[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 34 (Wednesday, March 13, 1996)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E338-E339]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          URGING MEMBERS TO READ ABOUT HUMAN RIGHTS IN BOLIVIA

                                 ______


                           HON. JIM McDERMOTT

                             of washington

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, March 12, 1996

  Mr. McDERMOTT. Mr. Speaker, I would like to take this opportunity to 
enter into the Record this letter to Secretary of State Warren 
Christopher regarding human rights in Bolivia. Twenty-eight 
nongovernmental organizations from the United States wrote this letter 
to ask the United States Government to ensure that Bolivian 
antinarcotics police receiving United States assistance comply with 
Bolivian and international laws when carrying out arrests and that the 
United States support Bolivian measures to improve human rights.
  I am particularly interested in this letter because it highlights the 
human rights situation in the Andean nations receiving antinarcotics 
assistance from the United States. I think it is important that we 
monitor how U.S. assistance is used to ensure that it is used for its 
stated purpose, and that it does not contribute to human rights 
violations in the Andean nations. Our commitment to support human 
rights around the globe requires congressional attention to this 
matter.

[[Page E339]]

                                                February 15, 1996.
     Hon. Warren M. Christopher,
     Secretary of State, Department of State,
     Washington, DC.
       Dear Mr. Secretary: We are writing to express our deep 
     concern regarding human rights violations occurring as a 
     result of antinarcotics operations in Bolivia. On March 1, 
     1996 the Administration is slated to announce its annual 
     ``certification'' of countries cooperating with U.S. 
     antinarcotics objectives. As you undertake your review of 
     antinarcotics efforts in Bolivia, we urge you to look closely 
     at those violations to seek ways to work with the Bolivian 
     government to implement measures that could improve the 
     protection of human rights in that country.
       Human rights abuses remain pervasive in the Chapare, the 
     rural area in which most of Bolivia's coca is grown and 
     cocaine base produced. For years, the antinarcotics police--
     trained and funded with U.S. assistance--has run roughshod 
     over the local population, carrying out arbitrary searches 
     and arrests, stealing the meager possessions encountered, and 
     manhandling and beating individuals during raids and 
     interrogations. Impunity for abuses committed by 
     antinarcotics police is the norm. If investigations are 
     initiated, they are cursory and incomplete; sanctions are 
     rarely imposed.
       Social unrest and conflict in the Chapare increased 
     significantly over the second half of 1995, as a result of 
     stepped-up coca eratication efforts. Last spring, the U.S. 
     government sent the Bolivian government a letter stating that 
     Bolivia would be treated as ``decertified'' and therefore 
     ineligible for U.S. assistance if it did not, among other 
     conditions, meet coca eradication targets. In response to the 
     U.S. ultimatum, the Bolivian government stepped up 
     antinarcotics operations despite well-founded fears that 
     these actions would unleash a wave of violence. As predicted, 
     the eradication efforts sparked violent confrontations with 
     coca growers, resulting in at least seven deaths, scores 
     wounded and hundreds arrested. Careless and indiscriminate 
     use of force by the Bolivian police against those opposing 
     coca eradication policies is disturbingly frequent.
       Since mid-January, the Bolivian antinarcotics police have 
     undertaken massive sweeps in the Chapare, arbitrarily 
     detaining over three hundred people. Those detained are 
     typically held several days and released without charges; 
     indeed, without ever being presented to a judge. On January 
     29, the police also broke up a peaceful hunger strike in 
     support of the women protesting the government's coca 
     policies and threw over fifty people into jail. Neither 
     Bolivian law nor international human rights standards permit 
     these warrantless arrests of individuals against whom there 
     is no evidence of participation in criminal conduct. The 
     government is clearly using police powers to stifle lawful 
     political opposition to its policies. Given the proximity 
     of a decision on certification, we also suspect the 
