Archived
Legislative Update: September - December 2003
US
Military Aid to Colombia
In July the
US House of Representatives voted on the 2004 foreign aid
bill. This early vote came up quickly and there was a flurry
of grassroots activity to try to limit the more than US $500
million slotted for Colombia. In recent years, Colombia has
become the third largest recipient of US aid following Egypt
and Israel. Representatives McGovern (D-MA) and Skelton (D-MO)
introduced an amendment to divert funds from Colombia's military
aid to international AIDS/HIV programs. It was, however, defeated
by a close vote of 195-226. Following party lines, both Udall
and DeGette supported the amendment. Tom Tancredo, who voted
in April for the amendment to cut additional aid to Colombia
from the Iraq war supplemental bill, along with the four other
Colorado representatives, voted against the McGovern-Skelton
amendment. Follow-up in the form of calls and letters to Colorado
representatives is an important element in changing US policy
toward Colombia. Colorado representatives need to now how
their constituents stand on these issues.
The Senate has yet
to vote on the 2004 foreign aid bill. When this bills comes
to the Senate floor in the next few weeks it may not be debated
or discussed. The current bill contains US$34 million less
in military aid to Colombia and US$15 million more in social
aid than last year's foreign aid bill. Contacting our Senators
to express your opinion and ask for debate on the issue of
military aid and human rights raises awareness and holds Senators
accountable to citizens. Without debate Senators may not be
educated on the issues involved with the policies they support.
Take
Action against military aid to Colombia:
- Please call or write your representative's office to
thank him or her for supporting the McGovern-Skelton amendment,
or to express concern for a vote against the amendment.
- Contact Senators Campbell and Allard urging for discussion
of the 2004 foreign aid bill and for their support of further
decreases in military aid to Colombia.
- Request that the Secretary of State's certification of
Human Rights progress be required before any aid money can
reach Colombia.
CAFTA,
FTAA and PPP
The next round of CAFTA talks are scheduled for October 20-24
in Houston, TX. Negotiations have continued to take place
in Central America and the US throughout the summer, the last
one in New Orleans, LA, July 28-Aug. 1. To date, six rounds
of negotiations have taken place and three remain. Negotiations
are expected to be finish by the end of 2003. It remains difficult
to get advanced notice for dates and locations of upcoming
negotiations. The office of Trade Rep. Zoellick claims that
dates are not released early because of the need to remain
flexible to accommodate changing schedules and availability
of national participants. The concern over lack of transparency
and underrepresented civil society involvement continues.
In August Mr. Zoellick's
office issued an interim Environmental Review. Some of the
main points include, not surprisingly, that CAFTA is expected
to have no significant effect on the US economy but may have
a much greater relative effect on the smaller Central American
economies. There has been much emphasis placed on building
the trade capacity of the Central American nations which includes
a trade capacity building (TCP) Working Group that has been
meeting with the negotiating groups during recent rounds.
President Bush hopes to push CAFTA through Congress by the
end of 2003. CAFTA
is an extension of NAFTA to include Central America. Its implementation
is seen as key by the Bush administration and multinational
corporations in obtaining the Free Trade Area of the Americas
(FTAA), a trade deal which would cover all the countries in
the Western Hemisphere except Cuba. CAFTA will also help build
the economic framework for Plan Puebla Panama (PPP), a 10-year
long, multi-billion dollar mega-development project from Puebla,
Mexico to Panama. CAFTA, FTAA and PPP will spread free trade
and corporate power throughout the Americas and have devastating
effects on the environment, indigenous communities and local
economies.
Take
Action to support fair trade, labor rights, and community
development:
- Contact your representatives and senators to express your
belief that CAFTA and the FTAA will exacerbate poverty,
environmental destruction and loss of national sovereignty
in Latin America.
- Urge our elected officials to support negotiations that
are transparent, include civil society members and contain
guaranteed protections of environmental, labor and human
rights
- Contact Trade Rep Zoellick's office to urge them to release
the draft text of the agreement to the public
Click
here for a sample letter
Escalation
of violence in Guatemala
The Guatemalan government needs full support from the international
community to establish the newly created International Commission
to Investigate Illegal Bodies and Clandestine Security Apparatuses
(CICIACS). The Commission mandated to confront the resurgence
of clandestine security groups, attacks and threats against
human rights defenders, judges, witnesses and other civil
society representatives. Today, considering the final ruling
by the Guatemalan Constitutional Court to allow Rios Montt
to run in the upcoming Presidential election and MINUGUA's
scheduled termination of its mandate at the end of the year,
it is even more crucial to pressure US officials to hold their
Guatemalan counterparts accountable for pursuing and upholding
justice and democracy for all people in Guatemala.
Take
Action to Support Human Rights in Guatemala:
- Express support
for CICIACS and urge the Guatemalan authorities to pursue
just, legal action against those standing in the way of
reconciliation and the peace process, AND state that you
will closely monitor the progress in ratifying and establishing
the committee
- Let Guatemalan human
rights workers know you support their persistent work and
courage in finding mechanisms to confront illegal and threatening
activity in Guatemala. Let them know your commitment to
these issues.
Click
here for addresses of Guatemalan Officials
School
of the Americas
On
September 23rd SOA Watch and dozens of co-sponsoring organizations
will hold a lobby day in Washington, DC to close the SOA/WHISC.
Many faith-based and community organizations will converge
on the nation's capital to show their support for closing
the SOA and meet with members of Congress and US Representatives.
H.R. 1258 currently
has 83 co-sponsors. The bill, introduced in March by Rep.
McGovern (D-MA) and 49 other US Representatives, including
Mark Udall, would repeal authority for the SOA/WHISC and provide
for the establishment of a joint congressional task force
to assess US training of Latin American military. It also
bars any successor school from being established for at least
10 months after the WHISC closes. Rep. Mark Udall remains
the only Colorado representative to have so far signed on.
From DJPC we wrote to Rep. DeGette asking for her support
on the bill. Her response stated her ongoing support of SOA
closure and sited a previous amendment she supported to close
the SOA but did not pledge her specific support for H.R. 1258.
Take
Action to close SOA/WHISC
- Contact your Representative
to urge him or her to support human rights and sign on to
H.R. 1258.
- Thank
Rep. Udall for co-sponsoring the bill and for his continued
support of human rights
Click
here for a sample letter |
