On March 1, Raul Reyes, a central leader of the 18,000-strong
left-wing guerrilla army, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia
(FARC), was killed in an illegal midnight attack by the Colombian army.
The attack targeted a FARC encampment three kilometres south of the
border in the Putumayo province of Ecuador.
At least 21 FARC members were killed in their sleep during the
cluster bomb attack. The Colombian military then invaded Ecuadorian
territory to retrieve the body of Reyes, the FARC's chief negotiator and
public spokesperson. Reyes bloodied corpse, still wearing pyjamas, was
presented to the Colombian media as a trophy.
Reyes — born Luis Edgar Devia Silva on September 30, 1948 — began his
revolutionary activities as a member of the youth organisation of the
Colombian Communist Party, where he became an organiser.
Reyes became a union militant, working at a Nestle plant, until 1980,
when he, along with many other unionists, was kidnapped and tortured by
the army.
Seeing few alternatives, he moved to the mountains to join the FARC,
which was waging an armed struggle against the Colombian dictatorship.
Reyes' transformation — from union activist to guerrilla — reflects the
tragic reality of politics in Colombia, which holds the macabre record
of the highest rate of killings of trade unionists in the world.
By 1984, Reyes was on the seven-member FARC secretariat and, as their
chief international spokesperson, became the best-known face of the
FARC.
Showing posts with label Plan Colombia. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Plan Colombia. Show all posts
Friday, March 7, 2008
Raul Reyes and Colombia's tragedy
On March 1, Raul Reyes, a central leader of the 18,000-strong left-wing guerrilla army, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), was killed in an illegal midnight attack by the Colombian army. The attack targeted a FARC encampment three kilometres south of the border in the Putumayo province of Ecuador.
At least 21 FARC members were killed in their sleep during the cluster bomb attack. The Colombian military then invaded Ecuadorian territory to retrieve the body of Reyes, the FARC's chief negotiator and public spokesperson. Reyes' bloodied corpse, still wearing pyjamas, was presented to the Colombian media as a trophy.
Reyes — born Luis Edgar Devia Silva on September 30, 1948 — began his revolutionary activities as a member of the youth organisation of the Colombian Communist Party, where he became an organiser.
Reyes became a union militant, working at a Nestle plant, until 1980, when he, along with many other unionists, was kidnapped and tortured by the army.
Seeing few alternatives, he moved to the mountains to join the FARC, which was waging an armed struggle against the Colombian dictatorship. Reyes' transformation — from union activist to guerrilla — reflects the tragic reality of politics in Colombia, which holds the macabre record of the highest rate of killings of trade unionists in the world.
By 1984, Reyes was on the seven-member FARC secretariat and, as their chief international spokesperson, became the best-known face of the FARC.
The current armed conflict in Colombia dates back more than five decades, to "La Violencia", the 10-year civil war between the Conservative and Liberal parties of the Colombian oligarchy that caused at least 200,000 deaths from 1948-58.
Many workers and peasants fled the violence, creating independent "peace communities" in the country's south. When the government attacked these communities, residents formed self-defence organisations with the assistance of the communist party. Out of these groups, the FARC was formed in 1964.
Since John F. Kennedy's administration, the US government has funded and supported the Colombian government in its brutal counter-insurgency war and state repression against the Colombian people — more than half of whom live in abject poverty.
After a truce was negotiated in 1984, the FARC helped form the Patriotic Union (UP), which participated in elections and won a number of senators and hundreds of local councillors. A wave of terror was unleashed in the year following the elections that resulted in 4000 UP activists being murdered.
Faced with this mass slaughter, the FARC withdrew back to the jungle, where they now control around a third of Colombian territory.
In the late 1990s, the FARC took part in peace negotiations with President Andres Pastrana's government. They were again betrayed. Under the cover of a truce, the Colombian government prepared for an escalation of its war.
The US and Colombian governments devised Plan Colombia, whereby the US provides Colombia with around US$600 million in military aid each year.
Ostensibly part of the "war on drugs", Plan Colombia is actually focused on the part of the country controlled by the guerrillas, while ignoring areas controlled by the right-wing terrorist paramilitaries of the United Self-Defence Forces of Colombia (AUC).
Despite claims from the US and Colombian governments, the FARC denies it is involved in drug trafficking, insisting its involvement extends only as far as refusing to forcibly eradicate the coca plants that are the only source of income for impoverished peasants in territories that it control. The FARC calls for alternative crops to be provided for peasants to grow, and sustainable markets to build effective local economies.
