Colombia This Week

05/07/2005

Fri 24 – CRIC: We will not obey new laws; UN: Frühling criticises the Justice and Peace law.

·         The Indigenous Regional Council of Cauca (CRIC) and the Association of Indigenous Authorities of Northern Cauca (ACIN) announce they will not obey the legislative bills on Waters, Forestry and Moors that are being processed in the Colombian Senate. They argue that the purpose of these bills is to make possible and legalize the concession of the waters, forests, and moors to private corporate interests, and this will threaten both the sustainability of the resources and  the survival of the peoples and cultures who depend upon them.

·         The director of the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in Colombia, Michael Frühling criticises the Justice and Peace law that President Uribe’s government has passed in Congress as coming at ‘too high a price after a year of official negotiations’. "If you do not clear up what happened and reveal the illegal structures that exist, you not only do not have justice or offer reparations for victims, but you also do not have the elements to dismantle these illegal structures," Mr. Frühling said.

Sat 25 – 23 soldiers killed in FARC attack in Putumayo; 9 soldiers killed by FARC in Catatumbo.

·         At least 23 Colombian soldiers have been killed in combat with FARC rebels, the latest in a series of battles that has left 200 soldiers dead so far this year, the army says. Seventeen members of Colombia's army died in the province of Putumayo, near the Ecuadorean border, when their base was attacked by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, FARC. Another eight soldiers went missing in the battle, army sources said. President Uribe, who took office in 2002, is pinning his 2006 re-election hopes on his security record. He is awaiting a ruling by Colombia's Constitutional Court on whether or not he will be allowed to run for a second consecutive term, Reuters reports.

·         In more fighting near the Venezuelan border, nine soldiers from the Colombian army were killed in an ambush as they tried to re-take control along the road between Ocaña and Sardinata (Norte de Santander). According to the authorities in the area, the troops were attacked by the FARC group, El Espectador reports.

·         The director of the Human Rights Committee in the Industrial University of Santander (UIS) reports that 16 teachers, students and other members of the staff have received death threats in the last few months by the armed groups acting in the region. In the latest incident, two lecturers and a student were threatened by members of the paramilitaries, Caracol radio reports.

Sun 26 – EU concern over Justice and Peace law; Cambio: Law approved in ‘shameful show’.

·         There is a major dilemma in Europe over the justice and peace law that was approved by Congress this week. European parliamentarians, researchers, and NGO representatives believe that failing to achieve a balance between justice and peace will rule out the possibility of a negotiated solution to the conflict. However, if no balance could be struck, this would mean closing the door on a negotiated process and consequently the European countries would have to support a military solution to the conflict, El Espectador reports.

·         Weekly magazine Cambio holds friends of the government in Congress responsible for steamrollering through the Justice and Peace Law, reserving its harshest criticism for High Peace Commissioner Luis Restrepo. ‘The manner in which Congress approved the Justice and Peace Law sends out a dangerous message of intolerance and raises plenty of doubts regarding the future of the process with the AUC’, it says, adding that ‘what is not acceptable is for congressmen friends of the government to act as steamrollers towards those who oppose their proposals’, which was precisely what took place with Representatives Gustavo Petro and Wilson Borja, and especially Gina Parody, one of the staunchest Uribists and at the same time one who criticized the bill the most. The magazine portrays Peace Commissioner Luis Carlos Restrepo as ‘a psychiatrist in dire need of help from a fellow colleague’.

·         In an interview in El Espectador, Liberal party leader Cesar Gaviria criticises the Electoral Guarantees Law, which he says is open to abuse, and the Justice and Peace Law, which he says is ‘too lax and an impossible burden on the prosecution service, which will lead to widespread impunity’. In the interview Gaviria said that the fact that the president does not respect, or even believe that political parties play an important role in a democracy, was disturbing.

·         Reporting on yesterday’s attacks by the FARC, the BBC notes that this was the worst death toll in a single day since President Uribe came to power three years ago. The FARC seem to have taken the initiative away from the security forces, BBC correspondent Jeremy McDermott reports: ‘The guerrillas hope to destroy President Uribe's re-election hopes by showing that his security policy has failed. The guerrillas want the next president to be more disposed to talk peace - but on their terms’, BBC reports.

Mon 27 – Uribe blames foreign journalist in Putumayo; FARC offer US deal to swap hostages.

·         In an interview with radio station W Radio, President Uribe suggests that the FARC group tipped off a foreign news organization in advance about an impending attack in Putumayo. "I'm sad because these terrorists keep summoning journalists to cover their actions ... One is sad to be in a plane with 22 coffins from 22 compatriots and to know that one television camera arrived ... three days before in Putumayo," Uribe said. Later, in an interview with Caracol Radio, Uribe repeated his allegations. Asked by journalist Dario Arizmendi if he was talking about Colombian journalist Hollman Morris, who's working on a BBC documentary, Uribe said: "There was a camera, Dario, and we are worried about that, they had been there for three days’, Caracol radio reports. Later that day, however, Uribe’s office issued a press release acknowledging their mistake and withdrawing the allegations.

