Colombia This Week
28/11/2005
Fri 18 – US reports increase in cocaine prices; 7,500 people ordered to evacuate volcano area.
· After years of disappointing results, the Bush administration reports signs of success regarding Plan Colombia, with the retail price of the drug in the United States much higher and the level of purity lower. From February to September, the price of a gram of cocaine rose 19 percent, to $170, while the purity level fell 15 percent, the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy said. White House officials said those trends were consistent with a shortage of cocaine and validated the US' $4 billion, multi-year plan to wipe out cocaine drug crops in Colombia through aerial spraying. But drug policy analysts critical of the administration's war on drugs said the White House was drawing unrealistically rosy conclusions from too short a period, noting that a Rand Corporation study for the White House in 2003 showed that as the war on drugs had expanded since 1981, the price of cocaine had tumbled to historic lows while purity levels had risen. Drug policy analysts also said that like any commodity, the price of cocaine sometimes fluctuates wildly, yet the cocaine trade remains intractably lucrative, New York Times reports.
· At least 7,500 people have been ordered to leave their homes near a volcano in Colombia amid fears it will erupt. The Colombian Institute of Geology and Mines said it had detected increased seismic activity around Galeras volcano in the south-east province of Nariño. Residents said they were reluctant to leave their homes and livestock. Galeras' last major eruption in 1993 killed at least nine people, including several scientists taking measurements in the crater, BBC reports.
· Three soldiers were killed and four more injured when they entered a minefield in a rural area of Ituango (Antioquia). According to official figures, more than 600 mine incidents were recorded last year in Colombia, 170 of them with fatal results for the victims, Caracol radio reports.
Sat 19 – Uribe’s approval rating dips; Granda’s defendant lawyer killed in the streets of Bogota.
· President Alvaro Uribe has lost popularity over the past month as he prepares to launch his campaign to be re-elected next May, a poll shows. Uribe's approval rating was 72 percent at the start of November, down from 80 percent a month earlier but still high enough to make him the country's most popular politician, said the poll of 1000 people by Gallup Colombia published in El Tiempo. The president's poll ratings probably dipped because of a breakdown in peace talks with far-right paramilitaries, criticism of trade talks with the United States and a constitutional change allowing Uribe to run for a second four-year term, El Tiempo said. Previously, Colombian presidents were limited to one term in office, Reuters reports.
· Human rights lawyer and defendant of FARC prisoner Rodrigo Granda Escobar, Ernesto Moreno Gordillo, has been killed by gunmen in Bogota. Gordillo was a member of the Colombian Association of Democratic Jurists. Less than two weeks ago, another lawyer who intervened in the defence of a group of people from Arauca and Cucuta and who had been detained after a mass raid by the Colombian authorities, was also gunned down in La Candelaria (Bogota), Colprensa reports.
Sun 20 – Congressman dies in helicopter crash; US NGOs dismiss fumigation results.
· A Colombian conservative lawmaker has died in a helicopter crash in the mountains north of Bogota, police report. Roberto Camacho's helicopter was heading for the Antioquia department but the aircraft apparently turned back to the capital because of bad weather. Five other people were killed when the helicopter crashed. An ally of President Alvaro Uribe, Mr Camacho was a strong supporter of the controversial peace process with the paramilitaries. Mr Camacho, 54, represented the central department of Cundinamarca - which surrounds Bogota - and was planning to run for a Senate seat in next year's elections, in which President Uribe is hoping to be re-elected. A regional lawmaker of Cundinamarca, Efren Bejerano, a former deputy governor of the same province, Adolfo Leon, and Mr Camacho's bodyguard were among those killed in the crash, BBC reports.
· Commenting on fresh figures presented by the US authorities, the Director of the Centre for International Policy (CIP), Adam Isacson reports that ‘this cocaine graph only shows price and purity returning to the levels they were at in late 2003 and early 2004’. Isaacson did note, however, that the Colombian military and police have become more effective as a result of massive US aid. ''If I had to credit it [the drop in prices] to anything, it would have to be increased interdiction,'' he said. Colombia's navy has reported more than 100 tons of cocaine seized this year, compared with 85 tons in all of 2004. Isaacson said the police are doing a better job at patrolling the country's rivers, which are used to transport drugs, Reuters reports.
Mon 21 - ELN ready for peace talks with Uribe; Restrepo moves towards humanitarian exchange.
· The National Liberation Army (ELN) group instructs one of its commanders to meet with the government's top peace envoy to seek common ground for a peace process. The ELN's high command said in a statement that it had authorised its spokesperson, Francisco Galan, to meet with government Peace Commissioner Luis Carlos Restrepo ''to work on rough drafts that could be used as procedural outlines or content'' for an eventual meeting. There was no immediate reaction from Restrepo's office. President Alvaro Uribe ordered Galan be released from jail in September for three months, in the hope that he could persuade the guerrilla group to begin peace talks. Galan had been in prison since 1994 after being sentenced to 30 years for rebellion, terrorism and kidnapping. Monday's statement came a day after the ELN issued a separate statement, insisting that its military and political infrastructure remained intact despite a government offensive and that it was ready to fight until victory, AP reports.
