Free Trade
Was the U.S. Involved in Killing the FARC-EP Leaders?
Written by James Brittain
Thursday, 13 March 2008
While virtually every country in Central and South America, including the Caribbean, has waged in on the debate of the Colombian state conducting an illegal military campaign within Ecuadorian sovereign territory, resulting in the deaths of various high ranking officials in the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia-People's Army (Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia-Ejército del Pueblo, FARC-EP), the United States have remained virtually silent. Such silence from the US is quite perplexing considering the administrations of Ronald Regan, George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush have wielded a twenty-two year old assault on this insurgency movement.
Why Reward Murderers? Passing an FTA with Colombia Says, “Go Ahead and Kill Union Organizers.”
The following is a statement from the Campaign for Labor Rights.
An article in yesterday’s Washington Post reports that Congress and the Bush administration are nearing agreement on trade deals with Colombia, Peru and Panama. Negotiations between the U.S. Trade Representative and the House Ways and Means Committee have been going on for several months. Since the Democrats took control of Congress last November, approval of the agreements with Colombia and Peru has seemed less likely. This is due in large part to labor and environmental concerns. These are serious concerns, though not the only ones.
Violence against unionists in Colombia is a daily occurrence, with more than 2000 union organizers having been murdered since 1991.
Colombia Policy: NOW is the time to Act!
Greetings for the new year! We at LAWG are excited about the prospects of what the new Congress could mean for U.S. policy in Colombia. We have included a brief analysis of the political scene and the changes we can expect to see this year. Working together, we know that we can create change, and the first step is to target the new representatives and senators. We need your help to educate new members of Congress about Colombia, and make sure that they're sensitive to the many human rights, labor and drug policy concerns that we have! Below we ask you to meet with your representatives and senators if they are new to Congress.
