Colombia This Week
26/01/2007
Fri 19 – Document reveals agreement between politician and paramilitaries; UNHCR opens field offices in Medellin and Villavicencio
· More than a dozen Colombian politicians agreed in 2001 to cooperate with right-wing paramilitaries, says a document revealed on Friday, fuelling the country's worst political scandal in years. Signed by paramilitary bosses including Salvatore Mancuso, who this week admitted he ordered massacres and 336 assassinations, the document calls for the reinforcement of the rule of law in Colombia and also carries the signature of 11 members of Congress, two provincial governors and five mayors from the Atlantic coast region. "We are beginning to see the extent of what had long been an open secret, that many politicians in northern Colombia were under the influence of the paramilitaries" said political commentator Ricardo Avila, Reuters reports.
· The UN refugee agency will soon open two more field offices in Medellín and Villavicencio to help cope with the humanitarian crisis. This will bring to 12 the number of UNHCR locations in Colombia and coincides with the launch of a nationwide campaign to make 2007 the "Year of the Rights of Displaced People.” UNHCR reports.
· Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, said Colombia's campaign to "rid certain areas of terrorists," followed by relief and jobs programs for the poor, was a "good model for (Afghan) President Hamid Karzai to consider." Pace's comments were made in the presence of U.S. ambassador to Bogota, William Wood, who on Thursday was nominated as ambassador in Afghanistan. Colombia, at the urging of the United States, has sent police and anti-drug experts to train Afghan police and advise Kabul. Defense Minister Juan Manuel Santos said Colombia "was more than willing to continue and increase" counter-narcotic cooperation with U.S., British and Afghan officials, Associated Press reports.
Sat 20 – Relatives seek information from paramilitaries; Pressure to improve situation of marginalised
· Members of the Corporacion Madres de la Candelaria have given another list with 207 names to the demobilised paramilitary leaders, held at Itagui high security prison, who have reportedly agreed to review the list and provide relatives with information, El Colombiano reports.
· The Mercosur summit in Rio de Janeiro concluded yesterday with promises for change and an admission that there is increasing pressure to improve the situation of the marginalised, El Colombiano reports.
Sun 21 – Mancuso cleared of crimes he now admits committing; Groups fight over protection money in Buenaventura
· During his testimony demobilised paramilitary leader Salvatore Mancuso confirmed the help received from army Generals and workers in the legal system; he also handed over evidence of the participation of 4 senators, 7 representatives of the lower house (Camara), 2 governors and 5 mayors in an agreement with the AUC to “re-establish the Nation”. He also confessed to many other crimes over 11 years such as the Pichilin massacre, for which he had been cleared by the Colombian judicial system, El Tiempo reports.
· A police truck was bombed killing six people including two policemen, on Sunday in Buenaventura. The port has been overwhelmed since 2005 by the war between FARC militia, ex paramilitaries of the demobilised Calima and Pacific Blocs, and drugs traffickers, over deals with “Los rastrojos”, the trafficking group controlled by Wilber Varela, which protect coca shipments. President Uribe has classified the port as a “special police district”. El Tiempo reports.
· Investigators who participated in the recent capture of Eugenio Montoya, head of finances for his brother “Don Diego’s” drug cartel, discovered that several of the lawyers that have come forward to defend him also work for the Attorney General’s Office and handle high profile antinarcotics cases. El Tiempo reports.
Mon 22 – Decommissioned arms examined; Swiss president describes peace process as difficult and unstable
· Several government offices, the armed forces and the MAPP-OEA (Organisation of American States Mission to Support the Peace Process) have participated in a group to examine, identify and document arms handed over by demobilised paramilitaries. The results of these examinations will be stored in a database and the arms will be used as evidence in legal proceedings, El Espectador reports.
· In a press conference to outline the objectives of her presidency in 2007 the Swiss president, Micheline Clamy-Rey, referred to the Colombian peace process as “difficult” and unstable, “passing from euphoria” at a possible agreement to “starting from zero the following day”. She affirmed that Switzerland maintains its commitment to seek a solution for those held in captivity by the FARC and ELN guerrilla groups. Switzerland – alongside Spain and Norway – acts as a facilitator between the Colombian authorities and ELN as it did – with Spain and France – in the now stalled talks with the FARC, El Colombiano reports.
