Colombia This Week

12/09/2005

Fri 02 – NGOs urge EU not to support ppmm disarmament; Ecuador: FARC are not terrorists.

·         The European Union should reject the process for the demobilisation of Colombia's paramilitary groups, said 155 civil society organisations, including 75 from Europe and 68 from Colombia. The so-called "law of justice and peace" will provide no guarantee of justice for the victims of attacks, and the perpetrators will not have to pay for their crimes, the non-governmental organisations (NGOs) stated in an open letter to the European Union. The letter says: "The European Union should not support a demobilisation process in Colombia that contributes neither to justice nor to peace." The document was signed by civil, social and religious groups from Austria, Belgium, Britain, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland, Colombia, Chile and Paraguay, as well as global organisations like the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and the World Organisation against Torture (OMCT), IPS reports.

·         Explaining that this decision was taken two years ago, Defence Minister for Ecuador, Oswaldo Jarrin announces that Ecuador does not consider the FARC as a terrorist group. ’This is part of our non intervention policy’ and we announced and ratified our decision to the US and the Colombian governments in a meeting in Miami back in March 2003, he said, El Nuevo Siglo reports.

·         Congressman Rafael Amador presents a proposal to investigate the historic truth of the internal armed conflict in Colombia. ‘Considering the national and international criticism that the Justice and Peace law has had, it is necessary to proceed with a truth commission that investigates the massacres, displacements and disappearances’ that occurred in Colombia. The initiative, backed by Congressmen Wilson Borja, Gina Parody, German Navas and by Senator Rafael Pardo, was immediately rejected by the Colombian Interior and Justice Minister Sabas Pretelt who considers such a commission un-necessary, Colprensa reports.

Sat 03 – FARC rejects latest Church proposal; Reiniciar denounces killing of members.

·         In a public statement the Secretariat of the FARC group has rejected the latest proposal for dialogue made by the Catholic Church. According to the statement ‘the Colombian government insists on prioritising the military solution to solve the problems’, dismissing the guarantees offered by President Uribe’s government for the initiation of dialogue prior to an exchange of prisoners. ‘The so-called ‘pre-dialogue proposal’ is another obstacle along the path to any possible exchange‘, the statement says, praising the work of the Catholic Church and calling on former Presidents Lopez Michelsen and Samper and the international institutions involved in previous peace contacts to concentrate their efforts on a political solution to the armed conflict.

·         Colombian NGO Reiniciar reports the killing of Henry Sierra Romero, a member of the Patriotic Union (UP) and Colombian communist party (PCC). He was reportedly killed by two gunmen in the municipality of Fusagasuga (Cundinamarca). Reiniciar calls upon the Colombian judicial authorities to investigate this killing, ‘yet another in the long list of social and political leaders from the UP persecuted and killed in the last 15 years”.

·         Associated Press reports they have obtained documents showing the testimony of the US soldier recently detained for drug-trafficking in Villavicencio (Meta). The document provides a detailed look into how the drug ring operated and shows that, with stunning ease, it was able to send 170 pounds of cocaine from Colombia to the United States, subject to only cursory searches at best from U.S. Customs agents. "They never suspected that any military or civilian personnel would bring back contraband," Rosas said in the statement to military investigators at Fort Bliss, (Texas). ‘They did not use dogs; they very rarely checked our carry-on bags but never checked our equipment that was loaded on the pallets’, AP reports.

Sun 04 – Constitutional Court angry with Londoño; civil society works on a peace agenda.

·         The Colombian Constitutional Court is reportedly indignant with former Justice Minister Fernando Londoño. In its latest weekly editorial, the former minister said that the re-election bill will fail because of the lack of independence of the magistrates of the Court, accusing them of being influenced by ‘their old bosses’. But all the nine magistrates in the Court have united against him on this one issue at least: they believe that Londoño is not saying what he thinks, but instead is hoping that such public pressure on this issue will force the Magistrates to approve the re-election, Semana magazine reports.

·         For the last four months, various organisations within Colombian civil society have been working on elaborating a common agenda for peace. The themes chosen for the campaign to set up an agenda for peace are: a negotiated solution; humanitarian accords and commitments; truth, justice, reparation and reconciliation; resistance and sovereignty; international relationships and co-operation; citizen participation in the construction of peace; post conflict; democracy, development and peace, El Colombiano reports.

·         The Colombian Prosecutor’s office (Procuraduria) has suspended eight police officers charged with the killing of a peasant from San Juan del Cesar municipality, near the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta. According to the reports the officers manipulated the crime scene, presenting the peasant as a guerrilla fighter killed in combat, prompting the protest of the villagers, Caracol radio reports.

Mon 05 – Police attack unarmed indigenous in Caldono; southern Colombia hit by blackouts.

·         Colombian armed forces attack unarmed indigenous peoples with live ammunition, tear gas and clubs in a farm occupied by the indigenous community hours before. The victims had peacefully recovered the farm "La Emperatriz" as a result of the Colombian government's failure to abide by their international obligations towards indigenous communities. The Colombian State was found guilty of the massacre committed at El Nilo farm on December of 1991, following which it had the obligation to return 15,663 hectares of land to their indigenous owners. Not only did the state not fulfil its obligations, but it gave land to the paramilitaries responsible for the crime, refused dialogue with the indigenous community and is now committing a second massacre to remove indigenous men, women and children from their ancestral territory, the Association of Indigenous Authorities of Northern Cauca (ACIN) reports.

