August 31, 2000

Protesters Denounce Clinton's Visit to Colombia

by Garry Leech

Thousands of demonstrators took to the streets of Bogotá and other Colombian cities to protest President Clinton's arrival in Cartagena to symbolically deliver the $1.3 billion aid package to Colombian President Andres Pastrana. There were also protests in cities around the world against the escalating U.S. military involvement in Colombia's long-running civil war. On the eve of Clinton's visit the rebel Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), the principal targets of the planned U.S.-funded military offensive, launched attacks against the Colombian Army in various parts of the country. For his part, Clinton responded to growing concerns of direct U.S. troop involvement in the conflict by denying any similarities between Colombia and Vietnam.

Following Tuesday's guerrilla attacks throughout the country and student protests in Medellín, Clinton arrived in a heavily-guarded Cartagena late Wednesday morning. He was greeted by President Pastrana and taken on a tour of the old colonial city, which had been "cleansed" of street children, beggars and street vendors to make it more presentable for the U.S. president. In addition, there was a ban on public protests in Cartagena, but in Bogotá and other Colombian cities, as well as in cities around the world, people took to the streets.

Thousands marched through the streets of Bogotá where they burned U.S. flags to protest the escalating U.S. involvement in the Colombian conflict. Students gathered on the campus of the National University to demonstrate against the military aid that they claim will increase the level of violence in the country and result in even greater poverty and misery. At one point riot police stormed the gates of the university and the ensuing battle with the students resulted in the death of a policeman. The army was then called in to quell the demonstration and restore order. Police also clashed with demonstrators outside the fortress-like U.S. embassy compound in western Bogotá.

Protesters marched in numerous cities around the world calling for the United States to stay out of Colombia. In London about 80 protesters demonstrated in front of the U.S. embassy, carrying six coffins for the schoolchildren killed recently by the Colombian Army in Pueblo Rico. In New York, more than a hundred protestors marched along 42nd street carrying banners saying, "NO to Plan Colombia." Human rights was one of the principal concerns of the protestors and according to Zeno Wood, Co-founder of the Colombia Action Committee, "Clinton made it clear he is not interested in human rights when he waived the aid package's human rights conditions last week and approved the issuance of the aid."

Meanwhile in Cartagena, Clinton addressed growing public concerns about the Vietnamization of the Colombian conflict by insisting that U.S. troops would not be sent to Colombia--he neglected to mention the 500 military advisors to be stationed there under the terms of the aid package. He further tried to deflect criticism of U.S. military involvement by emphasizing the social and economic aspects of the aid package, in spite of the fact that 80% of the aid is going to the Colombian military and police.

Also, in stark contrast to administration arguments during the congressional aid package hearings, there was no mention of the urgent need to help protect "democracy" in Colombia from the growing strength of guerrilla forces. Such a discourse suggested U.S. involvement in the civil war was required to protect the Colombian Government from the insurgent threat, all of which is very reminiscent of Washington's justification for its involvement in Vietnam and El Salvador.

Back in the United States, Clinton's visit to Colombia was intended to help Vice-President Al Gore's campaign by portraying the Democrats as tough on drugs. However, it also brought the Colombian conflict into U.S. living rooms and may have created a slight media opening for groups opposed to the aid package. One of the goals of the protest in New York was to bring attention to facts that are often ignored by the mainstream media, especially human rights abuses committed by the Colombian Army and its paramilitary allies. Father Ramon Mejia of the Movement for Peace in Colombia said, "Everybody knows how many people Pinochet murdered in Chile. In Colombia, many times that number are killed every year."

It was recently announced that U.S. Army General Keith Huber will be dispatched to Bogotá to oversee the implementation of the aid package and its role in Plan Colombia. He is a veteran of the army's Special Forces and the U.S. counter-insurgency campaigns in Central America in the 1980s. These campaigns involved the arming and training of the Guatemalan and Salvadoran armies, both of which were notorious human rights abusers.

There is little reason to believe that the campaign involving the Colombian Army--currently the hemisphere's worst human rights violator--will be any different. Huber will be the only U.S. Army General stationed in Latin America, an exceptionally high rank to oversee a force of only 500 troops. However, despite President Clinton's denials, it is likely he will soon be commanding a far greater number of U.S. soldiers in Colombia. In the meantime, Colombians and people around the world will continue to protest against such an escalation of U.S. military involvement.

This article originally appeared in Colombia Report, an online journal that was published by the Information Network of the Americas (INOTA).

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