WitnessforPeace

Newsletter
Jubilee Justice?
An Assessment of Our Gains and Losses at the Jubilee Moment
A Message from the Executive Director

his Holiday season, persons of faith and conscience around the world are called to celebrate Jubilee. For years brothers and sisters in the global North and South have been working tirelessly towards the Jubilee moment: December 31, 2000. At this powerful moment, we ask ourselves if our Jubilee dreams of social justice have been realized. As we take stock of our progress in our work for Jubilee debt relief, we can be proud of our accomplishments. Yet as we observe the continuing reality facing the poor majority--massive economic and military violence--we also must concede that we have much left to do; that worldwide Jubilee justice is incomplete. In our continuing struggle, we must take time to celebrate what we have gained. Our primary Jubilee call was for the release from debt bondage for the worlds poorest, most indebted nations. To this end, we have accomplished more than many ever dreamed possible. Together, you, me and the millions of other Jubilee activists have pushed the powerful institutions of the world to grant debt relief. Just three years ago, this was unimaginable. Three years ago, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) remained largely invisible to the people of the US, and their policy makers were openly hostile to the idea of debt relief. The US Treasury Department, Congress and the Administration maintained stony indifference-followed by defianceto the concept of debt relief. At this Jubilee hour, much of this has changed. With your hard work, President Clinton openly embraced debt relief, ultimately cancelling much of the debts owed directly to the US by poor countries. The Treasury Department actively sought the funds to allow for multilateral debt relief. Even the World Bank became open to the concept. We gained many friends on both sides of the aisle in Congress who played a key role in
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Winter 2000/01 Volume 17 Number 3

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Season of Jubilee Continued from page 1

delivering the funding to make debt relief real. And all of us played a role in the construction of the vibrant movement that engaged in nonviolent protest to the economic violence wrought by the IMF and World Bankwhich was instrumental in forcing change. At this point, we are well along the path to debt cancellation that will have a profound effect on the lives of hundreds of millions of poor people. Of course, there is much left to do. The $430 million appropriated by Congress falls short of the $900 million requested by the Administration. Other Northern donor nations must also do their part. The IMF remains hostile to any real reform, and still insists on punishing economic austerity mandates as a condition for debt relief. But with our new movement, and our momentum, we are on a clear path towards Jubilee justice. And our success in pushing for Jubilee justice does not end with debt relief. In November 2000, Witness for Peace played a key role in helping to bring an end to the labor rights struggle in the Mil Colores maquiladora (for background on this case, see WFP Newsletter, vol. 17, no. 2). You will recall how Witness for Peace activists and others protested labor abuses in front of Kohls and Target department stores, who must be held responsible for the actions of their vendors, including Chentex

and Mil Colores in Nicaragua. At this writing, management at Mil Colores has negotiated a settlement with the CST union, dropped all legal charges against the workers and organizers, and agreed to re-hire most of the fired workers. Mil Colores responded to a unique, solidarity-based campaign crafted by Nicaraguans and North Americans working together. This campaigns success is a sign of whats to come, as workers and activists North and South join hands to fight labor abuses worldwide. But like our struggle for debt relief, our work on this campaign continues. We must communicate to Kohls and Target department stores that Mil Colores has done the right thing, and they must be rewarded for their good faith. We must continue in the struggle with the fired workers from the Chentex factory in Nicaragua. And we must remain prepared to apply the successful organizing tactics ones that brought such a positive resolution to the Mil Colores crisisin other emerging labor crises in Latin America. In other areas, we still remain far from our goal in this season of renewal. In the pages that follow, you will read that for most of the citizens of our world, Jubilee justice remains elusive. Youll read about the failed legislative action around easing the Cuban embargo, and how a handful of right-wing Congressmen defied the will of the US public, scuttling any real reform of the embargo on food
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Board of Directors
Ralph Armbruster-Sandoval Rick Axtell Steve Bauck Leigh Carter The Rev. James Flynn Betsy Lamb Gabriela Melano The Rev. John A. Nelson Eleanor Oakley Gail Phares Marie Racine Dr. Richard Stahler-Sholk Andy Summers Sr. Clarita Trujillo Jeff Winder

Staff
Steven Bennett Executive Director Sarah DeBolt Grassroots Program Coordinator Marinetta Cannito Hjort Financial & Program Coordinator Sharon Hostetler International Programs Coordinator
Elizabeth Miller Delegations Coordinator

Regional Coordinators and Offices

Mid-Atlantic Southeast
Gail Phares 1105 Sapling Pl. Raleigh, NC 27615 Ph: (919) 856-9468 wfpse@witnessforpeace.org

Special Projects

Southwest
Michele Weber 242 S. Orange Ave, Suite 105 Brea, CA 92821 Ph: (714) 990-6603 Fx: (714) 990-6496 wfpsw@witnessforpeace.org

Cecilio Coayla

Witness forPeace

John Mateyko 304 Pilot Town Rd. Lewes, DE 19958 Ph: (302) 645-2657 Fx: (302) 645-0224 mateyko@witnessforpeace.org

Fall Intern
Cara Hayes

International Team Volunteers

Guatemala/Mexico Denise Drake Julia Graff Ian Macdonald David Mattingly Catherine Raveczky Andrew Schwiebert Nicaragua/Cuba Jennifer DeLury Rodney Ortiz Jessica Pipitone Melinda St. Louis Jennifer Ungemach Alys Willman Colombia Jess Hunter Michael Joseph

New England
Joanne Ranney PO Box 147 Richmond, VT 05477 Ph: (802) 434-3233 wfpne@witnessforpeace.org

Great Lakes
Kathy Baldoni 239 E. 2nd St. Perrysburg, OH 43551 Ph: (419) 874-1863 wfpgl@witnessforpeace.org

Rocky Mountain
David Kovsky 2567 Crest Ridge Ct. Boulder, CO 80302 Ph: (303) 567-1585 wfprm@witnessforpeace.org

*WFP is currently undergoing major regional development. Stay posted for some new offices and contacts.

Mission Statement
Witness for Peace is a politically independent, grassroots organization.We are people committed to nonviolence and led by faith and conscience. Our mission is to support peace, justice and sustainable economies in the Americas by changing US policies and corporate practices which contribute to poverty and oppression in Latin America and the Caribbean.We stand with people who seek justice.

Honorary Board (organization or affiliation listed for identification purposes)

Fr. Roy Bourgeois SOA Watch Rev. Edmond Browning Bishop, Episcopal Church Robert McAfee Brown Prof. Emeritus, Pacific School of Religion Dr. Joan Brown Campbell Sr. Mary Ann Coyle President, Sisters of Loretto Julia Esquivel Guatemalan poet and theologian Lilia Fernandez Exec. Secretary, United Methodist Church Committee for Refugee Ministries Xabier Gorostiaga SJ Rector Universidad Centroamericana Thomas Keating Conference of Major Superiors of Men Ronalth Ochaeta Dr. Gustavo Parajon President, CEPAD Thomas Quigley Policy Advisor, Dept of Social Development and World Peace, US Catholic Conference Dr. Sharon Ringe Wesley Theological Seminary Rev. Paul Sherry United Church of Christ Rev. Martin Shupak Mennonite Central Committee Rabbi Myra Soifer Temple Sinai Dr. Glen Stassen Fuller Theological Seminary Rev. Herbert D. Valentine Moderator Emeritus, Presbyterian Church Jim Wallis Sojourners Rev. G. Webber NY Theological Seminary Rev. Dr. Walter Wink

International Offices
Managua, Nicaragua Guatemala City, Guatemala San Cristbal de Las Casas, Chiapas, Mexico Bogot, Colombia

Witnessfor Peace
1229 15th St. NW Washington, DC 20005 Tel. (202) 588-1471 Fax (202) 588-1472 witness@witnessforpeace.org http://www.witnessforpeace.org

