DATE=April 22, 2002

TYPE=Dateline

NUMBER=7-36210

TITLE=The Word on the Streets

BYLINE= Christine Elliott

TELEPHONE= 619-0112

DATELINE=Washington

EDITOR=Neal Lavon

CONTENT=

DISK: DATELINE OPEN; THEME IN FULL, FADE OUT UNDER UNDER HOST INTRO:

HOST: Tens of thousands of demonstrators gathered in Washington this weekend to protest globalization and U-S foreign policies. There were numerous causes that marchers rallied for and against. But one group of protesters focused on what they said were U-S injustices in the South American nation of Colombia. V-O-A's Christine Elliott reports on the demonstrations in this edition of Dateline.

CE: Washington experienced one of the largest, but most peaceful protests in its history this past weekend. Some estimate there were as many as 75-thousand demonstrators throughout the weekend. Various civil and human rights protesters descended upon Washington this past weekend to, as they put it, "Mobilize for Global Justice." They lobbied Congress with their demands, they held rallies and marched through the streets of the U-S capital.

Many came to protest International Monetary Fund and World Bank economic policies, and globalization. Globalization is the idea that free and open trade will promote the sharing of cultures, products and ideas, and bring the cost of goods down internationally.

Opponents of globalization say it is hurting the poor and helping the rich. They say the poor of the developing world do not benefit from the tearing down of trade barriers.

Proponents of globalization say the opposite. They say the evidence shows countries that have lowered trade barriers are fighting poverty better than ever before. For several years in Washington, the spring meetings of International Monetary Fund and the World Bank have sparked protests. Usually the protests were against the policies of the international lending institutions and their impact in the developing world. But this past weekend, most of those issues were overshadowed by groups opposed to U-S policy in the Middle East.

SOUND: CHANTING OF COLOMBIA DEMONSTRATORS, SNEAK, ESTAB AND UNDER AND OUT BEHIND:

CE: However, a strong contingent of protesters came to Washington specifically to march against U-S political and economic strategy in Colombia. Several organizations make up the National Mobilization on Colombia. They paraded through the center of town during the busy morning rush hour Monday in protest of U-S military and financial support for the Colombian government. The group says The United States School of the Americas, now known as the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation, trains Latin American soldiers to commit human rights abuses. Singer and songwriter Pat Humphries says she came to Washington to generate publicity about the school and its activities.

TAPE: CUT 1, PAT

"I want to make sure that the word gets out to people that our hands are not clean when it comes to human rights abuses around the world. We conduct training right here in the United States that has helped to contribute to horrendous crimes against humanity around the world, and in particular in Latin America."

CE: The so-called Colombia Mobilization groups believe U-S aid helps fund human rights abuses by right-wing guerilla groups in Colombia like the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia, or A-U-C. The State Department lists the A-U-C as a foreign terrorist organization. U-S press reports say the Colombian army has joined with the A-U-C to fight the leftist rebel group, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC. Therefore, the Colombia Mobilization group charges the United States is aiding terrorists by funding the Colombian army which, in turn, supports the A-U-C.

The United States has been involved in fighting a "war on drugs" in Colombia for more than two decades. Almost all of the cocaine and heroin in the U-S drug market comes from Colombia. The United States currently gives more than one-point-three billion dollars in aid to the Colombian government to fight the drug trade. The members of the Colombia Mobilization want to press their argument that Washington's current efforts to fight the "war on drugs" allow U-S aid to be used for killing innocents. About 600 members of the

Mobilization group stayed to march through Washington's streets Monday morning without a permit. Michael Berg was part of that group.

TAPE: CUT 2, BERG

"The drug war, the way it's fought by the United States, the victims are not the drug barons, the victims are not those who have the power. The victims are peasants on the producing end and the poor on the using end."

CE: Stephen Bennett is a spokesman for Witness for Peace, one of the main groups protesting in the Colombia Mobilization demonstration. He says U-S efforts to end drug production and help the Colombian government are failing miserably.

TAPE: CUT 3, BENNETT

"It's not ours to tell the Colombian government how to rule their own affairs. It's ours, however, it's our right and our responsibility to tell our government how we think it should be conducting its affairs. And currently its affairs towards Colombia are disgraceful and a shame on our nation. Whereas the potential for positive engagement to help Colombia solve its own problems is vast."

CE: But not everyone agrees U-S policy is harming Colombia. Ana Eiras is a Latin American policy analyst for the conservative Heritage Foundation in Washington. She says the leftist Colombian guerrilla group, the FARC, is responsible for the majority of human rights abuses in Colombia. She adds that U-S policy in essence does leave the Colombian government ultimate responsibility for stopping FARC.