A 2002 Colombian government report admitted that the FARC garners only 2.5% of the profits of the cocaine industry, through taxes imposed on the areas it controls. By contrast, the AUC (linked to the Colombian state) receives 40% of drug profits, and is connected to the large cocaine cartels.
Colombia's President Alvaro Uribe is himself linked to both the paramilitaries and the illicit drug trade. Uribe's father was a drug trafficker killed by the FARC in 1983 and Uribe himself was close friends with notorious drug lord Pablo Escobar of the Medellín Cartel, who was killed in a shoot-out in 1993. In fact, in 1991, the US Defense Intelligence Agency listed Uribe as one of Colombia's top 100 drug lord in his own right.
As governor of Antioquia province, Uribe was also an architect of the Convivirs, the immediate predecessors of the AUC. When the Convivirs were outlawed in 1997, they were simply transformed into the then-legal AUC. The AUC are responsible for the murder of over 800 people every year, including trade unionists, peasant leaders and peace activists, and claim to control 35% of the Colombia's Congress.
It was in the struggle against this system — of state-sponsored terror controlled by drug lords and corrupt politicians, and of terrible poverty and oppression — that Raul Reyes gave his life. At the time of his assassination, the FARC were again negotiating for prisoner exchanges with the Colombian government.
Reyes was centrally involved in these negotiations — which were torpedoed by Uribe in November. In particular, Reyes was the key negotiator with the French government over negotiations for the release of French-Colombian Ingrid Betancourt, who is being held by the FARC.
To the last, Reyes insisted that the FARC "is struggling for a new Colombia, hand in hand with the Colombian people. The FARC is part of the people. It is struggling for political power so that there are no exploiters or exploited, so that we can have a just society."
Uribe's brutal murder of Reyes and other FARC fighters was aimed at destroying this goal.
At least 21 FARC members were killed in their sleep during the cluster bomb attack. The Colombian military then invaded Ecuadorian territory to retrieve the body of Reyes, the FARC's chief negotiator and public spokesperson. Reyes' bloodied corpse, still wearing pyjamas, was presented to the Colombian media as a trophy.
Reyes — born Luis Edgar Devia Silva on September 30, 1948 — began his revolutionary activities as a member of the youth organisation of the Colombian Communist Party, where he became an organiser.
Reyes became a union militant, working at a Nestle plant, until 1980, when he, along with many other unionists, was kidnapped and tortured by the army.
Seeing few alternatives, he moved to the mountains to join the FARC, which was waging an armed struggle against the Colombian dictatorship. Reyes' transformation — from union activist to guerrilla — reflects the tragic reality of politics in Colombia, which holds the macabre record of the highest rate of killings of trade unionists in the world.
By 1984, Reyes was on the seven-member FARC secretariat and, as their chief international spokesperson, became the best-known face of the FARC.
The current armed conflict in Colombia dates back more than five decades, to "La Violencia", the 10-year civil war between the Conservative and Liberal parties of the Colombian oligarchy that caused at least 200,000 deaths from 1948-58.
Many workers and peasants fled the violence, creating independent "peace communities" in the country's south. When the government attacked these communities, residents formed self-defence organisations with the assistance of the communist party. Out of these groups, the FARC was formed in 1964.
Since John F. Kennedy's administration, the US government has funded and supported the Colombian government in its brutal counter-insurgency war and state repression against the Colombian people — more than half of whom live in abject poverty.
After a truce was negotiated in 1984, the FARC helped form the Patriotic Union (UP), which participated in elections and won a number of senators and hundreds of local councillors. A wave of terror was unleashed in the year following the elections that resulted in 4000 UP activists being murdered.
Faced with this mass slaughter, the FARC withdrew back to the jungle, where they now control around a third of Colombian territory.
In the late 1990s, the FARC took part in peace negotiations with President Andres Pastrana's government. They were again betrayed. Under the cover of a truce, the Colombian government prepared for an escalation of its war.
The US and Colombian governments devised Plan Colombia, whereby the US provides Colombia with around US$600 million in military aid each year.
Ostensibly part of the "war on drugs", Plan Colombia is actually focused on the part of the country controlled by the guerrillas, while ignoring areas controlled by the right-wing terrorist paramilitaries of the United Self-Defence Forces of Colombia (AUC).
