The children were under the bed. The girl was very nice, about 5 or 6, and the boy was interesting …. We asked the commanders to leave them in a neighboring house, but they said they were a threat—that they would grow up to be guerrillas .… 'Cobra' took the girl by the hair and cut her throat.
—excerpt from the confession of paramilitary fighter Jorge Luis Salgado.

A united cry for justice echoed throughout the world following the tragic Feb. 21, 2005, massacre of eight civilians in a Colombian peace community. People and communities in solidarity with the San Jose de Apartadó Peace Community demanded truth and justice, not only for the brutal murder of 6-year-old Natalia and 18-month-old Santiago, but also the killing of community leader Luis Eduardo Guerra and his son, 11-year-old Deiner, and partner Beyanira, along with three others. When the peace community claimed that the U.S.-backed Colombian Army, together with paramilitary fighters, had massacred their friends and neighbors, the Colombian government responded with slanderous comments.

The Colombian Army and government officials claimed their investigations indicated a guerrilla massacre. Yet at the same time, President Alvaro Uribe and others suggested some peace community members were guerrillas themselves. "There are some leaders, backers and defenders … belonging to the FARC and who want to use the community to protect this terrorist organization," said Uribe. Thanks in part to such statements, continued violence and threats descend on the community and its leaders—more than 200 have been assassinated since the community's founding in 1997, the vast majority at the hands of paramilitaries and the Colombian Armed Forces.

Finally the truth has slowly begun to show its face. Last November an army captain was arrested for his role in the massacre. At the end of March, more than three years after the massacre, arrest warrants were issued for 15 other members of the infamous 17th Brigade, thanks to the testimony of a former paramilitary fighter who participated in the massacre. Jorge Luis Salgado admitted that paramilitaries were patrolling with the U.S.-backed Colombian Army in the region and participated in the massacre.

Despite the ongoing violence, the families of the peace community persevere. During the third commemoration of the massacre, internally displaced families returned home to the massacre site to restart their lives while another 12 families joined the peace community. Regardless of the fear and still-recent memories of the massacre of eight of their friends and neighbors, these brave families have returned to reclaim their lands and live in peace on the margins of a conflict that has devastated the region for more than 15 years.

Blessed are those that, challenging barbarity, continue along the path of peace with justice, humbly constructing a community in solidarity that does not bend under the imposition of the domination and oppression.—words of Father Javier Giraldo at the massacre commemoration.

Kathleen Nygard accompanied the San Jose de Apartadó Peace Community for over a year with Peace Brigades International and is now a Colombia international team member with Witness for Peace. Pray and Act for Peace in Colombia on April 27-28. Also join Witness for Peace in June to commemorate 25 years of work for justice and peace.

As our baby's due date approaches, the Mercedes Sosa song, "Todo Cambia" ("Everything Changes") has found an echo deep within me. Click here to listen to the song.

I am great with child—and the changes in my body are unmistakable. Nature is taking its course to bring this little human through me. Today I felt like myself, with a bounce in my step and ability to concentrate at work. There are other days, however, when the energy and creative power I once managed are directly channeled to the life within, and I find myself sitting breathless and fatigued before a blank computer screen. At these moments I rub my taut belly and remind myself to marvel: I am the vessel for a child of God.

At one such moment I reviewed the story of a woman who went into labor as she fled an armed attack on her village. She became a mother with the help of her uprooted neighbors en route to anywhere safe. I remind myself, I am a privileged vessel as I move into the stream of mothers who carry children in this land of turmoil and uncertainly.

Colombians don't allow tears to steal their laughter or trials to crowd out a celebration, and our little child "made in Colombia" (a maternity shirt received from a friend) seems to be staking claim to this part of her identity. About a month ago, I woke up at 3:30 a.m. to loud bongo drum and Andean flute music filling our bedroom from the college party held on the patio several floors down and my baby's wildly lively movements against all walls of her snug home. Sleep wasn't coming, so after watching my jumping stomach for a few minutes I decided to join her. Somehow her daddy slept soundly throughout.

An analyst friend connected my reflections on this phase of transition with the Colombian social and political landscape. Might Colombia also be on the precipice of change? Numerous mass marches organized by politically diverse groups, respectable gains by a political opposition party, economic and political changes in the U.S., and a fresh outpouring of weariness of war from civilians and inklings from the guerrilla groups may suggest as much. The critical tensions in relationships between Colombia and Ecuador further heighten the volatile dynamism of these times. Will I stay tuned into these developments after becoming a mom?

