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[PCUSANEWS] Violence begets violence


From PCUSA NEWS <PCUSA.NEWS@ecunet.org>
Date Thu, 11 Mar 2004 14:51:21 -0600

Note #8163 from PCUSA NEWS to PRESBYNEWS:

Violence begets violence
04132
March 11, 2004

Violence begets violence

Witnesses say Colombia abuses citizens on pretext of security

by Alexa Smith

WASHINGTON, DC - Four religious leaders told Congressional staffers on Monday
that the administration of Colombian President Alvaro Uribe has imposed
measures that deprive Colombian citizens of their civil rights.

In trying to strengthen security, they said, the Uribe administration's
policies have put in jeopardy the lives of human-rghts activists, union
organizers, church workers and journalists.

The religious leaders want the U.S. government to cut off military aid to
Colombia and pressure Uribe to see that security measures not undermine basic
democratic rights. They also urge the U.S. to require investigation of
high-level military officials in Colombia who are alleged to have colluded
with violent paramilitary forces that harm and terrorize civilians as a
condition for further assistance to the Colombian government.

"We're joining our voices with the international community to seek peace, to
bring light to what is happening," said Ricardo Esquivia, a Mennonite who is
vice president of the Colombia Council of Evangelical Churches (CCEC). "If we
bring it to light, impunity cannot succeed."

Esquivia is facing threats of arrest on fabricated charges unless he stops
his peace work. He's scheduled to begin work in a highly-conflicted area of
the country in April.

Esquivia, who helps distribute food for Church World Service (CWS), the
relief arm of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United
States, testified in a crowded hearing room alongside Bishop Leonardo Gomez
Serna, the Catholic bishop of Magangue, who represented the church in peace
negotiations with one of Colombia's armed groups, the ELN, and promotes
parish-based municipal peace zones throughout the nation.

The executive secretary of the Presbyterian Church of Colombia, the Rev.
Milton Mejia, who has received death threats for his human-rights work, also
addressed the gathering, as did Amanda Romero, a Quaker who is a founding
member of the Colombian human-rights movement.

Eric Olson of Amnesty International USA, the moderator of the panel, said
violence against religious workers and churches is worsening in Colombia, the
fourth-largest recipient of U.S. aid. "It is a struggle for churches to be
faithful to their religious and moral convictions to build peace at the local
level," he said

Statistics distributed to listeners appeared to bear that out: CCEC reports
that 45 Protestant pastors died last year at the hands of various armed
groups, and that 300 churches have been shut down.

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops reported that 57 Catholic
leaders, including bishops, priests, nuns and seminarians, have died in
Colombia in the past decade. Caritas, the Catholic relief agency, reported
that 11 religious men, including one archbishop, were killed in 2002. In that
same year, it said, seven priests and one bishop were abducted, 10 priests
and a bishop were threatened, and three priests were assaulted.

During 2003, five priests and one seminarian were murdered; two priests were
abducted, one bishop was threatened, and two priests were attacked. So far in
2004, one priest has been kidnapped.

"We experience persecution," said Bishop Gomez, who organizes communities for
peace and promotes dialogue with armed groups as a way to peace. "(Some
authorities) think that if we work with insurgent groups, we belong."

Citing Uribe's policy of aggressively confronting illegal armed groups, the
bishop said that the government has created a massive network of informants,
is detaining more and more suspects, and is using the police and military to
harass church workers. "They take false testimonies against priests, bishops
and religious members," he said, adding that the incentive of money for
testimony is tempting for many among Colombia's poor.

"We want the government to seek peace, not a military state," said Gomez,
stressing the need for dialogue between the illegal groups and the
government. "We believe firmly that peace must be negotiated. We need to
continue talking; but we believe that peace is possible."

Mejia, too, spoke of government efforts to stifle dissent - and general
impunity for those who threaten and harass.

The man accused of threatening Mejia's life last year (see related story: In
the valley of the shadow) walked out of prison less than one month after his
arrest, on a day pass that he obtained illegally. The man had claimed to be a
member of a paramilitary and threatened Mejia and his family with violence
unless Mejia paid $4,000. He reportedly objected to Mejia's work with
Colombians who have been displaced by the violence. The escapee is still at
large.

"People have the right to criticize," Mejia said. "The government (must)
allow dissent. We are not terrorists."

Mejia said human-rights groups respect democratic processes. "We are afraid
of what we imagine may come in the future, he added. "All of this causes us
fear. You must demand that the Uribe government respect democratic process
and human rights. ... We need you to support us so ... that we can carry out
our work. Not just the church, but civil society as well, popular leaders.
Pray for us. Give us strength. We need your support."

The U.S. government has spent nearly $3 billion in aid to Colombia since
2000, with an emphasis on military aid that goes beyond its original
commitment to anti-narcotics work. It is estimated that 80 percent of the
cocaine in the United States is produced in Colombia, as well as much of the
heroin that reaches the East Coast. International rights groups claim the
military aid also supports counter-insurgency efforts, miring the United
States in Colombia's internal war, and the paramilitaries linked with army
factions, which wage war on civilians.

U.S. aid recently approved for Colombia for 2004 includes $554 million in
additional military aid and $150 million for alternative development and
social programs. Similar levels of funding are included in President Bush's
budget request for 2005, according to the United States Conference of
Catholic Bishops.

On International Women's Day, Romero said that the suffering of women is
largely ignored, although they are often the wives, sisters, mothers and
children of the murdered and kidnapped, and are often themselves victims of
violence. "The increasing militarization ... is not helping us overcome ...
this conflict," she said. "And women do not want to bear children for war
anymore. Ask the U.S. Congress to cut military aid."

Romero and the others appealed for more money for development, especially to
help poor farmers switch from illicit to legitimate crops.

She also appealed for an end to aerial spraying to destroy the crops of drug
traffickers. The said the sprays affect small farm families by poisoning
their legal crops and killing their animals. "These families are losing not
only their health, but their food crops and their domestic animals," she
said. "For women, this a crime against our children."

After the hearing, Esquivia said he has testified at similar briefings before
and seen results.

"This work has an impact. It is verifiable," he said, noting that votes in
Congress in approval of military aid to Colombia are growing closer.

Esquivia said his international profile helped protect him this year, when
rumors of arrest were circulating. Letters poured into Colombia in his
support. "Putting all this out in the open helped guarantee my freedom," he
said.

The United Nations says the humanitarian crisis in Colombia is the worst in
the Western Hemisphere and one of the worst in the world. The conflict,
rooted in generations of political exclusion and massive poverty, has
intensified in recent years because of the massive infusion of drug money.
Armed groups involved in the drug trade also kidnap corporate executives and
other affluent people and hold them for ransom.

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