Monday, June 29, 12:30pm
North side of the White House
(On the sidewalk to the south of Lafayette Park)
Contact: 202-403-1752
On Monday afternoon President Obama will meet for the first official time with Colombian President Alvaro Uribe. We intend to speak to Obama before Uribe does. Please join us at the White House for an emergency rally at 12:30pm on Monday. Using creative actions, signs, and voices, we’ll ask President Obama to make clear that the future of U.S.-Colombia policy will hinge on human rights.
The situation in Colombia is grave: increasing and unchecked murders of unionists, human rights defenders, Afro-Colombian and indigenous leaders, and innocent civilians. Until such alarming violations cease, U.S. military aid and discussion of the pending free trade agreement must also cease. Come tell President Obama to stand for the change he called for.
We could use some help in preparing signs beforehand. To lend a hand, come to a sign-making party at 1211 Delafield Place NW on Sunday, 3:00-5:00pm.
Background
Monday’s meeting between Presidents Obama and Uribe, their first substantive face-to-face encounter, will likely prove a defining moment for the next few years of U.S. policies towards Colombia. President Obama is expected, both in the meeting and in the press, to stake out his positions on key bilateral issues such as the pending free trade agreement and the future of Plan Colombia.
While on the campaign trail, President Obama repeatedly voiced opposition to the Colombia free trade agreement and raised concerns about Colombia’s notorious human rights situation. The situation now is no less alarming–2008 saw:
- 380,000 more Colombians violently displaced from their homes, a disproportionate number of which are indigenous and Afro-Colombians
- 49 more unionists murdered, a 26% increase over 2007 and more killings than the rest of the world combined
- Hundreds more innocent civilians killed by Colombian military personnel, deemed by a recent U.N. investigation to be “cold-blooded, premeditated murder of innocent civilians…carried out in a more or less systematic fashion by significant elements within the military.”
In addition to taking part in Monday’s rally, you can also send a message to President Obama.
Send an email calling for policies that actually respect human rights, promote decent livelihoods, and pave paths to peace in Colombia.