The change is in progress, and with it new challenges to rest with mystery and trust the God of life and great unknowns. At play with these feelings is the raw, fierce love that I have for our daughter and our eagerness to know her this side of the womb. Anticipation outweighs anxiety.

Baby girl - our catalyst of radical change - we are excited to receive you!

Janna Hunter-Bowman works for Mennonite Central Committee in Bogotá, Colombia, as the coordinator of the Documentation and Advocacy Program for Justapaz, the peace and justice ministry of the Colombian Mennonite Church.

The Bush administration wants Congress to sign off on an administration-negotiated trade agreement with Colombia, alleging that to do otherwise is, as one analyst put it, to "turn our back on our friends." But with friends like this, Colombia really doesn't need enemies. Consider:

Friends don't let friends murder labor unionists. More thantwo hundred people were killed in Colombia from 2004-2006 alone just for joining or working for trade unions, and the government hasn't put a stop to the problem. The Bush-negotiated trade agreement offers some labor protections in theory – but enforcement is left entirely up to the very Colombian government that has failed to deal with the labor unionist murders.

Also not so friendly: displacing large numbers of farmers in a country already wracked with a civil war and narco-trafficking. By exposing small farmers to competition with the machine-, fuel-, and subsidy-intensive farms of the U.S., NAFTA took away the livelihood of more than a million Mexican small farmers. Those folks had some chance of finding factory work in Mexican cities or undocumented service-sector jobs in the U.S.; in Colombia, economic need will force many into the right-wing paramilitaries or left-wing FARC, both of whom violate human rights and profit from the drug trade.

But wait, there's more! In addition to hurting farmers and fuelling drug trafficking and the civil war, the trade agreement would also hurt the environment, encourage bio-piracy, help displace indigenous people and Afro-Colombians, and hinder access to lifesaving medicines.

P.S. Oh, and there's also this:

Noting that Colombian goods already flow freely to the U.S. under the Andean trade promotion agreement, [U.S. officials] say any economic impact is likely to be in the U.S.'s favor, since American goods would enter Colombia freely under an FTA.

Elizabeth Palmberg is an assistant editor for Sojourners.

You've heard about, or maybe experienced first hand, the change in pregnant women's thoughts. This was true for me, but I wasn't able to talk about it for months. This is my story as I moved into the stream of mothers who carry children amidst turmoil and a future of total uncertainty.

Journal entry:

Spark of life, you entered from the undercurrent of love and longing, deeper than fear or confusion. You answered our call to the deep. Our statement of faith, you declare that death will not have the last word. You are my defiance and hope.

Days before you came to be, our community suffered an attack that chilled me to the core— the Justapaz break-in. It reflected intimate knowledge of our organizational workings. It ripped from our staff the ability to protect the subjects and collectors of stories shared in strictest confidence. It shredded our desperate desire to believe that nonpartisan truth-telling could continue unmolested, even as the world began to pay attention and ask, "What can we do?"

You first made your presence known to me during our meeting at the vice president's office. As we talked with high level government officials about the series of robberies and their response, the director of the human rights program lit a cigarette beside me. A wave of nausea engulfed me and I felt the multiple pregnancy test results to be true.

As we responded to this crisis I have clung to the marvelous mysterious knowledge of you, little life, growing inside me. In moments of weakness when dread and fear crept into the corners of my soul, you helped me chase them away and return to the steadfast hope necessary to carry on. You are my Hebrews 11:1 baby.

Read the full entry »

One more reason to take up dumpster diving: I've been finding lots of bananas lately, many of them from Chiquita, and many of them from Colombia. I've been aware of Chiquita's entanglements with right-wing paramilitaries, but at least I can eat the fruit with a clean conscience since none of my dollars have made their way up the corporate food chain and back down to Colombian death squads.

A recent USA Today article summarized the scandal well. This was my quote of the week for SojoMail today:

Chiquita's money helped buy weapons and ammunition used to kill innocent victims of terrorism. Simply put, defendant Chiquita funded terrorism.