TAPE: CUT 4, EIRAS

"I think, actually I know, that the Colombian government is fighting against the FARC because of the human rights abuses the FARC commits on its people. What I think the government of Colombia is trying to do is, it's trying to take the FARC out of there. The United States is helping because, unfortunately, the Colombian army is not well funded, is not well trained, and it needs help. But the strategies and the tactics that they are using are ultimately Colombia's decision. They may get help or advice from the U-S, but it is ultimately the Colombian decision."

CE: I'll have more on this weekend's demonstrations after this.

You're listening to the new Dateline heard 44 minutes past most odd U-T-C hours on VOA News Now. I'm Christine Elliott. Coming up on the next edition of Dateline, Judith Latham reports on one of Europe's most overlooked but beleaguered minorities, the Roma. That's tomorrow on Dateline.

Although the weekend's protests in Washington were some of the most peaceful ever, some demonstrators did break the law and police arrested them. Overall, about 80 civil and human rights activists were arrested. At Monday's events, about 20 members of the Catholic Worker group staged a civil disobedience sit-in, blocking an entrance to the Capitol building. But police did say despite not having a permit for the protest, by and large, events involving groups in the Colombia demonstrations went smoothly. Washington D-C Police Chief Charles Ramsey said officers were just doing their jobs.

TAPE: CUT 5, RAMSEY

"We try to work with them as best as we can. As long as they don't delay and unnecessarily block traffic, we're trying to let it happen. We're trying to be as flexible as we can, even though it's an illegal march."

CE: After blocking traffic for about two hours on some main Washington streets, the protesters rallied at Senate Park, just north of the U-S- Capitol building. The Colombia Mobilization groups talked about legislation they presented to Congress to change U-S policy. Gail Taylor is the Legislative Director for School of the Americas Watch and talked with me about policy and the effectiveness of the protests.

TAPE: CUT 6, TAYLOR

Gail: "What we would rather have is a real drug policy, alternative development in Colombia and treatment here in the United States. Today we're marching towards the Capitol to send our message straight to the members of Congress in a public manner.

Christine: "Do you feel that protesting in this peaceful manner will have an effect?"

Gail: "I think so, I mean along the way I've already spoken to joggers who were a little bit confused about what's going on, and I told them, 'Hey, this is what's happening, this is what our government's doing.' And it's a no-brainer for people to be against it, it's just getting the message out."

CE: After the protests, most of the activists taking part in all the demonstrations here were ready to leave Washington. They came in caravans and buses from all over the United States to make their voices heard. They will return home having fulfilled their missions. But the Colombia Mobilization groups say they are far from finished with their actions. In November, they plan to gather thousands in the U-S southern state of Georgia, where the former School of the Americas now trains soldiers. Witness for Peace Spokesman Stephen Bennett says the fight for peace will continue.

TAPE: BENNETT CUT

"We come to Washington this weekend and today, to express mass concern over U-S policy towards Colombia. We are hopeful that our voices will be heard and that our lawmakers will change the disastrous course that we're currently on. But if they don't, we're going to come back, again and again, bigger every time, until our lawmakers do heed our voices and change the course of U-S policy."

CE: And those who oppose U-S policy on globalization will also likely return. But Dan Griswold of the free market Cato Institute says that opponents of globalization miss the oppportunities and results that free trade has brought to the developing world.

TAPE: GRISWOLD CUT

"I think where the protestors are wrong in a tragic way is indicting free trade and globalization in their critique of the effects on poor people. In fact, the evidence is just the opposite. Countries that open themselves up to trade and are engaging in globalization are making the most rapid progress against poverty. If you look at China, Vietnam, Uganda, the last decade in India, these countries have opened up, and finally, they're making real progress against poverty.

I think if they really cared about poor people, they would put aside their anti-market ideologies, embrace the findings of just about anybody who's looked at this question honestly, and realize that free trade and globalization are perhaps one of the most powerful engines in the world today for lifting millions of people out of poverty."

CE: But the campaign against globalization and U-S policies in Colombia will continue. Whether the actions of protesters who expressed their opinions so vividly in Washington this past weekend will prompt new directions in American policy remains to be seen. As the protesters say, they will move forward and not look back . . .for Dateline, from downtown Washington, I'm Christine Elliott.

MUSIC: KEEP ON MOVING FORWARD, NEVER LOOKING BACK