| WASHINGTON,
D.C. – U.S. Representative Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) today said that the U.S.
must share the blame for the death of two American citizens, Veronica Bowers
and her infant daughter Charity, whose plane was shot down over Peru.
The Joint U.S.-Peruvian “force-down” Intercept Program allows the Untied
States to employ private military contractors who have the authority to
target any given plane as suspicious, leading to possible military action.
On
April 20, 2001, private military contractors flying for the CIA provided
the information to the Peruvian Air Force, which shot down a plane carrying
missionaries. Today, the State Department finally released its report on
the incident.
“The
death of an American mother and her daughter occurred, in part, because
the United States is engaged in a flawed and irresponsible policy.
It was only a matter of time before a tragedy of this sort would occur,
and the American people would realize what their tax dollars are funding,”
Schakowsky said.
“It
is shameful that the United States is a willing participant in a policy
that puts at grave risk the lives of innocent civilians. What is
worse is that we use taxpayer dollars to hire private military companies
to carry out this failed policy and refuse to take responsibility for our
actions. Unless we change our course, more innocent lives will be
lost,” Schakowsky added.
Schakowsky,
who had called on the President to release all materials relating to this
shootdown and other similar incidents, is the author of H.R. 1591, the
Andean Region Contractor Accountability Act (ARCAA), legislation that would
prohibit the federal government from funding private armies in the Andean
region. |
