InfoBrief – March 14, 2005
InfoBrief is a weekly news summary of events in the U.S. and Colombia produced and distributed by the U.S. Office on Colombia. Colombia This Week is reproduced with the kind permission of the ABColombia Group in London. Other sources include U.S. and Latin American newspapers, and reports from non-profit and grassroots groups. The content does not necessarily reflect the views of the U.S. Office on Colombia. If you would like to receive InfoBrief please contact jess_hunter@usofficeoncolombia.org indicating why you would be interested in this weekly news service. Previous editions of the InfoBrief can be found at www.usofficeoncolombia.org
U.S. Current Affairs and Media
- Members of U.S. Congress Condemn Massacre in San Jose de Apartado In a letter to Colombian President Alvaro Uribe, 32 members of the U.S. Congress condemned the “shocking murders” which occurred between February 21 and 22, 2005 in the rural Colombian community of San Jose de Apartado. The March 9 letter expressed “great concern” for the safety of the community whose members allege the involvement of the Colombian Armed Forces, in conjunction with paramilitaries, in the killings. The Congresspeople urged President Uribe to use his good offices to ensure the safety of the community and to bring the perpetrators, including any implicated member of the Colombian Armed Forces, to justice, specifically noting, “criminal investigations and proceedings must take place in civilian courts, outside of the military justice system.” They also wrote to support the right of the Peace Community of San Jose de Apartado to remain a neutral party in the midst of Colombia’s armed conflict. Since the community declared itself a peace community some eight years ago, they have forbidden the presence of any armed group in the community—including state security forces. In the aftermath of these killings, the Colombian government has suggested that security forces may enter the community, something locals fear will lead to more violence. Defense Minister Jorge Alberto Uribe suggested that the Colombian military must enter the community to provide security, saying that “there can be no areas forbidden to the State.” Jorge Rojas, Director of the Colombian NGO Codhes, rejected the measures saying “for the government, it is impossible for a civilian population to declare itself neutral, because it must take the side of the state.” The community claims at least 150 people have been killed in San Jose de Apartado since their declaration as a Peace Community in 1997. Read the Congressional letter to President Uribe at: http://www.lawg.org/docs/sanjoseltr.pdf
- NGOs Release Blueprint for New U.S. Colombia Policy A coalition of Washington-based NGOs released a report on Friday that calls for a comprehensive reform of the current U.S. security-driven policy toward Colombia. The “Blueprint for a New Colombia Policy,” produced by Latin America Working Group (LAWG), the Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA), the Center for International Policy (CIP), and the U.S. Office on Colombia (USOC), suggests that “after five years of security-first policy in which nearly 80% of U.S. resources funded Colombian security forces, the aid package must change substantially to prioritize social aid.” In a series of 10 recommendations, the Blueprint asks Congress, the State Department, USAID and the U.S. Embassy to shift priorities from military funding to social assistance and to “adopt a far more vigorous diplomatic posture towards the Colombian government in favor of human rights and the rule of law.” The recommendations include requests to press for further prosecution of human rights violations, to support UN recommendations on improving the rule of law and protecting human rights, to increase civilian governance and to expand current alternative development provisions and humanitarian assistance. Read the full text of the Blueprint at: http://www.usofficeoncolombia.org/documents/blueprint.pdf
- War on Drugs Opens New Front in Jungles of Choco Province According to the Associated Press (AP), the newest front of Colombia’s U.S.-sponsored counter-narcotics offensive has been opened up along a large tract of rainforest in the Choco province in which new coca plantations have developed. According to reports, coca producers have moved to this region as a result of eradication programs in northern, southern and eastern Colombia. U.S. crop-dusters, which wiped out more than a quarter-million acres of coca crops last year in other parts of the country, have begun fumigating the new fields. In a March 9, 2005 hearing before the House Armed Forces Committee, General Bantz Craddock, head of U.S. Southern Command, testified that last year alone “over 342,000 acres of coca and over 9,500 acres of opium poppy were destroyed.” Craddock insisted that the U.S. efforts have made “significant gains in attacking the illicit narcotics industry.” This week, Colombian President Uribe called on environmentalists to help prevent national parks and forest reserves from being taken over by coca growers, citing La Macarena national park in the department of Meta where he alleges the FARC are cultivating 17,000 hectares of coca.
