British Military Aid to Colombia

Taken from the Justice for Colombia website:

British Military Aid to Colombia

The British Government sends more than a million pounds of military aid to Colombia each year. Although they publish some information on what this money is spent on, the vast majority of the aid program is classified. This is worrying as there is evidence that the aid may be contributing to human rights abuses. It is also worrying that the British Government is refusing to tell British taxpayers on what their money is being spent.

The British Government Says

• that the Colombian military personnel and units receiving UK assistance are not engaged in internal repression, activities that abuse human rights or collusion with paramilitaries but the mechanisms used to ensure this are being kept secret.

• that they carry out “personal interviews” and “background checks” but they have been secretive when asked whether all personnel that receive training are subjected to these checks and what information is used to conduct the checks.

• that no UK aid is used for any counter-insurgency work and that it all goes on counter-narcotics work but the British Embassy in Colombia have said that they consider insurgent groups to be narcotics traffickers, meaning that British aid could in fact be used to fight against the leftwing insurgency. This blurring of the lines between counter-insurgency and counter-narcotics is worrying as it is during counter-insurgency operations that the vast majority of human rights violations occur. Furthermore, senior Colombian Government officials, including President Uribe himself, regularly classify human rights organisations and trade unions as being insurgent organisations leaving them open to attacks.

• That there is collaboration between the UK and the Colombian military surrounding intelligence issues but Colombian authorities have refused to implement the UN human rights recommendation specifically relating to the holding of intelligence on human rights activists, trade unionists, etc, so there is a possibility that UK aid could be being used in violation of the UN’s human rights recommendations.

The British Government Refuses to Say

• what the total value of British military aid is, citing “national security” as the reason (it is hard to understand how a figure could prejudice national security).

• whether any individual or unit of the Colombian security forces has ever been refused assistance due to information attained during the interviews/checks or what criteria is used to decide whether they are of concern vis-à-vis human rights.

• where they get their information from to ensure that human rights abusers aren’t getting British military assistance (no independent organisation that collects information on the human rights background of the Colombian military has ever been approached for information of this sort by the UK Government).

What We Would Like To See

a) The British government needs to exert much greater pressure on the Colombian Government to end their human rights abuses against trade unionists and others and to put a stop to the ongoing collaboration between the Colombian security forces and the right wing paramilitary death squads with whom they continue to work.

b) Some kind of conditionality needs to be placed on British military aid whereby the Colombian Government sees that their continued abuses of human rights will result in both condemnation and significant international action – in other words the UK will not aid their military until the abuses end.

c) If we are to take British government human rights concerns seriously, surely it is essential that British policy and cooperation be directly dependent upon the complete fulfilment of UN human rights recommendations in Colombia.

Where's the left?/ Where's the right?

Cash for honours

Carbon off setting may need a re-think

On BBC radio 4 yesterday morning (15/12/2006) I heard that planting forestry in order to off set emissions of CO2 may well be a waste of time, atleast if the trees have been planted outside of the tropics where the rainforests are situated.

More than simply being a waste of time, the forestry may actually contribute more CO2 to the environment, due to process of respiration of plants when they are not photosynthesising, such as at night time or when levels of sunlight are too low for this process to occur. As we in the more exreme latitudes would understand, the length of days varies widely here as opposed to the tropics where days length may well be shorter compared to us in the summer months but they are at least more stable throughout the year.

Another reason why trees are beleived to contribute to global warming is that they absorb the suns radiation and in areas where snow and ice would usually reflect some of that radiation away from the earth, the trees may well cover or even inhibit the formation of snow. So please Scandanavia, forget the trees, give us snow!

This throws up the question of, when attempting to offset CO2 emmissions, whether one should put money into one those funds that claim to purchase solar panels and energy saving light bulbs, of which I never really had much trust, or should the money still be put into forestry planting schemes and of course can we ensure that the trees are planted in the correct place?

