"Standing up for human rights in Colombia" by Andrew Hudson | June 27, 2009
PRESIDENT OBAMA and President Alvaro Uribe of Colombia will hold their first official meeting next week in Washington.
Just wondering why the Globe never reported on it. If they had I would have read and logged it for posting.
While a pending free trade agreement will probably claim the media attention, Obama has the opportunity to address Uribe’s troubling human rights record directly and make clear that any agreement between the two nations will hinge on a shared commitment to upholding human rights. Will he take this opportunity?
I don't recall it being in the news at all.
If Obama makes clear that the protection of freedom of expression and other human rights are at the foundation of his administration’s relationship with Colombia, he will break with President George W. Bush’s unfortunate legacy of ignoring human rights concerns while remaining close to the Uribe administration. If he continues with the past administration’s flawed approach, he will not only undermine the ability of the United Sates to promote human rights and the rule of law in Colombia, but also will miss the chance to restore US credibility in Latin America.
We have already been undermined, and Obama has done nothing to reverse it.
Our credibility is now shot for decades.
Before tackling trade, Obama should ask his Colombian counterpart to take these steps:
End the “cold-blooded, premeditated murder of innocent civilians for profit.’’
Philip Alston, the UN special rapporteur on extrajudicial executions, recently used that phrase to describe killings by the Colombian Army. Alston stated that they were “more or less systematic’’ and have not been sufficiently investigated. Obama should stress the importance of ending these killings by Colombian security forces, and of fully investigating and prosecuting those responsible for such crimes.
Then he could START HERE with BUSH/CHENEY!
A free trade agreement would represent a major reward to the Colombian government, and the prospect gives the United States considerable leverage. American pressure is one of the only means to improve the human rights situation in Colombia.
Obama’s engagement on these issues Monday would have tangible results on the ground. He must use this meeting as an opportunity to demonstrate that his administration will put people before profits from trade.
That's probably why it never made the paper.
Related: Colombia's Cocaine Capital Cleans Itself Up
Colombia Kills Cocaine Crop
The op piece was followed up by this:
"Colombia gives $1m to victims of conflict; Government will pay out $3.3b over next 10 years" by Frank Bajak, Associated Press | July 13, 2009
President Alvaro Uribe acknowledged yesterday that the money can’t compensate for the loss of a loved one. (Fernando Vergara/Associated Press)
Sounds like they are OWNING UP and ADMITTING GUILT, right?
Keep reading.
MONTERIA, Colombia - President Alvaro Uribe presided at a ceremony yesterday to deliver reparations totaling nearly $1 million for 279 victims of Colombia’s long-running conflict.
It was the second disbursement from $100 million that his government has earmarked this year for 10,000 survivors of crimes by leftist rebels and far-right death squads known as “paramilitaries,’’ both of which have been fed by drug trafficking.
Who turn out to be the SAME GUYS!!
"undercover US agents posed as rebels from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, known by its Spanish acronym, FARC"
Some 240,000 people have registered since the law facilitating the payments took effect in August. Victims of state security forces are not eligible for any of the estimated $3.3 billion that the government says it expects to pay out over the coming decade.
Uribe acknowledged that the payments - the highest amount per victim or family is about $9,150 - can’t compensate for the loss of a loved one. The reparations will instead help prevent the pain of loss from “becoming converted into hate and vengeance,’’ the president told recipients who were bused in from five states for a ceremony in this northwestern ranching region where the paramilitaries first arose in the 1980s.
No, no amount of money will ever do that. U.S. does the same insulting thing after murdering Iraqis and Afghans.
To me, no amount of money can ever compensate those people because IRAQI and AFGHAN life is PRICELESS!!!!!!
Besides relatives of people killed, those eligible include victims of torture, rape, forced recruitment, and people driven from their homes by illegal armed groups. Recipients can still go to court to pursue damages directly from their tormenters.
What about the CHEMICAL DEFOLIANTS we have DUMPED on them?
Critics of Uribe, who disbursed the first payments July 5, say he should back more extensive reparations, to include abuses by security forces. But his allies in Congress have blocked a bill for expanded payments. Uribe has estimated that legislation’s price tag at $40 billion, which he says Colombia can ill afford, especially given the global recession.
They could afford to murder them.
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