Dear Friends of Justapaz,

Greetings from Bogotá! On behalf of Justapaz and the Mennonite Church in Colombia, I write to ask for your help as we seek an alternative to the growing violence in Colombia. This message is in regard to U.S. policy and President Bush's emergency spending bill, an expansion of the war on terrorism. We call for an end to this devastating war campaign. An escalation of war means greater fear and more threats, still more displaced people, and death. Colombian civilians, caught in the crossfire, will continue to provide the war victims. Union workers are one of the vulnerable populations that will likely be impacted by increased military intervention.

Adolfo* and I met at a conference for petroleum unions in Bogotá last week. The short, stout man sits down cautiously on the edge of the overstuffed chair. He tries to offer me a warm smile, but this union leader from Arauca is clearly anxious and shaken. He glances over his shoulder at the door and mumbles, "they tell me I'm paranoid, but I know that I'm being followed...." I don't doubt that it's true. One hundred and ninety-four union leaders were killed last year in Colombia. They work for a living wage and reasonable working conditions. The pursuit of these rights is perceived as a threat in the economic interests of the powerful establishment, and so they are accused of being guerrillas and converted into targets.

Adolfo takes a deep breath, closes his eyes for a moment, and then focuses on telling his story. What spills forth over the next hours is the patient outlining of another complex, violent situation in Colombia, the story of another region where the Colombian civil conflict is currently or very likely will be inflamed by U.S. military intervention.

"I am careful to distinguish between the people of United States and the U.S. government. We know that if the good people only knew what their government was doing, they would raise their voices in resistance," Adolfo says. The United States government plans to spend U.S. $98 million to defend an oil pipeline owned by the U.S. oil company Occidental Petroleum in the northeastern department of Arauca, bordering Venezuela. This represents a clear shift from the U.S.'s counter-drug war. Justapaz, along with other peace churches and non-governmental organizations, fears that this is just a step down the slippery slope into a war that cannot be won by the Unites States, or any other parties involved. Rather, this aid will bring greater destruction and deepened divisions in Colombia. Although the pipeline defense spending was slated for 2003, President Bush wants to get started now within a massive expansion of Colombian military aid.

Expanded War on Terrorism
Bush requested $ 27.1 billion to expand the war on terrorism this year. Colombia is one of 19 countries that would receive aid under what's being called the "Emergency Supplemental." In addition to the amount to be channeled to war, there is concern that this bill would change the laws governing U.S. aid. Basically there would be much less congressional oversight. What is particularly pertinent to Colombia is that the bill could dismiss current restrictions on military aid to countries with poor human rights records.

Colombia specific section
If passed, the bill would lift counter-drug restriction. Up until now, what has been called aid from the U.S. to Colombia has been formally restricted to counter-drug activities. This Emergency Supplemental bill would allow all military hardware and money to be used to fight Colombia's war against the guerrillas.**

If passed, this bill would also lift fumigation and human rights restrictions on Colombia aid. That means that the U.S. would not have to certify 1) that the Colombian armed forces are cutting ties with the cruel ultra-right paramilitary forces or 2) that the chemicals used to fumigate do not hurt humans or the environment. With this additional military assistance, the U.S. would be sending the message that respect for human rights, human life, and the environment are of secondary importance. The bill would provide U.S. $35 million to the Colombian police to assist their anti-kidnapping work, reinforce police posts and to start training for the new battalion to guard the pipeline in Arauca.

Please help the people working for peace and to preserve life in Colombia by voicing your opposition to such policies. Very recent discussions regarding the Supplemental Bill within the House International Relations Committee showed that concerned citizens really can have an effect of what the U.S. government does!

• Call Members of Congress. Make your calls before May 10th.
• Write a Letter. You can find a sample letter below. We encourage you to fax your letters.
• Pray for Peace and Life. Pray for wisdom and safety for those working on the side of life in Colombia and around the world.