     Bolivian government is detaining hundreds in the hopes of 
     impressing the United States with its antidrug commitment.
       The Bolivian antinarcotics efforts also continue to rely on 
     special judicial procedures that violate fundamental due 
     process considerations. Under Bolivia's Law 1008, those who 
     are formally charged with drug offenses--no matter how 
     minor--are imprisoned without the possibility of pre-trial 
     release and must, even if acquitted, remain in prison until 
     the trial court's decision is reviewed by the Supreme Court, 
     a process that takes years. The U.S. government provides 
     funding for the salaries and expenses of special prosecutors 
     for the antinarcotics courts.
       We recognize the United States does not encourage or 
     condone human rights abuses by Bolivian antinarcotics forces. 
     Nevertheless, the United States shares responsibility for 
     those abuses. The U.S. government provides funds and 
     technical assistance to all of the Bolivian agencies involved 
     in counternarcotics activities and, as just noted, to the 
     antinarcotics courts. Bolivia has passed laws, created 
     institutions and adopted antinarcotics strategies shaped by 
     U.S. concerns and pressure.
       We urge you to ensure that the U.S. government no longer 
     underwrites human rights abuses in Bolivia by adopting 
     policies more sensitive to the political, economic and social 
     cost of antinarcotics operations in Bolivia. Specifically, we 
     urge the U.S. government to:
       Support revisions in Law 1008 which would ensure that 
     Bolivia's judicial procedures for drug offenses meet 
     international due process norms and standards.
       Ensure that Bolivian antinarcotics police receiving U.S. 
     assistance and support comply with Bolivian and international 
     laws when carrying out arrests.
       Provide the necessary support to enable the Bolivian 
     antinarcotics police to establish effective complaint and 
     review procedures to hold abusive agents accountable.
       Expand reporting on human rights abuses stemming from 
     antinarcotics operations in the State Department's annual 
     human rights report for 1996.
       The issue of drug abuse is important to the American people 
     and deserves the attention of our nation's leaders. U.S.-
     supported coca eradication efforts in Bolivia, however, have 
     yielded little results in reducing the amount of cocaine 
     coming into the United States, and few independent observers 
     believe they can ever succeed in reducing the flow of cocaine 
     to our country. At the same time, they have increased social 
     tensions and fostered human rights abuses. In crafting future 
     policy, adoption of the measures we have outlined could 
     result in significant improvements in the human rights 
     situation in Bolivia and would send an important message to 
     the Bolivian people regarding U.S. concern for human rights.
       Thank you for your attention to our concerns.
       Representatives from the following organizations signed on 
     to the February 15, 1996 letter to Secretary of State Warren 
     Christopher addressing human rights concerns as a result of 
     U.S. anti-narcotics policy in Bolivia:
       Washington Office on Latin America.
       Maryknoll Society Justice and Peace Office.
       American Friends Service Committee, Washington, Office.
       Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
       Catholics For Justice, Latin American Task Force, Diocese 
     for Kansas City-St. Joseph, Missouri.
       Center for Concern.
       Church of the Brethren.
       Clergy for Enlightened Drug Policy.
       Columban Justice and Peace Office.
       Comboni Peace and Justice Office, Cincinnati, OH.
       Latin American Studies Program, Cornell University.
       Criminal Justice Policy Foundation.
       Drug Policy Foundation.
       Fellowship of Reconciliation Task Force on Latin America 
     and the Caribbean.
       Foundation on Drug Policy and Human Rights.
       Inter-American Dialogue.
       North American Congress on Latin America (NACLA).
       Guatemala Human Rights Commission/USA.
       International Labor Rights Fund.
       Maryknoll Society.
       Office of Social Concerns, Maryknoll Sisters.
       NETWORK: A National Catholic Social Justice Lobby.
       Open Society Institute.
       Pax Christi U.S.A.
       Peru Peace Network.
       Sisters of Saint Joseph of Carondelet.
       U.S. Catholic Conference.
       Unitarian Universalist Service Committee.
       The following individuals also signed on to the letter: 
     Melina Selverston and Cynthia McClintock.

                          ____________________