EUROPEAN MP CONDEMNS COLOMBIA-NATO PACT http://www.namnewsnetwork.org/v3/read.php?id=MjM2MDAw
German member of Parliament, Heike Haensel, described as an "attack against human rights and Latin American regional integration" the cooperation agreement and exchange of information between the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) and Colombia."It is scandalous that the past repressive policy of the Colombian state is now rewarded with this security agreement," said the spokesperson for the development policy of the Left-Wing Party (Die Linke) in Parliament.The agreement, signed in Brussels by the Colombian government and NATO, includes a broad exchange and access to experiences in the struggle against groups described as terrorists."Just this week, four farmers were shot dead by members of the Colombian Army in the border with Venezuela during protests for the right to land and food sovereignty," she said.The cooperation agreement has prompted strong criticism from other Latin American countries like Bolivia, Brazil, Ecuador, Nicaragua and Venezuela, besides trade unions and social movements in Colombia."Military forces in Colombia continue being responsible for extrajudicial executions, torture, war against the civilian population and disappearances," said Haensel.He urged Chancellor Angela Merkel to support, through the European Union, regional integration in the Latin American continent and the end of human rights violations in Colombia, instead of working for expanding the Western military alliance.