Colombia This Week
08/05/2006
Fri 28 –Sister of Liberal Party leader killed; 1,400 people forced to flee in Nariño
· The sister of the head of the Liberal Party and former Colombian President Cesar Gaviria was killed during an apparent attempt to kidnap her in Pereira (Risaralda department). The body of Liliana Gaviria, a businesswoman in the construction industry, was found shortly after she was snatched by armed gunmen who also killed her bodyguard. President Uribe said he would do everything in his power to make sure that the crime does not go unpunished and he offered a $434,000 reward for information related to the event, the BBC and AP report.
· More than 1,400 people have been forced to flee their homes in Nariño department and take refuge in the small village of Sanchez, after heavy fighting between the army and an armed group developed last Friday. Josep Zapater, head of the UNHCR’s local office, expressed serious concerns for the health of the displaced, who had been staying in overcrowded shelters with little food available. More than 90% of the people arriving in Sanchez are Afro-Colombians with no identification documents, which makes it difficult for them to access social services for displaced people, the UNHCR reports.
· The humanitarian organisation Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) published a new report on the effects of the conflict in Colombia on its population’s mental health, especially the internally displaced. The report, entitled Living with Fear, suggests that the psychological effects of the conflict are the biggest public health issue in Colombia, but that this does not receive the required attention and financial resources, El Tiempo reports.
· According to a study by the National Trade Union School (ENS), 29 unionised workers have been killed since the beginning of the year, a 27.5% increase compared to 2005. This marks a change in the tendency reported in the last few years, when numbers of workers killed were diminishing, El Colombiano reports.
· The ex-paramilitary chiefs Salvatore Mancuso and Vicente Castaño and 1,200 of their former fighters took part in a pilot jobs programme, which consisted of the manual eradication of 17,000 acres of coca in Cordoba and Antioquia departments, AP reports.
Sat 29– ELN and government to meet after elections; critical situation in Arauca
· Exploratory talks between the government and the ELN ended without significant progress. The two parties agreed to meet again after the presidential elections and reiterated their commitment to start a peace process. However, no agenda for formal talks has been agreed on, and the ELN said it would not implement a ceasefire on election day, as it did for the March parliamentary elections, RCN Radio reports.
· The Third Departmental Assembly of the Permanent Committee for the Defence of Human Rights (CPDH) expressed its concern over the situation in Arauca department. The department is experiencing an increase in forced displacement, a resurgence of paramilitaries under the name of Black Eagles, aerial fumigations, and arbitrary and illegal detentions, CPDH reports.
· According to the magazine Cambio, the former chief of the DAS information department, Rafael Garcia, is planning to ask for political asylum in Venezuela with the alleged intermediation of the former senator Piedad Cordoba and the congressman Gustavo Petro. Both Cordoba and Petro have denied the allegations, Colprensa reports.
Sun 30 – Son of congressman kidnapped ; Elmer Cardenas block demobilises
· Juan Carlos Lizcano Arango, son of the congressman Oscar Tulio Lizcano, who has been held by the FARC for more than five years, was kidnapped in Irra (Risaralda department). The kidnappers are believed to be part of the Oscar William Calvo front of the EPL, El Tiempo reports.
· The second phase of the demobilisation of the Elmer Cardenas paramilitary block was completed in Turbo (Antioquia department). The third and final phase will take place in 10 days in Unguia (Choco department), where the chief Fredy Rendon, alias El Aleman, is expected to demobilise, El Tiempo reports.
· The presidential candidates have expressed their concern over the increasingly rarefied political climate, after the recent spate of killings and kidnappings. They agreed that sufficient guarantees are not in place for the presidential campaign, El Colombiano reports.
Mon 01 – Venezuela is main transit in drug traffic ; two generals resign over Gaviria death
· According to the English military magazine “Jane’s Intelligence Review”, Colombian illegal armed groups are using Venezuela as the main transit in the drug traffic to the US and Europe. The corruption of Venezuelan anti-drug officials and the deteriorating diplomatic relationship between Venezuela and the US are believed to be the main reason for this situation. The magazine also suggests that several Colombian drug barons have moved to Venezuela to avoid extradition to the US, El Tiempo reports.
· Generals Mauricio Gomez Guzman and Mario Gutierrez Jimenez resigned following the murder of Liliana Gaviria. The two police generals were responsible for security in the Risaralda department, where Gavira was found dead, and where the homicide rate is more than double the national average, the BBC reports.
· Joint landmine-clearing operations by the Organisation of American States (OAS) and the government of Colombia will take place in May in La Pita (Bolivar department), after operations were completed in Mamonal in the same department, during the first few months of this year. The OAS is also assisting with psychological and physical rehabilitation for 20 landmine victims, OAS reports.