· The Colombian government is reportedly seeking a humanitarian agreement with the FARC group to free dozens of politicians, soldiers and policemen they are holding hostage. The government said that Peace Commissioner Luis Restrepo would be in charge of the negotiations together with an international commission. A press release from President Alvaro Uribe's office said that Mr Restrepo had already made the first steps towards seeking an agreement. The announcement comes after the mother of kidnapped presidential candidate Ms Betancourt called on Mr Uribe not to attempt a military rescue of the hostages, BBC reports.
· One soldier and two civilians died and five more were seriously injured after they stepped into a minefield reportedly left by insurgents from the ELN group in the municipality of Barbacoas (Nariño). According to locals, this armed group have made death threats to those who clear landmines in the region, El Tiempo reports.
· In a new deal in the peace negotiations between the paramilitary groups and the State, Peace Commissioner Luis Carlos Restrepo reports that Uribe’s government has extended for an extra 45 days the deadline for demobilisations of combatants by this armed group. According to analysts, the decision means that demobilisations are going to take place while the electoral campaign is going on across the country next year, El Espectador reports.
Tues 22 – Emergency aid for displaced persons in Caldas; judicial strike over funding cut.
· Over 2,200 people flee their homes in different settlements in the municipality of Samana, (Caldas) Colombia, as a result of armed clashes. The group headed for the municipal capital, which they reached after more than five hours walking. ICRC delegates immediately travelled to the municipality to assess their needs. Displacement continues to be one of the main causes of the humanitarian crisis in Colombia. ICRC delegate in the area, El Espectador reports.
· More than 38,000 judges, attorneys and judicial employees of the Colombian state stopped their activities for 24 hours in protest at the further reduction of the judicial budget for 2006. According to attorney Fabio Hernandez from ASONAL (Colombian trade union for judicial employees), the Colombian Congress has approved 1 billion pesos less that requested originally, El Colombiano reports.
· Twelve municipalities in Norte de Santander, 5 in the Cesar department and 3 more in the Bolivar department are without electricity after the bombing of several energy towers in the municipality of Abrego (Norte de Santander). Authorities don’t know which group is responsible for these attacks, Efe reports.
· A day after the Central Command of the National Liberation Army (ELN) announced this group’s acceptance of formal exploratory peace talks with the Colombian government, Monsignor Dario Castrillon, the prefect of the Colombian Bishop’s Conference in Rome reports the Catholic Church’s willingness to support and facilitate this process, Colprensa reports.
· President Uribe has ratified Andres Peñate as the new DAS (Colombian secret police) director. Peñate previously worked as Deputy-Minister of Defence and was in charge of the government’s demobilisation programme, CM& reports.
Weds 23 – Colombian negotiators suspend TLC negotiations; Mancuso accused of massacre.
· The United States and Colombia have given up efforts to reach a free trade agreement this week, but could meet again before the end of the year to finish the deal, Colombian officials report. "There is a desire from the part of the United States and Colombia to try to finish this negotiation by the end of the year, if possible”, Colombia's chief negotiator in the talks Hernando Jose Gomez told reporters, Reuters reports.
· A witness from the Mapiripan massacre in 1997, in which members of the AUC (Self-Defence Forces of Colombia) killed more than 20 peasants, has accused Salvatore Mancuso of knowing and planning the attack. Nevertheless, the capture order against Mancuso has been suspended by President Uribe Velez as long as Mancuso participates in the peace process with the government, despite the recommendation by the Inter-American Court on Human Rights that views such a prescription and/or any amnesty law that excludes the penal responsibility for crimes against humanity as unacceptable, El Tiempo reports.
· Dozens of French Councillors congregated in front of the residence of the Colombian Ambassador in Paris demanding a humanitarian agreement that would result in the freedom of the kidnapped prisoners in Colombia and in particular, former presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt. Among the attendants was the Mayor of the city of Paris, Bertrand Delanoe. Relatives of Betancourt called upon the FARC group to provide proof of life for the kidnapped, adding that the last evidence from the group came two years ago, Efe reports.
Thurs 24 – Uribe and Chavez in energy talks; tribute in recognition of CSPP work in Bogota.
· Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez and his Colombian counterpart Alvaro Uribe, have been meeting to discuss joint energy projects. They plan to build a pipeline that would allow Venezuela to export gas via Colombia's Pacific coast. The $300m (£174m) deal is expected to be completed in 2007. Mr Chavez acknowledged that the two leaders were ideologically opposed on many issues, particularly over a proposed Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA), BBC reports.
· Councillor from Bogota and member of the Independent Democratic Pole, Bruno Diaz has awarded the NGO Committee for Solidarity with Political Prisoners (CSPP) with the highest nomination of Bogota’s Council in recognition of its 33rd anniversary in defence of human rights in Colombia. The tribute ceremony was attended by a delegate of the UN High Commission for Human Rights and members of the national and international NGOs working on human rights in Colombia, Indymedia News reports.
· Authorities report that one soldier has been killed and three others injured, as well as one minor, after a bomb exploded in a rural area of the municipality of Planadas, (Meta). Army officers blamed the FARC group for the attack, Efe 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
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