Last chance to apply!

July 24 to August 2, 2010

Last fall, the governments of Colombia and the United States signed an agreement to grant the Pentagon use of seven military bases on Colombian soil. The agreement bolstered the United States' military presence in the Andean region at a time when progressive movements in Ecuador, Venezuela and Bolivia struggle to reorganize their societies more equally, and victims of Colombia's dirty war demand accountability. It also intensified the contentious mix of militarism and free trade that has characterized U.S. Latin American policy.

DAS-CIA Operation to Spy on South American Embassies

By Susana Pimiento

On May 4, the Colombian Senate held a special hearing on the illegal activities of the Colombian intelligence Agency (DAS). Such activities have included not only illegal surveillance, but a series of acts that amount to State terrorism, such as death threats, kidnappings, harassment of children, blackmailing and framing of Supreme Court Justices, opposition leaders, journalists and human rights defenders. DAS even created a manual that instructed agents how to threaten the children of their targets.

Contents

• Take Action: Threats to Defenders and Communities

• No Bases Coalition Launched in Bogotá
• Colombia Bases Delegation
• Video Letter from the Field
• Testimony: Against Our Will and Our Rights
• Days of Prayer and Action in 18 Cities
• Briefs: Paras Supported Uribe; Candidates Speak; New US Ambassador

April 6, 2010
Contents

• Letter: Returning to Mulatos and Resbalosa

• Colombian court reviewing base agreement"
• No FTA under Uribe"
• Ruling in San José massacre
• An army of clowns!
• Briefs: Episcopal resolution, new human rights reports
• Get Involved: Days of prayer and action, special free webinar

The International Pre-Electoral Observation Mission to Colombia was led by Global Exchange, with leadership from the Fellowship of Reconciliation, Washington Office on Latin America, Co-Development Canada, and the participation of professionals, analysts and citizens of more than seven countries including the United States, Canada, Germany, the U.K. and Mexico.

The mission brought together 22 individuals with collective experience of electoral observation in eleven countries. From Feb. 3-15, the group conducted pre-electoral observation in Colombia, prior to the 2010 elections. We divided into four teams to observe conditions in municipalities in the departments of Antioquia, Córdoba, Valle del Cauca and Santander.

March-April, 2010

With nearly five million Colombians forcibly displaced from their homes by a debilitating war, Colombia is now the second worst internal displacement crisis in the world. Between now and April, tens of thousands across the U.S. and Colombia will participate in this year’s Days of Prayer and Action for Colombia to call for a much-needed shift in U.S. policies toward the war-torn country. Please join us.

In March, hundreds of universities, faith communities, and organizations will assemble thousands of printed faces of Colombia’s displaced people to be later displayed in poignant, eye-catching displays. Each face will be literally framed by our message to President Obama. While the faces make awareness-raising appearances in numerous cities in April, congregations across the country will pray for peace in Colombia-focused worship services. After April, all the faces will be sent to Washington, D.C. for one final, massive display and to be presented in person to representatives of the Obama Administration.

3 ways that you can get involved

translated by FOR staff
originally appeared in El Tiempo, 21 January 2010

Lawyers for the victims of the slaughter warned that the soldiers could be out of jail within the month.

To avoid this, first thing this morning the lawyers will ask the National Judicial Council to name a backlog judge* to expedite the trial, which has been suspended since December, due, according to the lawyers, to the delay tactics of the defense and the unexplainable loss of certain evidence.

January 20, 2010

• Take Action:Organizational Sign-on To Oppose Bases in Colombia

• The Mulatos Connection: a Reflection"
• Seeking Justice for 2005 San Jose de Apartadó Massacre"
• Water, Energy and the Displacement Factor
• Adriana Roman on Speaking Tour in the Bay Area
• Next FOR Colombia Team Training
• Dharma in Action Fellow