CHARGES DROPPED!!

Columbus, Ohio
9 July 2002

Today, at the request of Senator Mike DeWine's office and the City Prosecutor, Judge Anne Taylor dismissed charges against eight human rights advocates from various Ohio cities. The eight were among ten arrested April 30 in the Senator's Columbus office, while trying to schedule a face-to-face meeting with him at his convenience.

Senator DeWine (R-OH) played a prominent role in crafting Plan Colombia, which consists of massive military aid and widespread toxic crop fumigation. The defendants, six of whom have traveled extensively in Colombia, want to share with him the concerns of Colombian civilians who
bear the brunt of U.S. policy toward Colombia.

Following a public outcry regarding Senator DeWine's refusal to meet with his constituents, his staff has scheduled a face-to-face meeting for August 13. Defendant Paula Ewers of Dayton said, "I think it's a shame that we had to spend 30 hours in jail to get a meeting with our senator, but we are hopeful that this meeting will be the beginning of a dialogue that can move the U.S. toward a more informed and humane policy in Colombia."

Ewers and the other nine defendants belong to the Ohio Working Group on Latin America, whose members have tried unsuccessfully for more than two years to speak directly to Senator DeWine about the detrimental effects of U.S. military aid to Colombia. After hearing heartfelt statements
from several defendants, Judge Taylor ended today's proceedings with "Let's all pray for peace in Colombia."

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CLEVELAND PLAIN DEALER

Sandy Theis, Plain Dealer Bureau Chief
Columbus, Ohio, July 10, 2002

Jailed activists finally to meet with DeWine

After more than two years of effort, 30 hours in jail and a day in court, a group opposed to U.S. foreign policy in Colombia will meet with U.S. Sen. Mike DeWine.

Ten members of the group were jailed April 30 and charged with resisting arrest and criminal trespassing for refusing to leave DeWine's Columbus office until a meeting date had been set. DeWine's office called Columbus police when the protesters refused to leave.

Yesterday, with DeWine's consent, the charges were dropped in Franklin County Municipal Court, and DeWine announced he would meet Aug. 13 with a delegation from the Ohio Working Group on Latin America.

"I'm glad there's going to be a meeting, but it's a shame we had to spend two days in jail and go through all this just to meet with our elected representative," said John Durkalski, an Oberlin College student and native of Lakewood.

Durkalski and other Working Group members said they tried for more than two years to meet with the Republican senator but could get meetings only with his staff.

DeWine spokesman Mike Dawson said he did not know when the meeting requests began but he found it "hard to believe" they date back two years.

Dawson also insisted that DeWine's staff committed to a meeting on the date of the arrests but could not set a specific date until DeWine's calendar had been set.

The organization opposes DeWine's support for "Plan Colombia," the U.S. government's policy of providing military equipment to battle Colombia's drug trade.

DeWine believes that America's help is needed to curtail drug traffic and curb violence in the region. Opponents, however, say that the policy is causing more violence and that herbicides sprayed on coca plants are harming children and other crops.

Protester John Ewers said he has met several times with DeWine's staff, including Sarah Sofia, a foreignpolicy aide. During a March meeting, he quoted Sofia as saying the senator "never" would meet with the group. "She said, 'That's what staff are for,' " recalled Ewers, a 67yearold retiree from Dayton.

Dawson said he was pleased by the outcome of the case, but he downplayed the senator's role in having the charges dismissed. Early in the day, Dawson was asked if he wanted the charges dropped. "They're not our charges," he said. "They're the prosecutor's."

After the dismissal, Judge Anne Taylor credited defense lawyer Bill Owen and DeWine and his staff for the happy ending. "My understanding . . . is the prosecutor's request to dismiss was from your wishes and the wishes of the senator's office," Taylor said to Dawson.

"That's correct," he replied.

To reach this Plain Dealer reporter: stheis@plaind.com
@ 2002 The Plain Dealer

DAYTON DAILY NEWS

By Kristy Eckert
July 10, 2002

Some protesters' charges dropped; group gets meeting with DeWine

All they wanted was a meeting. It took 2 1/2 years, 30 hours in jail and a trial.

