---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Mon, 22 May 2000 11:43:58 -0700
From: International Bicycle Fund <[log in to unmask]>
Reply-To: [log in to unmask]
To: wa-afr <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: [wa-afr] FW: ACTION: End Pentagon training of Human Rights
Violators
-----Original Message-----
From: Vicki Lynn Ferguson [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Thursday, May 18, 2000 9:44 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: ACTION: End Pentagon training of Human Rights Violators
Dear ADNA members,
Following find an action alert from the Center for International
Policy regarding human rights standards for US foreign military
training programs and funding. Feel free to share this with your
networks.
Regards,
Vicki Ferguson
ADNA Communications Facilitator
Date: Thu, 18 May 2000 18:00:10 -0400
From: Clarissa Kayosa <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: HR1063
May Action to End Pentagon Training of Human Rights Violators
Pass H.R. 1063!
The bill already has eighty-eight sponsors. Let's get it over the
top!
CALL CONGRESS
Urge Congress to Pass H.R. 1063, to Extend Existing Human-Rights
Standards to the Pentagon's Foreign Training. Ask your
Representative to cosponsor H.R. 1063, the International Military
Training Transparency and Accountability Act, if s/he has not already
done so. (A current list of cosponsors is attached below.) This
binding legislation closes loopholes the Pentagon has used to
continue to train human rights violators despite the congressional
ban on combat training for human-rights violators under the
International Military Education and Training program (IMET).
As of May 18, 2000 according to the Defense Security Cooperation
Agency of the Department of Defense, the following African countries
are under various UN or US State Department embargoes, suspensions or
policy holds which would make this legislation apply to them :
Angola rebel UNITA forces, Burundi, Burkina Faso, Comoros, Cote
d'Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea,
Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gambia, Liberia, Libya, Republic of the Congo,
Rwandan rebel forces, Sierra Leone rebel forces, Somalia, Sudan, Togo
and a case-by case approval by State Department applies to Uganda.
CALL: Your Representatives and ask for the foreign policy staffer.
The congressional switchboard number is 202-224-3121, or consult
http://www.house.gov for fax and email information.
Representatives who sit on the Appropriations Committee are
especially important. Remember to thank your Representative for any
previous support. Tell your Representative:
U.S. human-rights policy should be uniform. Pentagon-administered
programs should not be exempt from the human-rights standards set
for the regular foreign-aid program.
Thank you for your support of this action. It makes a difference!
Please let CIP know the results of your contacts.
Contact Clarissa Kayosa at CIP's office, (202) 232-3317.
E-mail <[log in to unmask]>.
sample letter
Dear Representative__________:
I am writing to request your cosponsorship of H.R.
1063, the International Military Training Transparency and
Accountability Act, introduced by Representatives Chris Smith and
Lane Evans. HR 1063 closes loopholes the Pentagon has used to
continue to bypass congressional intent and train human rights
violators.
For example, although Congress had banned combat
training for Indonesia under the IMET program because of its
military's atrocious human rights record, the Department of Defense
continued to train soldiers under the Joint Combined Exchange
Training (JCET) program. H.R. 1063 would prevent such end runs
around Congress by making clear that when one form of training is
prohibited, other similar training is also banned.
This law will also benefit civilian rule across Africa. It will send
an unmistakable message to the region's militaries that the United
States is serious about the human-rights standards set by Congress
on IMET and does not intend to allow those standards to be vitiated
by loopholes or end runs. Above all it would send a message of
confirmation of the rule of law, something all too many African
militaries ignore. This is a message African militaries need to
hear. They would benefit and so would their societies.
For example, in Equatorial Guinea in 1993 the U.S. ambassador was
expelled for condemning human-rights abuses. The United States even
took the rare step of opposing IMF loans because of rights abuses.
There, the U.S. Third Special Forces Group in 1998 continued to
train scores of local troops in light infantry skills, including
operations planning, small-unit tactics, land navigation,
reconnaissance and medicine. The exercises were supposed to be
coordinated through the U.S. embassy but the embassy in Equatorial
Guinea had been closed for budgetary reasons since 1995.
As of May 18, 2000 according to the Defense Security Cooperation
Agency of the Department of Defense, the following 19 African
countries are under various UN or US State Department embargoes,
suspensions or policy holds which would make this legislation apply
to them : Angola rebel UNITA forces, Burundi, Burkina Faso, Comoros,
Cote d'Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea,
Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gambia, Liberia, Libya, Republic of the Congo,
Rwandan rebel forces, Sierra Leone rebel forces, Somalia, Sudan, Togo
and a case-by case approval by State Department applies to Uganda.
This bill has far reaching implications for the human rights of
Africans, Indonesians and others around the world. I thank you for
your prompt action in response to my concerns. I believe your
commitment to human rights will compel you to cosponsor H.R. 1063.
I look forward to your response.
