Colombian army massacres members of Peace Community
27 Feb 2005 04:36 GMT
We can scarcely find words; the pain overwhelms us so deeply that all we can do is weep. In a demonstration of its incredible illegitimacy, the Colombian state has carried out another massacre that bathes our land in blood. The XI Brigade of the Colombian army massacred Luis Eduardo Guerra and six more people, including three children. Luis Eduardo was a great friend and a great leader, defender of human rights, founder of the Peace Community of San José de Apartadó and representative of the community. His death overwhelms us with indescribable pain, and the circumstances of his killing, and of the people who were massacred with him, fill us with anger and indignation.
On March 23, 1997, the civilian population of the 28 hamlets in the San Jose area declared the area a peace community. Since then, in this process of civil resistance, the community has lost over 150 members to massacres and assassinations, most ot them carried out by right wing paramilitaries collaborating with the Colombian security forces. We believe that this act of terror speaks for itself. Luis Eduardo, your memory, your commitment, your clarity, your friendship give us strength in the midst of pain. As we always say, we will not retreat from our principles until the state and its paramilitaries finish us all.
Links to:
Full report from the Peace Community English Spanish | Colombia Indymedia
What can we do?
Tragic 27.Feb.2005 07:50
Is there anything we can do or someone we can call to express our outrage?
we can still send mails
Abd-El-Kader 28.Feb.2005 00:56
It is indeed awfull. He's been killed with his 11 years old son, his companion, and another leader of the peace community and his companion and their 2 children.
auribe@presidencia.gov.co
fsantos@presidencia.gov.co
cefranco@presidencia.gov.co
I can hardly imagine the pain over there. we can still write there, to demand inquiries on thes assasination:
-PRESIDENTE DE LA REPÚBLICA
DR. ÁLVARO URIBE VÉLEZ
DIRECCIÓN ELECTRÓNICA:
PALACIO DE NARIÑO
CARRERA 8 N° 7-26 TLF 5629300 FAX 5662071
-VICEPRESIDENCIA DE LA REPUBLICA
DR. FRANCISCO SANTOS
DIRECCIÓN ELECTRÓNICA:
DR. CARLOS FRANCO
DIRECTOR DEL PROGRAMA PRESIDENCIAL DE DERECHOS
HUMANOS Y DERECHO INTERNACIONAL HUMANITARIO
DIRECCIÓN ELECTRÓNICA:
Let's talk
Greg K. 28.Feb.2005 16:08
This is unbelievable.
Ok, i'm gonna try to make an article about this in an alternative webradio.
Do you have any other sources or info about this ?
Thanks.
Greg K., Y’all,
Zippo 28.Feb.2005 18:22
F.O.R. has an article about it.
The Fellowship of Reconciliation has been a presence, living and working in Columbia for many years, so I suggest that you use them extensively as a resource.
Greg K.
Kagi 28.Feb.2005 19:52
Maybe you can find some background informations here:
http://www.hrw.org/doc?t=americas&c=colomb
Public statement from Peace Brigades International
anonymous 28.Feb.2005 21:38
Public Statement
London, February 28th, 2005
Everyone involved in Peace Brigades International Colombia would like to express their deep concern and sadness at the murder of Luis Eduardo Guerra, well-known leader of the San José de Apartadó Peace Community in Antioquia, Colombia, and seven other people, among them women and children. This shocking massacre took place between the 21st and 22nd of February.
PBI accompanied Luis Eduardo from the time we established our team in Urabá in 1998. He was one of the community leaders we most admired for the clarity and consistency of his ideas and his total commitment to peace and human rights despite systematic death threats against him. These threats forced Luis Eduardo to leave San José de Apartadó, but after being internally displaced for more than two years he returned in 2004. PBI accompanied him in the sadness of his departure and in the joy of his return.
Luis Eduardo Guerra represented the peace community in numerous meetings with the Colombian government and state agencies, the diplomatic corps accredited in Colombia, and national and international organisations. He met politicians, journalists and solidarity committees during his tours in countries such as Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and the United States.
According to statements from the San José de Apartadó Peace Community and the Corporation for Judicial Liberty (both accompanied by Peace Brigades International) eyewitnesses confirm that on February 21, near the Mulatos river, Luis Eduardo Guerra, his son, his partner and another person were detained by armed men in uniform who identified themselves as belonging to the 11th Army Brigade. They were then taken to the farm of Alfonso Bolívar Tuberquia, a member of the Peace Council of the hamlet of Mulatos.
