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President Obama Must Raise Human Rights Concerns with Colombian PresidentOpportunity to Show Human Rights are Important for US Allies and Adversaries
Colombian President Alvaro Uribe’s meeting with President Obama on Monday comes at a controversial moment. President Uribe is embroiled in a number of human rights, corruption and abuse of power scandals. The Colombian President is seriously considering amending the Constitution to run for a third term in office. Meanwhile, a Free Trade Agreement remains stalled in the U.S. Congress. “It is crucial that President Obama send the right message, with the right tone. Colombia is a close partner of the United States, which makes it all the more important that we voice concerns about human rights violations and the rule of law,” said Gimena Sánchez Garzoli, Senior Associate for Colombia, Washington Office on Latin America. “Wiretapping is just the tip of the iceberg. Far from protecting human rights defenders, the intelligence agency has engaged in ‘intelligence offensives’ that included sending defenders death threats and initiating malicious criminal investigations against them for bogus links to terrorism,” said Andrew Hudson, Senior Associate, Human Rights First. Some of the most frequent targets of the DAS spying have been Supreme Court judges charged with investigating widespread allegations of ties between the president’s political allies and drug-funded paramilitary death squads. The so-called “para-politics” scandal has put over 30 percent of Colombia’s Congress, and many governors and mayors, under investigation, on trial, or behind bars. Nearly all of the implicated politicians are members of pro-Uribe parties. Meanwhile, months after Colombians were shocked by revelations that the army killed dozens of young men in a Bogota slum, government forces continue to murder innocent civilians with tragic frequency. Colombian human rights groups are still documenting new cases of extrajudicial executions and an alarming spike in forced disappearances. “We now know of more than a thousand cases of innocent civilians killed since 2002. This is a systematic practice shrouded by impunity, as very few of these cases have resulted in convictions. This situation is aggravated by President Uribe’s insistence on downplaying the problem, or even implying that the accusations are a guerrilla strategy,” said Kelly Nicholls, Executive Director, U.S. Office on Colombia. President Uribe exacerbates these problems by regularly labeling non-violent human rights activists as terrorists. For example, President Uribe recently spoke on national television about renowned human rights journalist Hollman Morris, saying that his journalism was “deceitful and a glorification of terrorism” and that it “is important to distinguish between friends of terrorists who act as journalists and those who are real journalists.” Such attacks endanger human rights defenders, publicly stigmatize them, unleash the intelligence services against them and result in a surge of death threats. Colombia continues to be the most dangerous place in the world for labor activists. So far this year, 21 trade unionists have been assassinated. Efforts to bring perpetrators to justice are inadequate as 95% of labor killings remain unpunished. For these reasons it is imperative that President Obama, both publicly and privately, conveys a strong message on human rights to his Colombian counterpart. “President Obama should make clear that U.S. support comes with a price: respect for freedom of expression and other human rights. Right now, President Obama is being asked to raise these concerns more strongly with Iran. It is important that close allies hear the same message,” said Lisa Haugaard, Executive Director, Latin America Working Group. President Uribe’s visit comes at a time when Colombia is awaiting his final word on whether he will run for a third term in May 2010, a step that will require the country to amend its constitution. If he runs and wins, President Uribe will face few checks on executive power, as his chosen political allies will be in control of all judicial and oversight bodies. “Measures that affect democratic checks and balances or institutional stability, such as re-election, are Colombia’s internal business,” said Adam Isacson, Director of the Colombia Program, The Center for International Policy. “Nonetheless, while in Washington, President Uribe should hear what several U.S. editorials have already expressed: changes to the country’s democratic order can affect U.S. interests, and U.S. – Colombia relations.” ### For further information contact:
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