Read: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6184577.stm for the full story.

Shut down Redwatch

Redwatch is a website set up by fascist Simon Sheppard, a man so far-right he was even removed from the BNP due to him being too much of a liability.

Redwatch aims to name and shame so-called "reds", or socialists as we prefer to be known and carrys photos of these persons, usually snapped at anti-fascist rallys. The aim of this website is to make it's readers (though there is not too much text) aware of those that may hamper there nazis activities, or AKA, beat the crap out of them when they see them.

Thought this webiste proclaims to be just an information service and does not condone the use of violence the inflammatory language used on this site does tend to give the game away about it's true reason for existence.

Write to your MP and tell them that you are offended by the fact that such material should be allowed on the web and that despite Redwatch being hosted on US servers, the UK government should campaign for it's removal.

if you do not know whom your MP is, find out at:http://www.theyworkforyou.com/

To find out more about the background of Redwatch and it's creator: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Redwatch

Fascist BNP flounder in Dagenham rally.

It is good to see that even where the BNP (British National Party) had managed to swindle seats on the council in the last elections in Dagenham, East-London they have been unable to make much of an impact.

It has been much assumed that they only managed to get setas due to voter apathy in the council elections and this shows after the BNP had attempted to hold a rally of fellow fascists, which was attended by only around 70 people. Yes, 70 people is too many but they were drowned out by the jeering and shouting of over 400 of our comrades from the anti-fascist organisation, United against fascism and local trade unions: the GMB, T&G, RMT, PCS and Unison.

Other groups present included Queen Mary University student union, Respect councilors and activists from across east London, and Labour Party supporters.

The Cretinous leader of the BNP’s council group in Barking & Dagenham, Richard Barnbrook could not be heard by the small group supporting the BNP due to the noise produced by the counter rally.

If enough of us stand up to fascism we will be able to drown it out where ever it may be spoken of. Congratulations to our comrades in E. London.

See also:
http://www.uaf.org.uk/

steve.bell@guardian.co.uk

Condemn the arrest of student leader Abhishek Mukerjee

This just shows what happens when power is held by people, even those with strong communist ideologies like the CP(M) in India.

Revolutionary Democratic Front
Press ReleaseDate: 09-12-2006Place: Patiala

Release student leader Abhishek Mukerjee and stop repression on the people struggling against the acquisition of land in Singur. Revolutionary Democratic Front (RDF) strongly condemns the arrest of Abhishek Mukerjee, General Secretary of Revolutionary Students Front (RSF), a constituent of RDF, West Bengal on December 8th. Abhishek was returning after attending a public meeting at Jadavpur University. The public meeting was organized by RSF to protest against the repression being let loose by the West Bengal state and its police on the people and organizations struggling against the forced acquisition of the farmers land at Singur in District Hoogly.

The West Bengal 'Left' Front Govt. lead by Communist Party (Marxist) (CP(M)) is bent upon leaving all the doors open for the foreign capital. For the last many years it had been ambiguously opposing the imperialist penetration into West Bengal but actually trying to woo it by saying that it is preparing ground for industrial peace so that the foreign capital may find a conducive ground for huge investments. Now they have started nakedly inviting FDI. As it has been impossible for it to create this "peaceful" social and industrial environment, it is resorting to massive repression against the people who are opposing such projects and the acquisition of land. Now CM, Budhadeb Bhatacharjee, has openly asked the people to stop their resistance. RSF has been actively involved in opposing this acquisition. As it is well known, this land which is about one thousand acres is being handed over to the Tatas for their small car project. This meeting was attended and addressed by Medha Patkar convener of National Alliance of Peoples Movement (NAPM), Sujato Bhadra, General Secretary of Association for Protection of Democratic Rights, W.B., Shebendu Das Gupta, Professor Kolkota University and Nabarun Bhatacharji, a well known poet and many others.

