The free trade agreement has been officially rejected and we finally stopped the funding that fueled so much violence against my community. I still cannot wrap my head around this victory after witnessing so much heartbreak, but I am deeply grateful that we stood our ground together. We must remain …
We call on the members of the US Congress and the Obama Administration to use their votes and influence to:
1) Reject any attempts to pass a US-Colombia Free Trade Agreement;
2) End military aid to Colombia;
3) Stop the extrajudicial executions and forced displacements of Colombian farmers, unionists, opposition leaders, and indigenous and Afro-Colombian communities;
4) Free the Political Prisoners in Colombia and press for a humanitarian exchange for prisoners as a first step toward a just peace.
Colombia has the most repressive government in Latin America. More people are killed in political violence than in Chile under the military dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet. Still, the US government supplies Colombia with millions of our tax dollars in military aid each year. That money filters through the military to the paramilitary death squads, which routinely murder leaders in the trade union and protest movements. In 2008, murders of union members rose 25% and forced displacement of people rose 41%. Colombia also has over 7,200 political prisoners, many arrested on the basis of false, paid, and/or anonymous testimony. All this is part of a crackdown on dissent so that the land and resources of Colombia can be turned over for transnational corporate development. A US-Colombia Free Trade Agreement would complete this process of repression for the sake of corporate profits. The FTA is vigorously opposed by the Colombian labor movement. It would destroy family and sustainable farms in both the US and Colombia, much as NAFTA has hurt farming communities in the US, Canada, and Mexico. NO MORE MILITARY AID TO COLOMBIA AND NO FTA! NO TAXES TO SPONSOR DEATH SQUADS, REPRESSION AND DISPLACEMENT!
I have spent my mornings reading the messages you leave here and they remind me exactly why I cannot let this fight go. My friends in Colombia are terrified for their families because the violence never stops for them. I am currently reaching out to congressional aides to make sure they see these names and understand the weight of what is happening on the ground.
May 27, 2009
Seeing this level of backing for our brothers and sisters in Colombia feels like a turning point. My own connections to the families suffering under these policies drive me to keep pushing until the violence stops.
Reached 100 supporters
May 27, 2009
6 Comments
K
Kevin Oliver
17 years ago
Featured
The amount of political prisoners is insane. This isn't democracy and the US should not be supporting it.
S
Sarah Grant
17 years ago
Featured
how can we claim to be about human rights and still send military aid to people killing union leaders? this has to end now.
L
Linda Kim
17 years ago
Featured
please stop this. innocent people are losing their land and their lives every single day because of corporate greed.
D
David Hale
17 years ago
Featured
THE FTA IS A BAD IDEA FOR EVERYONE EXCEPT THE BIG COMPANIES. WE NEED TO WAKE UP AND SEE WHAT IS REALLY GOING ON IN COLOMBIA.
M
Maria Oliver
17 years ago
Featured
Stop using my taxes to fund this violence. It is completely shameful what is happening to the farmers down there.
J
Jorge Okafor
17 years ago
Featured
Enough of the death squads. My family has seen enough suffering.
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The free trade agreement has been officially rejected and we finally stopped the funding that fueled so much violence against my community. I still cannot wrap my head around this victory after witnessing so much heartbreak, but I am deeply grateful that we stood our ground together. We must remain …
We call on the members of the US Congress and the Obama Administration to use their votes and influence to:
1) Reject any attempts to pass a US-Colombia Free Trade Agreement;
2) End military aid to Colombia;
3) Stop the extrajudicial executions and forced displacements of Colombian farmers, unionists, opposition leaders, and indigenous and Afro-Colombian communities;
4) Free the Political Prisoners in Colombia and press for a humanitarian exchange for prisoners as a first step toward a just peace.
Colombia has the most repressive government in Latin America. More people are killed in political violence than in Chile under the military dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet. Still, the US government supplies Colombia with millions of our tax dollars in military aid each year. That money filters through the military to the paramilitary death squads, which routinely murder leaders in the trade union and protest movements. In 2008, murders of union members rose 25% and forced displacement of people rose 41%. Colombia also has over 7,200 political prisoners, many arrested on the basis of false, paid, and/or anonymous testimony. All this is part of a crackdown on dissent so that the land and resources of Colombia can be turned over for transnational corporate development. A US-Colombia Free Trade Agreement would complete this process of repression for the sake of corporate profits. The FTA is vigorously opposed by the Colombian labor movement. It would destroy family and sustainable farms in both the US and Colombia, much as NAFTA has hurt farming communities in the US, Canada, and Mexico. NO MORE MILITARY AID TO COLOMBIA AND NO FTA! NO TAXES TO SPONSOR DEATH SQUADS, REPRESSION AND DISPLACEMENT!
I have spent my mornings reading the messages you leave here and they remind me exactly why I cannot let this fight go. My friends in Colombia are terrified for their families because the violence never stops for them. I am currently reaching out to congressional aides to make sure they see these names and understand the weight of what is happening on the ground.
May 27, 2009
Seeing this level of backing for our brothers and sisters in Colombia feels like a turning point. My own connections to the families suffering under these policies drive me to keep pushing until the violence stops.
Reached 100 supporters
May 27, 2009
6 Comments
K
Kevin Oliver
17 years ago
Featured
The amount of political prisoners is insane. This isn't democracy and the US should not be supporting it.
S
Sarah Grant
17 years ago
Featured
how can we claim to be about human rights and still send military aid to people killing union leaders? this has to end now.
L
Linda Kim
17 years ago
Featured
please stop this. innocent people are losing their land and their lives every single day because of corporate greed.
D
David Hale
17 years ago
Featured
THE FTA IS A BAD IDEA FOR EVERYONE EXCEPT THE BIG COMPANIES. WE NEED TO WAKE UP AND SEE WHAT IS REALLY GOING ON IN COLOMBIA.
M
Maria Oliver
17 years ago
Featured
Stop using my taxes to fund this violence. It is completely shameful what is happening to the farmers down there.
J
Jorge Okafor
17 years ago
Featured
Enough of the death squads. My family has seen enough suffering.
The amount of political prisoners is insane. This isn't democracy and the US should not be supporting it.