Euro Socialist Party invites Colombian President to speak at EP

international | eu | news report Wednesday February 04, 2004 10:14 by rayo - lp

The Party of European Socialists which includes the British and Irish Labour Party have invited Mr. Uribe the President of Colombia to address the European Parliament next week in Strasbourg, Tuesday 10th February. However human rights groups and NGOs have condemned this joint action taken by the EPP/Christian Democrats and the PES, citing the poor human rights record of the Colombian government. It is seen by many as an attempt to legitimise the policies taken by Mr Uribes' government and in particular his 'Plan Colombia'.

The situation has already raised a lot of controversy within the European Parliament, as the three main left wing groups in the parliament (Group of the United left, Greens and the Liberals) have openly opposed the presence of Mr. Uribe in Strasbourg next week.

* Colombia has the worst human rights in the Western Hemisphere, with over 300,000 displaced people and 7,000 political homicides each year
* The official armed forces and state-sponsored paramilitaries are responsible for at least 80% of human rights violations
* Plan Colombia is a vehicle for US military intervention in Latin America that is failing in its declared objective of ending coca cultivation, while the fumigations are causing widespread suffering to peasants and damaging the environment
* Uribe is personally committed to increased repression rather than seeking a negotiated solution to the armed conflict. His latest law the "Antiterrorism Statute" provides the army with unfettered powers over the civilian population and has been widely condemned by human rights organisations
* Any diplomatic or financial support from the EU for Uribe will strengthen his hand.


http://web.amnesty.org/report2003/Col-summary-eng

http://www.hrw.org/doc?t=americas&c=colomb