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Nonviolent Direct Actions to Change US Policy in Colombia
The Basics
Witness for Peace stands in a long tradition of groups and individuals that have used nonviolent direct action (NVDA) as a tool for social change. NVDA can be an effective strategy to raise awareness in your community or on your campus. First, some basic information:
Nonviolent Direct Action is public, usually confrontational, sometimes
disruptive, and often illegal under existing law.
NVDA in the Witness for Peace tradition is
one strategy in a comprehensive campaign to change the hearts and minds of
policy makers on Capitol Hill and in corporate boardrooms.
Planning a Sit-In
Bring together a small planning group. Ask: Can a NVDA Sit-In advance your cause, e.g. bring media attention to your Senator’s or Representative’s Colombia vote? Next lay out your goal. What do you want from the action? (E.g. get a face-to-face meeting with your Senator or Representative.) Narrow the sound bite message and design your NVDA to carry that message. (E.g. We think Sen. X’s vote to send military aid to Colombia is wrong. We will Sit-In his office until he is able to meet with us.) Keep your message and your action simple!
Plan a low risk legal vigil/leafleting event for a larger group and an “illegal” NVDA for a smaller group willing to risk arrest. Do reconnaissance at the chosen site – Where will you do the action? In the Senator’s outer office? In front of the building? Pick a date and time for the vigil and action. Time your action for maximum public visibility. Know your legal rights and potential penalties. Design a simple flyer about the event. Post it around town, send to other organizations, e-mail networks, and list serves. You may decide not to publicize the NVDA aspect. Surprise may be key to success.
The NVDA Support Group should be prepared to provide legal and moral support in the event of arrests, including:
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Knowledgeable people to staff phones for calls from arrestee’s family/friends needing updates
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A group waiting to “cheer” during the arrests and outside the jail when arrestees are released
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A team trained to track arrestees through the arrest/jail process
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A sympathetic lawyer to provide legal advice (Contact local ACLU)
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Trained legal observers present during the action (Contact local ACLU)
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Experienced media team to send out press releases and contact/respond to reporters
Some Other NVDA Ideas
Plan a NVDA at a Colombia-linked corporate site in your area.
For example, Connecticut-based United Technologies Company -- Sikorsky lobbied Congress heavily for its Black Hawk helicopters to be included in the $1.6 billion Plan Colombia military aid package.
St.
Louis-based Monsanto produces the deadly Roundup Ultra herbicide used
in the US backed and ever-expanding aerial spraying of coca crops in
Colombia.
The
United Steel Workers of America and the International Labor Rights Fund have
sued Atlanta-based Coca-Cola
for union busting in Colombia. The suit accuses Coke of “systematic
intimidation, kidnapping, detention, and murder” in
the
company’s Colombia operation.
And L.A.-based Occidental (Oxy) Petroleum stands to receive $98 million in corporate welfare-- aid to the Colombian military to protect their pipeline in Arauca, Colombia. This is a $3–5/barrel subsidy for the company paid for by U.S. taxpayers!
Some Other Possibilities
These US private contractors have locations in many communities around the country. Check out www.ciponline.org for more details of their involvement in Colombia policy.
- DynCorp Aerospace Technologies: the contractor that carries out the US aerial herbicide fumigation program in Colombia.
- Eagle Aviation Services and Technology, Inc. (EAST) is a subcontractor of DynCorp
- Military Professional Resources, Inc. (MPRI), hired by the US Defense Department, has a team of about 10 retired US military officers in Bogotá to advise the military on strategic and logistical issues.
- Northrop Grumman Corporation "provides an unknown number of US citizens that operate and maintain five radar stations in eastern and southern Colombia…." (Miami Herald)
Good Luck! And keep us informed.
Your action gives courage to others.
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