That's the U.S. Justice Department, in court filings last month against Chiquita for paying off right-wing paramilitaries in Colombia. Here's the rest of the story, Harpers Index-style:

• $1.7 million - amount Chiquita paid the Self-Defense Forces of Colombia, (Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia, AUC), a right-wing paramilitary organziation responsible for the majority of human rights abuses in Colombia's armed conflict
• $25 million - amount Chiquita was fined after pleading guilty of paying money to a terrorist organization
• $49.4 million - profits reaped by Chiquita from its Colombian operations between Sept. 10, 2001, when the AUC was designated a terrorist group, and January 2004, when its payments stopped. That's a number to keep in mind when Chiquita protests that it was merely trying to protect its workers.
• 173 - Colombians allegedly murdered and in some cases tortured by right-wing militias that received payments from Chiquita, whose families are now suing the company.
• 4,000 - number of people killed in the Uraba banana-growing region during the period when Chiquita admits to paying the AUC.
• 1989 until 1997 - years during which Chiquita paid left-wing guerillas before the region in which they operated was taken over by the AUC

And if this makes you not want to eat Chiquita bananas, here's some more bad news:

A spreading investigation in Colombia into what is being called the "para-politics" scandal may ensnare other corporate targets. Former AUC leader Salvatore Mancuso in May told the newspaper El Tiempo in Bogota that all banana producers had paid for protection, including Dole and Del Monte. Mancuso, who was jailed after turning himself in as part of an ongoing government-backed demobilization, said his group received 1 cent for every dollar of bananas exported. "All of the banana companies paid us. Every one of them," Mancuso told the newspaper.

And one more closing thought:

"It may be true (that) you could not operate in these areas without paying the AUC. If it were al-Qaeda, that wouldn't be a defense," says Terry Collingsworth, an attorney with the International Labor Rights Fund, which has filed lawsuits against several corporations, including Chiquita, over their activities in Colombia.

Ryan Rodrick Beiler is the web editor for Sojourners. He traveled to Colombia in 2003.

Last Wednesday, over 40 internally displaced people gathered in a local Mennonite church to reflect on congressional movement regarding U.S. policy toward Colombia. According to the latest U.N. reports, Colombia now contains the second highest number of internally displaced people in the world—more than Iraq, and second only to Sudan. As victims, they are tired of war and discouraged by the preferential treatment for some victimizers: For every dollar given by the U.S. to help a victim of internal displacement, $50 goes to help a demobilized paramilitary combatant.

Safety and a life without fear are still far off for these victims, but recent achievements in Congress represent steps in the right direction. Nods, smiles, and lively responses affirmed that they speak to our distant hope. From the latest Latin America Working Group e-mail newsletter:

We are delighted to tell you resolution 426 for displaced Colombians has passed the House of Representatives. The resolution, first introduced by Rep. Jim McGovern, brings renewed attention to the plight of the many Colombians violently displaced from their communities while also recommending an increase in humanitarian aid. Increasing aid in this way will give internally displaced persons a real opportunity to rebuild their lives in a dignified manner. However, the passage of this resolution is only one of many victories for peace and justice in Colombia in recent weeks.

After many years of advocating for change, we are thrilled to report the positive new approach to Colombia has recently been approved by the full House of Representatives. ...

The foreign aid bill cuts military aid to Colombia by $30 million while greatly increasing aid for poor farmers and victims. For example, Afro-Colombian and indigenous communities will receive $15 million in development aid planned in consultation with these communities.

The aid package aims to strengthen respect for human rights by providing judicial institutions with the resources they need to investigate abuses and collaboration with paramilitaries. Human rights conditions will now apply to 40 percent, not just 25 percent, of military aid in the bill.

Given the failure of aerial spraying to curb coca cultivation by even a single hectare in seven years, the House has also sensibly reduced funding for spray planes used to fumigate farms and increased aid for small farmers. It's not perfect—but it's a huge step in the right direction!

Now, we must shift our efforts to securing a positive new direction for Colombia on the Senate side. Since the foreign aid bill will be coming before the full Senate soon, now is the perfect time to contact your senator and ask them to support this new approach in aid to Colombia. Encourage them to provide greater assistance to help Colombia's victims of violence, to strengthen the justice system, and to provide real economic alternatives to small farmers. We are on a roll—let's keep the pressure on!

Janna Hunter-Bowman works for Mennonite Central Committee in Bogotá, Colombia, as the coordinator of the Documentation and Advocacy Program for Justapaz, the peace and justice ministry of the Colombian Mennonite Church.

The latest news on climate change, Iran, Lebanon, immigration, Iraq, Richardson's announcement, faith and politics, Darfur, Colombia, and select editorials.


