Colombia This Week
24/04/2006
Fri 14 – Uribe criticised for attacking the press; Spain now second largest investor in Colombia
· After President Uribe accused the magazine Semana of being dishonest and malicious for publishing accusations of paramilitary infiltration in the police intelligence service (DAS), the other presidential candidates and the media criticised Uribe’s remarks as an attack on the freedom of the press, El Colombiano reports.
· With more than 150 companies present in Colombia, Spain has become the second largest investor in the country, behind the US. In addition to pursuing their financial interest, most of these Spanish companies have expressed a wish to contribute to Colombia’s social welfare. According to Jose Luis Baberia, an analyst for the Spanish media, it is necessary to replace the idea of the Spanish exploitation of Latin America with that of cooperation, El Tiempo reports.
Sat 15 – Coca-growing spreads in Colombia; Nukak Maku to return to their territories
· According to a report recently published by the US government, coca production in Colombia is more widespread than previously registered. While the report acknowledged the success of aerial fumigation in eradicating the crop, it also found that overall coca cultivation has increased by 26%. While in 2004, 114,100 hectares of land were planted with coca, the result for 2005 is 144,100 hectares. John Walters, head of the US Office of National Drug Control Policy, insisted that the counter-narcotic strategy is working and that the increased figure depends on the survey area being expanded by 81%, the BBC reports.
· The 76 Nukak Maku, who fled to San Jose del Guaviare for fear of the FARC, have decided to go back to their territories. They have asked the government to guarantee their food security and that they be accompanied by doctors. Although the Nukak Maku are the only nomadic indigenous tribe in the whole of Latin America, those who are returning have decided to settle in Tomachipan (Guaviare department) and grow bananas and cassava, El Colombiano reports.
· Higinio Baquero Mahecha, bodyguard of the director of the Colombian organisation Reiniciar, was killed in Bogota by two unidentified men. Higinio’s father, a leader of the Patriotic Union party and the Colombian Communist Party, was also murdered two years ago and several members of the family experienced persecution and forced displacement, Reiniciar reports.
· Herlides Aviles Salas, a town councillor from Baraya (Huila), was killed by the FARC, despite being accompanied by two policemen. The number of councillors killed since the beginning of the year has now risen to 16, EFE reports.
Sun 16 – Mudslide kills 29 people ; more scandals in the DAS
· Floods and mudslides in Buenaventura (Valle department) have killed 29 people and a further eight are still unaccounted for, the National Office for Prevention and Attention of Disasters reports. Key roads have also been blocked and a thousand people have been evacuated from the town, while the national government has declared a state of emergency in Valle department, AFP, the BBC and SNE report.
· More scandals related to the police intelligence service (DAS) have surfaced, after it became known that Sergio Sasiain, the latest director of the DAS information system and successor of Rafael Garcia, was also dismissed due to irregularities. Sasiain is accused of having deleted records of important criminals from the organisation’s information system. Meanwhile, Rodolfo Benitez, former DAS top official, confirmed the accusations against Jorge Noguera, Caracol Radio reports.
Mon 17 – HRW criticises Uribe for attacking the press ; controversy over extension of coca crops
· Human Rights Watch said that instead of attacking the news media for reporting allegations of criminal activity in the police intelligence service, President Uribe should ensure a full investigation of the charges. According to Jose Manuel Vivanco, Americas director at Human Rights Watch, ‘President Uribe‘s aggressive response raises suspicions about whether he actually wants the truth known, and has a chilling effect on the exercise of freedom of expression’. Vivanco also added that, as the case affects powerful interests, its handling will be a test of independence for the Attorney General’s office, Human Rights Watch reports.
· The government announced that it will discuss the findings of the US report on coca eradication once a UN document on the same topic becomes available in June. The UN report, prepared by the Integrated System of Illicit Crops Monitoring (SIMCI) with the use of a different methodology, will provide more accurate detail on the extension of coca cultivation in Colombia, El Tiempo reports.
· The conservative senator Juan Gomez Martinez presented a legislative proposal according to which journalists, reporters and newspapers’ directors could be accused of causing injury or libel when reporting unfounded or inexact news. The proposal, which has already provoked strong reactions, will be debated in the Senate next Tuesday, Caracol Radio reports.
· The US will provide three additional planes to Colombia this year to carry out aerial fumigations on illicit crops. President Uribe had called on the US to increase its eradication assistance, after the publication of the US government report on coca cultivation, Reuters reports.
· Colombian presidential candidates began their campaign for the May 28 elections. So far, Uribe is still reported to enjoy the support of more than 50% of the voters; however, the recent corruption allegations might make it more difficult for him to win the first round of elections, Prensa Latina reports.
