Colombia This Week

27/06/2005

Fri 17 – Government in deal with Diego Murillo over extradition; Congress passes pension bill.

·         Diego Murillo, also known as Don Berna, a Colombian paramilitary chief wanted in the US for alleged drug trafficking, may not be handed over for extradition. The US wants him extradited, but a senior minister said any decision would rest with President Uribe. Mr Murillo's role as a negotiator for the AUC group grants him effective immunity under Colombia's ongoing peace process. Colombia's Interior and Justice minister, Sabas Pretelt, said that all legal proceedings against Mr Murillo would be suspended as long as he remains in peace talks. The US, which accuses Mr Murillo of conspiring to import thousands of kilograms of cocaine from Colombia, filed an extradition request with Bogota on Thursday. Asked about the US extradition request by reporters, Mr Uribe said only that Colombia is "a country of laws", BBC reports.

·         The Colombian Senate has approved the government's pension reform bill, after the administration was obliged to make significant concessions in order to ensure its passage. Pensions worth over 25 times the minimum wage will be capped. The approval of the bill is a positive sign, particularly given that IMF support was contingent on it, and earlier this week the government was reportedly considering withdrawing it altogether, El Tiempo reports.

·         Gustavo Muñoz, president of the Colombian NGO Fundacion Nueva Esperanza, reports that paramilitaries have 509 kidnapped hostages under their control. Muñoz was ‘correcting’ Peace Commissioner Luis Carlos Restrepo, who acknowledged in Congress ‘only 500 or so violations of the cease fire, eight of them from kidnappings’, AFP reports.

Sat 18 - UNHCR: Colombia: Fighting still displacing tens of thousands across the country

·         In a statement to the press in Geneva, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) reports that fighting between the military and irregular armed groups continues to cause the displacement of tens of thousands of people in various parts of Colombia. Last week some 2,500 persons were displaced or trapped in their villages due to heavy fighting that erupted in the province of Antioquia. While many residents of the area fled to the town of Argelia (Antioquia) others were unable to leave their homes or work their fields because of the presence of land mines. The villages were cut off from the outside world after all transportation between the towns of Argelia, Sonson and Nariño was halted by irregular armed groups, leaving the residents without food and other essential necessities. UNHCR once again calls on all the parties to the Colombian conflict to respect International Humanitarian Law and refrain from involving the civilian population in the armed conflict.

Sun 19 –Paramilitaries and politicians trading accusations; Casanare’s former governor arrested.

·         Startling revelations by leaders of illegal paramilitary groups about their ties to politicians and the government's velvet treatment of a top paramilitary who surrendered have ignited a battle among politicians over who has the most skeletons in the closet. The most recent problem occurred last month when police detained a top paramilitary negotiator inside the northern Colombia region that the government set aside as a safe haven for the talks. The negotiator, reputed drug trafficker Diego Murillo, also known as Don Berna, surrendered to face charges in the March assassination of an area politician. But instead of jailing him, police and soldiers are holding him at what they call an ''austere'' ranch house near the site of the negotiations. Some in Uribe's own government including Edgardo Maya, the country's Inspector General who is responsible the state's internal justice system, criticised Uribe for not jailing Murillo. The Attorney General's office has issued several follow-up warrants for Murillo's arrest, Miami Herald reports.

·         Former governor of Casanare, Miguel Angel Perez Suarez, has been arrested in Bogota. According to the Attorney General’s office, he has been charged with illicit enrichment after reportedly receiving 500 million pesos as a ‘contribution to his campaign’ from the Casanare Peasant Self-Defence Groups, (paramilitaries). Attorney General Luis Camilo Osorio issued a preventive detention order without the benefit of bail against Perez Suarez in December 2004, El Espectador reports.

Mon 20 – Coalition of British MPs sign a motion against British military aid towards Colombia. 

·         A cross-party coalition of British MPs tabled an early day motion (EDM) in parliament, demanding that the British government freeze military aid to Colombia, Justice for Colombia campaign reports. The EDM reads: “That this House notes with concern the continuing human rights crisis in Colombia and the increase in assassinations of Colombian trade unionists last year; further notes that the vast majority of abuses are carried out by paramilitary groups that have documented links to the Colombian state security forces and that reports of extrajudicial executions carried out directly by the armed forces increased in 2004; calls on the Colombian Government fully to implement UN human rights recommendations in line with the policies of Colombian and international human rights organisations such as the TUC-backed Justice for Colombia coalition; and calls on the UK Government to freeze military aid to Colombia.

Tues 21 - Fajardo highlights Colombian repression of trade unions; ILO condemns government.

·         British trade union delegates gave Colombian union leader Angel Salas Fajardo a standing ovation at their conference in Glasgow. Mr Fajardo, general secretary of health union Anthoc, is currently being hosted by Justice for Colombia on a nationwide speaking tour. He denounced the extreme repression faced by Colombian trade unionists at the hands of the state and the paramilitary death squads, speaking movingly of the assassinations, disappearances and the daily persecution faced by trade union members. Some 110 members of his union have been murdered simply for defending the right to public healthcare. The Colombian government is busily privatising the healthcare system, with hospitals and clinics being closed down at an alarming pace, leaving Colombians with no access to any kind of healthcare, he warned, Morning Star reports.

