Colombia This Week
30/01/2006
Fri 20 – Pardo rejects government accusations; UNCHR Office deplores killings of politicians
· The Liberal Party prospective presidential candidate Rafael Pardo rejected government accusations of links with the FARC. The “U” Party leader Juan Manuel Santos and the High Commissioner for Peace Luis Carlos Restrepo had both stated in press releases that Pardo had sent a CD to the guerrilla group asking for an anti-Uribe agreement. While the government said it could not reveal its sources for reasons of confidentiality, Pardo accused it of treating rumours from the FARC as evidence. The National Electoral Council also stated that in these circumstances the Guarantee Law (designed to ensure electoral good practice) had been violated by the party in power, El Colombiano reports.
· The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in Colombia deplored the murder of political leaders Jaime Romero and Eduardo Hernandez in Valle del Cauca. According to information obtained by the office, the killers are connected to paramilitary groups. The UN described the violent deaths as a grave threat to democracy and to the free exercise of political rights, the United Nations News Service reports.
· After a series of threats by alleged paramilitaries, Diro Cesar Gonzalez, director and owner of the weekly newspaper La Tarde in Barrancabermeja, was forced to suspend his business indefinitely and leave the city, the Foundation for the Freedom of the Press (FLIP) reports.
· A Danish fashion firm will sell T-shirts with the logos of militant groups such as the FARC and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, donating part of the profits to those organisations. The Colombian government has protested to the Danish authorities, the BBC reports.
Sat 21 - Mineros block demobilises; Indigenous communities threatened in Cauca
· About 2,600 paramilitaries belonging to the Mineros block have handed in their weapons in Taraza (Antioquia department). The group, whose chief Ramiro “Cuco” Vanoy will this way avoid extradition to the US for drug trafficking, also handed in a helicopter and control of a hospital. The move has been described as the biggest disarmament drive in the peace process, although human rights groups are concerned that the demobilised paramilitaries will not be punished for their crimes and their criminal networks will not be dismantled, CNN and the BBC report.
· Indigenous communities from Tierradentro (Cauca department) denounced the presence of the army and the FARC in their territories and the resulting insecurity for the civilian population. The situation became critical after a gunfight between the two parties killed a bus driver and wounded several passengers on 19 January, the Regional Indigenous Council of Cauca (CRIC) reports.
Sun 22 – Colombian hostages ask Venezuela for help ; El Salvador to help peace process
· 12 Colombian politicians held by the FARC since 2002 asked neighbouring Venezuela to help negotiate their freedom and grant them asylum. Two of the hostages, Nacianceno Orozco and Juan Carlos Narvaez, addressed the Venezuelan president in a video broadcast on Colombian television. President Uribe stated he would not object if Chavez were to grant them asylum; however, Venezuelan officials did not make any comment, the BBC reports.
· During a visit to El Salvador, President Uribe asked the Central American country to support the Colombian peace process. The Salvadorian President Elias Antonio Saca, offered his Colombian counterpart his support, and a joint declaration was signed ensuring bilateral collaboration in the fight against drug trafficking, RCN Radio reports.
Mon 23 – UNICEF say Colombian children suffer most ; OAS to monitor elections
· According to the UNICEF annual report, Colombia and Haiti are the two countries in Latin America where children and women suffer the most. Daniel Toole, Director of the UNICEF Emergency Office, stated that the Colombian conflict has led to a serious human rights violations and a critical humanitarian situation. UNICEF will concentrate its efforts in the region on assisting national institutions to increase their response capacities, EFE reports.
· The Secretary of the Organisation of American States (OAS), Jose Miguel Insulza, confirmed that the organisation will be monitoring the Colombian electoral process. However, a platform of opposition parties, trade unions and NGOs recently issued a statement, asking for a wider monitoring process that should involve the UN, the EU and the Carter Center, Colprensa and RCN Radio report.
· The Venezuelan President Chavez stated he would consider the request for asylum by the 12 FARC hostages. However, several political analysts have stated that asylum would not be applicable in these circumstances, as it can only be granted to people persecuted by a State. They also suggested that the request is likely to be a move by the FARC to delegitimise the State and acquire international status, El Colombiano reports.
· Antonio Navarro Wolf, prospective presidential candidate for the Polo Alternativo, was in Choco to launch the congressional candidacy of Jorge Rojas, former director of the Colombian NGO CODHES. Rojas said his candidacy is an attempt to bring attention to the issues of displacement and the humanitarian crisis, El Colombiano reports.
· Rafael Pardo stated that the President’s apologies were not enough without a proper retraction of the accusations connecting him to the FARC. After various conversations with the High Commissioner for Peace Luis Carlos Restrepo, Uribe announced that, although witnesses existed, the government could not produce evidence and therefore had to apologise to Pardo, El Tiempo reports.