Tues 23 – Women’s organisation attacked; Colombian State to be condemned over killing of human rights defender
· A fire has destroyed the premises of the Cartagena-based League of Displaced Women (Liga de Mujeres Desplazadas) - a community centre used as a meeting place, community kitchen and for human rights training for the local displaced population. The UNHCR partner, which has received frequent threats fas a result its work says they were victims of an arson attack. The local Office of the Defensoria (Ombudsman) has repeatedly warned that the group was highly vulnerable to targeted violence and has also warned of a generalised rise in threats and violence against community leaders in the Atlantic region. UNHCR reports.
· The Colombian State may receive another international condemnation from the InterAmerican Human Rights Commission in relation to the 1998 killing of human rights defender Jesus Maria Valle after he denounced army and police links to the El Aro massacre. This comes amidst the confession of demobilised paramilitary leader, Salvatore Mancuso, of participating in the El Aro massacre with support from the General of the IV Army Brigade. El Tiempo reports.
· Francisco Galan, a commander of the National Liberation Army (ELN), currently in exploratory peace talks with the government was ordered released after serving around 14 years of his prison term for terrorism, kidnapping and rebellion, a judge said on Tuesday. Galan, who was sentenced to more than 29 years, was granted temporary release in 2005 to take part in the talks with the government in Cuba. He has also spent time in Venezuela as part of that deal. Reuters reports.
Weds 24 – Paramilitary leaders oppose broadcasts of testimonies; former child soldiers forgotten
· Colombian paramilitary bosses have opposed a plan to broadcast their testimony about atrocities committed under their command saying these would put their families at risk and undermine due process. Rights groups, who say the transmissions would allow victims of paramilitary violence to better scrutinize proceedings, worry the leaders could use the disagreement over broadcasts to avoid giving complete confessions. "The question that is raised is whether the paramilitaries want to keep this quiet because they are not planning to tell the whole truth," said Maria McFarland, a Colombia expert at Human Rights Watch, Reuters reports.
· Children who helped paramilitaries say they are being forgotten as former commanders collect benefits under a peace deal. Human rights groups estimate that at least 10 percent of paramilitary fighters were under the age of 18. But of the 31,671 who turned in their guns over the last three years, only 429 were children, about 1.3 percent, the government says. "To avoid the embarrassment of children participating in the ceremonies, which would have confirmed the paramilitaries were breaking international law by using child combatants, their leaders just sent most of them home," said Mauricio Romero, a member of the National Commission for Reparation and Reconciliation, Reuters reports.
· Colombia is one of 21 countries with the largest armed forces in the world according to The Economist. In the 2007 edition of “The World in Statistics” Colombia occupies the 23rd place in defence spending, even above the US, at 4% of GNP (compared to the US 3.8%). The Colombian armed forces have 207,000 personnel (2,000 more than the UK). El Tiempo reports.
Thurs 25 – Indigenous protest after soldiers open fire; Demobilised leaders transferred from high security prison
· The indigenous community of Mateguadua (Valle department) have demanded the presence of an international commission after 12 soldiers opened fire on a truck, killing a man who delivers supplies to the community, and injuring four others, including three children, in what the Third Army Brigade described as a military accident due to mistaking the noise of the truck for an explosion, El Tiempo reports.
· Former paramilitary leaders held at the Itagui high security prison are being transferred to other prisons reportedly to facilitate their testimonies before the Attorney General’s Office. Former heads of the AUC paramilitary umbrella organisation are being transferred to Bogota. Leaders whose Blocs operated in Antioquia department will remain at the prison in its capital, Medellin. Salvatore Mancuso will also remain at the prison as even though his bloc operated in the Catatumbo in the NE, he has started giving testimony before the Attorney General’s office in Medellin. El Colombiano 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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