·         The Committee on Freedom of Association of the International Labour Organization (ILO) urged the Governments of Cambodia, Colombia, Iran, Myanmar and Zimbabwe to protect the freedom of association in their countries and put a halt to often deadly anti-union activities. In Colombia, it said numerous murders and other acts of violence against union leaders had gone unpunished for years. It deplored the effects of such impunity, both on the labour movement and society in general, UN reports

Weds 22 – Approved law grants impunity to paramilitaries; BP sued in UK for Colombian oil.

·         Colombia's Congress approves a law governing the disarmament of the country's paramilitary death squads, which permits the demobilisation of thousands of fighters but grants generous concessions to paramilitary commanders accused of atrocities and cocaine trafficking. "We are proud of this instrument," said Peace Commissioner Luis Carlos Restrepo. But congressional leaders say that in exchange for disarming up to 20,000 fighters, paramilitary commanders are shielded from serious punishment or extradition on drug charges to the United States. Mr. Uribe will sign the law, passed by Congress on Tuesday and by bicameral committees on Wednesday, into law within days. "This is a law that brings no justice, no peace," said Colombian Senator Jimmy Chamorro. "It should be called what it really is, a law of impunity and immunity", New York Times reports.

·         British Petroleum (BP) is facing a £15m compensation claim from a group of Colombian farmers who say that the British oil company took advantage of a regime of terror by government paramilitaries to profit from the construction of an oil pipeline. In what will be a landmark human rights case in the UK, the farmers allege that the pipeline destroyed their land and forced them into destitution. BP insists that it has acted responsibly and that landowners were fairly compensated. However, the farmers say that those who tried to stop the development were either forced by the paramilitaries to leave their homes or were murdered. Local lawyers brave enough to take their cases to the regional ombudsman also faced intimidation and abuse, The Independent reports.

·         Relatives of the victims of paramilitary violence meet in Bogota to voice their outrage in a three-day conference of victims. They are the relatives of union activists, politicians and peasant leaders, all victims of right-wing paramilitary assassins. In the wake of the legislative setback, the victims are forming a coalition to press for punishment for paramilitary killers, and they are gathering strength. Victims' groups here have rarely worked together, but now, leaders say they plan to march and lobby, file court appeals and send delegations to foreign capitals. ''This law is terrible and nefarious and legalises paramilitary groups,'' said Ivan Cepeda, whose father, Senator Manuel Cepeda, was gunned down in 1994. ''But it will also strengthen and propel these victims in their battle'', New York Times reports.

Thurs 23 - HRW: Sweden and Netherlands should withdraw support for OAS mission.

·         In a letter sent to Swedish Foreign Minister Laila Freivalds, Human Rights Watch strongly recommends that the Swedish government immediately discontinue its support for the Mission of the Organisation of American States in Colombia. HRW argues that, now that the demobilisation law has been approved granting virtual immunity from prosecution for atrocities and without making genuine progress towards peace, the continued presence of the Mission will serve only to enhance the image of the process and to benefit the paramilitaries themselves.

·         The Colombian government has announced a diplomatic offensive to build international support for its much-criticised disarmament process with the paramilitary groups. Congress passed a bill paving the way for the demobilisation of thousands but granting concessions to warlords accused of atrocities and drug trafficking. US congressmen are concerned the government's proposals will not dismantle the United Self-Defence Forces, (AUC)- believed to be behind much of the cocaine that reaches American cities, Reuters reports.

·         In a letter sent to the participants of the Meeting of the Victims of Crimes against Humanity hosted in Bogota, 41 European Parliamentarians signed a message of support to the Colombian victims, encouraging them to persist in their faith against impunity and to continue working for a lasting peace.

·         Former US president Bill Clinton tells business leaders and politicians at a conference in Bogota that Colombia is of "vital" significance to US interests. "I know the war -- and drugs -- (in Colombia) are not over, but it is going in the right direction," Clinton added. Some 300-security agents were deployed in Bogota to guarantee Clinton's safety in his first visit to the Colombian capital, Agence France Press reports.

·         This week marks the 12 month anniversary since the establishment of the concentration zone in Santa Fe de Ralito. The anniversary coincides with good news for those concentrated there: the government considers their crimes constitute sedition. This proposal would give the demobilised the opportunity to participate in politics and to be granted pardons and orders for freezing of assets. Incidentally, it would bar the options for extradition. Nevertheless, according to the OAS mission responsible for monitoring progress in the process, as of March 2005 the demobilised totalled 4,828. By the same date, 2,708 weapons and 2,480 explosives, as well as ammunition, and administrative and communications equipment, had been surrendered. In other words, based on an arithmetical average, for each person demobilised 0.56 weapons were turned in: that is, less than one per person, El Espectador reports.

Colombia This Week is a news summary produced and distributed by ABColombia Group. Sources include daily Colombian, US, European and Latin American newspapers, and reports from non-governmental organisations and the UN System. The content does not necessarily reflect the views of the ABColombia Group.

If you would like to be put on the mailing list, please send an email message to Colombia_this_week@hotmail.com, indicating why you would be interested in receiving this summary.

Top