Sign up to receive our daily news summary via e-mail »

Full news summary:

Immigration. Strife over immigration bill as debate begins in the Senate - "even before lawmakers voted 69 to 23 to begin the debate, the bill's opponents promised a bruising fight, taking to the Senate floor to protest the way the measure was written, the way it will be debated and what it would do." Immigration Compromise Faces New Opposition - "The Senate voted to move forward on an overhaul of immigration laws, but even proponents of the delicate compromise proposal conceded that the furor over the deal was surpassing their expectations and endangering the plan." Critics in Senate Vowing to Alter Immigration Bill- "Lawmakers from both parties are seeking to alter a comprehensive immigration bill substantially." Senate to open debate on immigration bill - "The Senate voted to begin debate on an immigration-reform bill, turning aside objections from senators who said the legislation is being rushed and acting even as Senate offices were being flooded with calls and faxes urging the deal be blocked." Time to Scrutinize Bill Begins - "a breakdown of what the bill does, and where critics have said it falls short."

Iraq. Iran's plan to force US out of Iraq - "Iran is secretly forging ties with al-Qaida elements and Sunni Arab militias in Iraq in preparation for a summer showdown with coalition forces intended to tip a wavering US Congress into voting for full military withdrawal, US officials say." Democrats drop insistence on Iraq withdrawal timeline - "Scrambling to send President Bush an emergency war spending bill he will sign, Democratic leaders have decided to drop their insistence on a timeline for withdrawing U.S. forces from Iraq."

Richardson announces. New Mexico Gov. Richardson officially enters presidential race - "Flanked by local Latino leaders and a large contingent of politicians from his home state, New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson formally entered the 2008 presidential campaign Monday, saying that his thick resume offered him an ability unmatched by others in the race to tackle the country's problems at home and abroad."

Faith & politics. Evangelicals at a Crossroads As Falwell's Generation Fades - "Although Falwell's personal influence had been waning for years, his death at age 73 last week threw into stark relief the current headless state of the political movement he founded with the establishment of the Moral Majority in 1978."

Iran. American Scholar Is Charged in Iran - "Noted American scholar and Potomac resident Haleh Esfandiari has been charged with "seeking to topple the ruling Islamic establishment," Tehran's state-controlled television reported yesterday." Iran Accuses American of Revolution Plot - "The Islamic Republic of Iran yesterday accused a prominent American academic it imprisoned two weeks ago of conspiring to foment a velvet revolution there."

Climate change. Global carbon emissions in overdrive - "From 2000 to 2004, emissions grew at a rate of 3 percent a year - more than the highest rates used in recent key UN reports." Worldwide carbon dioxide emissions soar - "Warnings about global warming may not be dire enough, according to a climate study that describes a runaway-train acceleration of industrial carbon dioxide emissions."

Lebanon. Lebanese bombardment renewed - "Lebanese forces today renewed their bombardment of a Palestinian refugee camp where hundreds of Islamist militants have vowed to fight to the "last shot". Shelling of the Nahr al-Bared camp just outside the northern port of Tripoli, Lebanon's second largest city, started at dawn," Lebanese Army and Islamists Battle for 2nd Day- "Lebanese tanks and artillery pounded a Palestinian refugee camp in this northern Lebanese city for the second straight day on Monday, battling members of a radical Islamist group and raising concerns for thousands trapped inside." Lebanon Confronts A Fierce Adversary - "A little-known Islamic militant group based in a Palestinian refugee camp in northern Lebanon battled government troops Monday in some of the country's fiercest fighting since the civil war ended in 1990," Lebanon's stability under fire - "An obscure Palestinian group with ties to Al Qaeda and perhaps to Syrian intelligence has emerged virtually overnight as the latest threat to Lebanon's fragile stability."

Darfur. In Darfur, some Arabs now fight alongside rebels - "Rebel leaders claim that dozens of janjaweed commanders are joining their struggle against the Sudanese government after promises of land, cattle, and money proved worthless." Speakers urge Angelenos to aid Darfur - "Sunday's observance was developed after two Jewish organizations, the American Jewish Committee and Jewish World Watch, approached First AME and Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa to find ways to spur further activism. Eventually, the effort was joined by a coalition of dozens of religious and human rights groups, including the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, the Islamic Center of Southern California and the UCLA African Studies Center."

Colombia. Paramilitary Ties to Elite In Colombia Are Detailed - "Top paramilitary commanders have in recent days confirmed what human rights groups and others have long alleged: Some of Colombia's most influential political, military and business figures helped build a powerful anti-guerrilla movement that operated with impunity."

