Archive for 2008
Colombia’s Economic Growth Fueled by Repression
Over the past five years Colombia has achieved impressive economic growth as foreign investment has increased dramatically. According to most analysts, it is the policies of President Alvaro Uribe that have created the security conditions required by foreign companies to operate in the country. A significant portion of Colombia’s economic growth has resulted from investment in the country’s extractive sector, reflecting the confidence of foreign investors in the capacity of the Colombian military to safeguard their operations in the country’s rural conflict zones. However, analysts who praise the Uribe government for Colombia’s economic growth often ignore the fact that the enhanced security provided by the Colombian military has been achieved through an increase in human rights abuses perpetrated against the rural population. Read more»
Extradition of Paramilitary Leaders Undermines Para-Politics Investigation
In the early hours of May 13, Colombian security forces transported 14 high-ranking paramilitary leaders from their prison cells to an aircraft that whisked them out of the country and to the United States. Colombia’s President Alvaro Uribe had ordered that the paramilitary leaders be extradited to face drug trafficking charges in the United States because, as Interior Minister Carlos Holgumn stated, “In some cases they were still committing crimes and reorganizing criminal structures” from their prison cells. The paramilitary leaders were engaged in a demobilization process that called for them to confess their crimes in return for reduced jail sentences. In their testimonies, several paramilitary leaders revealed links between the right-wing militia organization and elected officials and multinational corporations. By extraditing the paramilitary leaders, President Uribe has ensured that they will do no further harm to himself and his political allies as he has effectively stymied future investigations into the so-called para-politics scandal. Read more»
FARC Should Release All Civilian Hostages
It would be a serious blunder from both the humanitarian and tactical perspectives if the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) were to allow Ingrid Betancourt—or any other hostage for that matter—to die from illness while in captivity. From a humanitarian point of view, it is simply inhumane to continue to hold captive in the jungle without access to essential medical care anyone who is deathly ill. From a tactical perspective, the death of Betancourt would be a public relations catastrophe for the FARC and would undo the positive international exposure it gained by releasing four sick hostages in February. In fact, from both a humanitarian and tactical perspective, it would behoove the FARC to release not only Betancourt and any other sick hostages, but all of its civilian captives. Read more»
Propagandizing Human Rights in Colombia
It happens time and time again. Following the killing of Colombian peasants, the government immediately blames guerrillas from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and the mainstream media in both Colombia and the United States dutifully report the allegations. In most cases, evidence later emerges showing that the Colombian military or its right-wing paramilitary allies were the actual perpetrators of the crime. The media, however, rarely reports the new evidence with the same vigor with which it reported the original claims holding the FARC responsible—if they report the new findings at all. Consequently, the Colombian government’s propaganda campaign has successfully created the impression in many people’s minds that the FARC are responsible for a majority of Colombia’s human rights abuses despite the fact that statistics released by human rights organizations year after year contradict popular sentiment. Read more»
Bush Administration Fails to Acknowledge Existence of New Paramilitary Groups in Colombia
The US State Department released its annual human rights report last week and one of its implications with regard to Colombia is particularly startling: There are no new paramilitary groups in Colombia! The politicization of the latest edition of the report is most apparent in its de-politicization of Colombia’s new armed groups by denying that they are actually “paramilitary groups.” This is a political strategy on the part of the Bush administration that allows it to blame virtually all of Colombia’s political violence on the guerrillas and makes it easier to refute allegations of links between the Colombian military and paramilitaries—after all, there can be no such links if the paramilitaries do not exist. Read more»
The March of the Forgotten
On Thursday, March 6, 2008, Colombians took to the streets of the country’s cities in a valiant gesture to reclaim the memory of victims of the right-wing paramilitary violence, which has tormented the country for decades. The atmosphere was surprisingly festive—despite the somber message, with many widows and orphans participating in the march. It was more of a celebration of the lives of the fallen, with chants of “ni perdon, ni olvido; castigo a los asasinos” (no forgiveness, no forgetting; punishment for the killers). Read more»
The Significance of the Deaths of the FARC Leaders
The Colombian government and many analysts are calling the killing of two top commanders of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) last week a turning point in the country’s long-running civil conflict. Others suggest, despite the initial euphoria in many circles over the killings, that the guerrilla group will simply replace its two fallen commanders and continue on with business as usual. These differing perspectives suggest that the deaths of Raúl Reyes and Iván Ríos will either amount to little more than a bad week for the FARC or the beginning of the end for Latin America’s oldest guerrilla group. Read more»