PM's visit to Colombia raises spectre of slain aboriginal

Source: The Ottawa Citizen

PM's visit to Colombia raises spectre of slain aboriginal
Assassinated protester testified in Parliament about effects of dam

Richard Foot, The Ottawa Citizen
Published: Monday, July 16, 2007

BOGOTA - When Prime Minister Stephen Harper meets the president of Colombia today at the start of a five-day visit to Latin America, the memory of a slain Colombian aboriginal leader could cast an uncomfortable shadow over their talks.
(snip)

Kimy Pernia Domico, a former leader of Colombia's Embera Katio Indians, left an indelible mark in Canada in 1999 when he testified in Parliament about the impact of a hydro-electric development in the forested river valley where his people live.
(snip)

More important, he warned he might be killed for speaking publicly in Canada.

"Saying these things to you today puts my life in danger," Mr. Domico said. "Already, four Embera leaders have been killed by paramilitary forces for challenging the negative impacts of the Urra Megaproject. ... Anyone who dares to speak out about Urra is accused of being involved with the (anti-government) guerrillas, and with that pretext, they have declared both our communities and leaders to be a military target.
(snip)

Less than two months later, Mr. Domico was kidnapped in the town of Tierralta, Colombia -- grabbed on the street and forced onto the back of a motorcycle by masked gunmen -- and never seen again.




Read more: http://www.canada.com/topics/news/story.html?id=f88b799a-4441-4724-9c63-5d26dfcd21f6

Source: Reuters


Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/americasCrisis/idUSN16371003

n/t

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601082&sid=aURFvyIAD4gY&refer=canada

Harper Starts Talks With Uribe on Canada-Colombia Trade Accord
By Theophilos Argitis and Helen Murphy



:puke:

n/t

harper is falling in the polls and only has a minority government, he can yap all he wants, it doesn't mean he can DO much because, unless he wants his government to fall, he has to be careful what bills he brings forward in Parliament.

Criticism of Fumigation Grows in Colombia as Cocaine Trade is Undiminished
Matthew Stein | 16 Jul 2007
World Politics Review Exclusive

BOGOTÁ, Colombia -- After seven years of ineffective drug policies, Colombia is questioning whether America's coca fumigation strategy is really the answer to their drug problem. From sharp criticism in the Colombian media to Colombia's own defense minister admitting that the country's drug progress resembles a "stationary bicycle," new solutions are rapidly being sought.

Since 2000, under the banner of, "Plan Colombia," the American government has spent $4.7 billion fighting drugs and helping the Colombian military counter armed groups in the country. More than 900,000 hectares of coca, the base for cocaine, have consequently been fumigated or manually eradicated. Yet, according to the U.S. State Department, there is 27 percent more coca in Colombia today than at the onset of Plan Colombia. White House Drug Czar John Walters also recently admitted that the price of cocaine in the United States fell 11 percent from February 2005 to October 2006, with a gram now available in cities like New York and Los Angeles for $30 or less.

Meanwhile, the American-backed efforts have proven costly for Colombia. Although Plan Colombia has helped strengthen state security in main cities and along principal roads throughout the country, the billions spent on aerial fumigations remain controversial. Although it took 3 hectares of fumigated land to successfully eliminate one hectare of coca in 2001, five years later it has taken 21.5 hectares to accomplish the same goal. The consequent bombardments of glysophate chemicals have destroyed licit and illicit crops alike, threatening Colombia's vast bio-diversity, and exacerbating poverty and displacement in a country that already suffers from the largest displaced community in the world.

"The spraying displaced many people because there was nothing to cultivate or eat, and people had to leave," said Richard Solarte, mayor of Villagarzon in Putumayo, the original epicenter of Plan Colombia. "When they fumigate, they fumigate without looking and that affects many people."
(snip/...)

http://www.worldpoliticsreview.com/article.aspx?id=929

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This is one child's depiction of the aerial spraying against illicit drug crops. The drawing shows the fumigation planes; a child with sores on his body; banana, corn, and coffee plants with yellowed leaves; dead fish, birds, chickens, and horses; and the coffin of his younger sibling.
(Courtesy of Adolfo Maldonado)







Photo by Jess Hunter, Witness for Peace

Castillo's black pepper field destroyed by the herbicide spray 2001.