Urgent actions

Further Action on Colombia:

If you have not yet written to Bill Rammell, then click here

Further action you can take:

Write a follow-up letter.If you have already written, please follow up the Government’s response with another letter. This detailed briefing suggests points you may want to raise.

Write to your MP and MEPs. Express concern at the British Ambassador’s recent comments and ask that the UK/ EU freeze military assistance and arms sales to Colombia.
- Click here to find details of your local MP.
- Click here to find details of your local MEP.
Get hold of further materials from War on Want.
We can provide you with:
Postcards – to distribute to friends and colleagues
Articles – that you can use to publish in your student, local or trade union newspaper – this is a really effective way of getting information out to large numbers of people
Reports – for a fuller understanding of the situation in Colombia
Videos – of a recent delegation to Colombia which can be shown at meetings. We have to charge £4 per video to cover costs.
Please contact ndearden@waronwant.org for more information
We will shortly be producing a new postcard action If you have any way of helping to distribute postcards to friends and colleagues, please contact ndearden@waronwant.org.

You may want to make the following points:

Military assistance The disclosure of details regarding UK military assistance is welcome but until full details are made clear we cannot be sure that military assistance funded by UK taxpayers is not falling into the hands of those sections of the armed forces that commit human rights violations themselves, or share equipment and information with the paramilitaries.

Arms sales The Department for Trade & Industry should consider instituting an arms embargo on Colombia while the human rights emergency continues.

Political pressure The UK should also exert political pressure on Colombia. While the UK claims to have made a difference to the Colombian Government’s policies towards civil society, in September 2003, President Uribe made a speech accusing human rights groups of defending terrorists. The charge puts the lives and operations of human rights activists in jeopardy. The British Ambassador to Colombia should have condemned these remarks rather than appearing to reinforce them.

Where to send your Action:
Bill Rammell MP
Parliamentary Under-Secretary at the Foreign & Commonwealth Office
King Charles Street
London SW1A 2AH

	Click here to send an e-postcard to Bill Rammell about military assistance to Colombia
	Click here for a more detailed briefing on Colombia
	www.europarl.org.uk/uk_meps/MembersMain.htm Will give details of your local MEP
	www.locata.co.uk/commons/ Will give you details of your local MP
	Click here To help us spread the work about the Colombia campaign. Get more actions, a video and report
	Click here For further details about our Urgent Action with Project Partner SINTRAEMCALI