Luis Eduardo Guerra, Alfonso Bolívar and their families were not seen again. Several local people went back the next day to Alfonso Bolívar Tuberquia’s farm and discovered traces of blood and human remains. When the Internal Council of the San José de Apartadó Peace Community received this information, it immediately requested that the relevant state agencies investigate these occurrences.
On February 25, the Peace Community organised a fact-finding commission and invited state agencies and national and international NGOs to take part. This commission, which included about 100 members of the community, walked from San José to the hamlets of Mulatos and La Resbalosa accompanied by the Corporation for Judicial Liberty, Peace Brigades International, Fellowship Of Reconciliation and Concern America. At the same time, officials from the Attorney General’s office and the Internal Affairs Agency arrived in the area by helicopter.
The judicial commission carried out the exhumation of a grave on the farm of Alfonso Bolívar Tuberquia where the mutilated bodies of three adults were found in addition to the bodies of two children aged six and two. Later in the day, near the hamlet of La Resbalosa, three more bodies were found (two adults and a boy of eleven). Members of the community recognised them as those of Luis Eduardo Guerra and his family. The body of Luis Eduardo Guerra bore signs of torture. In both instances members of Peace Brigades International were present.
This massacre joins the list of constant attacks the San José de Apartadó Peace Community has faced since it was founded in 1997, resulting in more than 130 murders for which as yet no one has been convicted.
It is disturbing that a community of such international renown, the recipient of provisional protection from the Interamerican Court of Human Rights, and for which the Colombian Constitutional Court also requested effective protective measures in March 2004, should endure an attack of such cruelty and the loss of one of its historic leaders.
Once again, Peace Brigades International urges protection for the people of the San José de Apartadó Peace Community and the Colombian organisations that support the community. Furthermore, in order to prevent any future attacks we ask that a thorough and exhaustive investigation be carried out in which the facts are established and appropriate steps taken.
Peace Brigades International is bringing out this public statement, which deviates from our usual procedures, because of the seriousness of what has taken place. We reiterate our commitment to the project of the San José de Apartadó Peace Community and accompany them in their grief. We will endeavour to cherish the memory of those whom we have lost as a way of overcoming the profound sadness we all feel at this time.
Peace Brigades International – Colombia
--------------------------------------------
Declaración Pública
Londres, 28 de febrero 2005
Los integrantes de Peace Brigades International Colombia queremos expresar nuestra profunda consternación y dolor frente al asesinato de Luis Eduardo Guerra, reconocido líder de la Comunidad de Paz de San José de Apartadó (Antioquia, Colombia) y de siete personas más incluyendo mujeres y niños. La cruel masacre de estos civiles ocurrió entre el 21 y el 22 de febrero.
PBI ha acompañado a Luis Eduardo desde nuestra llegada a Urabá en 1998. Ha sido no de Los leaders commentaries que más admiración nos ha causado por la claridad y coherencia de su discurso y por su rotundo compromiso con la paz y Los derechos humanos, a pesar de las sistemáticas amenazas de muerte. A consecuencia de estas amenazas Luis Eduardo salió de San José de Apartadó, y después de más de dos años como desplazado interno regresó en el año 2004. PBI acompañó la tristeza de su salida y la alegría de su vuelta.
Luis Eduardo Guerra representó a la comunidad de paz en su interlocución con el Gobierno y el Estado Colombiano, con el Cuerpo Diplomático acreditado en Colombia y con organismos nacionales e internacionales. Personas solidarias, políticos, periodistas le conocieron en las giras que realizó en países como Alemania, Italia, Holanda y Estados Unidos.
Según Los comunicados de la Comunidad de Paz y de la Corporación Jurídica Libertad – ambas acompañadas por Peace Brigades International Colombia – testigos presenciales confirmaron que el 21 de febrero, en cercanías del río Mulatos, Luis Eduardo Guerra, su hijo, compañera y otra persona fueron retenidos por hombres armados y uniformados que se identificaron como pertenecientes a la Brigada XI del Ejército. De allí, fueron conducidos a una finca perteneciente a Alfonso Bolívar Tuberquia, miembro del Consejo de Paz de la vereda de Mulatos.
Luis Eduardo Guerra, Alfonso Bolívar y sus familias desaparecieron desde este día. Varios habitantes fueron al día siguiente a la finca de Alfonso Bolivar Tuberquia, y descubrieron huellas de sangre y restos humanos. Desde el momento en que el Consejo Interno de la Comunidad de Paz supo de esta información se pidió a Los organismos competentes del Estado que verificaran estos hechos.