Editorial. (Washington Times) - Traditional values and voters - "In 2004, voters who emphasize traditional values played a crucial role in re-electing President Bush and increasing Republican control of both chambers of Congress. In 2006, however, traditional-values voters were unable to stem the Democratic tide, and, based on exit-polling data, some even contributed to it. Last year Democrats captured control of both bodies of Congress by defeating six incumbent Republican senators and winning 30 House seats held by Republicans."

Too often, those of us immersed in Colombia get lost in the sheer magnitude of the horrors of the five-decade-old armed conflict: over 31,000 civilians murdered in just the last 10 years; almost 3 million people driven out of their homes since 1985; more than 1,350 massacres perpetrated between 1994 and 2004; at least 134 Protestant church leaders killed in the past four years; an archbishop, a bishop, 32 priests and dozens of nuns murdered since 1987; three presidential candidates murdered in the 1990 campaign; a whole political party—the Patriotic Union, with over 3,000 members—exterminated; and on and on…

Swimming in this sea of death and destruction, we rarely stop to mourn individual losses. We focus on the forest instead of the trees. Why is there no Colombian Oscar Romero or Martin Luther King Jr.? Some would say it is unfair to hold one life up as more significant than the rest. Yet martyrs, as representatives of a people’s suffering, are powerful reminders of the human cost of violence.

While many should be remembered for their sacrifice for justice and peace, this May we will commemorate two in particular.

In the wee hours of Monday morning, May 19, 1997, paramilitary gunmen stormed the home of Mario Calderon and Elsa Alvarado. Mario – a former Jesuit priest who had dedicated his life to working for the poor, human rights, and environmental protection – and Elsa – a human rights worker who founded the Cien Dias human rights magazine – were both human rights defenders at the Jesuit organization CINEP.

Elsa and Mario were shot 40 times each. Elsa’s father, Carlos, was also killed, and her mother, Elvira, was wounded. Mario and Elsa are “martyr(s) for social justice who tried to build a country based on human rights for all, rather than based on the privileges of a few,” said Father Alejandro Angulo S.J., director of CINEP.

On May 18, thousands will gather in Bogotá’s central plaza to commemorate the lives of Elsa and Mario. The plaza will be full of photos of the thousands who have died in the conflict, and while they will be remembered, we will focus on two trees within the forest of memories.

People of faith throughout the United States and Canada are invited to join in this commemoration of the lives of Elsa and Mario and all Colombians who have given their lives for justice and peace in Colombia. Join us for the second annual Days of Prayer and Action for Peace in Colombia on May 20-21. Find out how here.

Jess Hunter-Bowman is the Andean Regional Director for Witness for Peace.

How can U.S. policymakers and taxpayers know the truth if Colombia’s victims aren’t allowed to speak to them?

Dany is a 28-year-old husband, father, and banana vendor from San Onofre, a poor, rural municipality along the Caribbean coast. In the past seven years more than 3,000 people have been killed there. Many of them were buried in the 300-plus mass graves identified in the municipal limits. Leftist guerillas are responsible for much political violence and heartache, but right-wing paramilitaries are responsible for filling these graves. In 2000, the guerrillas and the paramilitaries began their territorial dispute. Unarmed civilians dared to live where armies fought for power and control, and paid the costs. Mass displacements punctuated 2001-2003; at the end of 2003 the "paras" won and established control of this strategic corridor for drug trafficking. Dany lived through it all.

The detailed accounts that flow from his lips clash with his easygoing coastal demeanor and sunny smile: He describes cruel and calculated harm. Obvious and systematic collaboration between the government state-armed forces and the paramilitary. Government leaders from his area are in jail and under investigation because of this cozy, blood-letting relationship. Witnesses to the facts are being killed.

He was to go to the U.S. to tell you about this first hand.

The U.S. Office on Colombia, Mennonite Central Committee, Lutheran World Relief, and Justapaz teamed up for a speaker’s tour of Washington, D.C., and the East Coast. Along with two active volunteers from our documentation program and Oliva – a journalist and member of an urban Pentecostal church - Dany was slated to visit congressional offices, churches, and schools to share his personal experiences and findings of the documentation program in general.

We pulled out all the stops that supposedly “guarantee” a tourist visa for an official visit: letters of invitation from the sponsoring organization outlining purpose, schedule, assurances that all costs are covered, and airplane ticket information to demonstrate their full intention to return. The human rights division of the U.S. Embassy wrote a letter of recommendation asking that they be granted the visas. This usually works.