Despite claims from the US and Colombian governments, the FARC denies it is involved in drug trafficking, insisting its involvement extends only as far as refusing to forcibly eradicate the coca plants that are the only source of income for impoverished peasants in territories that it control. The FARC calls for alternative crops to be provided for peasants to grow, and sustainable markets to build effective local economies.
A 2002 Colombian government report admitted that the FARC garners only 2.5% of the profits of the cocaine industry, through taxes imposed on the areas it controls. By contrast, the AUC (linked to the Colombian state) receives 40% of drug profits, and is connected to the large cocaine cartels.
Colombia's President Alvaro Uribe is himself linked to both the paramilitaries and the illicit drug trade. Uribe's father was a drug trafficker killed by the FARC in 1983 and Uribe himself was close friends with notorious drug lord Pablo Escobar of the Medellín Cartel, who was killed in a shoot-out in 1993. In fact, in 1991, the US Defense Intelligence Agency listed Uribe as one of Colombia's top 100 drug lord in his own right.
As governor of Antioquia province, Uribe was also an architect of the Convivirs, the immediate predecessors of the AUC. When the Convivirs were outlawed in 1997, they were simply transformed into the then-legal AUC. The AUC are responsible for the murder of over 800 people every year, including trade unionists, peasant leaders and peace activists, and claim to control 35% of the Colombia's Congress.
It was in the struggle against this system — of state-sponsored terror controlled by drug lords and corrupt politicians, and of terrible poverty and oppression — that Raul Reyes gave his life. At the time of his assassination, the FARC were again negotiating for prisoner exchanges with the Colombian government.
Reyes was centrally involved in these negotiations — which were torpedoed by Uribe in November. In particular, Reyes was the key negotiator with the French government over negotiations for the release of French-Colombian Ingrid Betancourt, who is being held by the FARC.
To the last, Reyes insisted that the FARC "is struggling for a new Colombia, hand in hand with the Colombian people. The FARC is part of the people. It is struggling for political power so that there are no exploiters or exploited, so that we can have a just society."
Uribe's brutal murder of Reyes and other FARC fighters was aimed at destroying this goal.
Wednesday, June 22, 2005
L'altra guerra del petrolio di Washington
di Duroyan Fertl
Dopo quasi cinque anni, migliaia di persone uccise e scomparse e lo stanziamento di 7.5 miliardi di dollari, l'iniziativa Americana conosciuta come "Il Piano Colombia" - per porre fine alla crisi che caratterizza la Colombia, paese sudamericano dominato dalla violenza - è fallita, sia politicamente che militarmente.Iniziato nel 2000 il Piano Colombia fu apparentemente designato per portare la "guerra alla droga" direttamente ai produttori di stupefacenti.Gli Stati Uniti sostenevano che i guerriglieri marxisti dell'Esercito Rivoluzionario Colombiano (FARC) ed il meno importante Esercito di Liberazione Nazionale (ELN) come pure i paramilitari di destra, le cosidette Forze Colombiane di Auto-difesa (AUC), erano principalmente "narco-terroristi".Tuttavia, le motivazioni Americane sono ben diverse: anche se la maggior parte del paese non è stato ancora sfruttato dall' industria petrolifera, la Colombia é già il terzo maggior esportatore di pertolio in America Latina dopo il Venezuela e Messico. L'industria petrolifera incide per un terzo sulle esportazioni Colombiane e la maggior parte di esse sono verso gli Stati Unti.La Colombia siede sulla "cintura dell'Orinoco Venezuelano" la più grande capitalizzazione di idrocarburi del pianeta condivisa con il Venezuela e l'Ecuador e questi ultimi fanno parte, come in gran parte del continente Sudamericano, della rivolta di sinistra contro le poltiche neoliberiste di Washington.In Ecuador una rivolta popolare ha recentemente rovesciato un presidente visto come troppo vicino a Washington, ed in Venezuela la rivoluzione capeggiata da Hugo Chavez ha riaffermato il controllo popolare sulle riserve petrolifere del paese e usato i proventi a beneficio della maggioranza più povera.Washington ha risposto a tali comportamenti ant-capitalisti con l'appoggio ad un fallito colpo di stato, un tentativo di chudere l'industria del petrolio ed un' implacabile propaganda contro Chavez, tutto ciò con scarso successo.Tale situazione fa sì che assicurarsi il petrolio Colombiano sia una priorità per gli Stati Uniti; la spesa militare e l'addestramento Americani sono infatti concentrate nelle aree Colombiane ricche di petrolio come Arauca e Putumayo, nel cuore delle zone di guerriglia.Una parte chave delle "ristrutturazioni" del Fondo Monetario Internazionale (IMF) legate al Piano Colombia sono state cambiate a beneficio dell'idustria del petrolio: l'industria pertolifera governativa ECOPETROL è stata essenzialmente privatizzata per "incoraggiare" investimenti stranieri nell' industria petrolifera; le royalties sono state tagliare dell 8%, contratti di leasing estesi a data indeterminata ed il governo Colombiano adesso acquista il proprio petrolio da industrie straniere quali la Occidental Petroleum basata in California a prezzi di mercato.La Colombia è inoltre importante per gli Stati Uniti come contrappeso alla crescita di governi di sinistra anti-imperialisti e movimenti attraverso tutto il Sudamerica che stanno minacciando gli interessi di Washington.