Bio-Colonialismand Mayan Medicine in Chiapas

WFP International Team, Chiapas, Mexico
University of Georgia; a Mexican research institute known as ECOSUR; and Molecular Nature Ltd., a biotechnology company based in the United Kingdom. Together, these three institutions make up what is called ICBG Maya. By using indigenous knowledge like Antonios to inform its research, this U.S. funded project aims to isolate pharmacologically important compounds from the plant species and microorganisms employed in traditional Mayan medicine. They take out the medicinal plants from our communities and try to tell us that they own them. Our indigenous peoples knowledge and resources are being robbed, says Antonio, shaking his head. In January 1998, the ICBG Maya consortium approached Antonios organization and invited them to participate in the project. COMPITCH responded that there were not yet sufficient laws protecting national and indigenous intellectual property rights for the project to move forward. ECOSUR publicly agreed. But in May 1999, despite not having reached an agreement with COMPITCH, the ICBG Maya went ahead and began to collect plants for the project. As of this writing, the lead researcher for the ICBG project, anthropologist Brent Berlin, has collected over 6,000 plants from indigenous communities in Chiapas and shipped them off to the University of Georgia herbarium in Athens, Georgia. To compensate the indigenous communities, the consortium created its own organization, called Protection of Intellectual Property Rights of the Maya (PROMAYA), to administer a trust fund that will pay royalties to a small number of indigenous groups selected as beneficiaries by ICBG. The contract on intellectual property rights signed last year between ICBG members and PROMAYA only protects the intellectual property rights of the three ICBG members. The contract does not seriously address the intellectual property rights of members of COMPITCH like Antonio or of the greater Mayan community. What is clear with the creation of PROMAYA, says Esteban, is that the ICBG members were only interested in the quickest and easiest way to get their hands on the plants and Mayan knowledge, and that they werent truly interested in the sharing of benefits and profits. By inventing PROMAYA to represent indigenous interests, ICBG members essentially created their own negotiation opponents. This way, adds Esteban, they could easily invite select groups to participate who would not question their way of working. According to contract conditions, any financial benefits gained from the use of information compiled in the ICBG project will be divided four ways among the members of the consortium. In other words, each of the three research institutions will receive one-fourth of royalties accrued from the sale of drugs developed with ICBG research data in Chiapas, while the remaining one-fourth of royalties will be allocated to PROMAYA to compensate a few communities. However, these royalties are but a tiny percentage of the profits pharmaceutical firms will make as a result of the indigenous Mayan knowledge. A standard pharmaceutical company profit sharing policy gives the holders of intellectual property rights 1% of the total profits from drugs sold. This means that PROMAYA stands to earn just 0.25% of any profits pharmaceutical companies reap from selling drugs developed with indigenous knowledge. The arrangement is especially problematic because ICBG Maya created PROMAYA. In effect, these outsiders essentially determine which indigenous communities will receive the tiny amount of compensation and which will not.

or decades, Don Antonio Perez-Mendez has used the centuries-old secrets of his Mayan ancestors to treat and cure the day-to-day illnesses of his community. Using thousands of plant species and traditional techniques from the mountains of Chiapas, Mexico where he was born and raised, Don Antonio has not only preserved a way of life, but has performed a valued and honored service for his community. Now recent interest in these medicinal secrets by research conglomerates and heavily endowed universities from the North threaten to steal this legacy. Lured by the potential for huge profits in the pharmaceutical industry, well-funded multinational research corporations are hoping to capitalize on indigenous peoples healing secrets by patenting and marketing age-old curative remedies. In so doing, these wealthy research firms have sparked a controversy over the control of valuable biological diversity and intellectual property of healing methods. Now, poor, indigenous people like Antonio and others involved with the Council of Indigenous Traditional Healers and Midwives of Chiapas (COMPITCH) -- a coalition of 11 indigenous medicine organizations -- find themselves pitted against powerful multinational corporations with U.S. government funding. They are opposing a new Bio-prospecting project that will sack indigenous knowledge.

COMPITCH Criticisms of ICBG Project

COMPITCH argues that ICBGs bio-prospecting project essentially excludes indigenous people (who have provided much of the researchers information) from reaping any financial benefit. The royalties arrangement established under the ICBG Maya contract for intellectual property rights amount to a measly sum in comparison with the profits pharmaceutical companies stand to gain. Furthermore, most indigenous Maya do not accept the concept of intellectual property rights. Sebastian Luna, one of Antonios colleagues at COMPITCH, commented, The project explicitly proposes to patent and privatize resources that have always been collectively owned. Besides being totally contradictory to our culture and traditions, the project creates conflict within our communities as some individuals, pressured by the grave economic situation, collaborate with the researchers for a few pesos or tools. COMPITCH also criticizes this bio-prospecting project for violating international laws onto which Mexico has signed. The UN Convention on Biodiversity, signed and ratified by Mexico in 1993, states that those carrying out projects such as this must receive prior informed consent from those whose knowledge and resources will be sold or affected by the project. As such, all affected parties must be made fully aware of the potential benefits, threats and consequences before agreeing to sell any plants or knowledge. COMPITCH maintains that the Mayan communities of Chiapas were never consulted or informed of the hazards of this project. Only 41 communities out of possibly thousands to be affected are even partially aware of this projects potential impacts on the larger indigenous communitys resources and knowledge. In light of the questionable practices of multinational bio-prospecting ventures, COMPITCH is demanding that a moratorium be declared on the ICBG Maya and all other bio-prospecting projects in Chiapas and Mexico. They propose a wide consultation of indigenous communities and a precontractual agreement between ICBG Maya and indigenous groups such as the COMPITCH which would establish legal and ethical precedents for access to, research of, and use of biological and intellectual resources in indigenous territories. We will struggle and defend our resources, proclaims Antonio. We wont let them come and steal our plants and knowledge.

What is Bio-prospecting?
Bio-prospecting occurs when a corporation collects plants or animals, researches their composition and potential uses, and patents discoveries so that no one can use that discovery without paying a fee. An advisor to COMPITCH, Esteban Ordiano, argues that a recent bio-prospecting project in Chiapas involving indigenous knowledge represents a new form of colonialism. With the onset of 'bio-colonialism,' we see a corporatecentered legal structure imposed upon poor people from the Global South. They are exploited for their natural resources--in this case biological resources-- intellectual property and genetic and chemical information, which are taken, usually without their consent, and capitalized on without giving any substantial benefits to those from whom they are taken.

U.S. Government-Funded Project Robs Indigenous Resources

The U.S. government runs a program known as the International Cooperative Biodiversity Groups (ICBG). The ICBG funds public and commercial research institutions that conduct bio-prospecting ventures in the Global South. The ICBGs self-stated goal is to promote drug discovery from natural sources, biodiversity conservation and sustainable economic growth in developing countries. Two years ago, this U.S. government-funded institution launched a fiveyear, $2.5 million project called the Drug Discovery and Biodiversity Among the Maya of Mexico project. The ICBG project funds three institutions that have undertaken bio-prospecting in Chiapas: the

Mexico

Necessary Compromises:Labor Rights,Indigenous Rights,and the Global Economy

WFP International Team, Guatemala
hen Sandra was 15, her familys economic need forced her to leave her highland Mayan village to work as a domestic servant near the Mexican border. Like many young indigenous women, she eventually migrated to Guatemala City and started working in a maquila (assembly factory), sewing shirts bound for US department stores. Desperate after receiving her first payment of US$15 for two weeks of work, Sandra decided to join a movement to improve working conditions in the factory: "(My low wages) made me very angry, but I couldn't quit because my sister had just left her husband and we needed the money. I didn't complain about the wages because I didn't know how much I was entitled to. At that point I didn't even know what the minimum wage was... (Then) I started going to meetings. We'd look over the lists of workers to identify people we might be able to recruit. Over time, I was able to recruit a number of people from my line. Soon the owners started getting suspicious. They started watching some of the workers (and) I was fired...". Three years later, Sandra continues to work 14-16 hour daysno longer in a maquila, but for a project that attempts to organize maquila workers clandestinely. To ensure secrecy and protect efforts to unionize, she meets individually with women in their homes after work. None can know of the others involved until the day the union is to be legalized.

Women make up an overwhelming percentage of the workers in Guatemalas maquilas.

In a country as poor as Guatemala, many economists argue that foreign investment represents the only road to development. While its true that maquilas provide much-needed jobs, very little of the profit generated circulates in the local economy. Furthermore, because US trade policy grants substantial import tax benefits to clothing made from US-produced material, the local Guatemalan fabric industry remains underdeveloped.

environment in maquilas stands in stark opposition to the social and family context of young indigenous women, where mutual respect plays an essential role in interpersonal relations. According to Project Conrado de la Cruz, the organization Father Julin works with, maquila workers often absorb and internalize their supervisors aggression, which can change the ways in which they relate to each other and their families. A competitive system of incentives and quotas pits them against one another, and they begin to see their coworkers as rivals. The individualism that results from competition contradicts indigenous communal ways. Additionally, in the rural to urban migration that fills the demand for maquila labor, Mayan religious traditions disappear as new generations are born in the city. Many young women also abandon their indigenous languages and traje (traditional clothing) in the workplace to reduce discrimination from management. Women maquila workers end up trapped between cultures, as they are the vital link between community elders and children. Fr. Julin explains that women are caught between two different types authority-that of the elders and their ancestors, which represents the recuperation of indigenous identity, and that of their supervisors, under whom they are learning to be independent women in a sense, but within a very patriarchal and antagonistic job setting that doesnt allow them to defend their rights. So there are a lot of contradictions that get played out in these young women. In this identity struggle we can see how closely linked womens rights are to indigenous rights and to childrens rights. The aggression and the values created in the maquila have the effect of undermining respect for all of these rights. We must create a society in which both community elders and women are lifted up at the same time, instead of how it is today, with the values and rights of both being undermined. Instead of a vision like Fr. Julins, 34 countries of this hemisphere are currently preparing for an agreement called the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA), to link all the economies (except Cubas) from Anchorage to Tierra del Fuego by the year 2005. Instead of true regional integration, the countries of the Caribbean Basin find themselves competing against one other to provide lax enforcement of labor codes and the lowest salaries.