·         Nearly three million people are without electricity in southern Colombia after suspected FARC attacks. Officials believed bomb attacks on a number of electrical towers might have caused the blackout, which is affecting three entire departments, BBC reports.

·         The remains of a former Colombian regional governor, Anzinar Lopez, who died while in captivity, have been returned by the ELN group who kidnapped him, the Colombian Red Cross reports. Mr Lopez, who governed Quindio department in the 1960s and held other public positions before retiring, was seized by the ELN group in April 2002. Government human rights official Dario Mejia said the authorities thought he had been suffering from kidney failure. Mr Lopez' remains will be given to his family. ‘With this, the cycle of pain for his family ends’, said Mr Mejia, Colprensa reports.

·         Two people are killed and one more injured by a car bomb in the city of Pasto. According to witnesses the car exploded a few metres from a small police station, El Colombiano reports.

Tues 06 – IOM announces programmes in Buenaventura; UP member killed in Cundinamarca.

·         The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) reports that they have signed a cooperation agreement with the authorities in Valle department for a total of 2,800 m pesos to develop accompaniment programmes for the displaced population. According to the regional governor, Angelino Garzon, the programmes will be focussing on providing care for more than 90,000 people living in the outskirts of Buenaventura, El Pais reports.

·         Member from the Independent Democratic Pole political party, (PDI) Clara Lopez reports that she has turned down the President’s offer to become the ‘anti-corruption tzar’, for Colombia. Asserting ‘political reasons’ for her decision, she said that PDI will be an important contender in next year’s elections, El Tiempo reports. 

·         Colombian Attorney General Mario Iguaran reports his office’s jurisdiction to investigate the killing of Victor Hugo Maestre, a Kankuamo leader killed by members of the Colombian army in October 2004. He said that evidence suggests the indigenous leader died while in custody of the army and not as a result of any combat, urging the army’s military justice authorities to hand over any information on the case, Caracol radio reports.

·         The President of the Association for Journalists in Cali, Guillermo Cabrera, has been killed. After initially registering his body as a No Name, authorities later said he was stabbed to death by common criminals who were trying to rob his car, El Pais reports.

Weds 07- Uribe ‘accepts’ armed conflict; UNDP report highlights inequality in Colombia.

·         In a speech during a police graduation ceremony, President Uribe makes new concessions in the search for a peace deal with the ELN. ‘I will accept that there is an armed conflict if the ELN ceases hostilities’ he said, ‘I’m ready to sacrifice my personal beliefs and accept the negotiation of a definitive solution to the conflict. People involved in the mediation with the ELN group have highlighted that preliminary negotiations are in ‘good shape’, and international mediators are defending the process ‘as never before’, El Tiempo reports.

·         The UN Development Programme (UNDP) launches its latest annual report for this year. Colombia rose four points in the UNDP human development index from number 73 to 69 in the 177 countries listed. Despite some advances, the country also occupies the 11^th position in the world’s inequality list. This is reflected in the fact that the income of a rich person in Colombia is similar to the combined income of 58 poor people, with 64% of the population now living below the poverty line, El Tiempo reports.   

·         Authorities in La Guajira are investigating the killing of a child from the Wayuu indigenous community who was reportedly killed by the Colombian army. Military authorities from the Cartagena Battalion reported the death as the result of an armed combat with a criminal gang. However, the indigenous authorities denounced to the Secretary of the regional government that soldiers had attacked their community. The Commander of the battalion was not available for comment, El Tiempo reports.

·         Colombia’s Supreme Court has granted the extradition request for Diego Fernando Murillo. He is wanted in the US for smuggling cocaine and money laundering. But before President Uribe signs the extradition order he will weigh the implications for Colombia's process of disbanding the illegal paramilitary militias, whose leaders are set against being sent to America to face justice. "The question is whether Don Berna is going to be the sacrificial lamb to be extradited as a way of legitimising the demobilisation process," said Sergio Jaramillo, director of the Bogota think tank Ideas for Peace, funded by Colombian businesses, Reuters reports.

Thurs 08 – ELN leader freed from prison to negotiate peace; 15 dead in Putumayo’s combats.

·         The Colombian government allows jailed ELN leader Francisco Galan to leave prison for three months to help clear the way for possible peace negotiations. Rebel leader Francisco Galan, who was captured in 1992 will be freed for three months for the peace initiative, the presidential office said in a statement. The ELN last week said Uribe must recognise Colombia's internal conflict as a condition before any talks, Reuters reports.

·         Members of the FARC and paramilitaries from the Self-Defence Forces of Colombia (AUC) clash in the settlement of La Esmeralda (Putumayo), leaving at least 15 people dead and 27 more injured. Among the victims were three civilians - an adult seeking cover was killed along with two girls, 8 and 11, killed by the armed groups while they fled the local school, Associated Press reports.

·         Rebels from the FARC group attack energy towers in Colombia for the second time in three days, this time leaving more than 100,000 people without electricity along the country's Pacific coast, officials said. The rebels blew up at least six major pylons near Ricaurte, in Nariño department, El Colombiano 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.

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