Against the Lies - Colombia Feature Submission

Dear journalists and activists, please circulate the following proposal and contact Ecosolidarity for the full text, The friendship between the government of Colombia and the right-wing death squads won thrid place in the most censored stories awards (2001-2002)

Please consider this feature article proposal:

In October, 2002, our popular article, "Colombia and Corporate Profits: The Political Economy of a Narco-Terror State," was published in Z magazine. It exposes the involvement of giant US and European corporations in the civil war in Colombia. (see zmag.org or www.Bluegreenearth.com or www.ANNCOL.com)

Now available is "Keys to the Lies: Colombia at a Globalization Crossroads," This update of the modern history of Colombia takes readers into the murky world of Colombian denial: the lies that the US and Colombian elite use to legitimize their brutal policies and war crimes. The long version has 10,400 words with 9000 words of footnotes. The short version has 5800 words.

This war is escalating and will soon grab headlines from many angles. The US has sought to hide its complicity with death squad drug dealers by indicting three of their leaders, but the Colombian government has had warrants for some of them for ten years and made no effort to apprehend them.

The ecological threats, the human rights and refugee appeals, the drug world labyrinth of politics and assassinations, US Special Forces and corporate death squad mercenaries - quite a stew and I have research and clever angles on all of these topics - and inside contacts are emerging weekly.

"Keys to the Lies is fully documented and ready to go. A few brief interviews and action / mood photos could round the article out and put it (and you) on the cutting edge.

Rachel Guevara and Marcel Idels

Brazil, Venezuela and Colombia are forging the three keys to South America... Who holds the keys ? And do these keys unlock the lies?

Colombia: The Keys to the Lies [excerpt]

Marcel Idels < ecosolidarityyahoo.com >

Three lies hide US war crimes in Colombia:
Colombia is a "Democracy"
The "Drug War"

The manufactured-myth that the FARC and ELN guerillas are violent "terrorists" and drug traffickers

Big ripples are forthcoming from the South.

The failure of neo-liberalism and the IMF's privatization mistakes have created a backlash in the streets against these policies and a growing uncertainty among political parties and policy makers. Polls show that the whole US concept of liberal democracy is fast becoming a discredited path for Latin Americans. [3] Traditional political parties are crumbling and governments throughout the region fear a popular mobilization and uprisings. A serious change in attitudes among the poor and the newly poor ex-middle class is in the air and making demands for more jobs, better wages and "out with all the bums called politicians and bureaucrats!" [4]

"Yankee go home," also echoes resoundingly off the tin pans of the Cazacerrola and the defiance of the Cortes de Ruta (road blockades). [5]

Large US corporations and the IMF - working with the South American upper class - have perpetuated crisis all over the South, an economic war against the people and the environment. The brutality of the elite and the constant string of US military interventions have mocked democracy and assured that this region maintains the highest income disparity of any region in the world. [6] It also has some of the worst distribution of land ownership. Colombia has had negative land reform for 20 years. [7]

The US ignores the crisis in Argentina and schemes over Brazil. One thing for certain, the US and its business and energy interests will not roll over or go home. No. They will fight and one region in particular will bear the brunt of US frustration, desperation and violence: the Northern Andes and the coal, gas and oilfields of Colombia and Venezuela. [9]

How Will Peace Ever Come To Colombia?

The full spectrum of neo-liberal (WTO Free Trade) assaults, is devastating the most biologically important large country in the world: Colombia. [11] Larger than California and Texas combined, most of its 44 million people are worried about their financial future and their personal security. It's the most beautiful and also one of the worst places on Earth to live - if you are poor... or a bird specie.

In the wild rural areas, small towns and urban slums, 30 million Colombians are suffering declining income, security and life expectancy. [12] Six-hundred bird species are also threatened or endangered.