El día 25 de febrero la Comunidad de Paz de San José de Apartadó organizó una comisión de verificación, a la que fueron invitadas organismos del Estado y ONG nacionales e internacionales. Esta comisión, que incluyó unas 100 personas de la comunidad, salió caminando desde San José hasta las veredas Mulatos y la Resbalosa, acompañada por la Corporación Jurídica Libertad, Peace Brigades Internacional, Fellowship Of Reconciliation y Concern America. A su vez funcionarios de la Fiscalía General de la Nación y Procuraduría Nacional se trasladaron a la zona en helicóptero.
La comisión judicial realizó la exhumación de una fosa en la finca de Alfonso Bolívar Tuberquia, donde encontró Los cadáveres de tres adultos despedazados y dos niños de seis y dos años. Más tarde fueron encontrados otros tres cadáveres (dos adultos y un niño de once años) en las cercanías de la vereda La Resbalosa. Miembros de la comunidad Los reconocieron como Luis Eduardo Guerra y su familia, el primero con signos de tortura. En ambos lugares, PBI estuvo presente.
Esta masacre se inscribe dentro de Los constantes ataques que la Comunidad de Paz de San José de Apartadó ha enfrentado desde su fundación en 1997, con un resultado de más de 130 asesinatos, que al día de hoy continúan en la impunidad.
Es desconcertante que una comunidad con tanto reconocimiento internacional, que goza de medidas provisionales de la Corte Interamericana de Derechos Humanos y para la cual la Corte Constitucional de Colombia en marzo del 2004 pidió medidas de protección efectivas, sufra un ataque de semejante crueldad y la pérdida de no de sus leaders históricos.
Una vez más Peace Brigades International pide protección para las personas de la Comunidad de Paz de San José de Apartadó y para las organizaciones colombianas que apoyan a la comunidad. Como mejor medida para prevenir futuros ataques, esperamos una investigación exhaustiva por la cual se esclarezcan Los hechos ocurridos y se tomen las medidas pertinentes.
Hacemos esta declaración pública extraordinaria, fuera de nuestros procedimientos habituales, dada la gravedad de Los hechos. Reiteramos nuestro compromiso con el Proyecto de la Comunidad de Paz de San José de Apartadó y Los acompañamos en su luto. Es nuestra voluntad convertir en memoria y fuerza la profunda tristeza que hoy nos embarga.
Peace Brigades International - Colombia
Respectfully please do not forget Ingrid, Lahene,and Terrence!
AIM 28.Feb.2005 23:33
PRESS STATEMENT FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE WORLDWIDE
aimggc@worldnet.att.net
http://www.hrdata.aaas.org/ceh/report/english)
October 6, 2000
Ministry for Information,
American Indian Movement Grand Governing Council
Press Contact:
WaBun-Inini, Ind-diz-Nikaz
Anishinabe Ojibwe Nation
aka, Vernon Bellecourt, National Representative
Phone: 612-721-3914 Fax: 612-721-7826
www.aimovment.org
Re: American Indian Movement Manifesto for the New Millennium
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Article 1: Commission to Seek Justice for Ingrid Washinawatok
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
On Thursday, March 4, 1999, the bound, blindfolded and bullet ridden bodies of three American citizens, Ingrid Washinawatok, Lahene Gay and Terence Freitas were found lying about ten paces apart in a pasture near the Arauca River in Venezuela. Ingrid was a member of the Menominee Nation of Wisconsin, as well a prominent representative of the Indigenous Women's Network. Ingrid also represented the International Indian Treaty Council, a Non-governmental Organization (NGO) within the United Nations. Lahene and Terence were activists in their own write. The three had been kidnapped in Colombia seven days earlier by members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) while attending a conference, and assisting the U'wa Indian Nation of Colombia to develop school programs.
On Sunday, March 7, 1999, Raul Reyes, FARC's chief spokesman, said that FARC lamented what had happened and expressed its condolences to the government of the United States, the American people, and the families of the victims, for this "deplorable deed." While at that time denying that FARC had any role in the murders, Reyes stated that if the ongoing investigation found that FARC members had comitted the act, "there will be drastic sanctions."
On Tuesday, August 15, 2000, Colombian security forces murdered six school children and seriously wounded four others while Hernando Hiquita, who was helping his wife, a teacher, lead the children on an outing. Government forces opened fire on the children in the mountain village of Pueblo Rico, Colombia. These are the latest of more than 35,000 killed, many of these civilians, thus far in this war.
On Thursday, March 10, 1999 speaking in Guatemala City, President Clinton expressed regret for the United State's role in Guatemala's 36-year civil war saying, "Washington was wrong to have supported Guatemala Security Forces in a brutal counter-insurgency campaign that slaughtered thousands of civilians." He went on to say, "It is important that I state clearly that support for military forces or intelligence units who engaged in violent and widespread repression of the kind described in the report of the Historical Clarification Commission was wrong." Clinton said, reading carefully from handwritten notes, "And the United States must not repeat that mistake."