Identifying the Impacts of Free Trade on Indigenous Cultures

What is wrong with this trade system? First, it is dominated by economic interests from the global North that do not take into account the needs of local industry in countries like Guatemala. Under expanded CBI, the US government protects its own (politically influential) textile industry, while denying our Southern trade partners the opportunity to integrally develop their textile industry. Unregulated free trade also causes a race to the bottom which pits poor countries against each other to attract foreign capital, leading to widespread disregard for internationally recognized workers rights. Under this development strategy, it will be difficult for Guatemala to break out of its historical role as a provider of raw materials and cheap labor. Another problem with free trade initiatives is their attempt to construct a blanket strategy for regional economic integration. Free trade policies seek to create a uniform value system across a culturally diverse geographic area, or indeed, throughout the world. In a multi-ethnic country like Guatemala, where over half of the population belongs to 22 distinct ethno-linguistic groups, the maquila development scheme has had destructive implications for Mayan culture. Father Julin Oyales, a priest who works with young Mayan maquila workers, explains that because of the land distribution crisis in Guatemala, people often say, Thanks to the maquilas we have work. But there are many drawbacks to this kind of work, too For example, the maquila environment is very much like a penitentiary environment, with the managers and supervisors exercising strict control over the workers. He goes on to say that supervisors regulate not only how many times they go to the bathroom, but they even accompany the workers on the bus that takes them home at night to ensure theyre not talking about organizing. This has a great impact on a social level, and it makes it difficult, if not impossible to organize, because of the militaristic regimen within the maquila. Its as if the maquila is exacerbating what the war left behind. Maquilas are not only producing clothesthey are also producing a new kind of person. The hostile

Labor Rights Suffer While Free Trade Expands

Not a single union exists in the more than 300 garment-producing maquilas in Guatemala. The brutal 36-year civil war effectively destroyed the countrys labor movement, assassinating or exiling virtually all of the leadership. Most workers-- especially the young, indigenous women who make up the majority of the maquila work force-- are still afraid to defend their legal rights as workers. In a country where union leaders continue to face violent persecution, its not hard to understand why leaders like Sandra are rare. And yet, in the midst of lingering hostility to labor organizing, on October 2nd the United States increased trade benefits to Guatemala under the United States-Caribbean Basin Trade Partnership Act (CBTPA), otherwise known as expanded Caribbean Basin Initiative (CBI). This agreement provides preferential tariff treatment for certain textiles and apparel, allowing these products to enter the United States free of import taxes. Expanded CBI grants Guatemala 19.4% of the entire regions production quota to be sold in the US market. Only El Salvador and Honduras trumped Guatemalas share of the quota, indicating the importance of cheap Guatemalan labor to maintain the high profits of US clothing companies. Established in 1983 during the height of the Central American wars, the Caribbean Basin Initiative was established by President Reagan as a tool for promoting US foreign policy. CBI sought to reward the regions sufficiently anti-Communist regimes with substantial trade benefits, reflecting Reagans trickle-down theory of economic development by promoting non-traditional exports and open markets. Under this theory, foreign investment provides jobs and development for poor countries, while allowing US businesses to become more efficient by operating in low-wage regions of the world.

Guatemala

Trade Regime Compromises Fragile Peace

Lost in the commotion, however, is Guatemalas fragile peace process, caught on the hook of stalled negotiations for a so-called Fiscal Pact to finance implementation of the Peace Accords. The Fiscal Pact, to be negotiated by government, business, and civil society, is in danger partly because of disagreement about tax incentives to be offered to investors in the maquila sector. Guatemalas business elite worry that if the Fiscal Pact eliminates established tax incentives, current and potential investment will shift to neighboring countries like Honduras or El Salvador, where expansive free trade zones offer more attractive conditions for investment. For centuries, Guatemalas Mayan population has created immense wealth for both a foreign and national elite by producing goods to satisfy the desires of foreign consumers. Today, an increasingly globalized economy continues to undermine the efforts of indigenous leaders attempting to recuperate and preserve their culture after nearly four
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As Jubilee Year Draws to a Close, Nicaraguans Have Little to Celebrate

The eradication of poverty is impossible without the eradication of exploitation and exclusion.Thus, the external debt and its relief initiatives are simply the method used by the North to exploit and oppress the people of the South.This is why poverty cannot be reduced with more loans, be they with long payback periods, low interest, and with very concessional terms . . . Any true eradication of poverty must be linked to a new, more just and equal development model, which is clearly impossible within the current world economic system. Carlos Pacheco, Center for International Studies, Managua hen Nicaraguan children went back to school this fall, nine-year-old Daniel Urbinas seat was empty. This year, his family couldnt pay the $1.50 a month to keep him enrolled. Instead, they will use the money to pay for the surgery he needs, and Daniel will join nearly half of Nicaragua school-age children who are not in class.1 Daniel, like every other Nicaraguan, owes over $1,400 to his countrys external creditors. Nicaragua is one of the most highly indebted countries per capita in the world, with a total debt of nearly $6.6 billion. To pay the debt, Nicaragua has undergone almost a decade of economic structural adjustment, supervised by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which requires the country to skimp on public spending. This leaves children like Daniel without adequate access to education and health care. According to the World Bank and IMF, help is on the way for Daniel. Lately both institutions have been talking a lot about poverty reduction for poor countries like Nicaragua. But how much difference will their new rhetoric make to Daniel?
Photo: Rebecca Phares

WFP International Team, Nicaragua

component of Nicaraguas structural adjustment plan is a significant increase in the national reserves. The Central Bank had aimed for an increase by $33 million in reserves this year. Instead, due to a banking scandal, the reserves fell by $83 million. Its very unlikely that Nicaragua will be able to recuperate the drop in reserves by next year.

Is HIPC worth waiting for?

For all the IMFs talk about reform, transparency and poverty reduction, its HIPC initiative has failed to deliver significant results. Grassroots groups and civil society leaders have criticized HIPCs track record in countries which have finished the program, such as Bolivia and Uganda, where debts have actually increased after the initiative. There is little reason to believe Nicaragua will fare any better. Analysts estimate that even if Nicaragua enters and completes the HIPC plan, its debt will increase to approximately $6.8 billion by 2002, with annual payments climbing from the 1999 level of $292 million2 to $387 million.3 Once Nicaragua completes the initiative, foreign aid will likely decrease, as donor countries will assume Nicaraguas economy needs no more support. At the same time, Nicaragua will no longer have access to the low interest rates and long payback periods for loans that it currently enjoys under IMF monitoring. In the meantime, Nicaraguas debt is continues to grow. According to Oxfam International, since January 1999 Nicaragua has contracted $351 million in new debt, primarily to multilateral institutions like the World Bank and the InterAmerican Development Bank. As of August 2000, the total debt stood at $6.59 billion, with debt payments accounting for nearly a quarter of the government budget. More troubles are on the horizon. In February 2001, the debt moratorium Nicaragua received from some bilateral creditors (including the United States) after Hurricane Mitch will expire. This means a significant increase in Nicaraguas yearly debt payments, given that interest has accrued during the two-year period.

Nicaraguas debt bondage has sacrificed an entire generation to illiteracy, poverty and hunger.

political power in the management of economic and social resources for development. Both are conditions most observers consider see as traps that allow the institutions to postpone any real response to the debt crisis. In fact, many argue that compliance with IMF and World Bank structural adjustment plans actually contribute to poverty and reduce a countrys ability to govern. While in principle linking debt relief to poverty reduction is positive, in reality this requirement only delays debt reduction. Government institutions that would help combat poverty have been so weakened by IMF-imposed cuts in public spending that they lack the human and institutional capacity they would need to draw up a poverty reduction strategy that meets World Bank and IMF standards. The poor have been marginalized even further by the IMF-mandated privatizing of state companies; for example, telephone and electric rates have skyrocketed as the government tries to modernize these companies to make them more palatable to investors. Reducing poverty is hardly possible in the context of Nicaraguas debt burden. The new IMF and World Bank condition of governance is even harder for Nicaragua to meet. Public institutions that could promote transparency and combat corruption are weakened by structural adjustment policies. International donors threatened to cut aid to Nicaragua this spring until they saw clear signs of reducing government corruption. Those signs have still not appeared. Since his election in 1996, the government of President Arnoldo Alemn has been rocked by charges of corruption. As in many other countries who follow IMF policies, the IMF- mandated privatization of public companies has brought one corruption scandal after another involving the public officials in charge of the process. In August, a scandal at the countrys second largest bank nearly collapsed the national banking system.

The IMF and World Bank: All Talk?