Dopo quasi cinque anni, migliaia di persone uccise e scomparse e lo stanziamento di 7.5 miliardi di dollari, l'iniziativa Americana conosciuta come "Il Piano Colombia" - per porre fine alla crisi che caratterizza la Colombia, paese sudamericano dominato dalla violenza - è fallita, sia politicamente che militarmente.Iniziato nel 2000 il Piano Colombia fu apparentemente designato per portare la "guerra alla droga" direttamente ai produttori di stupefacenti.Gli Stati Uniti sostenevano che i guerriglieri marxisti dell'Esercito Rivoluzionario Colombiano (FARC) ed il meno importante Esercito di Liberazione Nazionale (ELN) come pure i paramilitari di destra, le cosidette Forze Colombiane di Auto-difesa (AUC), erano principalmente "narco-terroristi".Tuttavia, le motivazioni Americane sono ben diverse: anche se la maggior parte del paese non è stato ancora sfruttato dall' industria petrolifera, la Colombia é già il terzo maggior esportatore di pertolio in America Latina dopo il Venezuela e Messico. L'industria petrolifera incide per un terzo sulle esportazioni Colombiane e la maggior parte di esse sono verso gli Stati Unti.La Colombia siede sulla "cintura dell'Orinoco Venezuelano" la più grande capitalizzazione di idrocarburi del pianeta condivisa con il Venezuela e l'Ecuador e questi ultimi fanno parte, come in gran parte del continente Sudamericano, della rivolta di sinistra contro le poltiche neoliberiste di Washington.In Ecuador una rivolta popolare ha recentemente rovesciato un presidente visto come troppo vicino a Washington, ed in Venezuela la rivoluzione capeggiata da Hugo Chavez ha riaffermato il controllo popolare sulle riserve petrolifere del paese e usato i proventi a beneficio della maggioranza più povera.Washington ha risposto a tali comportamenti ant-capitalisti con l'appoggio ad un fallito colpo di stato, un tentativo di chudere l'industria del petrolio ed un' implacabile propaganda contro Chavez, tutto ciò con scarso successo.Tale situazione fa sì che assicurarsi il petrolio Colombiano sia una priorità per gli Stati Uniti; la spesa militare e l'addestramento Americani sono infatti concentrate nelle aree Colombiane ricche di petrolio come Arauca e Putumayo, nel cuore delle zone di guerriglia.Una parte chave delle "ristrutturazioni" del Fondo Monetario Internazionale (IMF) legate al Piano Colombia sono state cambiate a beneficio dell'idustria del petrolio: l'industria pertolifera governativa ECOPETROL è stata essenzialmente privatizzata per "incoraggiare" investimenti stranieri nell' industria petrolifera; le royalties sono state tagliare dell 8%, contratti di leasing estesi a data indeterminata ed il governo Colombiano adesso acquista il proprio petrolio da industrie straniere quali la Occidental Petroleum basata in California a prezzi di mercato.La Colombia è inoltre importante per gli Stati Uniti come contrappeso alla crescita di governi di sinistra anti-imperialisti e movimenti attraverso tutto il Sudamerica che stanno minacciando gli interessi di Washington.
Ecuador's President Gutierrez walks a tightrope
On June 10, the 10th round of negotiations for a free trade
agreement between the South American nations of Ecuador, Peru and
Colombia, and the United States, ended in a stalemate, with neither side
willing to budge, in yet another example of Washington's increasing
isolation on the continent.
