{"id":5230,"date":"2010-05-10T00:00:11","date_gmt":"2010-05-09T22:00:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/?p=5230"},"modified":"2010-05-05T23:47:50","modified_gmt":"2010-05-05T21:47:50","slug":"colombia-state-terror-in-the-name-of-peace","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/2010\/05\/colombia-state-terror-in-the-name-of-peace\/","title":{"rendered":"Colombia: State Terror in the Name of Peace"},"content":{"rendered":"

The first casualty of state terror is the corruption<\/em> of language, the invention of euphemisms, where words mean their opposite and slogans cover great crimes:\u00a0 There is no longer a world consensus that condemns crimes against humanity. This is because mass murder and assassinations secure investor \u2018confidence\u2019<\/em>, because Indians are dispossessed so the mines can be exploited<\/em>; oil workers disappear so the petroleum<\/em> will flow<\/em>; and the international financial press praises the success of el Presidente for \u201cpacifying the country<\/em>\u201d.<\/p>\n

When narco-presidents are embraced by the leaders of North America and Europe, it is evident that criminals have become respectable the respectable have become criminals.<\/p>\n

But other voices from other regions have put the past and present war criminals on trial.\u00a0 In Argentina, the Generals of the disappeared are spending their last years behind bars.\u00a0 Arrest warrants against Israeli military commanders have been issued in Spain, Dubai and elsewhere.\u00a0 Tony Blair, complicit in Bush\u2019s genocidal war in Iraq runs from a citizens\u2019 arrest in Malaysia for his war crimes.\u00a0 Colombia, the US and Israel, the epicenters of state terror, stand alone in the General Assembly of Nations, condemned but not yet on trial.\u00a0 Their days of impunity are ending.\u00a0 Unending wars, rampant corruption, massive financial swindles \u2013 the inner rot \u2013 are eroding the outward facades of military power.<\/p>\n

Writers and intellectuals have a role to play in hastening this process by exposing the lies that sustain the killing machines.\u00a0 Let us proceed:<\/p>\n

Lies of Our Times<\/strong><\/p>\n

Democratic Security Doctrine (neither democratic nor for personal safety<\/em>):<\/p>\n

The corruption of language<\/em> accompanies every great political crime.\u00a0 The notion of \u201cDemocratic Security\u201d is no exception.\u00a0 In the current Colombian context, murdering<\/em> leaders of social movements to secure the re-election of a party of political assassins is democratic<\/em>.\u00a0 \u201cSecurity\u201d is the euphemism for hidden<\/em> cemeteries of unmarked<\/em> graves of unnamed<\/em> persons.\u00a0 \u201cFreedom of the Media\u201d exists when it solemnly announces another \u201cmajor military triumph\u201d\u2026 the killing<\/em> of unarmed peasants cultivating their fields.<\/p>\n

Economists are \u201cexperts<\/em>\u201d when they proclaim that the economy is growing<\/em> \u2026 only the people are suffering<\/em>.\u00a0 Politicians are \u201cstatesmen<\/em>\u201d when they declare they are \u201cone<\/em> with the people\u201d \u2013 except for the 4 million<\/em> forcibly dispossessed and the 300,000<\/em> family members of the dead and disappeared; the dead and dispossessed have yet to appreciate the One<\/em> who affirms he is \u201cwith the People\u201d.<\/p>\n

When el Presidente states that war is peace<\/em>, militarization is security<\/em>, inequalities are social justice<\/em>: only those who fail to understand these Official Truths<\/em> need fear a midnight knock on the door.<\/p>\n

The Official Definition of Terrorist<\/em> <\/strong><\/p>\n

This is a person or persons who fail to understand that the road to peace<\/em> is through billions spent on warplanes, helicopter gun ships, military bases and subcontracting military advisers and mercenaries.<\/p>\n

Enemies of peace talks<\/em> <\/strong><\/p>\n

According to el Presidente, \u00a0those human rights<\/em> groups who oppose killing adversaries and who propose dialogues instead of monologues are the enemies<\/em> of peace; only monologues ensure that there is one \u201cofficial truth\u201d and no other.<\/p>\n

The Price of Prosperity<\/em><\/p>\n

According to el Presidente and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), poverty, unemployment and low wages are the price of democracy<\/em> and prosperity<\/em> \u2026 but only the workers and peasants pay the price and only the rich prosper.<\/p>\n

A Novel Definition of Sovereignty<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

According to el Presidente, ceding territory to a foreign imperial power<\/em> to build seven military bases operating with their own laws and jurisdiction is the new definition of sovereignty.\u00a0 Sovereignty equals foreign occupation<\/em>.<\/p>\n

The New Definition of Subversion<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

According to el Presidente, humanitarian accords<\/em> and initiatives for peace are pretexts for subversion; their advocates know in advance they will be rejected by the State.\u00a0 Instead, dehumanizing the enemy and the advocates of peace facilitates the bombing of subversive villages, the \u2018real\u2019 enemies of peace.<\/p>\n

On Praise and Condemnation<\/strong><\/p>\n

What does it tell you about a President when he is condemned<\/em> by all the human rights groups and social movements and praised<\/em> by all the financial newspapers and military institutions?<\/p>\n

A President with World Records<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

There is no doubt that President Uribe will enter the Guinness Book of World Records.<\/p>\n

El Presidente is backed by more narco-congress members<\/em> than any other President or Prime Minister in the world (including Afghanistan).<\/p>\n

El Presidente presides over the displacement of more people<\/em> (4 million refugees) in the shortest time<\/em> (8 years) than any President in the world. (It took Israel over half a century).<\/p>\n

El Presidente has allowed more US military bases<\/em> than all the Latin American presidents combined.\u00a0 El Presidente presided over the killing of more trade union activists<\/em> and leaders than any other leader in the world (1,500).\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0For every first in death and dispossession, President Uribe deserves a new award, an Ignoble<\/em> Prize.<\/p>\n

But he is not alone.\u00a0 Three US Presidents<\/em>, Democrats and Republicans, Clinton, Bush and Obama provided billions of dollars in arms, and hundreds of advisers to promote 30,000 narco death squad killers and 300,000 soldiers who are instrumental in Uribe\u2019s achievement of \u201cworld records\u201d.<\/p>\n

Let us remember, and punish, past and present crimes against humanity, but let us also move ahead in the quest for dialogue among those willing because they are the majority who believe in peace through Justice.<\/p>\n

GO TO ORIGINAL \u2013 INFORMATION CLEARING HOUSE<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The first casualty of state terror is the corruption of language, the invention of euphemisms, where words mean their opposite and slogans cover great crimes: There is no longer a world consensus that condemns crimes against humanity. This is because mass murder and assassinations secure investor \u2018confidence\u2019, because Indians are dispossessed so the mines can be exploited; oil workers disappear so the petroleum will flow; and the international financial press praises the success of el Presidente for \u201cpacifying the country\u201d.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[53],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5230","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-latin-america-and-the-caribbean"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5230","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5230"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5230\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5230"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5230"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5230"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}