On Tuesday, charges in Franklin County Municipal Court were dismissed against eight of 10 peace activists including a couple from Dayton arrested April 30 when they refused to leave U.S. Sen. Michael DeWine's office after trying to schedule a meeting.

About 10 days ago, the senator offered the group a 45-minute meeting in August to discuss the effects of U.S. policy in Colombiasomething they said they have sought and been refused for more than two years. The meeting was offered after the group's attorney sent DeWine a letter.

"I am energized personally today. I just got back last night from 10 days in Colombia. Iím just gushing with concerns and I look forward to sharing that with the senator," said one of the protesters, John Ewers of Dayton.

Ewers and the others said they think that $1.3 billion in U.S. military aid to Colombia, given through a bill DeWine helped write, is destroying the South American country.

Chemicals sprayed to kill drug plants destroy the environment, contaminate water and abuse human rights, according to the group, mostly Oberlin College students who have visited Colombia.

The judge dismissed charges of criminal trespassing and resisting arrest, in conjunction with requests from DeWine's office, which meant that each group member avoided 90 days in jail and fines of more than $750.

After the verdict, the group, all age 22 and younger except for Ewers, 67, and his wife, Paula, 66 was all smiles.

"This really puts us in a really good position," Mrs. Ewers said, noting that their time can now be spent speaking to groups.

Jackie Downing, who graduated from Oberlin in May, was pleasantly surprised by the ruling.
"I feel like weíre on the right track now," she said.

Mike Dawson, DeWine's spokesman, didn't comment to the judge, but hurried from the courtroom and handed reporters a copy of the senator's letter to the group's attorney, complete with a meeting date listed.

"All we wanted them to do was leave the office when our office was closing," Dawson said.

The group's attorney, William Owen, worked the case for free and was impressed with his clients.
The group seemed to think the cause was worth the trouble.

"If this raises a lot of awareness about what's going on in Colombia and holds our legislators accountable to that, then it's worth it," Downing said.

Of the remaining protesters who were arrested, one is in Colombia and the other goes on trial Thursday in Columbus.

Contact Kristy Eckert at (614) 224-1625 or keckert@coxohio.com

THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

Tim Doulin
Thursday, July 11, 2002

DeWine to Meet Critics of Policy

Vince Ramos is happy that criminal charges were dismissed this week against eight fellow protesters arrested during a sit-in at Sen. Mike DeWine's Huntington Plaza office.

Ramos is even more excited members of the Ohio Working Group on Latin America are scheduled to meet with DeWine next month to discuss their concerns about U.S. foreign policy in Colombia.

"That was our whole point from the start,'' said Ramos, a student at Trinity Lutheran Seminary in Bexley.

Ramos and the others were arrested April 30 when they refused to leave DeWine's office because they couldn't get an appointment to see the senator, who was in Washington.

DeWine's staff indicated then that the senator was willing to meet with the group once he returned to Columbus, but the group wanted a date and time for the meeting.

Each of the protesters was charged with resisting arrest and criminal trespass. Charges against eight of the protesters who appeared in Franklin County Municipal Court on Tuesday were dismissed, with DeWine's consent, said William J. Owen, the attorney representing the protesters.

The charges against Ramos, who was out of state yesterday, are still pending, but Ramos' attorney expects them to be dismissed. Ramos' case is set in front of Judge Mark Froehlich today.

"I don't have the official word on that yet,'' said attorney Fred Benton. "But they would be hard pressed to explain why they dismissed the others and not his.''

The 10th protester, Cheryl Sanchez of Groveport, pleaded guilty May 31 to criminal trespass and was placed on probation. The resisting arrest charge was dismissed.

Two years ago, Congress approved $1.3 billion worth of aid to Colombia, including funds to fumigate coca crops. Plan Colombia provides U.S. equipment to battle drug trafficking.

Opponents say the plan is creating human-rights abuses, harming the environment and displacing Colombian citizens.