Sincerely,
Full Mailing Address
__
Our efforts do have an effect, so keep up the phone calls and
pressure. Thank your Representative if he or she is a cosponsor. If
you still do not see your Representative(s) on the bill(s) below,
then call them via the Congressional Switchboard at (202)2243121.
For current fax and email information, see http://www.house.org.
CONTACT your representative urge him or her to cosponsor H.R. 1063,
which closes loopholes that have enabled the Pentagon to continue
training militaries with records of gross human rights violations
in spite of congressional intent to halt such training.
H.R. 1063 current sponsors list
Neil Abercrombie (DHI)
Thomas Allen (DME)
Robert Andrews (DNJ)
Tammy Baldwin (DWI)
Tom Barrett (DWI)
Howard Berman (DCA)
Brian Bilbray (RCA)
Rod Blagojevich (DIL)
David Bonior (DMI)
George Brown (DCA)
Sherrod Brown (DOH)
Tom Campbell (R-CA)
Mike Capuano (DMA)
Bill Clay (DMO)
John Conyers, Jr, (DMI)
Elijah Cummings (DMD)
Danny Davis (DIL)
Peter DeFazio (DOR)
Phil English (RPA)
Lane Evans (DIL)
Eni Faleomavaega (DAS)
Sam Farr (DCA)
Bob Filner (DCA)
Barney Frank (DMA)
William Goodling (RPA)
Louis Gutierrez (DIL)
Tony Hall (DOH)
Maurice Hinchey (DNY)
Eleanor Holmes Norton (DDC)
Jesse Jackson Jr, (DIL)
Marcy Kaptur(DOH)
Patrick Kennedy (DRI)
Carolyn Kilpatrick (DMI)
Dennis Kucinich (DOH)
Tom Lantos (DCA)
Steven LaTourette (ROH)
Barbara Lee (DCA)
John Lewis (DGA)
Zoe Lofgren (DCA)
Nita Lowey (DNY)
Bill Luther (DMN)
Carolyn Maloney (DNY)
Ed Markey (DMA)
Matthew Martinez (DCA)
James McGovern (DMA)
Cynthia McKinney (DGA)
Michael McNulty (DNY)
Marty Meehan (DMA)
Gary Miller (RCA)
George Miller (DCA)
David Minge (DMN)
Patsy Mink (DHI)
Joe Moakley (DMA)
Dennis Moore (DKS)
Connie Morella (RMD)
Jerrold Nadler (DNY)
James Oberstar (DMN)
Martin Olav Sabo (DMN)
John Olver (DMA)
Ed Pastor (DAZ)
Donald Payne (DNJ)
Nancy Pelosi (DCA)
Collin Peterson (DMN)
Richard Pombo (RCA)
John Porter (RIL)
Lynn Rivers (DMI)
Dana Rohrabacher (RCA)
Bobby Rush (DIL)
Bernie Sanders (IVT)
Jan Schakowsky (DIL)
Jose Serrano (DNY)
Chris Smith (RNJ)
Pete Stark (DCA)
Ted Strickland (DOH)
Bart Stupak (DMI)
Tom Tancredo (RCO)
John Tierney (DMA)
Mike Thompson (DCA)
Edolphus Towns (DNY)
Mark Udall (DCO)
Robert Underwood (DGuam)
Bruce Vento (DMN)
Maxine Waters (DCA)
Henry Waxman (DCA)
Anthony David Weiner (DNY)
Frank Wolf (RVA)
Lynn Woolsey (DCA)
David Wu (DOR)
Albert Wynn (DMD)
The relevant subcommittee in the House of Representatives:
Subcommittee: Foreign Operations, Export Financing and Related
Programs Phone: (202) 2252041 Office: H150
Capitol U.S. House of Representatives, Washington, DC 20515
Republicans
Callahan, Sonny (AL 1) Chairman >
Porter, John (IL 10)
Wolf, Frank (VA 10)
Packard, Ron (CA 48)
Knollenberg, Joe (MI 11)
Kingston, Jack (GA 1)
Lewis, Jerry (CA 40)
Democrats
Jackson, Jesse (IL 2)
Kilpatrick, Carolyn (MI 15)
Sabo, Martin (MN 5)
Forbes, Michael (NY 1)
Pelosi, Nancy (CA 8)
Ranking Member
Lowey, Nita (NY 18)
Clarissa Kayosa
Center for International Policy
1755 Massachusetts Ave., N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20036
(202) 2323317. Fax 2323440
[log in to unmask]
http://www.ciponline.org
***
This message distributed from the Center for International Policy for
the Advocacy Network for Africa.
Vicki Ferguson
Advocacy Network for Africa
Communications Facilitator
c/o Africa Policy Information Center
Director of Education and Outreach
110 Maryland Ave, NE Suite 509
Washington, DC 20002
Tel: 202-546-7961
Fax: 202-546-1545
e-mail: [log in to unmask]
URL: http://www.africapolicy.org
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