Colombia this Week
18/08/2006
Fri 11 – Intelligence report on new criminal gangs; US likely to decrease military aid to Colombia
· Caracol Radio got access to a confidential intelligence report, according to which 18 new criminal organisations have been formed by former paramilitaries, 12 of which have been fully identified. According to the document, 1,500 demobilised paramilitaries are operating in nine regions carrying out drug trafficking, extortion and selective killings. Sergio Caramagna, head of the Organisation of American States (OAS) mission in Colombia, disagreed with the findings of the report and said that the number of demobilised paramilitaries involved in criminal activities is much smaller, Caracol Radio reports.
· Anne Patterson, US Assistant Secretary of State for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, and John Walters, the US government’s anti-drug tsar, said that US military aid to Colombia would decrease substantially in the next five years. This is due to the fact that Colombia will be able to act more independently thanks to higher taxes and a better military presence in the countryside. However, critics of the US anti-drug policy in Colombia interpreted the statement as an admission of failure, the BBC reports.
· The FARC released a communiqué where they rejected the invitation by the President of the Senate, Dilian Francisca Toro, to go to the Congress to discuss options for peace. They specified that for security reasons they would not enter a “paramilitary and mafia ridden Congress”. The guerrilla also reiterated that they would not agree to a humanitarian exchange, as long as President Uribe is in power, RCN Radio reports.
· The Colombian peasant organisation CAHUCOPANA denounced the forced displacement of the inhabitants of Cancha de Manila (Antioquia department), after members of the army’s 14th Brigade accused them of being guerrilla supporters. Meanwhile, a member of the community, Carlos Berrocal Trujillo, was killed by the FARC, CAHUCOPANA reports.
· A FARC leader, Hector Orlando Martinez, was arrested in Costa Rica. The Colombian government has requested extradition for Martinez, who is allegedly involved in more than 100 killings, the BBC reports.
Sat 12–Uribe asks banks for pro-poor measures; General Castellano in new army scandal
· Speaking at the Colombian Banks Convention, President Uribe asked the financial sector to introduce reforms that would allow poorer sectors of society and small enterprises to obtain small-scale credit. On the same occasion, the Defence Minister Juan Manuel Santos said that the war tax introduced in 2002 to finance the Democratic Security Policy is not sufficient anymore and that more financial resources, out of the national budget, would need to be allocated to the defence sector, Caracol Radio and Reuters report.
· 140 soldiers were found guilty of stealing money that the FARC had hidden in the jungle in 2003. Some of the culprits accused General Reynaldo Castellano, former head of the army, of promising them immunity if they got hold of the money. General Castellano was removed from the command of the army in February 2006, when it was discovered that soldiers had been abused by their superiors in a training camp, AFP reports.
· The FARC bombed two electricity pylons in the departments of Nariño, Putumayo and Cauca. Vast areas of these departments, together with parts of Ecuador that rely on electricity from Colombia, have suffered power shortages, RCN Radio reports.
Sun 13 – OHCHR condemns FARC and ELN ; US embassy criticises draft decree
· The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Colombia (OHCHR) condemned the illegal armed groups FARC and ELN for the selective killings of at least 20 people, the forced recruitment of children and the forced displacement of hundreds of people in the municipalities of Frotul, Tame, Arauquita and Saravena (Arauca department). The Office reminded the guerrilla groups that such crimes are serious violations of International Humanitarian Law and constitute war crimes, OHCHR reports.
· The US Embassy in Colombia expressed objections to the draft document of the decree regulating the Justice and Peace Law, on the grounds that paramilitaries would receive too favourable a treatment. The US Embassy reminded the Colombian government that US support to the demobilisation process is not unconditional and that the US administration could push for extraditions of paramilitaries in the case of the decree creating an amnesty, Cambio reports.
Mon 14 – OHCHR concerned for human rights defenders ; UNHCR visits Argelia and Nariño
· The OHCHR expressed its concern for recent intimidations and threats to human rights defenders and members of peace movements. During the last months, unknown people have entered offices of human rights organisations and stolen their computer hard disks. Also, several organisations have received a new email containing threats and signed by a group that identify itself as Self-defence Forces-Colombia Libre, OHCHR reports.
· Roberto Meier, representative of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), visited the towns of Argelia and Nariño (Antioquia department), where thousands of people fled after being displaced by the FARC. According to Meier, the FARC are showing that they can still control wide areas of the country in a display of force ahead of possible peace talks, Reuters reports.
· A major arms factory that belonged to the FARC was discovered by the army in Vista Hermosa (Meta department). The site, which could house 200 men, had the capacity to produce 500 grenades a week, El Tiempo reports.
