CPTnet
August 19, 2010
COLOMBIA ANALYSIS: July: Bicentennial of “independence,” ten years of Plan Colombia 

by Eloy García

July was a busy month for social activists in Colombia. The 20th marked the Bicentennial of Colombia’s so called “independence,” and the 13th marked 10 years of Plan Colombia. Social activists are calling the bicentennial a “commemoration” and not a celebration because Colombia has never fully realized its true independence. The claim is that the neocolonialism of the United States replaced the Spanish imperial yoke.

Plan Colombia has only added to the distaste of celebrating independence as it directly conflicts with Colombian sovereignty. Plan Colombia is a strategy imposed by the United States to reinforce the armed forces, eradicate illicit crops through aerial fumigations, and supposedly reactivate the economy.[1] After 10 years, coca eradication is a failure, and the economy continues to flounder with unemployment at 24%, and the military, with all its abuses, is opening bases throughout Colombia to U.S. forces.

Recently the Fellowship of Reconciliation (FOR) and the U.S. Office on Colombia released Military Assistance and Human Rights: Colombia, U.S. Accountability, and Global Implications <http://forusa.org/colombia-report-2010>, a report that exposes a high level of extrajudicial executions and human rights violations in areas under the command of Colombian SOA-WHINSEC[2] graduates or units that have received increased U.S. military aid.

Even with this information the Colombian government continues with its plans for the further encroachment of the U.S. military in Colombia through the use of seven national military bases by U.S. forces.

What do Colombians have to say about the bases and Plan Colombia? It seems to differ depending on a person’s socio economic status. Some Colombians who live in the city say U.S. military support and the bases are necessary for protection from Venezuela. Most of the rural population actively involved with organizations that protect their human rights firmly disagree with the idea of Plan Colombia and U.S. bases in Colombia.

According to the support shown for Alvaro Uribe and Manuel Santos in the last two presidential elections, Colombians living in the United States support U.S. intervention in Colombia. This would include U.S. use of the seven military bases. Unfortunately it seems the lure of consumerism and economic opportunity in the United States is stronger than culture, family, and historical memory. Somehow the connection is not made that the consumer lifestyle and support for continued military intervention from the north is impoverishing and destroying families in the south. When speaking to these immigrants, the influence of U.S. propaganda is obvious – propaganda that is heavy on demonization of Latin American leaders and false patriotism, and light on hard facts.

What should not be forgotten is that, as military analyst Charles Mair states, the United States is an “empire of consumption.”[3] “The United States possesses less than 5 percent of global population but consumes about one-quarter of all global resources, including petroleum,” he writes....

CLICK FOR MORE.