Colombia’s Uribe Said to Hinder Militia Probes

October 17, 2008

The Washington Post ran a story today that according a report released this month by Human Rights Watch, President Álvaro Uribe has blocked attempts to investigate ties between paramilitary groups and the government.

This comes at a time when the Colombian government is trying hard to convince the U.S. Congress that Colombia is working to protect human rights. 

This also comes at a time when MCC is receiving word from our partners in Colombia that the paramilitary continues to carry out attacks on civilians.

Here’s an excerpt from the news article:

Human Rights Watch, which has documented ties between Colombia’s army and paramilitary death squads since the 1980s, said in a 140-page report that officials have made important strides in investigating the illegal, anti-guerrilla paramilitary groups that terrorized this country until they were demobilized in 2006.

But the report accused Uribe of trying to obstruct the probes, instead of supporting them as he claims in his frequent trips to Washington. It also highlighted how Uribe and his aides have tried to tarnish the Supreme Court, which is carrying out an assertive probe that has already found ties between dozens of members of Congress and paramilitary groups.

Leave a Comment » | Latin America/Caribbean, News Stories | Tagged: , , , | Permalink
Posted by Theo Sitther

Capitol Quote 10/16/08

October 16, 2008

“The debate on when to pursue diplomacy – and by implication, when to pursue military force – does not reach the essence of the strategic problems confronting the United States in the coming decades. In fact, it underscores the degree to which U.S. foreign policy has become reactive….

If most U.S. foreign policy attention is devoted to crises fomented by hostile regimes, we are ceding the initiative to our enemies and reducing our capacity to lead the world in ways that are more likely to affect our future.”

–Senator Richard Lugar (R-Ind.), Oct. 15

To read Sen. Lugar’s full speech, click here.

Leave a Comment » | Capital Quotes | Tagged: | Permalink
Posted by Rachelle Lyndaker Schlabach

Bringing Poverty into the Public Debate

October 15, 2008

The United States has a poverty problem.

Although the U.S. boasts the largest economy in the world (by far), more than 37 million U.S. residents live in poverty, according to the most recent information from the Census Bureau.

One in six children in the United States lives in poverty. One in six children, who haven’t even  had the chance to “pull themselves up by their bootstraps” and who have little or no say over their economic condition.

Yet even in this time of economic crisis, poverty is not being talked about by either the presidential candidates nor our elected officials. News from Wall Street gets a lot of press (wasn’t that 11-percent spike a couple of days ago amazing?). The term “main street” – a somewhat dated cliche in an age of suburbs and Wal-Marts – is used to talk about the middle class. But we don’t hear much about the people on the bottom of the economic ladder: the unemployed (except insofar as the unemployment number is a measure of the overall economy), the homeless and those in otherwise dire poverty.

Read the rest of this entry »

Leave a Comment » | Office Campaigns, U.S. Economic Justice | Permalink
Posted by Rachelle Lyndaker Schlabach

Poverty and Peace

October 15, 2008

The United States currently maintains a unique position in the world.  Given its resources, the US has the potential to play an important role in promoting peace and reducing poverty.  However, the current foreign policy of the US has favored unilateral action over international cooperation.  Damaged relationships abroad, policies focused on short term results, and a reliance on military intervention rather than diplomatic efforts have created conflict and suffering.  

As the presidential election winds down and the American people look toward a new administration and Congress, it is necessary to advocate for a foreign policy that demonstrates a commitment to partner in global efforts to reduce poverty.  The American Friends Service Committee recently published A New Roadmap for U.S. Engagement with the World, a report that recommends multilateral approaches to global challenges.  The document outlines five areas where US foreign policy could improve: federal budget priorities. civilian structures, diplomacy, multilateralism, and development and trade.  Imagine what the U.S. could accomplish if it prioritized reducing poverty instead of expanding military might.

Check out http://roadmapforpeace.org/ to view and endorse the principles.

Leave a Comment » | Global Economic Justice, Militarism | Permalink
Posted by Mary Stata

A Financial Rescue for the Poor

October 15, 2008

The US President and the Congress took rapid measures when Wall Street was in trouble when they passed a $700 billion rescue package. Notably missing from the discussion is how people in improvished countries will be affected by this crisis. It is also worth noting that while the US government moved fast to bail-out the banks on Wall Street, it has been slow to help support millions of poor people in the most improvished countries around the world.

One example is the Jubilee Act for Responsible Lending and Expanded Debt Cancellation, a bill in Congress that would expand debt cancellation to more poor countries that need it in order to combat poverty and provide adequate social services for its people. The bill passed the House of Representatives by a 285-132 vote on April 16 and the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on June 24th. The Jubilee Act is under consideration by the full Senate, but it is being blocked by one Senator – Sen. Tom Coburn of Oklahoma.

Congress is now in recess. They are likely to come back for a lame-duck session after the November 4th election. At this time the Senate will have one more opportunity to pass the Jubilee Act. Senators need to hear from their constituents on this issue; especially constituents from Oklahoma should contact Sen. Coburn and urge him to release the hold.

The world economy is facing turbulent times. The ones most affected by this crisis are people who are struggling to survive in the global South. Policymakers should take rapid measures to protect the ‘least of these.’ The Jubilee Act is one way of doing that.

Leave a Comment » | Global Economic Justice | Tagged: , , , | Permalink
Posted by Theo Sitther

Blog Action Day 08: Poverty

October 15, 2008

Today the MCC Washington Office is participating in Blog Action Day 08, an attempt to raise awareness about the issue of poverty on more than 9,000 blogs.

Keep an eye out throughout the day for posts about poverty in the United States and around the world.

Leave a Comment » | U.S. Economic Justice | Permalink
Posted by Rachelle Lyndaker Schlabach

MCC Action Alert: Help Protect Colombian Brothers and Sisters

October 3, 2008

MCC is receiving distressing news from our brothers and sisters in Tierralta, which is located in the province of Cordoba on the northern coast of Colombia. Ongoing paramilitary-military collusion, paramilitary violence, intimidation and control, and continued armed activity of rearmed demobilized groups are the current everyday reality for our brothers and sisters in that region.

Read the rest of this entry »

Leave a Comment » | Action Alerts, Latin America/Caribbean | Tagged: , , | Permalink
Posted by Theo Sitther

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