Abhishek was picked up along with five other members of RSF and they were taken to Beniapukur police station. While others were let off, Abhishek was arrested and has been charged under sections 120-B, 147, 148, 149, 452 and 427 Cr.P.C.It is learnt that he has since been taken to Police Headquarters at Lal Bazar and it is feared that he will be tortured in police custody.

RDF unequivocally demands the unconditional and immediate release of Abhishek and upholds the democratic right of people to protest against the anti-people policies of the State. RDF condemns the repression let loose by the Left Front Govt. of West Bengal against the people who are resisting these pro imperialist policies and projects.RDF calls on the people to support and participate in the All India industrial Strike on December 14th by observing it in West Bengal as Bangla Bandh.

This Bandh is being organized by Gana Pratirodh Manch (RDF) against the West Bengal Govt.'s Industrial, Land and Agriculture policies

Issued by:Raj Kishor,Dr. Darshan PalGeneral Secretary,Vice President, RDF New Delhi contact phone numbers: +9199114-43515 and +9194172-69294Thank you With GreetingsYoursDr. Darshan Pal116, Sewak Colony,Patiala, Punjab(India)Tel:+919417269294,+91-175-2206994

Hugo Chavez wins Venezuelan presential election

Congratulations to the people of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela on the re-election of Mr Chavez, whom has brought about much change to this poor yet oil rich South American nation.

From the BBC:

Now that the dust has settled after President Hugo Chavez's landslide victory, there is much speculation as to how Venezuela will change in the next few years under his leadership.

Chavez has been engaging in long-term thinking
Mr Chavez has openly talked of his third term in office as "a new phase" in his long term project for the Latin American country.
He has made no secret during or after his election campaign that his "Bolivarian Revolution", named after the 19th century South American independence leader Simon Bolivar, is heading towards socialism.
In the next 14 years, Mr Chavez wants to turn Venezuela from a capitalist into a socialist society.
The strategic roadmap to help him do that has already been drawn up and is called "The Simon Bolivar National Plan".
A pro-Chavez member of parliament, Carlos Escarra, told the BBC he has been appointed personally by Mr Chavez to prepare sweeping reforms of the nation's constitution.
Name change
Mr Escarra, who is now part of a presidential commission on constitutional reform, said: "One of the proposals is to change the name of our country from Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela to Socialist and Bolivarian Republic.
"This would better reflect the changes that are happening here. But there are also more basic changes to our constitution that are being planned.
"For example, we want to eliminate the old, bureaucratic structures of the state and replace them with grass roots institutions."

Mr Chavez has often talked of how he intends to stay in power until the year 2021 to implement his socialist project.
To remain in office for that long, Mr Chavez and his followers want to change the constitution in order to remove the limits on how many times he can be re-elected in succession.
"That's definitely part of the plan for next year," said Hector Navarro, a senior director for Mr Chavez's election campaign team.
"Remember that President Chavez was re-elected by a wide margin. So that gives him the popular mandate and legitimacy to make big changes."
However, any changes to Venezuela's constitution must first be approved with a two-thirds majority in parliament, and then in a nationwide referendum.
But this should not pose too much of a problem for Venezuela's left-wing leader as parliament is entirely run by his loyalists and a large segment of the population is on record as supporting him.
Constitutional reform
December 2007 has been touted as a possible date for a referendum on the constitution, giving the president plenty of time to prepare the details and seek popular support.
There will be other changes in addition to the constitutional reform, according to many respected analysts.
Most predict that Venezuela's private economy will disappear as we know it.
Orlando Ochoa, a leading economist, forecasts that the free market economy will be replaced by a socialist model where the state will have much greater control over the private sector.
"The state will regulate prices and profits in the private sector," Mr Ochoa said.
Transformations
Alberto Garrido, an independent analyst, is certain that in the next 14 years parts of the economy will simply vanish.
"Private health care and private education will be first in line to be scrapped by the government as part of its drive towards socialism," said Mr Garrido.
"The whole country will be geared towards the motto: one leader - one party - one ideology," he added.
One proposal that is on the table for next year is to create a single political party to represent the Chavistas, the name given to Mr Chavez's supporters.