It is because of the United State's support for a series of military death-squad governments in Guatemala that, at least 150,000 Mayan Indians and tens of thousands other Guatemalan civilians lost their lives. At least 467 villages have disappeared. Men, women, and children have been brutalized, tortured, raped, mutilated, and buried in mass graves throughout the countryside in Guatemala in the past fifteen (15) years alone. (
Speaking on the occasion of the 20th Anniversary of Martin Luther King's Historic March on Washington, with all of the civil and human rights leaders present, and all the National and International press corps in attendance at that time, Vernon Bellecourt, National Representative to the American Indian Movement Grand Governing Council, in his speech, revealed that more than 35,000 Mayan Indian people had been murdered with United State's CIA support for the brutal Guatemalan Governments of Lucas Garcia Romero followed by Efrain Rios Mont. Not one member of the press or the many "leaders" present responded to these obvious war crimes, nor have they to this date.
These atrocities, war crimes and crimes against humanity were committed under the guise of fighting Communism. Today, the 1.3 billion aid package that Congress and the Clinton Administration approved for Colombia, which includes helicopter gun ships, and military training is under the guise of "interdicting drugs." These drugs should be interdicted in the suites and streets of America and elsewhere in the world. This action goes in the face of, and a blatant contradiction to the words and commitment made by President Bill Clinton in Guatemala City on March 10, 1999, and must be challenged.
During the 32nd Anniversary Conference of the American Indian Movement Grand Governing Council held on the Lac Courte O'reilles Ojibwa Nation in Wisconsin on July 11-13, 2000, we began the work of drafting the American Indian Movement Manifesto for the New Mellennium, which work is ongoing. One of the priorities was the establishment of a Commission to Seek Justice for Ingrid Washinawatok. While Ali El-Issa, the husband of Ingrid, sent his regrets that he could not be present during the 32nd Anniversary Conference, he supports the establishment of the Commission. Attached is his statement, which was read into the record of the Conference by the former Executive Director of the Indigenous Women's Network, and a prominent member of the American Indian Movement, Lisa Bellanger.
Following discussions with her husband, Ali El-Issa, as well other family members, the American Indian Movement Grand Governing Council issues the following communique' worldwide as a priority of the Manifesto for the New Mellennium.
We demand that the government of Colombia and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) agree to a face to face meeting with family members of the three people murdered, in which both the government of Colombia and FARC should accept full responsibility for the murders.
We demand that the government of Colombia and FARC pay considerable reparations to the three families of the victims.
We call on churches, religious organizations, trade unions, peace movements, sovereign Indian tribal governments, and all people of goodwill in the United States to join us in demanding that the Clinton Administration and the United States Congress reverse its decision to send $1.3 billion in military aid to the government of Colombia. This aid will continue to victimize the very U'wa Indian people that Ingrid was attempting to help. We call on these same people to support these demands by withholding all support and solidarity to both the government of Colombia and FARC.
We call on the European Commonwealth, as well all churches, religious organizations, trade unions, peace movements, and all people of goodwill worldwide to support these demands by withholding all support and solidarity to both the government of Colombia and FARC.
###
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Attachments:
Statement by Ali-El-Issa
Flying Eagle Woman Fund for Peace, Justice and Sovereignty
708 Broadway, 8th Floor
New York NY 10003
Phone: 212-982-5358
Fax: 212-982-5346
Fight Your Igonrance Before it Kills Again
Zamora Beatrix 01.Mar.2005 00:35
Yes this is one of 20,000 tragedies like it that occur every year in COlombia - one of the biggest dirty wars in history, the longest war in the history of the Western Hemisphere and one wholly funded by the fascists of the USA... including Al Gore's Occidental Petroleum co.
Forget Human Rights Watch - they rarely say anuthing worthwhile, try www.anncol.org
Most of the blame must go to all of the elected officials in the US government who have turned a blind eye to the government of COlombia's drug dealing and mass murder for decades. Next to blame would be the ignorant US voters who do not want to lear anything about the issues, but then most of the people in the US are right wing or proto fascists - so we would not expect them to care - would we...
Next to blame would be the bankers in the US who process the dirty drug money that fills US banks, then the yuppies and rich people who fancy a little toot now and then... The governments of Latin America who refuse to condemn Uribe and US aid to paramilitaries.... just do not make the poorly educated or middle class mistake of blaming the guerrillas... without the FARC many more peasants would die or suffer with no hope for a future beyiond the oligarchy and the multinational extraction enterprises.
