Well, it wasn't the ringing call for respect for human rights and freedom of expression that we longed for --that's for sure. But when President Obama met with Colombian President Uribe on June 29th, it was clear that he had been listening to our message on Colombia.
“Money for the victims, money for the displaced. No more money for
murder and waste!” Chanted the crowd gathered outside the White House
on Monday, June 29th. Inside, Colombian President Uribe was trying to
get the same approval from President Obama that he received from the
Bush Administration, and activists from around the city came to make
sure that he would not get it. Attracting media attention and stopping
traffic, they exposed the human rights abuses committed by the
Colombian military and demanded that the U.S. change its policies to
support victims of the ongoing violence.
As President Uribe visits the White House, the scandal regarding the Colombian intelligence agency Departamento Administrativo de Seguridad (DAS) is widening daily. According to Colombia’s Attorney General, over the last seven years the DAS systematically and without warrants tapped the phones and email of Colombia’s major human rights groups, prominent journalists, members of the Supreme Court (including the chief justice and the judge in charge of the parapolitics investigation), opposition politicians, and the main labor federation. Not only did DAS personnel spy on their targets, they spied on their families. This includes taking photos of their children, investigating their homes, their finances, and their daily routines. DAS even wrote a detailed manual of spying methods for personnel to follow.
So it's going to happen. Colombian President Uribe will make his first
visit to the Obama White House next Monday to discuss the future of
Plan Colombia and the stalled U.S.-Colombia Free Trade Agreement (FTA)
with President Obama. While the two leaders met at the Summit of the
Americas in April, this could be the moment when President Obama makes
clear his positions on Colombia. It's up to us to use this opportunity
to make sure that he sets the right course from the get-go by making
human rights a priority in U.S. policy towards Colombia.
Since 2007, the Latin America Working Group has been demanding action
to end the killings of civilians by the Colombian Army. While the
Colombian government has taken some steps to address these systematic
abuses, the nightmare is not yet over. Two important resources have
just come out that show that much more needs to be done.
In mid-May, shortly after being confirmed to lead the White House
Office on National Drug Control Policy, Gil Kerlikowski offered the
latest hint that the Obama Administration might take a new approach to
counternarcotics.
We're emailing to say "¡gracias!" for participating in the 2009 Days of
Prayer and Action for Colombia. Whether you mailed postcards to
President Obama, organized a prayer service for your local
congregation, or simply sent good vibes in our direction, you were part
of the largest national call for peace in Colombia and change in the
United States' approach since 2003. Give yourself a pat on the
back—you deserve it!
Earlier this month the Obama Administration submitted its foreign aid
budget request to Congress, giving us the first clear indication of
where the administration intends to take Colombia policy. The
administration has said many good (and needed) things since coming to
office, but now that they're showing us the money—and repeating the
Bush Administration's military aid request—it's clear that these
positive words are not yet being backed up with positive deeds.
The Obama administration’s State Department has released a “Summary and Highlights” document for its 2010 foreign assistance request, which offers some significant clues about where future aid is headed.
When we started working with faith-based and grassroots groups to
plan this year's Days of Prayer and Action, Colombians were being
forced to flee their homes at the staggering, almost unbelievable rate
of 1,500 a day. By the time 2008 was said and done, nearly 400,000 had
become internally displaced people (IDPs) and Colombia's displaced
population had swelled to more than 4 million, overtaking Sudan in the
seeming-blink-of-an-eye as the country with the world's most displaced
people. We knew we had to do something to make this crisis visible to
people here in the United State and to our government that has funded
and supported so many of the policies that have exacerbated this
humanitarian crisis.
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