Currently there are a string of parties supporting Mr Chavez - each with their own leaders and party hierarchy.
In terms of foreign relations it is almost certain that the Chavez government will opt for continuity: there is very little appetite in Caracas for a rapprochement with Washington and the Bush administration at present.
Despite the best efforts of the State Department to build bridges following his election victory, there was a frosty reception from Venezuela's firebrand leader.
He dismissed Washington's diplomatic overtures as "insincere".
"They sometimes hold an olive branch out to us. But there are always strings attached. And we, as a sovereign state, cannot accept conditions," Mr Chavez told reporters here at a recent news conference.
However, senior Venezuelan diplomats privately admitted they could envisage a completely different relationship with a Democrat in the White House, particularly with somebody from the Clinton family.
No scrutiny
Venezuela's Deputy Foreign Minister for North American Affairs, Jorge Valero, told the BBC "in the next few years, there will be a lot more cooperation between our government and the nations of the southern hemisphere".
Venezuela is also trying to substitute the US with China as its number one commercial partner.
"The idea for the next few years for Venezuela to sell all the crude oil it presently shipping to the US to the Chinese instead," said Alberto Garrido.
The ultimate goal is to become completely economically independent from the US because Mr Chavez does not want to be a leader who is at the beck and call of the political and economic establishment of North America.
He does not wish to have his democratic credentials, his style of government and his socialist project scrutinised internationally.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/6212430.stm

No to new Trident

Why oh why will the British Government be planning to waste yet more money on war mongery?

Plans to renew the UK's nuclear weapons delivery system have been rubbished by numerous individuals and groups including the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, The Coalition for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) and groups from within parliament itself.

The cost of such a renewal project has been estimated by Prime Minister, Tony Blair, to be between £15-20bn and so running on previous guesstimations the true cost may we double, if not triple. This is of course money that could be better spent on say: education of our future population, health care, cutting green-house emissions, reducing the impact that AIDS has upon the world.

The fact is that such a weapons system, which was built up during the Cold War when there was such a threat of nuclear war, is no loger required, not to mention that to have these weapons would contravene the UN Treaty on the Non-proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT). These weapons are a potential threat to our own populations as they are transported around the country and cost vast amounts of money to be maitained.

Maybe the only reason that we, the UK, would want to maintain such an out-dated weapons system would be to appease our "friends" over the atlantic, whom are very much reliant upon keeping fear and loathing in the world a key to their apparent dominion over it.

Now is the time to say no to this waste of resources for the safe guarding against an non-existent threat.



Further reading:
http://www.cnduk.org/

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/6208642.stm

http://www.un.org/Depts/dda/WMD/treaty/

US attempt to sway Nicaraguan voters

The leftist candidate, Daniel Ortega, has been shown to have a 40% lead in the polls of the Nicaraguan Presidential elections. The lead has been made apparent following the count of the first 15% of the votes. His nearest candidate, the conservative candidate, Eduardo Montealegre, is trailing with 33% of the votes.

The United States government has already threatened that aid to Nicaragua may be cut if Mr Ortega does become president, mirroring the action taken after Hamas had won the democratic election of Palestine.

Mr Ortega, a former Marxist rebel, was last president 16 years ago. During his presidency the country broke into civil war when the Sandinista forces fought with the US backed Contras rebels, in which around 50,000 persons lost their lives.

80% of Nicaraguans currently live on less than $2 (approximately £1.06) per day and have lived under rampant US backed capitalism for at least the last 5 years under the incumbent, President Enrique Bolanos, a point that no doubt gave Venezuela’s president, Hugo Chavez, reason to endorse Mr Ortega’s candidacy.
17,000 independent observers have overseen the elections.