Tues 24 – Director of UNCHR office in Colombia resigns ; WFP suspends its operations
· The director of the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in Colombia, Michael Fruhling, accepted the offer by the High Commissioner Louise Arbour to lead a separate section of the organisation based in Geneva. Mr Fruhling, who had been working in Colombia since 2002, will leave his position at the end of February 2006. Until a new director is appointed, Carmen Rosa Villa will lead the office, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Office in Colombia reports.
· The World Food Program (WFP) will suspend its operations in Eastern Antioquia, due to more than a tonne of food being stolen by an illegal armed group. The decision, which will affect about 20,000 people in the area, will be reviewed only when illegal groups guarantee minimal security conditions for humanitarian cooperation. Last week WFP vehicles were also stopped in Meta and Choco by illegal armed groups who demanded money, El Colombiano reports.
· The situation of the indigenous communities of Tierradentro (Cauca department) remains critical. Omar Henry Silva lost his life and Martin Cucha was wounded in a gunfight between the FARC and the army, while more than 1,500 people were forced to displace to their community meeting places. The indigenous leaders also complained of a lack of medical assistance and presence of governmental officials, the Regional Indigenous Council of Cauca (CRIC) reports.
· The paramilitary commander “Jorge 40” of the Northern Block announced that he would demobilise in two months’ time. This announcement came as he was caught in the scandal of the corrupt politicians expelled from their parties and after some sectors of society demanded he lose his benefits for taking part in the electoral campaign, El Tiempo reports.
· Francisco Galan, spokesman for the ELN, had a meeting with members of the Episcopal Commission of the Catholic Church in order to define the agenda of the preliminary peace talks to be held in Cuba in February. The Ambassadors of Spain, Norway and Switzerland were also present at the meeting, AFP reports.
Weds 25 – Government officials travel to Europe; trade unionist illegally dismissed
· The Foreign Minister Carolina Barco will travel to Europe to participate in a UN forum in Spain and to meet with officials from Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia, in a bid to establish closer relationships with the new EU countries. The Vice-president Francisco Santos will travel to Switzerland to discuss the peace process and will meet with the EU delegates who are in charge of drafting the EU commission report on human rights, Caracol Radio and El Espectador report.
· Fernando Ramirez Gonzalez, member of the trade union Sintraminercol-Fenasintrap was illegally dismissed by the national mining company Minercol LTDA. Sintraminarcol members have also been victims of threats, harassments and intimidation for their stance against the privatization of the company, according to Colombian organisation Justicia y Paz.
· President Uribe decided to postpone the launch of his electoral campaign until after the congressional elections, so as not to create further political controversy. The announcement came after the National Electoral Council asked the House of Representatives to investigate whether the President had violated the Guarantees Law, Colprensa reports.
· Authorities are searching for the bodies of 37 disappeared people on the farm of the Castaño brothers, the founders of the United Self-Defence Forces of Colombia (AUC). The victims were peasants, trade unionists and left-wing supporters kidnapped in Pueblo Bello 16 years ago, El Tiempo reports.
· The manual eradication of coca crops in the Macarena National Park has so far led to the displacement of 341 families, due to confrontations between guerrillas and the army, El Colombiano reports.
Thurs 26 – French minister to hold talks with Uribe; Peace talks with ELN soon to resume in Cuba
· The French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste Blazy will arrive in Colombia to hold talks with President Uribe, in an attempt to speed up the humanitarian exchange with the FARC. The French government is particularly sensitive to the issue as Ingrid Betancourt, an ex presidential candidate kidnapped by the guerrilla in 2002, also holds French nationality, El Tiempo reports.
· Francisco Galan, spokesman for the ELN, and the High Commissioner for Peace Luis Carlos Restrepo, agreed to hold the second round of preliminary peace talks in Cuba on 9 February. On that date, the ELN will start a series of consultations with civil society organisations and the international community, while it will meet with the government from 17 February, AFP reports.
· A new poll by Datexco suggested that President Uribe would not manage to get elected in the first round of the elections, as he would obtain only 48% of the votes. However, the other prospective presidential candidates are all expected to get fewer votes, with Horacio Serpa figuring in second place with only 8.5%, El Tiempo reports.
· The Vice-president Francisco Santos met with the Spanish anti-drug tzar Javier Zaragoza, who expressed his concern over increasing consumption of Cocaine in the EU. The two agreed that Colombian officials would be incorporated in the EU anti-drug joint forces, Caracol Radio reports.
· The candidates who had been purged from their parties because of alleged links with paramilitaries, have founded a new party called Colombia Viva, El Tiempo 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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