Real scandal in Columbia involves displacement of 5.2-million people

To the editor,

Reporting about President Obama's visit to Colombia for the Summit of the Americas made it seem as though the most shocking news was about the Secret Service. However, the real scandal in Colombia is that ongoing war has created the largest internal displacement crisis in the world, with an estimated 5.2-million people left homeless after fleeing from violence. And President Obama didn't even mention it.

Another dirty little secret? Since 2000, Washington has sent approximately $8-billion from taxpayers in mostly military aid to the Colombian government, whose armed forces happen to have the worst human rights record in our hemisphere.

Yet, the greatest shocker of all is that President Obama gave the green light for the U.S.-Colombia free trade agreement, despite that labor and human rights groups insist that the promises of the Labor Action Plan have not been fulfilled. How could President Obama say that everything is fine when union leaders and land rights activists continue to be assassinated, organizing is still suppressed, paramilitary groups spread terror in rural areas, and justice is still out of reach for most human rights cases?

This past week, tens of thousands of people across the United States took action to educate their communities about what's happening in Colombia and to call for better U.S. policies. What will it take for these scandals to get the coverage they deserve?

Jan Stevens

Plymouth