In the two decades the IMF and World Bank have meddled in poor nations' economies, poverty has increased dramatically and debts have grown to more unmanageable levels. Now, as the cry for an overhaul of the international economic system grows louder in both the global North and South, the World Bank and IMF have attempted to clean up their tarnished images. Phrases like poverty reduction and transparency are now part of their discourse. All countries that would enter the IMFs Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative, designed to bring debt relief to nations like Nicaragua, are now required to submit a detailed strategy for reducing poverty levels. The IMF has even changed the name of its much-criticized Enhanced Structural Adjustment Facility (ESAF) loan to the more politically savvy Poverty Reduction and Growth Strategy (PRGS). But for all this improved language, the World Bank and the IMF, along with Nicaraguas other wealthy creditors, have yet to deliver any real results. Both institutions have sold the HIPC initiative to Nicaragua as the only hope for debt reduction, even though the requirements for the initiative have proved impossible for Nicaragua to meet. Now new requirements have been set, and rather than set the stage for poverty reduction, they virtually guarantee that Nicaragua will not receive any real debt reduction anytime soon.

Beyond the Debt

Nicaragua

It is true that debt cancellation alone would not necessarily bring development to Nicaragua. Even if the debt were written off tomorrow, Nicaragua would need to take out more loans for development. Still, cancellation is a necessary step in the right direction, as it would free up resources that Nicaragua could invest in its people. For Daniel and millions of other children in highly indebted countries, it is not enough to talk about poverty reduction. If Daniel is to see real results, the IMF and World Bank must go beyond renaming their policies and putting more conditions on debt relief. Policy makers must be willing to remake the current development model for poor countries, and address the root causes of the debt: flawed IMF and World Bank policies, government corruption, unequal trade relationships between rich and poor countries and over-consumption of resources by rich countries. In this sense, wealthy nations, as well as the World Bank and IMF, should take steps to pay the debt they owe to children like Daniel, who are growing up without the education and health care services they deserve. For them, debt cancellation is already long overdue. For information on this years legislative victory on debt relief for poor countries, please see page 8.

Entry into HIPC Stalled Again

Nicaragua has spent over a year on the waiting list for the HIPC initiative, and is not expected to enter (and receive a relatively small reduction in its debt) until early next year. Its entry into the initiative has been stalled pending its completion of strict IMF requirements, conditions it will not likely be able to meet anytime soon. By nearly any measure, Nicaragua has deviated substantially from its current economic structural adjustment plan, signed with the IMF in 1998. The privatization of the national phone company, originally scheduled for October 1994, has still not been carried out due to irregularities in the process. The privatization of the electric company has stalled for similar reasons. Another primary

New Rules, Same Game

Last year the IMF and World Bank, as part of their new rhetoric, announced new requirements for countries that would enter the HIPC initiative. These countries would now need to demonstrate clear commitments to poverty reduction and governance, defined by the Bank as the exercise of
1 2 3

Oscar Rene Vargas, Despus del Mitch, Que? Managua, 1999, p. 34 Nicaraguan governments Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper, 2000 Confidencil magazine, La Iniciativa de Colonia y el Caso de Nicaragua, Managua, Nov 13, 1999, pg. 6

Personal Testimony from Colombia

WFP International Team, Colombia
Dear Friends of Witness for Peace, The last time we wrote to you, we were about to get on the plane to come to Colombia. It was an intense time, filled with anticipation, excitement and nervousness. Now we would like to reflect back on the past month, the beginning of a WFP presence in Colombia, and share some of our thoughts with you. As we settled into the new pace of life in Colombia, we found that what we had feared most was true; the situation here is critical and the US is playing a very large role. Since we arrived in Colombia, the biggest news has been and continues to be the situation in the southeastern Colombian province of Putumayo. For the past two months, the guerrilla group which virtually controls the area, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), has maintained an armed shut-down. Effectively this means that, among other things, virtually no food or gas is allowed to enter. Apparently, this move is a response to the militarization prescribed in the US-backed Plan Colombia, and attempts of rightwing paramilitary groups to challenge the FARC in this important region. The fighting has been fierce, forcing an estimated four to five thousand people to flee into the cities and over the border into Ecuador in the first weeks of the shut down. Putumayo is the destination of a great deal of the U.S. military aid, training and hardware. It is the Colombian province with the largest amount of coca cultivation, much of which is protected by the FARC, who in turn charge a tax upon its sale to drug traffickers. The U.S. and Colombian governments hope that by militarily beating back the FARC they will be able to fumigate the coca and thereby destroy a large part of the FARCs approximately $500 million in annual revenues. As the theory goes, this would significantly weaken the FARC on the battlefield, allowing for an outright military defeat, or at least to force a negotiated settlement. Plan Colombia is a program of the Colombian government that was originally written in English by a member of the Colombian Presidents staff with the help and advice of experts from the U.S. State Department. It is, at least in theory, a $7.5 billion package that includes funding for a military push into southern Colombia and the fumigation of illicit crops such as coca and poppy (the raw materials for cocaine and heroine, respectively). At the same time, the Plan purportedly directs funds towards supporting the peace process, people who have been or will be displaced due to the war, crop substitution, etc. Currently only $1.3 billion has come throughall from the U.S. Given Colombias current economic problems, there are serious doubts about its ability to provide the $4 billion that it had committed for the Plan. While individual European nations have committed relatively small amounts of money for Plan Colombia, far short of the $2 billion that the Colombian government was expecting, the European Union as a whole has rejected Plan Colombia and refused to support it. Thus, Plan Colombia is beginning to be seen as a de facto US policy. Since approximately 74% of the money from the US destined for Colombia comes in the form of military aid and hardware, Plan Colombia is also being seen as a US military policy. A Protestant Human rights groups warn us that US aid will heighten and pastor summed up the opinions of many that we prolong the decades-old conflict. have talked to when he said, We dont understand why the United States supports the continued suffering and destruction of Thousands of miles and worlds away in WashingColombian society by supporting Plan Colombia, which is nothing but a plan for war. ton, D.C. we do not hear about people like Dagoberto. Rather we hear people like Rep. Dan Our worst fears are coming true about the US role in Burton from Indiana say: Plan Colombia. Our Colombian partners have told us many times that Plan Colombia will escalate the First, I think we should put the situation in conflict. You do not put out a fire by adding more Colombia into perspective. All of us in [the Capitol fire. You cannot bring peace with more war. The Building] are closer to Bogota than we are to the first money from the US has arrived in Colombia, Golden Gate Bridge. Colombia's fate is a national and the US Congress has decided to accelerate the security threat to the United States. In addition to its delivery and ponder even more aid, and the results proximity to the U.S., Colombia borders inside Colombia are tangible. The war has already begun to escalate. The FARC has said that its Venezuelathe largest petroleum exporter to the fighting and armed shut-down in the Putumayo U.S. Colombia also borders Panama, a country are a protest of Plan Colombia, and US military aid. without a military and whose police force is illequipped to defend itself against the heavily-aimed Meanwhile Dagoberto Rojas, a campesino from FARC narco-terrorists. Much of the world's economy Putumayo, and a refugee from the fighting recently told the Associated Press, we are suffering the conpasses through the now-defenseless Panama Canal. sequences of a war that has nothing to do with us. This is the predominant view in the US. But in Here, we are caught between the bullets. Colombia, we clearly hear the opposite. A recent Dagoberto is just one of the thousands of victims national gathering of NGOs, human rights organiof this escalation of the war. continued on page 7

Colombia

Special Delegation Update. JOIN NOW!

WITNESS FOR PEACE ANNOUNCES A 100-PERSON DELEGATION TO COLOMBIA MARCH 11-23, 2001 Solidarity in Action: Understanding and Challenging US Military Policy in Colombia
Just as lighter fluid among flames produces more fire, more arms produce more war in the midst of social conflict.The military aid will not put an end to the war nor eradicate drug-trafficking. It will only increase the number of deaths and the suffering of the Colombian people. Ricardo Esquivia Ballestas, JustaPaz, Colombia In order to send a clear message to policy makers, Witness for Peace aims to make this delegation large and diverse. We hope to have 100 delegates from across the country. We want these delegates to represent the spectrum of American society in terms of age, sex, religion, class, ethnicity, sexual orientation, etc. The Colombian people have asked for our solidarity. Join us as we answer their call! For an application and more information, contact Elizabeth Miller at the Witness for Peace National Office, ph (202) 588-1471 or Gail Phares at Witness for Peace Southeast, ph (919) 856-9468

