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COLOMBIA SUPPORT NETWORK
(Champaign-Urbana chapter in central Illinois)
http://www.prairienet.org/csncu
csncu@prairienet.org
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* ACTION ALERT -- THE WESTERN HEMISPHERE DRUG ELIMINATION ACT *
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Dear friends:
The Western Hemisphere Drug Elimination Act is a bill making its way
through the U.S. Congress. The WHDE Act is intented to provide countries,
primarily in Latin America, with assistance to ostensibly help curb the
flow of narcotics into the United States.
In the House of Representatives, this bill is known as H.R.4300
[introduced by Rep. Bill McCollum (R) of Florida]. In the Senate, the
same bill is known as S.2341 [introduced by Senator Mike DeWine (R) of
Ohio]. The House bill has 46 co-sponsors, indicating a broad base of
support. The vote in the Senate will follow the vote in the House.
We are concerned with Section 201 of the WHDE Act, which deals specif-
ically with Colombia. We are not asking for the wholesale discarding
of the Western Hemisphere Drug Elimination Act. We are only asking
for Section 201 to be striken from the final version.
Compare the aid provided to Peru under this Act with that for Colombia.
86% ($150 million) of the aid to Peru is targeted to enhance USAID
alternative development programs. In contrast, only 7% ($15 million)
of the aid to Colombia is targeted for an alternative development
program. The balance of the Colombian aid, roughly $200 million, is
in the form of helicopters and other military gear.
If the United States government truly wishes to eliminate drugs in
the western hemisphere, a more concerted effort should be made to
provide Colombian peasants with alternatives to growing coca and
opium. Alternative development programs are not a panacea, but they
are a more constructive approach than the increased militarization
of Colombia. By arming the Colombian security forces, the United
States is becoming entangled in a "dirty war" that is slaughtering
thousands of civilians and has displaced 1.2 million people over the
past few years.
U.S. support for the so-called "War on Drugs" in Colombia does not
strengthen democracy or respect human rights, nor does it stem the
flow of drugs to the United States. Our support of the Colombian
security forces, and their paramilitary allies, is a tragic mistake.
Please join us in this letter writing campaign to ask our represen-
tatives to strike Section 201 from this bill.
You can find out more about the Western Hemisphere Drug Elimination
Act, and our letter writing campaign, by visiting our webpage at:
http://www.prairienet.org/csncu
Solidarity,
Dennis Grammenos
Colombia Support Network
Champaign-Urbana chapter
in central Illinois
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