Tues 18 – Antonio Garcia arrives in Medellin ; Restrepo says AUC have ceased to exist
· Antonio Garcia, military chief of the ELN, arrived in Medellin to meet with the High Commissioner for Peace Luis Carlos Restrepo, trade unionists, representatives of the private sector and church leaders. Garcia said that an obstacle to more formal negotiations is the fact that the government only acknowledges the political status of the delegation, rather than the whole ELN. Therefore, he added that a ceasefire from the ELN for the presidential elections is not likely to be implemented, EFE reports.
· The High Commissioner for Peace, Luis Carlos Restrepo, announced that the United Self-Defence Forces of Colombia (AUC) have ceased to exist, as their more than 30,000 combatants have officially demobilised. However, only a tiny fraction of the demobilised, 604, will appeal to the Justice and Peace Law. The list, which figures 20 paramilitary chiefs, is now in the hands of the Interior Ministry, who will pass it on to the Attorney General ‘s office, AFP reports.
· The US economists Joseph Stiglitz and Jeffrrey Sachs have criticised the Free Trade Agreement between Colombia and the US. According to Stiglitz, bilateral treaties are asymmetric and only favour the interests of big oil and pharmaceutical companies. Sachs added that, in order to grow, Colombia needs to resolve its conflict and the inequality in the country, El Tiempo reports.
· The US Justice Department has begun the process to extradite three leaders of the FARC. Jorge Enrique Rodriguez, Erminso Cuevas Cabrera and Juan Jose Martinez Vega, who are now in custody in Colombia, figured in the list of 50 FARC members wanted by the US, which was released by the US Attorney General in March, the Washington Times reports.
· The Attorney General’s office disinterred two bodies in La Fonseca (Guajira department). Although the bodies have not been fully identified yet, it is believed that they were killed by members of the Northern Block, a recently demobilised paramilitary group, El Tiempo reports.
Weds 19 – FARC behind explosions in Bogota; EU to give €2.5m for de-mining projects
· The Attorney General Mario Iguaran confirmed that the bombs used in the bus attacks in Bogota two weeks ago and those found in the building which exploded last Sunday in the capital, contained the same chemical compounds. The explosion of the building in the centre of the capital caused the death of five people, among them four university students. The only survivor, the Ecuadorian Jose Giovanni Jaramillo Ortiz, said that members of the FARC were present in the building, Colprensa reports.
· The European Union Parliament launched a campaign against landmines with the collaboration of Colombian singer and activist Juanes. The EU has set aside €240m to help countries detect and destroy mines, €2.5m of which will go to Colombia, DPA reports.
· Six army officers are being interrogated for a massacre that occurred in Barrancabermeja in 1998. The massacre, in which seven people died and 25 were disappeared, marked the start of the paramilitary presence in the oil city. The soldiers are suspected of having helped the paramilitaries by not protecting the population, despite knowing of the combatants’ arrival, and by not acting to find the 25 disappeared people, El Tiempo reports.
· A group of detainees of the Itagui prison offered the government their support in de-mining the Western Antioquia region. The group, which is made up of ex-paramilitaries, ex-ELN rebels and ex-members of the FARC, suggested they could work in the aldeas de paz, structures where the detainees would serve their sentences while at the same time contributing to reparation, El Colombiano reports.
· The National Assembly of Venezuela requested that Colombia launch an enquiry into the alleged involvement of the DAS in a plot to kill Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and destabilise his government, El Universal reports.
Thurs 20–Trade unions withdraw from negotiation; UNHCR report on internally displaced
· Trade unions withdrew from all conciliation spaces with the government, in the wake of the allegation that DAS officials provided paramilitaries with black lists of trade unionists. Julio Roberto Gomez, President of the General Labour Confederation (CGT), said the trade unions will start negotiating with the government again, only when the latter offers them guarantees of security and free association, Colprensa reports.
· According to a new report by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Colombia is the second country in the world for number of internally displaced people. The report suggests that between two and three million people were forced to flee their homes during the last four decades, and that in 2004, the number of displaced increased by 39% compared to the previous year, EFE reports.
· Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez announced that his country will withdraw from the Andean Community of Nations (CAN). He said the reason behind his decision were the recent trade deals between Peru, Colombia and the US, which, according to Chavez, have killed the CAN, the BBC reports.
· According to a poll commissioned by El Tiempo, the presidential candidate for the Democratic Pole, Carlos Gaviria, has overtaken Horacio Serpa, the Liberal Party candidate. Gaviria moved from 5.7% to 13.3%, while support for Serpa dropped from 12.7% to 10%, El Tiempo reports.
· Facing a serious shortfall for its activities in Colombia, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has appealed for more than $4m to protect former child soldiers and prevent additional recruitment, provide life-saving aid to displaced people and increase de-mining, the UN News Service 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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