- U.S. Funds Colombian Army’s Health Brigades On March 5 and 6, the Colombian Army, with financial support from the United States, the Red Cross, and the National Police organized health brigades in the Tolima Province, according to the U.S. Embassy in Bogotá. Military and civilian doctors based at the Gabriel Mistral Institute of Melgar treated 1,800 children, pregnant women and elderly persons as part of a program aimed at “improving health, education, and the social fabric of the Colombian population,” according to an Embassy statement. The project provides an “excellent opportunity for civilian and military doctors to dedicate time and services to the Colombian people in order to promote cooperation and confidence between the population and government authorities,” said the Embassy. Similar projects supported by the U.S. government include health brigades in Arauca, the renovation and construction of two schools, and repairs to a health clinic. According to the Center for International Policy, the U.S. has given Colombia nearly $4 billion in aid since 2000, of which only some 20% has gone towards social development and humanitarian assistance programs.
Upcoming Events and Seminars in the U.S.
The Washington Office on Latin America will host three presentations on U.S. drug policy in Latin America between March 30 and April 1 in Chicago. Contributing authors Kimberly Stanton and John Walsh, along with invited guests, including U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky, will discuss WOLA’s new book, Drugs and Democracy in Latin America: The Impact of U.S. Policy. For more information, please contact Kristel Muciño at (202) 797-2171 or kmucino@WOLA.org.
Colombia This Week is reproduced with the kind permission of the ABColombia Group in London
Colombia This Week editing date 03/14/05
Fri 04 – SJA killings could limit US aid to Colombia; Spain plans summit on Colombia ’s conflict.
- A Colombian army unit blamed for a massacre is denying killing eight civilians, prompting the US to call for a swift investigation. The slayings raise doubts about the military's commitment to human rights and jeopardize Washington 's huge military aid package. The case is undergoing scrutiny days after the State Department reported human rights violations by the Colombian Armed Forces but said the situation has improved. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will certify in the coming weeks whether Colombia 's human rights record is good enough to warrant full military aid. If Rice decides that Colombia has fallen far short in human rights, about $35 million in U.S. military aid would be suspended, Guardian reports.
- Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, the Spanish prime minister, plans to host a summit of three South American leaders later this month aimed at fostering closer co-operation in the fight against terrorism and drug trafficking in Colombia . The summit is tentatively scheduled for March 29 and invitations have been sent to Hugo Chavez of Venezuela , Colombia 's Uribe and Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva of Brazil . Mr Uribe is likely to use the summit to win backing for his tough domestic security policies from a European government that has also faced a domestic terrorist threat. Colombia , the third-largest recipient of US military aid, after Israel and Egypt , is keen to counter the view that it is supported exclusively by Washington , Financial Times reports.
Sat 05 – Air force bombs FARC near Venezuelan border; Uribe suggest CONVIVIR back in place.
- Air Force planes have bombed a FARC unit near Puerto Inirida, (Guainia), Defence Minister Jorge Alberto Uribe tells reporters. Mayor Luis Carlos Sandoval said the guerrillas were preparing an assault in response to the capture of FARC member Gentil Alvis ("Chigüiro") Patiño, arrested last month in Venezuela . Patiño faces charges for the 1995 murder of U.S. missionaries Steve Welsh and Timothy Van Dyke, Colprensa reports.
- El Espectador reports that in a security meeting with the commander of the armed forces held last week, President Uribe proposed an alliance between the armed forces and the Colombian private sector to prevent guerrilla groups from taking over where paramilitaries have demobilised. The proposal evokes memories of Convivir, a notorious 1990s government network of private watch groups, later made illegal because of proof that they committed atrocities. The meeting took place days after paramilitary commander Jorge 40 posted a letter on the group’s website with the same arguments.