·         Colombia's FARC group offers to swap three kidnapped American defence contractors for two guerrilla leaders jailed in the United States. It was the first time the rebels have expressed a willingness to deal directly with US authorities, but the United States said it won't negotiate with the FARC, which the US has blacklisted as a terrorist organization, Colprensa reports.

·         The latest statement by the UN Human Rights Office in Colombia regarding the Justice and Peace law explains why the benefits contemplated under the approved law will not have any effect on dismantling the paramilitary illegal structures. The document argues that collective demobilisation needs to be prioritised over individual demobilisation; the internal armed conflict needs to be recognised by the government in order for international humanitarian law to be respected; paramilitarism should not be considered a political crime in order to avoid impunity; and the rights to truth, justice and reparation need to be properly respected, Colprensa reports.

·         National University researcher Eduardo Pizarro has been in Europe this week gauging the EU's position with regard to the Justice and Peace law. Pizarro believes that the international community cannot demand such high standards of justice from Colombia and at the same time reject a military solution to the conflict’, El Espectador reports.

Tues 28 - Ministers to tour on ‘Justice and Peace’ awareness; US weighs costs of Plan Colombia.

·         Representatives of the government, led by the Minister of Interior and Justice, Sabas Pretelt, started a world tour yesterday that is part of a diplomatic offensive to obtain help from the international community for the much criticised law of Justice and Peace, El Colombiano reports.

·         The US Congress is expected to vote soon on the Bush administration's request to continue military assistance to Colombia for one more year. Policymakers argue it is in the national interest to fight cocaine at its source, and to stabilise Colombia. Critics agree - but say time is up for a policy that is ineffective, inhumane and worsens violence. "There is... remarkable persistence in the face of failure," says Peter Andreas, assistant professor of political studies at Brown University and an expert on the regional drugs trade, BBC reports.

·         While meeting with the army commanders in Larandia (Caqueta), President Uribe blames poor military intelligence for the weekend attack by the FARC group in Putumayo, announcing a review of the government's strategy for defeating the guerrillas in the oil-rich region. Uribe insisted the attack near the oil town of Puerto Asis was more attributable to soldiers' mistakes than the strength of the rebel fighters, CNN reports.

·         Authorities from Uraba report an attack from the FARC group against the police station in the settlement of San Jose de Apartado (Antioquia). Three police officers were injured in the attack, El Tiempo reports.

Weds 29 - 12 Navy members detained for drug-trafficking; 3 dead in explosion in Vistahermosa.

·         Colombian police arrest 12 members of the navy on suspicion of drug trafficking in the latest drug scandal to hit the armed forces, the Attorney General's office reports. The two officers and 10 sailors were detained in three towns in the Cauca department. Authorities say they have made headway against the world's largest cocaine industry in recent years, but they have to fight a permanent battle to prevent their own men selling out to the abundant cocaine dollars of the criminal gangs they are supposed to fight. Two senior police officers were fired and nine officers arrested last July after part of a record cocaine seizure vanished, Reuters reports.

·         Three civilians have been killed and 12 more injured as a result of a mine-field explosion in the settlement of Palestina, municipality of Vistahermosa (Meta). According to the reports the explosion took place near the urban centre and the authorities blame the FARC group for the attack, RCN reports.

·         Ecuadorian Minister Mauricio Gandara blames Plan Colombia for the insecurity and the violence in  the border between Colombia and Ecuador. According to the reports, the Ecuadorian government is planning to introduce a visa for all Colombians entering the country, a measure that has been continually rejected by the Colombian authorities as they believe this would complicate business between both countries, El Tiempo reports.

·         The settlement of San Pablo, in the rural area of Miarialabaja (Bolivar) has been chosen as the concentration place for the demobilisation of the paramilitary bloc ‘Heroes from the Montes de Maria’. According to the authorities, this group is commanded by Diego Vecino, El Meridiano from Monteria reports.

Thurs 30 –Councillor detained in S. Marta for drugs; ICC asked to consider Colombian crimes.

·         Hector Rodriguez Acevedo, Councillor from the city of Santa Marta and the person responsible for the eradication of illicit coca crops in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, has been arrested by the Colombian judicial police (Sijin). According to the Attorney General’s office, he is accused of drug-trafficking and formation of paramilitary groups in the area. He was also in charge of the government-run Familia Guardabosques programme, El Tiempo reports.

·         Paris-based International Federation of Human Rights (FIDH) reports they have included the Colombian government in their demand addressed to the International Criminal Court (ICC), alleging ‘passive complicity’ in the investigation of crimes against humanity committed by paramilitary groups. The ICC is authorised to investigate crimes committed since 2002. Names in the official demand include President Uribe Velez, Interior and Justice Minister Sabas Pretelt and Defence Minister Jorge Alberto Uribe, Caracol radio reports.

·         According to the latest report published by CODHES on internal displacement in Colombia, forced displacement has a pattern of continuity and is a structural problem of the armed conflict, reflecting the grave crisis in human rights and international humanitarian law that Colombians are suffering. According to the report, 287,000 people were displaced in 2004 as a result of the armed conflict, a 38.5% increase from the figures in 2003.