Personal Testimony
continued from page 6

Season of Jubilee
continued from page 2

zations, labor unions and other social organizations issued the following statement: We state that Plan Colombia is an integrated war plan, approved by the Congress of the United States of America, that is directed against the Colombian people. Therefore, we declare our opposition to Plan Colombia and to all forms of foreign military intervention, whether they come under the guise of antinarcotic policies, the partial defense of democracies, or any other pretextWe highlight the danger of a direct military intervention of US troops under the pretext of a worsening of our internal conflict. In opposition to the proposal of war in Plan Colombia , proposals such as prisoner exchanges, humanitarian accords, and cease-fires should be framed by a reaffirmation of using political means as the only pathway of seeking peace with social justice. The goal should be a political solution to the armed conflict through dialogue and negotiation. We are worried by the voices of war that seek to impose a military solution rather than dialogue. We call on the international community to show interest, comprehension and solidarity with us... and we call on the public opinion of the United States to act decisively against the creation of a new Vietnam in America. The sentiments of many Colombians were summed up last week during meetings with a member of a leading human rights organization here who said, Colombia does not deserve one more combat helicopter, not one more gun. The spirits of so many dead souls will not let us sleep at night. Therefore we completely reject Plan Colombia. Colombia deserves peace and any aid that is coming to support peace will be received with open arms. In spite of the despair, the escalation of war and the widespread agreement that US aid will only make matters worse, there is still a sense of hope in the people with whom we have met. One member

of a civil society organization here told us, We are at a very special moment in time where everything looks dark, as if there was no way out, but I believe that we will soon see light. We too have to believe that the Colombians will soon find their way out of the darkness of so much violence and be able to joyfully and lovingly embrace peace. It is our hope that we, as US citizens, each can do our part to make this a reality. Currently we are part of the problem. Our government is providing resources to keep Colombia locked in the dark labyrinth of violence. It is time for us to be bearers of light instead of darkness. It is time for us to demand that US policies support peace, instead of war, in Colombia. In Peace, The WFP International Team in Colombia

and medicines, and actually tightening some embargo restrictions. This has once again denied Jubilee for the millions of Cubans who suffer daily deprivations under the punishing US embargo. And finally, you will read about Colombia, a country in the throes of war for which Jubilee remains a distant goal. The people of Colombiaespecially the rural poor who have suffered so grievously at the hands of the paramilitaries and other armed actorshave little to celebrate at this Jubilee moment. The war that rages around them has just escalated, thanks to an unprecedented $1.3 billion aid package from the United States. As the US gets deeplyand shamefully-- involved in this conflict, persons of faith and conscience are called to action. Witness for Peace has responded to the urgent call to witness in Colombia. Two Witness for Peace International Team volunteers have been in Colombia since October 4, 2000. Our first delegation to Colombia departs on January 5, 2001. And in March, Witness for Peace will send a 100-person delegation to Colombia, including religious leadership, journalists, Congressional staff, and activists. This will be an unprecedented event in Colombia, and will bring needed attention to the tragedy unfolding every day in this war torn country. So while we must celebrate Jubilee, we must also keep up our struggle. Thank you so much for all of the work you have done in these endeavors, and we look forward to working with you in 2001, when we will once again walk together in the long, steady march to justice.

Necessary Compromises?
continued from page 4

decades of a civil war that tried to destroy it. People like Sandra and Fr. Julin struggle against a global trade model based on exploitative, unequal relationships. In an age of unprecedented economic growth, corporate-led development offers only poverty wages to those whose labor sustains our comfortable lifestyles. US consumers are intimately linked to people like Sandra, and she to us, by the cycles of production and consumption. As people of faith and conscience, we must critically examine the values currently promoted by free trade agreements and demand more equitable economic relationships with our neighbors. In April 2001, the Third Summit of the Americas will take place in Qubec City, where the heads of state from 34 countries will come together to further negotiate the FTAA. This event provides us an opportunity to make our voices heard as we stand in solidarity with our southern trade partners.

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Legislative Action in the Year of Jubilee: A Look Back at the 106th Congress
a sanctions provision offered by Senator Byron Dorgan (D-ND) to lift all unilateral sanctions on the sale of food and medicine. The House Appropriations Committee subsequently included similar language in its version of the agriculture appropriations bill. This language was initially sponsored by Rep. George Nethercutt (R-WA). A major victory happened in the House of Representatives in late July. In its vote on the Treasury, Postal Service and General Government Appropriations bill, the full House voted 301 to 116 to ban Treasury Department funding for enforcement of US restrictions on the sale of food and medicine to Cuba. In voting on another amendment to the same bill, the full House approved, by a vote of 232-186, an amendment offered by Rep. Mark Sanford (R-SC) to prohibit Treasury Department funding for enforcement of US restrictions on travel by US citizens to Cuba. Unfortunately, this language that had garnered such wide support was later removed from the bill by the House Republican leadership when they combined the treasury/postal and legislative branch appropriations bills and dropped the Cuba language. They left the Cuba question to be dealt with in the agriculture appropriations bill. When the agriculture appropriations conference committee (the committee charged with reconciling House and Senate versions of the agriculture appropriations bill) was convened, there were two options on the subject of sanctions reform. The first was the language passed by the full Senate (the Dorgan language) which permitted the future sale of food and medicine to Cuba, including the availability of private US financing. The second option came out of negotiations by Republican leadership behind closed doors. This deal allowed for cash sales to Cuba, or sales financed through third countries, and at the same time wrote into law current travel restrictions. This second version was a ghost of the original bill that barely reflected the original intent of legislators. WHAT WE GOT Debate on the issue of sanctions was substantive, but unfortunately, it was the narrow language of the "deal" that prevailed. Votes came down to party lines, and the majority Republican members fell in line with what their leadership had instructed them to do. It is worth pointing out that many Republicans expressed their distaste for the final "compromise" and were quick to point out that they only supported it because it was what was "do-able." Unfortunately for us and for the people of Cuba, this legislative pragmatism dealt us a real blow. The bill passed by the agriculture appropriations conference committee and signed in late October by President Clinton does allow the first US sales of food and medicine to the Cuban government in nearly 40 years. However, the bill prohibits the extension of both U.S. government and private U.S. financing to Cuba for its purchases. Sales to Cuba will have to be on a cash-only basis or with financing and credits arranged through thirdcountry banks. In practice, the absence of U.S. financing will severely limit the ability of small and medium-sized farmers with no foreign bank contacts to make sales to Cuba. Any agricultural sales that happen as a result of this legislation will primarily benefit large companies. If this first component of the bill is a qualified victory at best, the second aspect of the legislation is a real blow to our work to normalize relations with Cuba. The bill prohibits future expansion of the categories of US citizens allowed to travel to Cuba by codifying into law the current travel restrictions. The freezing into law of the travel

by Sarah DeBolt, Grassroots Programs Coordinator

he 106th Congress saw action on a wide range of U.S. policy issues important to Witness for Peace. We have encouraged your action on many of these in previous newsletters and through our monthly legislative alert (the Call-a-Week campaign). Now, as the Congress wraps up the year, we can all look back at some of the highlights and lowlights on the year of Jubilee. While this article could not possibly recap every Latin America-related legislative initiative on which WFP activists worked, it does allow us to see what we accomplished, and what work lies ahead for us in 2001.

Policy Update

COLOMBIA: U.S. Aid to Escalate War against the Poor

The question of U.S. aid to Colombia and its military emerged as one of the most pressing issues in U.S.-Latin America relations this year. As members of our Call-a-Week campaign know, Witness for Peace activists worked tirelessly to block this disastrous escalation in assistance to Colombia's army, which is widely regarded as the most abusive in the hemisphere. All of that hard work notwithstanding, Congress did approve $860.3 million in supplemental aid to Colombia, per the Clinton Administration's request. Added to the $330 million previously budgeted for aid to Colombia in 2000-2001, total U.S. assistance to Colombia surpassed a billion dollars. WHAT WE GOT The aid package for Colombia is overwhelmingly military in nature. Almost exactly three-quarters of it is aid to the military and to the police, leaving one quarter of the amount to be shared across the areas of aid to displaced persons (of which there are an estimated 1.5 million in Colombia), alternative development, administration of justice, judicial reform, human rights, and peace. As people of faith and conscience, we find this breakdown of the aid unacceptable. We also find unacceptable the bill's inclusion of weak human rights conditions and its provision for a presidential waiver. As it currently stands, the bill stipulates that money cannot be disbursed unless the State Department "certifies" the Colombian government's track record in the area of human rights protection. However, the bill allows the President to waive this certification requirement if he deems it in the "national

interest" of the United States. This is precisely what happened in August, when the first portion of the aid money was set to be channeled to Colombia. The State Department did not certify Colombia, maintaining that the country only met one of six human rights conditions outlined in the bill. But the money started flowing after President Clinton waived the certification requirement. This happened just days before President Clinton traveled to Colombia to meet with President Pastrana and just one week after the Colombian army ambushed a group of school children on a nature hike, killing six and seriously wounding four. Clinton's waiver sent a clear message to the Colombian government and armed forces that U.S. commitment to human rights in Colombia is little more than lip service. Colombia is up for certification again in January 2001. Please see the box on pg. 9 to learn how you can take action. WHAT TO LOOK FOR IN 2001 In addition to the certification debate that will be upon us shortly, we all need to brace ourselves for the next round of appropriations debates on aid to Colombia. This will be the next time Congress allocates funds for Colombia. It will probably get underway in February, so please be ready to help shape the debate! Also, keep in mind that WFP will be sending a 100-person delegation to Colombia in March 2001. To find out how you can support our non-violent presence in a country where our government is waging war, please visit our web site at www.witnessforpeace.org or contact your Regional Coordinator (see page 2 for contact info).

