Pubdate: Wed, 23 Jan 2002 Source: Methow Valley News (WA) Copyright: 2002 Methow Valley News Contact: http://www.methowvalleynews.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1469 Author: Ann George STILL HOPE IN COLOMBIA Dear Editor: What a relief it was to hear that after breaking off negotiations, the Colombian government and the FARC guerrillas have agreed to continue to negotiate for peace. For this we can thank U.N. diplomats who traveled to Colombia for last-minute talks with the guerrillas. The Colombian government and the FARC guerrillas began formal peace negotiations in January 1999, eight months after thousands of Colombians took to the streets demanding peace. The two groups met and agreed on an agenda of items to be discussed including: protection of human rights as a responsibility of the state, agrarian policy including redistribution of unproductive land, respect for international humanitarian law, opposition to self-defense groups (the paramilitaries), judicial reform, the strengthening of social services, and the broadening of the democracy to include equal opportunities for minorities and opposition parties. All of these reforms are desperately needed in a country where: citizens are routinely assassinated for speaking out against human rights abuses, more labor union leaders are murdered than in any other country in the world, two million mostly poor farmers (about 5 percent of the population) have been displaced by the conflict and receive almost no help from the government, 97 percent of crimes go unsolved, the paramilitaries, who are responsible for 80 percent of the human rights abuses, often work with the support of the military and assassinations of opposition party candidates are not uncommon. The break in negotiations came the day after 14 Black Hawk helicopters purchased from the U.S. were delivered to Colombia. In the past two years Congress has voted to send $1.85 billion of mostly military aid to the region. The bulk of this money was for Colombia for the expansion of its military and the purchase of military helicopters. I hope that as the strength of its military grows the Colombian government can keep its sights set on working toward the peace its citizens so desperately want. Ann George Winthrop - --- MAP posted-by: Beth