Press
release from Rep. Janice Schakowsky (D-Illinois), April 24, 2001
Press Release
APRIL 24, 2001
SCHAKOWSKY, MCKINNEY CALL ON PRESIDENT TO
“CEASE ALL AERIAL INTELLIGENCE SHARING WITH COUNTRIES IN THE ANDEAN
REGION” FOLLOWING MURDER OF AMERICANS, MEMBERS DEMAND RELEASE OF
ALL PERTINENT MATERIALS RELATING TO THIS AND OTHER AERIAL INTERCEPTS
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Following the murder of an American missionary
and her seven-month old daughter over Peru, U.S. Representatives Jan Schakowsky
(D-IL) and Cynthia McKinney (D-GA) called on President Bush to “immediately
suspend all contracts with private military firms and individuals for
narcotics control and law enforcement services in the Andean region.”
In a letter to President Bush, the members added, “Given the fact
that we have so little control over the end use of information gathered,
the United States should cease all aerial intelligence sharing with countries
in the Andean region.”
They continued, “[w]e
demand the release of all pertinent materials, including audio and video
transmission, relating to this and other aerial intercepts in the region
funded by U.S. tax-payer dollars.” “We believe that the billions
of U.S. dollars we have committed to spending in the region have been
misdirected and that this recent tragedy underscores the importance of
reviewing our approach to the drug problem in the United States,”
they concluded.
Furthermore, Schakowsky called for a joint hearing of the Government Reform
Subcommittee on Government Efficiency, Financial Management, and Intergovernmental
Relations and the Subcommittee on Criminal Justice, Drug Policy, and Human
Resources. In letters to Subcommittee Chairmen Steve Horn (R-CA) and Mark
Souder (R-IN), Schakowsky wrote that in addition to drug policy, the broader
policy of U.S. government contracting for military services and intelligence
gathering falls clearly within the purview of the Government Efficiency,
Financial Management, and Intergovernmental Relations. Schakowsky is the
ranking member of that Subcommittee and has traveled in February to Colombia.
As of May 24, this document
was also available online at http://www.house.gov/apps/list/press/il09_schakowsky/
pr04_24_2001colombiaperu.html