CUBA: Changes in U.S. Law Fall Short of Activists' Hopes

Both sessions of the 106th Congress were marked by dramatically increased debate on the embargo on the sale of food in medicine to Cuba. Witness for Peace activists, among many others, were important factors in pushing Congress to re-think this Cold War-era policy. In particular, the more than 200 delegates who traveled to the island on WFP delegations over the past year came back to the United States and did crucial work to help break down misconceptions about Cuba on the part of Congress and the American public. We had been encouraged by what looked like major steps in the first half of the year towards a more just policy with Cuba. Earlier in 2000, the Senate approved its version of the agriculture appropriations bill by a vote of 79 to 13, without objection to

restrictions makes congressional action necessary to expand any of the allowable travel categories, and it removes the power of the President to issue general licenses for travel to Cuba. Specifically, this codification of travel restrictions has stripped the President's power his legal executive ability to grant general licenses for travel to Cuba or to expand the categories of US citizens who may travel legally to Cuba. Though he had expressed his displeasure with the language that emerged from the conference committee, President Clinton signed the bill into law on October 28. LOOKING AHEAD We had all worked hard and hoped for a more radical change in US policy toward Cuba, and this vote is a real disappointment for us all. However, it is important to remember that this is the first time in 40 years that Congress has even begun to open the door to a change in US policy. Debate in the conference committee only reaffirmed that congressional support for changing US policy toward Cuba goes well beyond what ultimately made it into the bill. It is important to remain motivated to continue the effort in the next congressional session to encourage the sale of food and medicine to Cuba with meaningful legislation that will actually result in sales. And it will be critical to see the will of the Congress and the American people implemented relating to the freedom to travel to Cuba. We are counting on your help to continue this effort.

al corporations and to privatize public services. No such conditions were imposed. As chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, Gramm has considerable power to block legislation. In the end, other legislators insisted that Gramm must step aside and let this legislation go forward. Letter and calls to Congress from WFP constituents calling for real debt cancellation made a tremendous difference. The spirit and most of the substance of the Houseapproved "user fees" amendment (originally sponsored by Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. (D-IL)) was retained. The conferees agreed that US representatives to the IMF, World Bank, and regional development banks must oppose all loans that include user fees or service charges for basic health care and education where such fees would be paid for by poor people. This specifically includes programs for treatment and prevention of AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria, as well as maternal/child health. If loans with user fees are approved over US objections there must be a report to Congress within ten days. While not perfect, this amendment has the potential to reduce some of the worst effects of traditional IMF and World Bank austerity measures, and to stretch hard-won benefits of debt reduction much farther.

Cuban children bear the brunt of the shortages imposed by the US embargo.
Please thank them if you are from Vermont or the 8th district of California.

GUATEMALA: Ban on Military Aid Stays in Place

Despite this years attempt by the Clinton Administration to lift the ban on regular military training to Guatemala (IMET), Congress was once again persuaded that the Guatemalan military has not sufficiently reformed. The Defense Department testified in April to the House foreign operations subcommittee that the Guatemalan army had made vigorous efforts to comply with the peace accords and thus merited restoration of regular IMET. Nonetheless, both the House and Senate foreign operations appropriations bills contain a continued prohibition on regular IMET to Guatemala. The House bill has passed in full committee, while the Senate bill is completely finished for this year. This position reflected the arguments of human rights groups and people of faith and conscience that the Guatemalan government had not yet instituted the military reforms called for in the Peace Accords. While the military has reduced its budget and troop levels, it has not yet restricted its operations to external defense or reorganized its deployments throughout the country in a manner consistent with a mission of external defense rather than counterinsurgency. In other words, the military still acts in internal policing -- an activity clearly prohibited by the Peace Accords. In addition, although the new Portillo government has pledged to dismantle the much-feared presidential guard (EMP) and replace it with a civilian agency, a thorough civilian transition is still far from being completed. Moreover, the army has not sufficiently revised military doctrine. A new military doctrine was unilaterally presented in December, but was labeled a preliminary draft after human rights groups decried the lack of public input in the process. Finally, the army must cooperate more fully with ongoing human rights investigations involving military personnel in order to meet the requirements of the Peace Accords. Rep. Nancy Pelosi and Senator Patrick Leahy played leadership roles in keeping the ban in place.

JUBILEE: Steps in the right direction on debt cancellation for poor countries

In late October the U.S. Congress responded positively to the years of work by the Jubilee 2000 (Jubilee section is from Maryknoll Office for coalition and others who have been calling for Global Concerns NewsNotes, Nov./Dec. 2000) definitive debt cancellation before the end of the year 2000. Frequently described as an "amazing coalition" including the Pope, Billy Graham, Irish rock star Bono, millions of ordinary people, and, according to Rep. The administration will still need to certify Colombia or waive the conditions once Sonny Callahan (R-AL), "every again for the second year of funding (FY2001) included in the two-year aid missionary in the world," we package. This certification will take place in January. moved Congress from utter ignorance and absolute resistance The President,State Department and your members of Congress need to hear that to some real understanding of the US citizens are outraged at our government's treatment of the critical issue of impact of debt on already impovhuman rights in the context of a massive infusion of military aid. erished communities. There is much more to be done to address the debt crisis and to create a just WRITE OR CALL PRESIDENT CLINTON global economy, but for now we AND YOUR MEMBERS OF CONGRESS. can "be glad indeed!"

So take a moment to congratulate yourself on the many calls you made, the letters and postcards you sent, the day of fasting you undertook, and the vigils you attended. This kind of work by thousands of WFP activists like you and by millions of other individuals around the world made this initial victory possible. Then, as you celebrate the year of Jubilee and enjoy a holiday season of rest and replenishment, prepare yourself for another year of work for peace, justice, and sustainable economies in the Americas. For we still have a great deal of work to do.

TAKE ACTION!

Congress appropriated $435 million for cancellation of bilateral and multilateral debt owed by highly indebted low income countries, and authorized the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to revalue its gold stocks to fund multilateral debt reduction. This includes the full amount requested by the Clinton Administration for fiscal year (FY) 2001 as well as FY 2000's previously unfunded request. Senator Phil Gramm's (R-TX) attempts to hold up debt cancellation were rejected. Gramm sought to block debt funding unless and until the IMF was "reformed" by requiring borrowers to completely open their markets to multination-

General talking points: I I believe that human rights should be a number one priority for the United States. I I am very concerned that the U.S.is providing huge amounts of assistance to an army that has well-documented ties to paramilitary forces engaged in brutal acts of violence. Tell the President: I I am disappointed that you waived the human rights conditions on the Colombia package. I I hope that you will send the right message to the Colombian government and military by NOT waiving the human rights conditions on the FY2001 aid if the Colombian government has not acted decisively to meet the conditions. Tell Congress: I I urge you to remove the waiver from the human rights conditions for next years (FY2002) aid,so that the conditions have a chance of being enforced.

APPLY TODAY for the WFP International Team

We are currently accepting applications for the 2001 WFP International Team. The application deadline is April 1, 2001. There will be an initial orientation in Washington, D.C. in July 2001. Final training will begin in Nicaragua on September 1, 2001. To request an application packet, contact the National Office. oin the Witness for Peace (WFP) International Team for a two-year term of service. Based in Nicaragua, Guatemala,and Chiapas,Mexico,and Colombia,team members design and plan participatory,experiential educational programs programs that help visiting groups of US citizens understand the impacts of global economics and corporate practices as well as US foreign,economic and military policies in these countries. Two team members accompany these groups during the 7-14 day visits which empower citizens to return to the US to participate in campaigns that promote sustainable development policies. I I I I Computer literacy. Physical endurance and good health. Bachelors Degree or equivalent experience. Commitment to the WFP mission and operating principles.

Benefits include a monthly stipend ($165 per month) vacation pay,health insurance,dental care,room and board and all work related transportation costs. After the first year of service,team members receive a round trip ticket to the US and at the end of the two year term,a reentry stipend of $1,200,a ticket to the US plus one month of health insurance. During their two year term, team members are encouraged to assist the organization in raising funds for programs. Interested individuals are encouraged to apply regardless of race,religion,gender or sexual orientation. Persons of color are especially encouraged to apply.

General Responsibilities of the WFP International Team

1. Educational Program Design Plan and facilitate two week experiential educational programs for,and accompany groups of,7 to 20 US citizens who visit Nicaragua,Guatemala,Cuba,Mexico (Chiapas),Colombia and Haiti. Responsibilities include arranging logistics and providing translation. 2. International Travel Although the International Team is based in Managua,Guatemala City,San Cristobol de la Casas,and Bogota,a substantial amount of time is spent travelling to make contacts with community and church leaders,civil society groups,labor and environmental groups and other NGOs. These contacts are vital in order to understand the political,economic and social situation in each of these countries and to serve as a basis for planning the educational programs for visiting groups. 3. Journalistic Documentation Team members investigate current events in the countries as they relate to global economics and US policies.They are responsible for writing articles,short reports and developing educational resources that put a human faceon the impact of these policies in Latin America and Caribbean.