- Colombian police deactivate two explosive devices found on a highway in Bogota . Authorities discovered the devices, following a tip from someone who noticed a suspicious bag and suitcase lying by a streetlight. They say the devices each contained three kilogrammes of ammonium nitrate and fuel oil, El Tiempo reports.
Sun 06 - Nine killed in grenade attack; Uribe visits town after FARC driven out.
- A grenade thrown into the midst of a dance at the town of Cajibio kills nine people and wounds 20 others. The mayor of Cajibio, Absalon Charo, said on Sunday that authorities were looking for two minors who may have staged the attack at about midnight on Saturday. About 300 people were at the dance. Two of the dead were aged under 18 and many of the injured were in a serious condition, authorities said. AFP reports.
- President Uribe Velez visits Puerto Inirida (Guainia), boasting that a government offensive has driven away a group of FARC rebels threatening to attack the town. "Those terrorists will have to look for another planet, because we kicked them out of here," Uribe told the town's 13,000 inhabitants. Reuters reports.
- Former Finance Minister Juan Manuel Santos is breaking from the Liberal Party in order to lead efforts to form a party backing President Alvaro Uribe Velez. Despite this, El Tiempo reports that former President Cesar Gaviria Trujillo, who may face Uribe at the ballot box next year, is intensifying efforts to unify the liberals.
Mon 07 – Witnesses report civilians killed by army in Tame; Colombia – Paraguay sign agreement.
- Authorities report no progress in the investigation of the killings of four people at a road bloc near Tame on Sunday. Witnesses said civilians were trapped between the Colombian army and a rebel group who held them up in a road bloc. They came under heavy fire despite identifying themselves as civilians, El Tiempo reports.
- Colombian President Uribe Velez and his Paraguayan counterpart, Nicanor Duarte, meet in Bogota and sign an agreement to cooperate on security and drug-trafficking issues. The visit came as a result of the kidnapping and death of Cecilia Cubas, the daughter of former Paraguayan President Raul Cubas. She was kidnapped last September and her body was found in mid-February in the Paraguayan capital of Asuncion ; captured FARC commander Rodrigo Granda is accused of participating in the plot, US Today reports.
- In six mostly indigenous municipalities of the province of Cauca , 51,000 voters cast ballots on whether the country should sign a free-trade agreement with the United States . More than 98 percent voted no. In talks between Colombia , Peru , Ecuador and the United States for such a pact, the Colombian government has agreed to lift many tariffs protecting Colombian producers from cheap U.S. imports, even agricultural goods subsidised by Washington . An increasing number of Colombian business groups are voicing opposition. An agreement now appears unlikely until at least summer, Colombia Week reports.
- The European Commission approves €12 m (US $16,4m) for programmes as part of a global plan of assistance to Colombia ’s displaced. The aid will be channelled by the European Office of Humanitarian Aid (ECHO) and implemented through programmes led by international agencies and Colombian NGOs. Most of the money will be delivered by the International Committee of the Red Cross to more than 130,000 Colombian displaced, Efe reports.
Tues 08 –UNHCR salutes women’s orgs; government accepts responsibility for Mapiripan.
- On International Women’s Day, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) office in Colombia remembers some Colombian women's organisations which provide assistance and advice to female victims of violence and who have in turn found themselves the target of the armed groups. In February 2004, Marta Cecilia Aguirre, from the UNHCR-supported Apartado Displaced Persons Community Association (ASOCODEA), was murdered. In December 2003, a group of unidentified armed men stole computer files and documents from the premises of the Corporación Casa de la Mujer, a Colombian non-governmental organisation which works closely with UNHCR to help internally displaced women and their families. In September 2003, Francis Girón Quilindo, a member of women's IDP association in the southern city of Puerto Asís , was murdered. Another activist, Esperanza Amaris Miranda, was slain on October 16 in the city of Barrancabermeja . Other attacks and threats have been carried out against women involved in IDP groups in parts of the country, UN news reports.
- The Colombian government says that it accepts a degree of responsibility for failing to prevent the 1997 massacre in Mapiripan in which paramilitary fighters killed at least 22 peasants. Human rights groups say the military knew of the impending bloodbath. The interior minister noted that those who committed human rights abuses in other conflicts around the world were not necessarily given stiff prison terms during the peace process, including in South Africa and El Salvador , AP reports.
