April 1997 News CSN Home | March 1997 News | May 1997 News

News from and about Colombia

• NEW: Senator Russell Feingold writes State Dept about Colombian human rights
• Colombian military attempts to intimidate Gloria Cuartas; Faceless Justice threatened; CSN Web Page under attack
• NEW: Colombian General Communicates with CSN
• Italian Priest working in Cauca threatened, calls for assistance from the world
• NEW: Colombia Human Rights actions in Washington DC April 23 and 24
• Report from small town in Uraba trying to stop the violence
• NEW: April 8 statement by Pax Christi to United Nations on situation in Uraba
• Links to other recent documents from the UN Human Rights Commission...soon
• New York Times editorial of 3/27/97 on Colombia --

  A  section of it reads "The Administration is now proposing a $40 
  million package of aid to Colombia's police and military to fight drugs. This 
  comes on top of at least $35 million in equipment and training the military 
  is already scheduled to get this year...This is dangerous ground. Because 
  leftist guerrilla groups in certain areas are involved in trafficking, 
  Colombian officials openly say that some of the equipment will be used for 
  fighting guerrillas...The aid is turning the U.S. once again into the backer of 
  an abusive military involved in a seemingly endless civil war...The 
  Colombian miliary is a throwback to the bad old days of Latin military 
  dictatorships, and the U.S. support for it is as dangerous as it was when 
  Communism, not cocaine, was the enemy."