TALKING POINTS

June 5, 2006

Below is an action for refugees and displaced people fleeing from violence around the world. Congress has begun work on the foreign aid bill for 2007, and it’s time for us to demand that U.S. aid help the victims of conflict instead of aiding the abettors.

The foreign operations appropriations bill, which dictates how much Colombia receives from the United States each year, will reach the House floor for a vote this week. Congressman Jim McGovern (D-MA) will offer an amendment to the bill to transfer $30 million from funds for aerial fumigation of drug crops in Colombia to emergency humanitarian relief efforts for refugees around the world. U.S. assistance abroad should generate goodwill by helping those suffering most from famine, war and natural disasters, and should reflect our belief in the right to human life and dignity. This is one of the key congressional actions relating to Colombia that we expect to see this year.

Take Action! Beginning tomorrow - Tuesday and Wednesday - call your member of Congress in the House. Ask that s/he vote YES on the McGovern amendment to the foreign operations appropriations bill transferring $30 million in military aid for Colombia to humanitarian assistance for refugees of political violence and natural disaster. Call the Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121 to be connected with the office of your representative. Speak with – or leave a message for – the foreign policy aide. Here’s the basic message:

”I urge my representative to vote YES on the McGovern Amendment to the foreign operations appropriations bill, which transfers funds from aerial spraying in Colombia to aid for refugees and emergency humanitarian relief around the world. I want my tax dollars to help people fleeing war and natural disasters, not spent on harsh aerial spraying programs in Colombia that do nothing to stop the problem of drug abuse at home.”

Click here to see additional talking points for your call.

In the past few years we’ve witnessed all too many major humanitarian crises caused by political violence and natural disaster. We continue to hear about millions of refugees and displaced people in Sudan and millions more fleeing from violence in other parts of Africa. We’ve seen refugees forced to abandon their homes after destructive natural disasters, like the colossal tsunami in South Asia, the earthquake in Pakistan and last fall’s Hurricane Stan which caused mudslides and devastation in Central America. Not to mention the suffering that we’ve experienced here at home due to Hurricane Katrina.

We see that there is a need for greater response to humanitarian crises worldwide, and we know that this need far outweighs the desire of the Colombian military to receive more helicopters and spray planes from the United States. The Colombian military has received $3.8 billion since 2000, which has largely supported the purchasing and maintenance of military helicopters, spray planes and related accessories. This equipment is used in Colombia for aerial fumigation of drug crops – a strategy that is failing miserably – and for the war effort.

The War on Drugs in Colombia is a failure. Aerial fumigation of coca plants has proved to be one of the most ineffective ways of reducing coca production in the Andes and the availability of cocaine on U.S. streets. When one area is destroyed by fumigation, farmers simply move to another. Moreover, aerial spraying is inhumane. The chemicals sprayed from planes contaminate water sources, are harmful to human skin and routinely destroy farm families’ food crops.

Here are some talking points for your call:

U.S. Priorities Abroad.

• I believe that my tax dollars should be used to promote goodwill abroad by addressing human suffering and humanitarian crises. Refugees fleeing from political violence and natural disaster deserve greater aid from the United States.
• Humanitarian crises around the globe demand international aid for emergency relief. The U.S. should be at the forefront of the efforts. We need to prioritize assistance to refugees and others suffering from large-scale disasters and intense political violence.

We should not continue to throw our money at a failing drug strategy in Colombia.

• Plan Colombia fails dramatically to achieve its top goal: to curb drug production and abuse. Over $4.7 billion later, the amount of coca produced in Colombia is more than when this massive aid program began in 2000, and the availability of cocaine on U.S. streets has not changed. Our aid money can be put to better use, which is why I support transferring these funds to help refugees.
• Aerial fumigation is both inhumane and ineffective. Coca farmers replant rapidly and relocate to other zones, spreading coca production from one area to the next. Aerial spraying destroys food crops along with coca planted by small farmers with no alternatives. U.S.-funded alternative development programs only reach a fraction of Colombian farmers.
  o We need to invest in drug treatment and prevention programs here at home, and in the Andes, in alternative development programs that help small farmers transition permanently from growing illicit crops.

Humanitarian crisis.

• Colombia is facing the worst humanitarian crisis in the Western Hemisphere, and one of the worst in the world. According to the UN, 2 to 3 million people have had to flee their homes from violence in recent years, making Colombia second only to Sudan in its number of internally displaced persons.
• This amendment reflects how I would like to see U.S. funds spent in Colombia. The U.S. has provided nearly $5 billion to Colombia since 2000, yet only a shamefully small percentage of it has aided victims of the conflict, including vulnerable Afro-Colombian and indigenous communities.

Human rights in Colombia.

• The human rights situation remains grave due to violence from all armed actors. Despite massive U.S. aid, the human rights record of Colombia’s military has worsened. The UN reported that the number of grave violations of human rights by Colombian security forces was higher in 2005 than any year prior. The U.S. should not turn a blind eye to these abuses by an army partially funded by our tax dollars. Refugees around the world are more deserving of our aid than the Colombian military.
• In 2005, 70 trade unionists were murdered, exceeding the number of those murdered in the rest of the world combined.
• Paramilitary and drug trafficking networks retain a powerful hold over Colombian society. Despite the paramilitary demobilization process that has taken place over the last year, the OAS has documented that these combatants have formed criminal groups which are often still armed and are involved in extortion, drug trafficking, arms sales and intimidation of civilian populations.