- Six Marxist rebels are convicted for a deadly attack on Uribe's 2002 inauguration ceremony and sentenced to up to 40 years in prison, according to a court ruling. Three of the six remain at large and were convicted in absentia. At least 14 mortar shells were fired on the palace just as Uribe was being sworn in. Most of the deaths occurred in poor neighbourhoods near the palace that were hit by stray shells, El Tiempo reports.
Weds 09 –Government: no more self-style peace zones; AI blames South Africa for arms trade.
- In an interview on Caracol radio, Defence Minister Jorge Alberto Uribe reports that the government will no longer tolerate the existence of ‘self-styled peace communities’ that seek to isolate themselves from Colombia’s civil war by barring all armed groups - including the military - from entering. He made the announcement after the massacre of eight peasants last month in the Peace Community of San Jose de Apartado. ''In Colombia there will be no demilitarised zones. There cannot be peace communities without the presence of government forces,'' Uribe said.
- Amnesty International criticises South Africa for exporting arms to Colombia since serious human rights abuses are being committed in that country. At the launch of a report on women victims of gun violence, Brian Wood of Amnesty International said Colombia "is one of the fastest growing markets for South African arms". Wood said the South African parliament and public were being kept in the dark over the "high levels" of exports to this South American country where an armed struggle has been going on for the past 40 years.
- The Democratic Alternative and the Independent Democratic Pole (PDI) appear likely to converge, making the Colombian Left a powerful rival to President Uribe. Members of both parties say that the negotiation process is in progress and they will select an electoral candidate to run in the elections next year, El Espectador reports.
- Colombia has extradited FARC member Omaira Rojas Cabrera, known as Sonia to face drugs trafficking charges in the U.S. She is accused of running a large drug trafficking ring for the FARC group. Sonia was captured in February last year, in a helicopter raid by elite Colombian troops, AP reports.
Thurs 10 – 18 killed in Colombian fighting; Congress criticises proposed loophole for narcos.
- Fighting between rebels and government troops in Montes de Maria this week leaves at least 18 people dead. The commander of the Navy Brigade, Colonel Rafael Colon, said fighting began on Tuesday between the army and the FARC and ELN groups. He said ‘at least 12 rebels and six soldiers had been killed in the clashes near the town of Carmen de Bolivar ’. FARC recently announced it would renew armed actions, following a pause in which it sought to negotiate with the government to release hostages in exchange for FARC rebels held in Colombian jails. President Uribe renewed his "get tough" approach on Wednesday when he approved the extradition of a top FARC commander, "Sonia", to the United States on drug charges, Aljazeera reports.
- Colombian President Uribe Velez is facing complaints that he is trying to set up a loophole so that right-wing paramilitaries wanted in the United States for drug trafficking could avoid extradition. The proposal drew bitter criticism from congressional opponents saying the measure would give impunity to those who massacred civilians and trafficked in drugs. The bill calls for maximum prison sentences of 10 years for members and leaders of the paramilitary groups. Its opponents want members of the outlawed militias who committed atrocities to pay heavier penalties. Interior Minister Sabas Pretelt said Colombia , which has been at war for 40 years, must balance the desire for justice with the desire for peace. "If armed groups want peace, we cannot apply the law with all its strength," said Pretelt, Reuters reports.
- The Human Rights unit of the Colombian Attorney General’s Office has charged three Colombian Navy soldiers for passing key information to the FARC group before the attack in Iscuande, (Nariño) in which 19 soldiers were killed. Authorities also report six other civilians have been detained, charged with collaboration with this armed group, El Colombiano reports.
- Colombian Ambassador to the UN, Maria Angela Holguin, resigns amid differences with the government after the latter appointed four relatives (sons) of Colombian ex-Congressmen as new functionaries in the Colombian delegation in New York . Ms Holguin was one of the closest presidential allies in the 2002 electoral campaign and she had complained about the appointments, 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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