Oliva was granted her visa. Dany was denied. He says they didn’t even look at his papers. Was it because he was poor? Because he was black? Because he was from San Onofre?

How are taxpayers, even those who care enough to listen, going to know the truth if the victims are not allowed to speak? How are U.S. policymakers - yes, the ones who are currently swooning over Colombian President Uribe in Washington - going to make informed decisions when they only hear convincing half-truths?

There are structural, rational reasons why Dany was denied a visa. The same is said for the need to “pacify” San Onofre through paramilitary domination.

Now for my second, shorter, related complaint: Too many U.S. elected officials are misinformed and don’t know what they are talking about - and that is seriously irresponsible.

For example, Rep. Meeks (D - NY) used to be an ally in Congress. But he sold out. He was quoted in El Tiempo, as saying that “People in the streets [of Colombia] feel good. [Colombian President] Uribe has improved the quality of life. And this is the best thermometer to know that things are going well.”

It just so happens that I was in the streets of Colombia today. While in the line at the bank two middle-aged men in suits were reading the paper over my shoulder and then hesitantly struck up a conversation on the article. They consider Colombia’s situation “tragic and complex” and think that instead of more money to boost the war effort, the government would do well to stop diverting funds from health care and education and invest international support in social programs.

That’s not to say that Uribe doesn’t have support. He certainly does, but it was nowhere near full and now it’s waning. And this is not to say that all U.S. members of Congress lack clarity. Actually, the critical contingent is growing. There are some, like Sen. Leahy, who are championing the cause and appear(ed) to be making meaningful strides with the new Congress. We need him to write a letter on Dany’s behalf. But back to my theme…

I allow myself to indulge in sharing this second complaint because, in theory, it could be addressed if the first was rectified. The holy work of transformation happens through sharing truth (good news) and human connection.

At moments like this, I recite as a mantra the wise words of my mentor and friend, deceased Goshen College anthropology professor Ron Stutzman: “Janna, none of us knows enough to be cynical.”

I commit to addressing this constructively tomorrow morning.

You can help too! How about going to hear Oliva speak? She’s going to be excellent. See the itinerary and press release. How many of us are going to participate in Days of Prayer and Action? It’s coming right up, May 20 and 21. We’ve done all the work for you: prayers, glossy bulletin inserts, and talking points for your members of Congress at your fingertips! It’s all here.

Janna Hunter-Bowman is the Coordinator the Documentation and Advocacy Program of Justapaz, the peace and justice ministry of the Colombian Mennonite Church. She works with regional teams to register the impact of the armed conflict on Colombia's Protestant churches. Learn more about their work in their recent report: A Prophetic Call: Colombian Protestant Churches Document Their Suffering and Their Hope.

The 50-year Colombian armed conflict pits government armed forces and right-wing paramilitary groups against leftist guerrillas. Church people, part of the unarmed civilian population struggling to stay outside the conflict, are caught in the cross-fire. Since 2000, the United States has provided nearly $5 billion in aid to the Colombian government, roughly 80% of it military, alternately under the auspices of the "War on Drugs," or the "War on Terror." United States policies have failed to meet their stated aim, and instead enflame the conflict and contribute to the resulting humanitarian crisis.

Now the political waters in Colombia are growing from unsettled to turbulent; conditions are likely to get worse before they get better. I feel like the power players are more boldly and unselfconsciously asserting a dimension of “fragile unreality,” as Russian fiction author Nabokov described his context of totalitarian regime.

A hunted Colombian Baptist pastor tells me his drama. The cast of characters is outrageous; hit men are taxied by those who should be their target’s protectors. It would be easier to convey through a one-act play in which executioner and savior are played by the same actor.

Dozens of government members are currently under investigation for their ties with the right-wing death squads. Some are very close to Colombian President Uribe. All the members of Congress from one department are behind bars. The witnesses are being killed.

To cast attention from the “parapolitica” closing in, President Uribe accuses his political opponents (including at least one person I know well) of being terrorists dressed as civilians. They are at risk. Aren’t voices of dissent permitted, if not necessary, in a democracy?

A man from church is attacked cattycorner from where I work, at Justapaz. Presumed paramilitary agents said they didn’t hunt him down in the Mennonite church beside our office because the entrance was surrounded by "strong men." He laughed at them because the only human there was a disabled person who watches the cars. They beat him up, but somehow he escaped death for a third time.

