Colombia in Crisis
If you thought U.S. military intervention in Latin America died with the 20th century, think again. Before he left office, Bill Clinton transformed a long-standing nasty civil war in Colombia into a region-wide conflict. And now Bush II promises to make it Globalization's first major "police action" of the new century. It's a war that's got it all:
- Violations of Human Rights;
- Corruption of Democratic Institutions;
- Destruction of Indigenous Lands and Culture;
- Impoverishment and Displacement of Peasant Populations;
- Degradation of the Environment;
- Propagation of Unsustainable Development Projects;
- Perpetuation of Criminal Drug Policies; and
- Corporate Exploitation of the Amazon Basin's Natural Resources
Timely and intelligent use of philanthropic resources will make a difference in the lives of real people, and hopefully, contribute to the end of the war.
This page will provide links to the best resources we can find on the web concerning Colombia, the war and information about how donors are responding.
UpdatesGlobalization means Privatization, in war as in economics. Remember Richard Secord, Oliver North and the Criminal Contra Conspiracy? They're back. Only these aren't soldiers of fortune, they're soldiers of the They won't have to sell cocaine to finance their activities (which won't prevent them from selling cocaine). Check out recent information on Privatizing Colombia's War.
Overview
Alma Guillermoprieto, one of the hemisphere's premier journalists, published a well-written, concise report from Colombia in The New York Review of Books early in 2000. It is a multi-part series beginning at http://www.nybooks.com/nyrev/WWWarchdisplay.cgi?20000413034F. Don't get discouraged if this link doesn't work. You can access the document through NYRB's well-maintained archives.
For those looking to go a little deeper, try Noam Chomsky's June 2000 summary for Z Magazine. Chomsky attacks the "Drug War" rationale with characteristic tenacity.
But if the Drug War is a ruse, what's the real reason for U.S. involvement?
Information Sites
In addition to the alternative news sources linked elsewhere on this site, you can find current and background information on the Crisis in Colombia at the following:
Start with ANNCOL, the International News-Agency for a New Colombia. ANNCOL is an association of Latin American and Swedish journalists providing alternative news from Colombia. Some english translations, but the english site is not kept current.
The New York-based Colombia Report, a has news and analysis, presented in an intelligent and useful way. The site has a good analysis of of "Plan Colombia" and has excellent links.
Colombia in Crisis, a section of the Foreign Policy in Focus website provides up-to-date briefings, papers and press releases. Foreign Policy in Focus is a joint project of the Interhemispheric Resource Center and the Institute for Policy Studies.
INCORE Guide to Internet Sources on Conflict and Ethnicity in Colombia is a site out of Britain, and though it is not the best for breaking news, it has good background information.
Biological warfare is a major focus of U.S. military activities. Go to Mycoherbicide.net and find out what biological weapons are being developed under the banner of fighting drugs.
The site is dedicated to open research on mycoherbicides being used to destroy coca and other drug "weeds" in Colombia and elsewhere. See also The Sunshine Project.
Participants
It seems you can't really fight a war these days without a website. Click on one of the main players and see what they have to say:
Human Rights Monitors
U.S. military aid to Colombia contains human rights conditions which have been routinely ignored by Clinton and Bush. Human rights abuses, a standard feature of counter-insurgency adventures from Vietnam to Nicaragua, are inevitable given the logic of Plan Colombia. Human Rights Watch fell victim to the Clinton's persuasive charms, but provides excellent reporting on the Andean situation plus extensive documentation on the links between the Colombian armed forces and paramilitaries.
Among the high profile human rights groups, be sure you to check out Amnesty International on a regular basis.
Equipo Nizkor, a Spanish group has posted an excellent collection of official documents and articles on the deteriorating human rights situation over the past few years. With english translation, this site contains links to human rights organizations in Colombia.
CODHES, Consultorio para los Derechos Humanos y el Desplazamiento (Council for Human Rights and Displacement), has been in documenting and publicizing the plight of close to 2 million people who have been displaced so far by the war. Estimates are Plan Colombia will generate between 25,00 and 200,000 more.
U.S. Anti-War Organizations
Projects
In addition to supporting the activist and human rights groups cited above, international donors concerned about the situation in Colombia are also funding:
Other organizations that should be listed or comments on the currently listed organizations?
on our Discussion Board.
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