Colombians and U.S. Ex-Pats Gather in Solidarity to Demand the Closure of Georgia’s SOA/WHINSEC

By Andrea Bachmann, Witness for Peace Intern

This past weekend, as thousands of protesters came together in Georgia to call for the closure of the U.S. Army’s School of the Americas (SOA)/WHINSEC, Colombians, too, were taking action at home. On Friday, Colombian and U.S. activists kicked things off with a march at the U.S. embassy in Bogotá. U.S. citizens delivered a letter urging Ambassador McKinley to advocate for the SOA/WHINSEC’s closure and to investigate all human rights violations carried out by the school’s Colombian graduates.

Carrying crosses to represent the thousands of Colombians murdered by order of these graduates, marchers solemnly recited each victim’s name as they walked. One of the loudest voices in the crowd was that of Mauricio Castillo, whose brother, Jaime Castillo, was murdered just two years ago in the extrajudicial killings scandal masterminded in large part by SOA/WHINSEC graduates. “We are here to remember,” said Mauricio, “and to demand justice and reparation for these crimes.”

Demonstrators in Bogota carry a banner listing Colombian SOA/WHINSEC graduates
and their human rights violations. Crosses display the names of their victims.

At their final destination, the Colombian Ministry of Defense, demonstrators presented a second letter asking President Santos to stop sending students to the SOA/WHINSEC on account of the grave atrocities committed by its graduates in Colombia.

The action continued Saturday with a vigil remembering those killed in massacres under the direction of prominent SOA/WHINSEC graduates. After a brief conversation with partners in Georgia, participants reflected on the deaths and suffering that so many communities in Colombia have experienced, and prayed for protection against further violence.

The weekend’s events exposed the clear connection between Colombian SOA/WHINSEC graduates and the country’s abhorrent human rights record. Since 2002, Colombian armed forces reportedly committed more than 3,000 extrajudicial executions, involving more than 500 military units assisted and/or trained by the United States since 2000. Colombian SOA/WHINSEC graduates have been linked to a multitude of notable atrocities, including the 1997 massacre in Mapiripán, the 2005 massacre in the Peace Community San Jose de Apartadó, and widespread assassinations and displacement in Urabá. Furthermore, SOA/WHINSEC graduates have consistently been implicated in acts of unspeakable violence across Latin America, from civilian massacres, disappearances, and assassinations in El Salvador and Guatemala in the 1980s to the 2009 coup of the democratically elected president of Honduras.

For Latin Americans and citizens of the United States alike, the School of the Americas remains a tragic symbol of suffering, widespread human rights violations and failed U.S. foreign policy. This weekend’s actions in Georgia, Colombia, and across the hemisphere, demonstrate growth and perseverance in a movement for a more dignified approach to our relationship with Latin America.

Click here to watch a video of the protest in Bogota.

Colombian Minorities Develop Policy Proposals for the New Santos Administration

By Andrea Bachmann

Last weekend more than 17,000 people gathered at Bogota’s National University for the inaugural meeting of the Congreso de los Pueblos - the “Peoples’ Congress.” Known as the Minga in previous years, the event was originally established in 2008 to unite indigenous groups from different regions in a shared struggle for their cultural and traditional rights.

This year, organizers decided to expand, renaming the event to reflect a more diverse attendance. Indigenous groups joined Afro-Colombians and other ethnic groups, labor unions, students, and various social organizations from across the country to express their solidarity, discuss the mutual challenges they face, and develop proposals for the new Santos administration.

On Friday October 8th, participants arrived by the busload and marched to the university, transforming it from campus to small community. Cooking fires roared, drums and flutes sounded, soccer matches ensued, and even a few small stores emerged along rows of tents and buses.

Indigenous guards lead the Peoples' Congress in the event's final march through Bogota on Oct. 12

Over the following three days, Congress attendees took part in round table discussions organized by problematic topic, by occupational sector, and by region of origin. All were given the opportunity to offer input on issues such as land and labor rights, institutional violence, education, economic development, and human rights. The conclusions reached at these meetings were then compiled into a proclamation, "Word of the Peoples' Congress: The Country's Proposal for a Life of Dignity."

On its fifth and final day, the Peoples' Congress culminated in a march from the National University to the Plaza Bolivar, a central plaza in downtown Bogota, where organizers formally presented the proclamation and musicians led the crowd in a final celebration of unity. The movement - now three years in the making - showed unprecedented growth that is only expected to continue in years to come.

Andrea Bachmann is a Witness for Peace intern based in Colombia.

Students and Musicians Support Colombian Sugar Cane Workers

by Andrea Bachmann

In Bogotá this past Sunday, October 3rd, student organizers joined several music groups and social organizations to host a concert in support of Valle de Cauca sugar cane workers who are facing judicial proceedings for the 2008 strike against unjust working conditions.

During the strike on June 14, 2008, over 18,000 sugar cane cutters and their families organized to demand fair wages and better working hours. For exercising their constitutional right to protest, six leaders of the strike are being tried for crimes against the state, including conspiracy and sabotage. They now await the verdict of their trial.

Strike leaders address supporters at “Cortazo.” Two signs in front of the stage read, “We are in solidarity with the June 14th Sugar Cane Cutters’ Movement” and “Protest is not a crime.”

At Sunday’s "Cortazo" concert, a host of supporters gathered to demonstrate solidarity with the sugar cane workers and the strike, known as the June 14th Movement. The six prosecuted – four sugar cane cutters and two advisers to a senator’s office – were present to hear various musicians denounce the judicial action against them and to express to the crowd both their gratitude and their firm commitment to this fight for justice.

The six leaders facing prosecution, from left to right: Alberto Bejarano, José Oney Valencia, Oscar Bedoya, Omar Sedano, Raul Chacon, Juan Pablo Ochoa.

Andrea Bachmann is an intern with Witness for Peace.