2001, Prosecutor Paternina herself was killed by unidentified gunmen in Sincelejo, Sucre. The office in Colombia of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights called these killings “a systematic campaign of retaliation and intimidation” by those seeking “total impunity for the most serious crimes committed in the country.”

We are also disturbed by the characterization of army actions in Barrancabermeja as an example of progress in breaking army-paramilitary ties. Despite the high concentration of security forces in Barrancabermeja, the city remains under virtual paramilitary control. Paramilitaries move freely through the city, issue rules of conduct, and exert control over the civilian population, who live in an atmosphere of terror.

We would like to see further evidence of what happens after paramilitary troops are captured. We understand that the numbers of paramilitary captures reported by the Colombian Ministry of Defense has increased. It is important to analyze whether those captured are prosecuted and punished, or released; as well as whether some high-ranking officials are among those captured and prosecuted.

We believe that the Colombian government’s failure to act effectively to sever army-paramilitary ties, despite pressure from the U.S. State Department and the requirements of section 567, bodes ill for the future of U.S.-Colombian military cooperation and for the protection of human rights in Colombia. Moreover, we have been assured that U.S. assistance and training would promote the professionalism of the Colombian military and improve the human rights record of the Colombian military. To date, we believe there has been little progress. Again, we urge you to take our concerns into account when determining whether to approve additional military aid for Colombia this year.


Sincerely,

Jan Schakowsky
Sherrod Brown
Barbara Lee
James McGovern
Lane Evans
Joe Wilson
George Miller
Jesse Jackson, Jr.
Marcy Kaptur
Stephen Lynch
Maurice Hinchey
Lloyd Doggett
William O. Lipinski
James Leach
Rosa DeLauro
Zoe Lofgren
Bobby Rush
Tom Lantos
Lynn Woolsey
Maxine Waters
Tom Sawyer
Jose Serrano
William Coyne
Bernard Sanders
Ciro Rodriguez
Sam Farr
Donald Payne
James Oberstar
Rod Blagojevich
Michael Doyle
Nita Lowey
John Conyers
Cynthia McKinney
Jerry Kleczka
Dennis Kucinich
Elijah Cummings
Patsy Mink
Robert Borski
Tammy Baldwin
David Wu
William Lacy Clay
Ed Markey
Howard Berman
Nick Rahall

Danny Davis