Colombian farmers boycotted the negotiations, thousands of Ecuadorians protested in the streets of the country's largest city, Guayaquil, until police used water cannons and tear gas to disperse them, and on June 8, a bomb was set off outside the hotel in which the negotiations were taking place.
Ecuador's social movements, confident after forcing the overthrow of President Lucio Gutierrez on April 20, are demanding a referendum on the agreement. Protesters chanted: "We don't want to become a North American colony".
Gutierrez was unpopular for his implementation of neoliberal austerity measures, expansion of the US military presence in Ecuador and for attempting to subvert the role of the Supreme Court.
His replacement, former vice-president Alfredo Palacio, came to power promising to hold a referendum on the trade agreement, increase social spending and to "re-found" the country by setting up a constituent assembly to rewrite the constitution.
However, while he initially spoke out against deepening military ties with the US, Palacio has since affirmed that the US air base at Manta, used as part of Plan Colombia, will stay, and there are fears he will cave in to Washington over trade as well.
Colombian farmers boycotted the negotiations, thousands of Ecuadorians protested in the streets of the country's largest city, Guayaquil, until police used water cannons and tear gas to disperse them, and on June 8, a bomb was set off outside the hotel in which the negotiations were taking place.
Ecuador's social movements, confident after forcing the overthrow of President Lucio Gutierrez on April 20, are demanding a referendum on the agreement. Protesters chanted: "We don't want to become a North American colony".
Gutierrez was unpopular for his implementation of neoliberal austerity measures, expansion of the US military presence in Ecuador and for attempting to subvert the role of the Supreme Court.
His replacement, former vice-president Alfredo Palacio, came to power promising to hold a referendum on the trade agreement, increase social spending and to "re-found" the country by setting up a constituent assembly to rewrite the constitution.
However, while he initially spoke out against deepening military ties with the US, Palacio has since affirmed that the US air base at Manta, used as part of Plan Colombia, will stay, and there are fears he will cave in to Washington over trade as well.
Wednesday, April 20, 2005
ECUADOR: 'Lucio out! Democracy yes! Dictatorship No!'
On April 13, thousands of Ecuadorians protesting in the
capital Quito were violently attacked by riot police with tear gas. The
protesters, led by unionists and students, blocked roads with burning
tyres and shut down the centre of the city, demanding the resignation of
President Lucio Gutierrez and the reinstatement of the Supreme Court
judges sacked by the president last December.
Quito Mayor Paco Moncayo, leader of the opposition Democratic Left Party (ID) and an organiser of the protest, ordered the closure of public transport, municipal offices and schools, as protesters shouted "Lucio out! Democracy, yes! Dictatorship, no!"
About 800 fully armed police and soldiers occupied the two blocks around the presidential palace, erecting metal barriers and barbed wire fencing across roadways.
This is just the latest in a wave of protests. On April 11, a group of about 100 protesters from various social movements occupied the nearby Metropolitan Cathedral. Despite being denied food and water, they are refusing to leave until the former Supreme Court is reinstated.
The prefect for Pichincha province, which covers Quito, ID member Ramiro Gonzalez, declared an indefinite strike from April 12, closing roads — including the Pan-American Highway — businesses and the local airport.
Roads were also blocked by demonstrations in the regions of Imbabura, Cotopaxi, Tungurahua, Loja, Azuay and Canar, and the Confederation of Indigenous Nations of Ecuador (CONAIE) occupied the education ministry building in Quito.
Quito Mayor Paco Moncayo, leader of the opposition Democratic Left Party (ID) and an organiser of the protest, ordered the closure of public transport, municipal offices and schools, as protesters shouted "Lucio out! Democracy, yes! Dictatorship, no!"
About 800 fully armed police and soldiers occupied the two blocks around the presidential palace, erecting metal barriers and barbed wire fencing across roadways.
This is just the latest in a wave of protests. On April 11, a group of about 100 protesters from various social movements occupied the nearby Metropolitan Cathedral. Despite being denied food and water, they are refusing to leave until the former Supreme Court is reinstated.
The prefect for Pichincha province, which covers Quito, ID member Ramiro Gonzalez, declared an indefinite strike from April 12, closing roads — including the Pan-American Highway — businesses and the local airport.
Roads were also blocked by demonstrations in the regions of Imbabura, Cotopaxi, Tungurahua, Loja, Azuay and Canar, and the Confederation of Indigenous Nations of Ecuador (CONAIE) occupied the education ministry building in Quito.
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