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NEWS & LETTERS, October 2002
Colombian women lead resistance
An estimated 800,000 workers marched through the streets of
Bogota, Colombia on Sep. 16 in opposition to Alvaro Uribe's presidency. This was
the largest show of opposition to Uribe since he took power Aug. 7 and began his
campaign to carry out the total militarization of the country, in concert with
George W. Bush's assistance. The day's events, which were intended to be a
general strike, would have been more massive had thousands of CAMPESINOS not
been prevented from traveling to the capital by military blockades. The day after taking power, Uribe announced a pilot project
to recruit 600 "civilian informants" for the military, part of his
stated aim during his campaign to arm a million such spies as one means to end
Colombia's 38-year civil war. The next day Bush gave Uribe authorization to use nearly
$1.7 billion in U.S. military aid to fight the FARC-ELN rebels, money that until
then was to have been used only for anti-drug operations. This huge shift in
policy towards Colombia, justified as an anti-terrorism measure was followed on
August 12 by Uribe signing a Draconian law limiting civil rights. Then, on Sept. 1, Uribe announced that any war crimes
committed by his military over the next seven years will fall outside the
jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court. Again, this came as a
concerted action with Bush, who is insisting that American soldiers be immune to
prosecution under the Court anywhere they operate. What has been missed even in the alternative press is the
response of Colombian women to Uribe's electoral victory. On July 25 20,000
women from all over the country held a "National Mobilization of Women
Against the War" in the capital. More than 600 women's organizations
prepared for the event over a period of several months with the aim of beginning
of a "national movement of women against the war, a permanent
process..." This burgeoning movement has arisen in response to the
failure of the peace negotiations between the government and the FARC, which in
turn led to Uribe's "mano dura" electoral campaign and victory.
Patricia Buritica, of Mujeres Colombianas por la Paz (Colombian Women for
Peace), spoke about what has been taking place: "Women from various
political tendencies have decided to put all our effort into fighting for a new
process of negotiation that will include all ethnicities, races, the old and the
young, rural and urban...a process that will involve the diverse country that we
are." --Mitch Weerth |
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