Copyright © 2002, The Columbus Dispatch

PRESS RELEASE

Columbus, OH,
May 1, 2002

Wednesday morning, May 1, ten Colombia solidarity activists from Ohio appeared in Franklin County Municipal Court before Judge James Green. After a night in the county jail, all were arraigned on charges of having criminally trespassed and resisted arrest in Sen. Mike DeWine's Columbus office on Tuesday afternoon. All pled not guilty, and their release is pending the posting of bonds.

The ten represent civic groups throughout Ohio that have tried for two years to meet directly with DeWine -- always unsuccessfully. On Tuesday they insisted, as constituents, on a definite date for a meeting with the senator -- and they refused to leave his office without the promise of a timely appointment.

Sen. DeWine helped to craft "Plan Colombia" for the Clinton Administration, which provided $1.3 billion in mostly military aid to Colombia. Currently he supports the Bush Administration's efforts to further increase military aid, as well as efforts to chemically eradicate coca crops.

The protesters maintain that evidence on the ground in Colombia proves that US policies are killing and displacing rural civilian populations, many of whom are living over vast and coveted oil reserves. As newly arraigned John Ewers stated before entering DeWine's office on Tuesday, "Sen. DeWine cares a lot about keeping the children of Ohio healthy. We insist that he care as much about the children of Colombia."

Those arraigned include:
John and Paula Ewers of Dayton
Vince Ramos of Bexley
Cheryl Sanchez of Groveport
Oberlin students: Jackie Downing, Kate Berrigan, Sarah Saunders, Anna Hendricks, Jyuti Bhatt, John Durlauski

For further information:
Vince Ramos, 614-235-1883, ramosfam@core.com
John and Paula Ewers, 937-278-5446, ewers@donet.com
Jackie Downing, 440-774-3909, jacqueline.downing@oberlin.edu
Mary Hershberger, 614-442-5915, mhershbe@capital.edu
Margaret Knapke, 937-276-4686, margaretknapke@juno.com

THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

Jon Craig
Wednesday, May 1, 2002

PROTESTERS ARRESTED AFTER REFUSAL TO LEAVE U.S. SENATOR'S OFFICE
Ralliers sought meeting on Colombia

Seated in a circle with their arms locked, singing "We shall not be moved,'' 10 people opposed to U.S. foreign policy in Colombia were arrested and removed from Sen. Mike DeWine's office in Huntington Plaza yesterday.

They refused to leave when they couldn't get an appointment to see the Ohio Republican, who was in Washington yesterday.

"We asked them to leave, and they won't leave,'' said Mike Dawson, spokesman for DeWine. "Our staff people had several meetings with these folks.''

Dawson said DeWine has agreed to meet with members of the Ohio Working Group on Latin America once he returns to Columbus, "but they insisted on a date and a time.''
The protest came as a federal grand jury indicted a Colombian rebel group and six of its members.

The indictment, returned by a grand jury in U.S. District Court in Washington, accuses the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, and the individuals of murder, conspiracy to commit murder, using a firearm during a crime of violence and aiding and abetting.

The protest also came as the U.S. Senate debated additional aid to Latin America. DeWine, who has visited Colombia three times, is playing a key role in helping the Bush administration formulate its plan for boosting U.S. involvement in Colombia.
In 2000, Congress approved $1.3 billion worth of aid to Colombia, including funding for aerial fumigation of coca crops. "Plan Colombia'' provides U.S. military helicopters and other equipment to battle drug trafficking.

Opponents say that the operation has resulted in increased violence and that the spraying of herbicides on coca is harming produce and children.

Carol Richardson of Columbus, national grass-roots coordinator for Witness for Peace, called it "perplexing'' that DeWine has refused to meet with them.

"We would not, and I'm sure Sen. DeWine would not, stand for planes swooping in and spraying fields in Ohio. This is not how we want our taxpayer money spent,'' she said.
About 50 pickets cheered as police led the 10 arrested out of the building. At least six were charged with criminal trespass and resisting arrest.

Those arrested were a Dayton couple, six Oberlin College students, Cheryl Sanchez of Groveport and Vince Ramos, a student at Trinity Lutheran Seminary in Bexley.

Information from the Associated Press was used in this story.
jcraig@dispatch.com