· According to a study by the Fund for Export Promotion, the number of tourists visiting Colombia has grown by 65.4% between 2002 and 2005. 37.7% of visitors came from South America, 31.1% from North America and 17.8% from the European Union, RCN Radio reports.
· The seventh anniversary of the death of the comedian Jaime Garzon was commemorated. The only person charged with the murder so far has been the paramilitary leader Carlos Castaño Gil, who was sentenced to 38 years in prison but mysteriously disappeared in 2004, Colprensa reports.
Tues 15 – Uribe warns paramilitaries to cooperate ; FARC intensifies attacks
· President Uribe demanded that paramilitaries report to detention centres and cooperate with the magistrates of the Justice and Peace Unit. Otherwise, he said, they would lose the benefits of the Justice and Peace Law and could even be extradited. The statement came after the US Embassy objected to the terms of a draft decree regulating the law, and marked a new crisis in the negotiation process with the paramilitaries. Human Rights Watch described Uribe’s speech as a “positive signal”, the BBC reports.
· 88 petrol tankers were bombed by the FARC in Maicao (Guajira department), causing a loss of US$4.4 million and leaving 2,800 families unemployed. The FARC said the attack was intended to destroy paramilitary financial structures; however, the lorries were owned by Ayatawacoop, a cooperative of wayuu indigenous. Five electricity pylons were also bombed in Tibu (Norte de Santander department), leaving the town without electricity and water. The area, which was previously under the control of the paramilitary Catatumbo Block, is also experiencing an “armed strike” imposed by the FARC, AP reports.
· The Superior Judicial Council decided that the Jamundi case will be judged by the ordinary justice system, rather than the military one. The Council came to the conclusion after considering that there is no evidence to prove that the death of ten policemen and one civilian at the hands of army officers occurred as part of a military operation, Colprensa reports.
· The paramilitary chief Freddy Rendon, alias El Aleman, demobilised in Unguia (Choco department) together with the remaining 745 members of the Elmer Cardenas Block. The ceremony marked the end of the demobilisation process, as only small groups of the Cacique Pipinta and Martin Llanos blocks have not laid down their arms yet, AP reports.
· The third round of a Free Trade Agreement negotiation between Colombia and Central America started in Medellin. The Central American countries that are involved in the process are Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala, El Tiempo reports.
Weds 16 – Paramilitaries want constituent assembly; new head of armed forces appointed
· In response to Uribe’s warning, Ernesto Baez, on behalf of the paramilitary chiefs, suggested that the crisis be resolved by either a constituent assembly or by a new law that guarantees that the demobilised receive the benefits they were promised at the start of the negotiations. Baez also expressed his concern over the situation in vast areas of the country, where the FARC have regained territories abandoned by paramilitaries, and accused the government of not doing enough to prevent this phenomenon, AFP reports.
· President Uribe named General Freddy Padillla as new head of the armed forces, replacing General Carlos Ospina, and retained General Mario Montoya as head of the army. Montoya was appointed to his post last February, but came under heavy criticism a few months afterwards for his handling of the Jamundi case, AP reports.
· The Constitutional Court issued the government with a deadline to write a 60-page report on the progress of its policy towards displaced people. Two years ago, the Court had qualified such policies as unconstitutional and had ordered the government to take measures to improve them, Colprensa reports.
· The Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez met with the newly appointed Colombian Foreign Minister, Maria Consuelo Araujo, to discuss issues such as trade cooperation and joint efforts against drug trafficking. Chavez said that he would soon visit President Uribe in Bogota to sign a bilateral trade agreement, El Tiempo reports.
· Members of the Alternative Democratic Pole (Polo Democratico- PDA) in Lerida (Tolima department) received a letter containing death threats which was signed by the New Self-Defence Forces of Colombia, the Colombian organisation Solidarity Committee for Political Prisoners (CSPP) reports.
Thurs 17 – 14 paramilitaries arrested; children dying of malnutrition
· 14 out of the 23 paramilitary chiefs, including Ernesto Baez and Ramon Isaza, were arrested and taken to detention centres. Salvatore Mancuso turned himself in to the authorities, saying that he was respectful of the President and the promises that the paramilitaries made to the country. President Uribe said that the measure was necessary to move the process forward by gaining credibility; analysts also suggest that one of the main reasons behind the arrests was the paramilitaries’ behaviour, as they had been regularly seen in high-priced shopping districts and driving luxury vehicles, giving a very negative message to society, Reuters and the BBC report.
· Two more children died in Guajira department as a result of a disease that has spread among the indigenous population of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta region. According to the Lower House Representative Orsinia Polanco Jusayu, indigenous children in the area, most of whom are displaced, are dying of malnutrition, Caracol 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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