Hundreds of organizations all over the world are joining the Colombian day of protest against Para-militarism and state-sponsored violence on March 6, 2008. The Bay Area Colombia Working Group and Fellowship of Reconciliation are sponsoring a local event with the aim of sensitizing and educating people in the United States about the harsh realities of the Colombian conflict and the role the United States plays in it. The San Francisco event will feature a screening of the documentary "Hasta la Ultima Piedra", commemorating the massacre at the Peace Community of San José de Apartadó, a community that, despite its choice to stay out of all sides of the conflict and a courageous commitment to non-violence, has suffered innumerable human rights violations, including the assassination of 170 of its leaders and members. The screening will take place at the Mission Cultural Center, 2868 Mission St., at 7:00 PM on March 6, 2008.

"Colombians have suffered torture, displacement, disappearance, and general misery under the dark shadow of paramilitary and military terror" (Noam Chomsky, statement supporting the March 6th vigil)

The illegal paramilitary groups, often acting in concert with the Colombian military, have perpetrated more than 3,500 massacres and taken over more than 12 million acres of land with the unwitting contribution of U.S. citizens. Just in the last few years the United States has sent $5 billion in mostly military aid to Colombia to train and fund the Colombian military – which holds the worst human rights record in the Western hemisphere.

The event is sponsored by the Bay Area Colombia Working Group, Fellowship of Reconciliation, and American Friends Service Committee.