MORE MILITARY AID NOT THE ANSWER IN COLOMBIA

The Bush Administration has proposed to expand military aid to the
war-wracked nation of Colombia. It proposes to provide another $98 million
to protect a 500-mile long oil pipeline. This is in addition to the nearly
$1.3 billion of mostly military aid approved by Congress for Plan Colombia
in 2000. According to Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, in
Colombia paramilitary death squads carry out three-fifths of the massacres
and assassinations of workers, small farmers and others. The Colombian army
continues to organize, coordinate and support paramilitary groups. These
close links are well-documented.

Massacres of civilians have increased dramatically since Plan Colombia and
the perpetrators of human rights abuses have not been prosecuted.

Lawmakers should scrutinize ant attempt to expand military assistance to an
army linked to death squads. Colombia has failed to address the worsening
human rights situation.

Instead, the United States should encourage and support a negotiated end to
this 40-year-old conflict. Providing more military aid is just like pouring
gasoline on a fire and will not lead to stability in the war-torn country.

Noreen Ordronneau

Carrboro