Talking Points for your calls and letters:
Increased Military Aid is Not the Solution. As Ricardo Esquivia, director of Justapaz, continues to say, "military aid is like throwing fuel on the fire." Colombia's nearly 40-year-old civil war has left nearly 400,000 civilians dead. Certainly many members of Congress have good intentions and share our concern with the violence engulfing this nation. Help them understand that a military solution will not resolve the Colombia conflict.

Colombia needs an alternative to the violent methods used by the conflicting groups. No violent approach, regardless of its origin, provides a viable option. Sending more military aid to Colombia does not protect civilians. The military has well documented links to the AUC, the paramilitary groups responsible for 70% of the human rights abuses. Paramilitary - military links are recognized in State Department reports. The paramilitary are also included on the State Department's list of terrorist groups. With respect to the Colombian military, the U.S. non-governmental organization Human Rights Watch and other NGOs report that this year's human rights record is even worse than last year's. How does the United States hope to "combat terrorism" by supporting militaries linked to groups on its own list of terrorists?

Sending military aid to Colombia only entrenches the U.S. further into an unwinnable war. In a continuing 40 year-old civil war, which is really just the latest phase in hundreds of years of civil conflict, more guns and more military training will not be successful. "ietnam quagmire"is the language used by the non-governmental community. A political solution is the only way out.

What we need are some Real Solutions. Here in Colombia the peace community is working hard to encourage a negotiated peace process with the FARC and the ELN and pressure the Colombian government to break ties with the paramilitaries. Military solutions will not provide a lasting peace or protect lives.

Real solutions mean looking to the root of the problem, based in social inequality and exclusion from true democratic systems. As well, we need to reanalyze the assumption that violence is the way to combat violence and that violence is the way to bring about change-- or prevent it.

Thanks to the Latin America Working Group for providing much of the policy information shared in this message.
For peace,
Janna Bowman, MCC worker

*Name has been changed
** FARC, ELN, the largest and second largest guerrilla groups respectively, and the AUC, widely recognized as a paramilitary organization, are all on the State Department's list of terrorist groups. This means that, according to the State Department, about 10% of the world's terrorist groups are within Colombia's borders.

Dear ____________,

I am writing to you out of concern for the continued U.S. policy of providing military assistance to Colombia. I strongly oppose U.S. support for "counter-terrorist" warfare in the Colombian conflict. I have heard stories of courageous Colombians who continue to plant seeds of peace in the midst of escalating civil war. I would like the U.S. government to provide support for these efforts, rather than providing training or sending arms, troops or military equipment. I encourage an immediate cessation of military aid to Colombia. Armed groups have already stepped up fighting in response to U.S. military aid. Civilians are by far the most frequent casualties of the war, experiencing threats, intimidation, disappearances, torture, and murder.

Supporting the Colombian military in combating the FARC leads the U.S. further into an unwinnable guerrilla war. It puts more money in the hands of the Colombian military, which has a record of human rights abuses and documented ties to paramilitary groups that are labeled "terrorist" by the U.S. State Department. And fundamentally, it encourages the use of violence and warfare to solve social problems. The United States should support peace in Colombia. U.S. support of a negotiated peace will go much further in protecting civilians than does providing military assistance. I want my tax-dollars to back to local Colombian peace initiatives and efforts to make the judicial system objective and fair.

The United States should also support real development assistance for Colombia's small farmers, which will help them switch from illegal to legal crop production and reduce the drug revenue available to the guerrilla and the paramilitaries. We must listen to the Colombian peace community and church rather than continuing with failed policies.

True security in the United States and stability in Colombia will only be found when the root causes of injustice are addressed and alternatives to violence are implemented. United States support is critical. I strongly encourage you to oppose any further military assistance to Colombia, and to instead consider alternative policies such as these. My prayer is that the United States will help Colombia nurture seeds of peace, not further war.

Sincerely,
(Your name)