Tues 02 – Demobilising paramilitaries stealing land ; trade unions split over support to Uribe
· Members of the Elmer Cardenas paramilitary block, which is in the process of demobilising, have been recently reported stealing land from peasants. There is concern that they will use the stolen land as reparation to the victims, as required by the Justice and Peace Law, while at the same time keeping the assets that they have illegally acquired in decades of conflict, El Tiempo reports.
· On International Labour Day, President Uribe met in Medellin with representatives of ten trade unions which expressed their support for his campaign. However, the president of the General Labour Confederation (CGT), Julio Roberto Gomez, said the endorsement comes from only a minority of unions, while the confederations remain firm in their decision not to negotiate with the government, El Colombiano and Caracol Radio reports.
· The US Republican senator Charles Grassley, who chairs the Senate Caucus on International Narcotics Control, called on President Bush to fire the nation’s drug czar John Walters. Grassley accused Walters of ‘spinning the numbers’ and publishing misleading data when he suggested Plan Colombia was successful, AP reports.
· The Human Rights Ombudsman Volmar Perez Ortiz published a report on the state of Colombian children. According to the report, 4,500 children are abandoned every year, while in 2004 1,267 children died in violent circumstances, El Colombiano reports.
· Raul Reyes, spokesman for the FARC, condemned the negotiations between the government and the ELN, during an interview with Telesur. He said that any progress in the negotiations would be a victory for President Uribe, and not for the Colombian people, AP reports.
Weds 03 – Entire council resigns for fear of FARC; women are significant part of work force
· The entire municipal council of Villavieja (Huila department) has resigned and fled to Neiva, the capital of the department, for fear of being killed by the FARC. The guerrilla group has already killed 16 councillors in Huila department since the beginning of the year. Although the army maintains security measures are in place, Diogenes Plata, Huila’s government secretary, said that all of the department’s 380 councilmen have received death threats, AP reports.
· According to a study by the National Trade Union School (ENS), women are an increasingly important part of the work force. This is especially true for the retail sector, where 96.1% of the work force is female. However, according to the International Labour Organisation (ILO), the unemployment rate among women is 40% higher than among men, and the wages women receive are still 66% lower than men’s, El Colombiano reports.
· The Inter-American Commission for Human Rights (IACHR) expressed its concern about the situation of human rights in Colombia. In its annual report, the organisation highlighted the progress achieved in areas such as the protection of human rights defenders and that of communities at risk; however, it also criticised the Justice ad Peace Law for not dealing properly with the issues of truth and reparation of the victims, EFE reports.
· The Colombian organisation Reiniciar and the Colombian Commission of Jurists (CCJ) condemned President Uribe’s behaviour in relation to the murders and attacks on members of the Patriotic Union and the Communist Party. The President never implemented the security measures recommended by the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights and allowed accusations against the parties to be aired on his electoral campaign radio messages, Reiniciar and the CCJ report.
· The Swiss NGOs Bread for All and Fastenopfer rejected statements from Vice President Santos that they support the FARC with state money. They also said that their work would be in danger, if they were seen as linked to the guerrilla group, Spero News reports.
Thurs 04 – Bogota transport strike ends; $15.4m US aid to demobilisation process
· The transport strike that paralysed the capital Bogota for 39 hours ended, after agreement was reached between the transport organisations and the mayor to meet and discuss the various themes that generated the protest. The strike, that affected 4 million people and cost 12 billion pesos ($5 million), also caused riots and the arrest of 60 people, Colprensa and the BBC report.
· The US Congress approved $15.4million to the government of Colombia to be earmarked for support to the Attorney General’s office in the demobilisation process. This is the first time that aid has been granted by the US for this specific purpose; in 2004, the money had been destined to support the OAS mission and for the reinsertion of child soldiers, El Tiempo reports.
· The US senator Arlen Specter announced that, during a trip to Bogota, President Uribe suggested that Colombian migrant workers could have a microchip implanted so that they can be monitored and forced to return to Colombia after their work permit expires. Uribe is strongly denying having made such a proposal, El Tiempo reports.
· The translation of the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) made by the US has been found to differ from the version that Colombia signed, in terms that would be unfavourable for the South-American country. The government has announced that the two negotiating teams will meet again soon to clarify the issue, El Colombiano reports.
· The UN will start a study on the effects of aerial fumigations on the border between Colombia and Ecuador. The government of Ecuador stated that it will ask Colombia to permanently suspend the fumigations if the results of the study show that there is damage to human beings and the environment, RCN Radio 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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