Sample Op-Ed for Vigils

It's little known today that Mother's Day was first suggested in the aftermath of the Civil War, as a protest against the terrible bloodshed that had cost so many mothers their children. In the spirit of that tradition, people from [local area] are gathering this Mother's Day, [date], to remember eight people-including a mother and three young children-who were killed recently in Colombia-- allegedly by the very military that should have been protecting them.

We live miles away from where Sandra Pozo and her two children, ages six and one and a half years old, lived until they were massacred along with five others on February 21/22. But, as U.S. citizens, we must take responsibility for the massive U.S. aid that is funding a government that fails to protect the civilian population, abuses human rights itself and in stubbornly seeking a military solution escalates Colombia's bloody civil war.

The U.S. is failing mothers and children in Colombia, where massive U.S. aid (3 billion plus dollars into the Colombian armed forces in the past 5 years) has not resulted in peace. Instead it has produced increased fighting, abandoned peace talks, and rampant human rights abuses by the military, right-wing paramilitaries allied with the army, and the leftist FARC guerrillas. All these groups have adopted a scorched-earth policy, attacking civilians they suspect of not supporting them. The State Department, which is supposed to tell Congress if the Colombian government violates human rights, turns a blind eye to the government violence.

And it is failing mothers and children here at home, by completely failing to turn off the spigot of illegal drugs. The U.S. counter-drug aid package to Colombia, known as Plan Colombia, was designed to end in 2005. But there is no progress on the drug front, either. Aerial fumigation of coca crops does no good if peasants in the war-torn region have no alternative to feed their families. 2004 saw the largest aerial spray campaign ever in Colombia, but, according to U.S. statistics, the amount of coca in Colombia actually went up slightly! We need an approach that combines social assistance in Colombia with drug treatment and prevention programs at home- not more of the same failed policy.

The community at San José de Aportado in northern Colombia is a "peace community" that has said no to the insanity of armed groups on all sides, whether FARC, paramilitary, or government soldiers. There are many such communities across Colombia suffering the consequences of living in the escalating armed conflict crossfire. Their lives and deaths are a testament to the futility of a military solution. And the San Jose massacre has sadly confirmed the community's mistrust of government soldiers. Moreover, such atrocities by the military appear to be on the rise. This disturbing trend, as well as continued military/paramilitary collusion is documented by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights 2004 report.

Imagine what would happen here in [name of local community] if eight of your neighbors were tortured and killed in broad daylight by the army--the speed with which [name of local police chief] would respond with an investigation, and the horror that would overflow the pages of this newspaper. But in Colombia, the government has actually made the situation worse; President Uribe has publicly accused the community at San José de Aportado of guerrilla ties, sending a message to the military and illegal armed groups that the town can be attacked with impunity.

Peace is possible, but not through more military aid and fumigation. A new Colombia policy should prioritize social aid, not an inhumane and ineffective military approach. We urge the State Department to send a strong message to the Colombian government on human rights by denying human rights certification until the armed forces sever its links with paramilitaries and the Colombian government takes effective action against impunity for these crimes.