We recommend Robbie Kramer at:

Qualifications for International Team Members

I I I I I I I I I I I Conversational Spanish fluency. Minimum age of 21. US citizenship. Knowledge of or willingness to learn about global economics,US foreign,economic and military policies and trade and labor issues. Experience and/or interest in planning participatory educational programs for groups. Experience working with groups and excellent communication and interpersonal skills. Experience living and traveling abroad,especially in Latin America. Willingness to live in the physically demanding and at times stressful conditions of a developing country. Experience in team work. Personal initiative. Good writing skills.

For more info: USA, Canada 1-800-655-4053 / Local 510-655-2154

Please mention Witness for Peace when you call.

Code WASWFP WFP will get travel credits that are vital to our work e-mail: exito@wonderlink.com www.http://exitotravel.com exito travel, 1212 Broadway, Suite 910, Oakland. CA 94612

Let Us Celebrate Hope

By Marinetta Cannito Hjort Finance and Program Coordinator
practices of our government can be. We learned that over 80% of the US economic support to the Colombian government will be in the form of military support and weapons, in a country were already nearly 2 million people have been displaced from their homes due to violence that kills almost 30,000 Colombians every year. When we decided to send two of our International Team Volunteers, Jess Hunter and Michael Joseph, to Colombia to witness first hand the impact of the US military and economic intervention, our hearts were full of worry for their safety. We were not ready for a celebration. Despite our emotional silence, though, Michael and Jess spoke of our common faith in the cause lying ahead in their mission. They shared their joy of being able to live in solidarity with the forgotten and excluded in Colombia and to work to affirm justice and peace. Theirs were and remain for us words of hope and celebration. It is this hope we want to celebrate with you, our community of faith and conscience. It is the hope coming from a living witness that celebrates the power of confronting injustice and oppression. The presence of Michael and Jess and all the Witness for Peace delegates, volunteers and staff that will follow is a testament to the beautiful power of love, honesty, witness and solidarity. It is the hope shared with all the Colombians deprived of their lands and their dignified life. Their solidarity with the powerless represents a hope pointing to the kingdom of God as a living and transforming reality that starts from the margins. It is a hope already belonging to the present. It is the proclamation that the cynical law of resignation has not the last word. It is the proclamation of the good news of faith in the victory of justice and love. This is our hope. This is the hope we want to celebrate together. This is the Jubilee for the poor. Human beings suffer. They torture one another. They get hurt and get hard. No poem or play or song Can fully right a wrong Inflicted and endured. History says, Dont hope On this side of the grave, But then, once in a lifetime The longed-for tidal wave Of justice can rise up And hope and history rhyme. So hope for a great sea-change On the far side of revenge. Believe that a farther shore Is reachable from here. Believe in miracles And cures and healing wells. Call miracle self-healings, The utter self-revealing Double-take of feeling. If theres fire on the mountain And lightning and storm And a god speaks from the sky That means someone is hearing The outcry and the birth-cry Of new life at its term. It means once in a lifetime That justice can rise up And hope and history rhyme. Seamus Heaney, from The Cure at Troy

Reflection

s we approach the third millennium and get ready to celebrate the jubilee of the technological and scientific progress of humanity, we are still confronted with the painful reality of a divided society. For some-- the powerful and those who share the benefits of a prosperous economy--the beginning of a new era is indeed an opportunity to celebrate. For others-- the poor, the billions of people who are victims of unjust systems--the time ahead is a time of uncertainty and expectations. The risk is that the glittering lights and triumphal words that will welcome the new millennium will only represent the jubilee of the powerful minority, while the poorest are ignored and forgotten, their cry silenced under the noisy celebration. Who will celebrate with them and for them? The Witness for Peace community of persons of faith and conscience has chosen to work tirelessly with North and South partners to realize a Jubilee for the poor where social injustices are rectified. We know from experience that such a choice requires a constant revision of our strategies, a constant recommitment to our mission. We celebrated when in October we won a small victory in our struggle for the cancellation of debts owed to the US by highly indebted low income countries. We know, though, that its easy to lose the sense of celebration when the victories of the poor are so limited and the work that remains to be done is so huge. But we almost lost the sense of celebration when confronted with the latest US policy decision towards Colombia. We learned once more how deadly and painful the consequences of the

10

Witness for Peace Publications and Activist Materials

A Bankrupt Future; The Human Cost of Nicaragua's Debt Released in April, 2000 this document provides an introductory, but comprehensive look at the complex realities of the debt crisis in Nicaragua. Providing information about the roots of the global debt crisis and the draconian solutions of the international donors, this document looks at both the debt crisis in general, and the crisis in in Nicaragua specifically. 32 pages. ($10)
Honoring Bishop Gerardi's LegacyDemanding Economic Justice in Guatemala A 12-page guide to economic justice issues in post-war Guatemala, seen through the lens of Bishop Juan Gerardis legacy of active peacemaking. Released on April 26, 2000on the second anniversary of the Bishops martyrdom, this document serves as a primer and an action tool for activists concerned about a lasting peace in Guatemala. ($4) Like the Dew that Waters the Grass: Words from Haitian Women by Marie B. Racine, WFP Board MemberBeautifully written, this book transcribes the voices of Haitian women who share their struggles against devastating impoverishment, political repression, harsh working conditions, domestic abuse, and rape. Based on interviews from the years of the brutal coup detat (1991-1994) and continuing into the period in which democracy was restored, Racines book provides a rich and truthful picture of life in Haiti. Through these courageous narratives, you are witness to the indomitable spirit and hope of the Haitian people, and the fundamental strength and faith of these women. Recently released by EPICA, this book conveys words that reflect the promise of a new day, like the dew that waters the grass.($14.00 each) Marie Racine is a member of the Witness for Peace Board of Directors and a long-time Haiti activist. The Economic Way of the Cross/El Via Crucis Economico (bilingual edition) Prepared in conjunction with the Religious Working Group on the World Bank and the IMF (RWG) and the Ecumenical Program on Central America and the Caribbean (EPICA), this resources invites people of faith and conscience to relate the suffering of 2/3 of humanity who live and work under the crushing weight of poverty to Jesus's way of the cross.It names the international networks of military, political, legal, financial, and corporate power that govern the unjust economic order. And it call for study, reflections and action to change this oppressive system. 112 pages, with photos and usable lectures. ($7.50 each) A Crude Awakening: The World Bank, US policy and Oil in Guatemala Based on field research in the Petn province of Guatemala, this Witness for Peace publication exposes yet another World Bank project that fails to meet the Banks own standards for environmental protection and public participation. A Crude Awakening reveals how the International Finance Corporation (the private lending arm of the World Bank) twice funded the construction of an oil pipeline through pristine rainforest, rendering incalculable damage on the local environment and shutting out Guatemalan civil society from meaningful participation in the projects design. The publication also shows how the pipeline project violates both the spirit and the letter of the 1996 Peace Accords, which call for a new vision of sustainable development for the war-torn Central American country ($5.00 each). People and the Profit Margin: the Corporate Agenda in Central America and the Caribbean Breaking down the global economy into laypersons terms, this 15 page document provides a basic question-and-answer analysis of neoliberalism and free trade.It debunks common misconceptions about these economic phenomena and lays bare their impact on the poor in Guatemala, Haiti, and Nicaragua.In addition to its generalized look at the international economy, People and the Profit margin covers a range of specific issues.These include the effect of global economic integration on labor and the environment and the role played by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund in the current economic order.(Kit:$12.50 each; Publication only: $5.00 each) Sewing Justice: US Solidarity and the Workers Struggle in Nicaraguas MaquilasReleased in October, 1997 this document is an action-oriented piece detailing the work of Witness for Peace and other international solidarity groups in support of organizing efforts in Central Americas assembly factories. This document describes some of the immense obstacles facing factory workers in Nicaragua and elsewhere in the developing world who strive to organize for a living wage and safe and humane working conditions. And Sewing Justice outlines some of the tools available to workers in Central America and activists in the North to work for positive change.($2.00 each) Making Peace in Guatemala: An Unfinished Agenda By the Witness for Peace Long Term Team, Guatemala. Based on original research in Guatemala, this 12-page booklet takes a critical look at the prospects for peace with justice in Guatemala, given the difficulties Guatemala faces as it integrates into the world economy and the trend toward neoliberal solutions. Includes a summary of the accords and the governments implementation plans, a critique of the Socio-Economic Accord, views of the peace process from the perspectives of returned refugees and from residents of an urban squatter commmunity, and how Guatemalans are organizing to demand social justice. ($3.00 each) A High Price to Pay A 36-page book that makes visible the hidden victims of economic structural adjustment. The personal stories and data reflect the tremendous toll that adjustment has taken on the women of Nicaragua - on their workloads, on their psychological well-being, on their health.It also portrays ways that Nicaraguan women are organizing to confront the economic crisis and explores alternatives to current economic policies.($2.50 each) Bitter Medicine This 20 page popular education resource details and documents World Bank and International Monetary Fund economic policies that are devastating the poor in Latin America and around the world.Bitter Medicinewas written by the Witness for Peace long term team in Nicaragua.($1.50 each) Songs of Witness This 24-song cassette and songbook set was recorded and produced in 1987. Songs of Witness is a collection of the folk songs and hymns sung by Witness for Peace delegates and Longtermers over the past 15 years. The Songs of Witness set is in limited supply! (Cassette and songbook set $15.00 each) Stop the War Against the Poor Bumper Stickers ($1.50 each, or ten for $3.00) End the Embargo on Cuba T-Shirt See ad on page 12. ($10.00 each)

