One for the books:"EU lawmakers urge probe of Colombian intelligence operations"

[Judi Lynn]

18.07.2010
EU lawmakers urge probe of Colombian intelligence operations

EU parliamentarians have called on the Commission to look into Colombian intelligence operations in Europe designed to ‘neutralize the influence' of critics of the Colombian government in parliament, the UNHCR and NGOs.

The call is supported by the head of the parliament's human rights commission, Heidi Hautala, British socialist Richard Howitt and Green deputies Ulrike Lunacek and Barbara Lochbihler as well as the International Federation of Journalists and other NGOs.

The parliamentarians have also called on the Colombian government to give a full accounting of alleged illegal activity in Europe of the Department of Administrative Security (DAS), the Colombian agency charged with internal security.

"The Colombian government needs to clarify in what way the DAS acted against non-governmental or political organizations to influence and disqualify decisions made by the Human Rights Commission for the European Parliament," Lochbihler and Hautala said in a statement on the eve of the EU's signing of a free-trade agreement with Colombia.

Some parliamentarians believe that the EU is reluctant to publicly denounce the Colombian intelligence operations because of Colombia's strategic importance as a Western ally on Venezuela's border and its domestic fight against powerful drug traffickers. EU officials fear that an investigation could torpedo ratification of the free-trade agreement, which they see as crucial support of Colombia.

Parliamentarians and victims of the DAS operation believe that Belgium, which took over the EU Presidency from Spain on July 1, may be more inclined to investigate the issue because much of the illicit Colombian activity occurred in Brussels and Belgian citizens and residents - including European Parliament Green faction legal advisor Paul-Emile Dupret, Patricia Verbauwhede of the Belgian Catholic charity Broderlijk Delen and Luis-Guillermo Perez, the Brussels-based Secretary-General of the International Federation for Human Rights - were targets of what DAS dubbed 'Operation Europe.'

The operation aimed to discredit entities and persons critical of Colombia's alleged abuse of human rights in its war on insurgents and drug traffickers through smear campaigns in the media and on the Internet and the establishment of fake NGOs in Europe. That's according to Colombian court documents and critics, including Claudia Julieta Duque, a journalist who was forced to leave Colombia because of her coverage of government cooperation with right-wing paramilitary groups.

More:
http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,5795337,00.html