Reply #71: Here's an article highlighting the SOA connection: [View All]

[Judi Lynn]

SOA Watch in Colombia
Written by Liz Deligio and Charity Ryerson, SOA Watch Illinois
SOA Watch visited Colombia in July as a member of the Ethics Commission of the human rights group Justicia y Paz.

The Commission publicizes human rights abuses in a number of specific communities in Colombia, where a brutal war continues to rage. More than four billion dollars in U.S. military aid, accompanied by military training for the Colombian armed forces at the School of the Americas, is fueling the war.

The approach of the SOA/WHINSEC of “solving” social problems with military violence has left an indelible mark on the country: millions of people have had to flee their homes and thousands have been killed over the past years. The Colombian military has the worst human rights record in the Americas. The military continues a ruthless counterinsurgency campaign that has killed thousands of Colombians and displaced millions (this year, Colombia surpassed Sudan as the country with the most internally displaced people).

Liz Deligio and Charity Ryerson, as SOA Watch members of the Ethics Commission, traveled to Colombia from July 23 - August 1 to visit with impacted communities. The Ethics Commission is a gathering of members from the Colombian and international communities who have joined in solidarity with impacted communities in Colombia. The Commission gathers twice a year to hear testimony from communities about the systematic human rights violations they experience as well as what they envision for reparation. The Commission traveled to the Chocó region in the north of Colombia.

In northern Antioquia, the African palm oil business has forcibly displaced thousands of mestizo, afro-descendiente, and indigenous families from their own lands. In concert with the police, military, paramilitaries, and local government offices, the palm oil companies have murdered and displaced community members and falsely claimed legal right to the territory.

More:
http://www.soaw.org/presente/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=76&Itemid=74