Order and Subscription Form

Return to: Order Department,Witness for Peace, 1229 15th Street, NW Washington, DC 20005. You may fax your order to 202-588-1472. A Bankrupt Future $10.00 X ____= ______ Honoring Bishop Gerardis Legacy $4.00 X ______= ______ Like the Dew that Water the Grass $14.00 X ____= ______ Economic Way of the Cross $7.50 X ______= ______ A Crude Awakening $5.00 X ______= ______ People and the Profit Margin $5.00 X ______= ______ Sewing Justice $2.00 X ______= ______ Making Peace in Guatemala $3.00X ______= ______ A High Price to Pay $2.50 X ______= ______ Bitter Medicine $1.50 X ______= ______ Songs of Witness $15.00 X ____= ______

End the Embargo T-Shirt

$10.00 X ____= ______

WFP Solidarity in Action T-Shirt

$15.00 X ____= ______

Resources

Stop The War Against The Poor Bumper Stickers

Single $1.50 X ______= ______

Bundle of 10 $3.00 X ______= ______ Shipping $ 3.50

Witness for Peace Solidarity in Action T-Shirt

See ad on page 12. ($15.00 each)

Total $ ______

Subscriptions Available from WFP

Call-a-Week CampaignSign up for the Witness for Peace Call-A-Week Campaign, and add your voice to the growing chorus demanding justice, peace and social responsibility from our elected officials, policy makers, and corporate leaders. As a Call-A-Week member, you will receive a mailing at the beginning of each month. This mailing will contain details about the call-in actions for the month including: the date or week to make your call, the target (including proper title and phone number), brief background information, and talking points. To subscribe, send your address to your Regional Coordinator (see page 2 for contact information). Some regions may request a nominal yearly charge to cover printing and mailing. Latin American Emergency Response Network (LAERN) Facilitated by the Alliance for Global Justice, LAERN sends emergency response faxes to government officials and corporations in Latin America to show US citizen concern over human rights abuses, labor rights violations, and environmental destruction. Because of the resources necessary to ensure immediate turn-around, subscribers to LAERN are billed $6 each time their name is used. Witness for Peace does exercise great discretion in authorizing the use of WFP names, acting only when issues are raised that fit within our mission statement. To be added to the WFP list, please specify this preference and send your name and address to LAERN, 1247 E St SE,Washington DC 20003.

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Address __________________________ City __________________State ______ Zip E-mail ____________________________ __________________________ I Credit card

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Card: IVisa I Master Card IAm.Express Number __________________________ Expiration Date ________________ Signature __________________________ Discounts available on bulk orders

11

Show Your Support to End the Embargo on Cuba!

At Witness for Peace, we have seen that the US embargo on Cuba is neither a humane, just, nor effective US foreign policy tool. In challenging the embargo, we hope to create ties of friendship and life, rather than supporting a policy that causes suffering and punishes innocent civilians. By wearing a t-shirt with the above logo, you too can show your support for the people of Cuba. Each shirt is white, 100% cotton, and displays the English logo on the front and the Spanish logo on the back. Available in L, XL and for a low price of $10
Back

NEW! Witness for Peace Solidarity T-Shirt

Front

Back
Front

Union made and printed, 100% cotton t-shirts in royal blue. Available in sixes SXL. These eye-catching bilingual shirts display the WFP solidarity in action theme on the front and our name in Spanish on the back.

See page 11 to order

Or you can order online at http://www.witnessforpeace.org/embargo.html

See page 11 to order

2000-2001 Delegation Schedule

Socially Responsible Travel Experiences That Will Change Your World!

With WFP you do not travel as a tourist, you stand in solidarity with the people! For more information, contact the National Office or the delegation coordinator (see below). Nicaragua
January 12-21, 2001 Centre College Study Abroad Professor Rick Axtell 948 W. Lexington Ave Danville, KY 40422 v: 606/238-5245 March 28-April 8, 2001 Examining Nicaragua in the Global Economy A Youth Delegation Rev. Paul Palumbo PO Box 1058 Chelan,WA 98816 V: 509 682 9063 March 2001 (Dates TBA) Poverty and Global Economics: Alternative Spring Break to Nicaragua Michele Weber,WFP Southwest 242-105 S. Orange Ave Brea, CA 92821 V: 714/990-6603 E: wfpsw@witnessforpeace.org June 16-30, 2001 Teen Delegation to Nicaragua Gail Phares 1105 Sapling Place Raleigh, NC 27615 V: 919/856-9468 E: Rphares105@aol.com July 2001 (Dates TBA) Nicaragua in the Global Economy: The War Against the Poor John Mateyko WFP Mid-Atlantic 304 Pilot Town Road Lewes, DE 19958 V: 302/ 345-2657 February 4-16, 2001 Denver Justice and Peace/WFP The Continuing War Against the Poor Kareen Erbe DJPC 901 W. 14th Ave., Ste #7 Denver, CO 80204 V: 303/623-1463 E: denjustpeace@juno.com

Mexico (Chiapas)
January 6-18, 2001 Mexico: Arms and Exports Michele Weber WFP Southwest 242-105 S. Orange Ave Brea, CA 92821 V: 714/990-6603 E: wfpsw@witnessforpeace.org March 24-April 1, 2001 Alternative Spring Break to Mexico: Human & Economic Rights in the Global Economy Joanne Ranney WFP New England PO Box 147 Richmond,VT 05477 V: 802/434-3233 E: wfpne@witnessforpeace.org

March 16-25, 2000 Globalization through the Eyes of Cuba A College Student Delegation Jennifer Cannon Amherst College Community Outreach Program V: 413-542-5766 E: jwcannon@amherst.edu June 16-27, 2001 The People of Cuba and the Impacts of the Embargo Michele Weber WFP Southwest 242-105 S. Orange Ave Brea, CA 92821 V: 714/990-6603 E: wfpsw@witnessforpeace.org

Delegations

Colombia*
January 5-17, 2001 Bearing Witness to US Military Policy in Colombia Witness for Peace 1229 15th St, NW Washington, DC 20005 V: 202/588-1471 E: miller@witnessforpeace.org March 11-23, 2001 Solidarity in Action: Understanding & Challenging US Military Policy in Colombia Witness for Peace 1229 15th St, NW Washington, DC 20005 V: 202/588-1471 E: miller@witnessforpeace.org *These are special delegations. For an application and guidelines about our Colombia delegations, please contact the Witness for Peace National Office.

Honduras
February 2001 Human Rights & Public Health Michele Weber,WFP Southwest 242-105 S. Orange Ave Brea, CA 92821 V: 714/990-6603 E: wfpsw@witnessforpeace.org March 10-18, 2001 Human and Labor Rights in Guatemala Kamala Ellis 632 N. State Street Tacoma,WA 98403 V: 253-861-7313 E: bluetortuga@hotmail.com June 26 - July 8, 2001 Labor struggles and Human Rights in Guatemala: An Inter-generational Delegation Joanne Ranney Witness for Peace NE PO Box 147 Richmond,VT 05477 V/F: 802/434.3233 E: wfpne@witnessforpeace.org

Cuba
January 8-20, 2001 Cuba: The People, the Arts and the Embargo Joanne Ranney Witness for Peace NE PO Box 147 Richmond,VT 05477 V/F: 802/434.3233 E: wfpne@witnessforpeace.org March 3-11, 2000 Alternative Spring Break to Cuba: The People and the Embargo Georgetown Solidarity Committee/WFP Cara Hayes 1229 15th St, NW Washington, DC 20005 202/ 588-1471 E: hayesca@georgetown.edu

Guatemala
January 3-12, 2001 Guatemala Past and Present Steve Bennett, Executive Director Witness for Peace 1229 15th St, NW Washington, DC 20005 V: 202/588-1471 E: bennett@witnessforpeace.org

If you cannot join a delegation, but would like to make a donation towards scholarships for people of low income, please contact WFP and inquire about the lowincome scholarship fund.