September 2002 Call to Action News

Mobilization against Colombia "war on drugs" set for Sept. 27

The National Mobilization on Colombia - a coalition of peace and human rights groups - will converge on Washington for the third time Sept. 27 to lobby against U.S. military aid and for nonviolent, negotiated political solutions to the 38-year old conflict in Colombia. SOA Watch is part of the coalition because Colombia has the largest number of SOA military graduates in Latin America - who are implicated in massacres and human rights abuses.

U.S. military aid is packaged as part of the War on Drugs, yet despite a 17-fold increase in drug war spending since 1980, drugs are now cheaper, more potent, and more accessible than before the war began. Addressing "Plan Colombia: Another El Salvador?" at the CTA Conference Nov. 2 will be Cecilia Zárate-Laun, former university professor in Bogotá and co-founder and director of the Colombia Support Network, based in Madison, Wis.

For ways to get involved, visit www.colombiamobilization.org