As Nabokov writes in Invitation to a Beheading, there is a "mistrust of what we call everyday reality, an acute sense of that reality’s fickleness and frailty.”

What can you do? Colombian church leaders entreat you: “Sisters and brothers, join us in fervent prayer and faithful witness for a sustainable peace in Colombia.” Respond to the invitation of Colombia Protestants and Catholics by participating in the Days of Prayer and Action for Peace in Colombia, May 20 and 21. Share their stories of suffering and hope. Will you join with hundreds of other North American and Colombian congregations in joint worship, and public actions and advocacy? Learn more about how you can take action.

Janna Hunter-Bowman is the Coordinator the Documentation and Advocacy Program of Justapaz, the peace and justice ministry of the Colombian Mennonite Church. She works with regional teams to register the impact of the armed conflict on Colombia's Protestant churches. Learn more about their work in their recent report: A Prophetic Call: Colombian Protestant Churches Document Their Suffering and Their Hope.

This piece by Adam Isacson of the Center for International Policy is particularly revealing of the high-level links between members of the Colombian government (including military) and right-wing paramilitary groups that are included on the U.S. list of World Terrorist Organizations. CIA evidence incriminates a celebrated military commander trained at the U.S. military training center formerly called the School of the Americas. Gen. Mario Montoya's case is part of a much broader scandal unraveling at an almost dizzying pace.

Of course, here in Colombia, Gen. Montoya is denying all charges, scoffing at CIA evidence, and lambasting the LA Times for being irresponsible. The Colombian government is publicly supporting the General. Might this test the cozy international relationship between these the U.S. and Colombia, two countries that so need each other, politically, at this time? Read excerpts from Isacson's piece below:

The front page of today's Los Angeles Times has a huge piece of news: "The CIA has obtained new intelligence alleging that the head of Colombia's U.S.-backed army collaborated extensively with right-wing militias that Washington considers terrorist organizations, including a militia headed by one of the country's leading drug traffickers."

According to the story, a U.S. intelligence document accuses Gen. Mario Montoya of collaborating closely with paramilitaries in one of the signature military operations of President Uribe's first term.
...
Gen. Montoya's men were working hand-in-glove with the paramilitary group headed by "Don Berna" - Diego Fernando Murillo, a feared paramilitary chief whom the U.S. government wishes to extradite to face drug-trafficking charges.

This means big trouble for U.S. military aid to Colombia. Gen. Montoya has been a favorite of the United States. He was trained, and even served as an instructor, at the U.S. Army School of the Americas. He headed "Joint Task Force South," the unit that coordinated U.S.-funded military operations in southern Colombia when Plan Colombia began.

We're not talking about a rogue "bad apple" from a hard-line military faction. These allegations of paramilitary collaboration are leveled at the head of Colombia's entire army. The LA Times piece goes on to allege that Montoya's immediate superior, the head of the entire armed forces, is not beyond suspicion either.
...
These revelations are emerging at a crucial moment, as the new Democratic-controlled Congress begins to consider U.S. aid to Colombia for next year. Many of those involved in drafting the aid legislation are critics of the mostly military nature of past U.S. assistance to Colombia. Most have gone on record several times expressing concerns about human rights, and about allegations of military-paramilitary collaboration.

The U.S. and Colombian authorities have repeatedly assured these congressional critics that charges of military-paramilitary ties are (1) false or exaggerated; (2) something that happens at low levels but is not tolerated at the top; or (3) a problem that is rapidly disappearing as the armed forces improve. These arguments have come from ambassadors, generals, State Department officials, and President Uribe himself; as a result, members of Congress - even skeptics - have generally had to give them the benefit of the doubt.

The "benefit of the doubt" disappears when the LA Times' front page can report that the military's top leadership truly collaborated with paramilitaries on a recent, high-profile military offensive like Operation Orion. Key members of Congress will be left feeling that their longtime suspicions have been confirmed, and are likely to act accordingly.

The U.S. policy that began with Plan Colombia is in bigger trouble today than it has ever been.

Janna Bowman is the Documentation and Advocacy program coordinator for Justapaz, the Christian Center for Justice, Peace and Nonviolent Action of the Colombian Mennonite Church. Join Christians from across North America and Colombia in Days of Prayer and Action for Peace in Colombia, May 20-21. Learn more and find resources to participate at peaceincolombia.org.