Urgen Action Appeal
Amnesty International 01.Mar.2005 07:41
URGENT ACTION APPEAL
emwas@colombiaemb.org
uan@aiusa.org
http://www.amnestyusa.org/urgent/
----------------------------------
28 February 2005
UA 48/05 Fear for safety
COLOMBIA:
Members of the Peace Community of San
Jose de Apartado, Antioquia department
Killed:
Luis Eduardo Guerra Guerra (m)
Bellanyra Areiza Guzman (f), aged 17
Deiner Andres Guerra (m), aged 11
Alfonso Bolivar Tuberquia Graciano (m)
Sandra Milena Munoz Pozo (f)
Santiago Tuberquia Munoz (m) aged 2
Natalia Andrea Tuberquia Munoz (f), aged 6
Alejandro Perez (m)
Amnesty International is concerned for the safety of inhabitants of the
Comunidad de Paz de San Jose de Apartado, Peace Community of San
Jose de Apartado, Apartado Municipality, Antioquia department. In
recent days, eight members of the community, including women and
young children, have been killed by armed men who reportedly
identified themselves as members of the Colombian army.
At about 11am on 21 February, Luis Eduardo Guerra Guerra, one of the
leaders of the Peace Community, his partner Bellanyra Areiza Guzman,
his 11-year-old son, Deiner Andres Guerra, and a witness who does not
wish to be identified were in Mulatos, a community belonging to the
Peace Community of San Jose de Apartado, when they were reportedly
abducted by a group of armed men who identified themselves as
members of the Colombian army. The men said they were going to take
the four away to be killed. On hearing this, the witness managed to
escape. On 22 February, the same witness reportedly visited the farm
belonging to Alfonso Bolivar Tuberquia Graciano, another leader of the
Peace Community. He reportedly found traces of blood in the
farmhouse, and human remains outside it. He reported this to the
authorities, and on 25 February, officials from the Attorney General's
Office and Procurator General's Office travelled to the area to
investigate. Five dismembered bodies were reportedly found in two
graves near the farmhouse, and were identified as Alfonso Bolivar
Tuberquia Graciano, his partner Sandra Milena Munoz, his children
Santiago Tuberquia Munoz and Natalia Andrea Tuberquia Munoz; and
another local resident, Alejandro Perez. On the same day, another grave
containing the bodies of Luis Eduardo Guerra Guerra, Bellanyra Areiza
Guzman and Deiner Andres Guerra was reportedly found between
Mulatos and La Resbalosa, another community which belongs to the
Peace Community of San Jose de Apartado.
According to witnesses, members of the XVII Brigade of the
Colombian army have been carrying out military operations in the
Mulatos area since 21 February. Soldiers in the area have reportedly
told local inhabitants that if the killings had not been reported, they
would have killed more civilians. The soldiers have allegedly referred
to the eight victims as ''dead guerrillas'' (''puro guerrillero muerto'').
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Luis Eduardo Guerra Guerra had represented the Peace Community in
talks with the Colombian government on issues relating to the safety of
the community's inhabitants. In 2002 he left the region due to fears for
his safety, but returned in July 2004. On 11 August 2004, his wife was
killed and his son Deiner injured when a grenade the army had
reportedly left near their home exploded. The XVII Brigade reportedly
stated that the Peace Community was storing the grenades for guerrilla
forces. On 12 December 2004, members of the XVII Brigade
reportedly held Luis Eduardo at a checkpoint near San Jose de
Apartado, interrogated him and accused him of being ''suspicious''
(''persona sospechosa'').
The Peace Community was founded in March 1997 in an effort by the
civilian population to insist on their right not to be drawn into
Colombia's internal armed conflict. It has repeatedly been labelled as
subversive by the security forces. These accusations have been
followed by the reported killing and ''disappearance'' of over 100 of its
members, by members of the army and their paramilitary allies, and
also by the guerrilla group Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarios de
Colombia, (FARC), Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia.
The latest killings have taken place during reported military operations
by the XVII Brigade in the area. The killings coincide with the planned
return of several families to the abandoned San Jose hamlet of La
Esperanza on 23 March 2005. A previous attempt to repopulate the
hamlet of La Esperanza coincided with the killing by paramilitaries of
several inhabitants of the Peace Community in April 1999.
RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send appeals to arrive as
quickly as possible:
- expressing concern for the safety of the inhabitants of the Peace
Community of San Jose de Apartado;
- insisting that all measures deemed appropriate by them are taken to
guarantee their safety and that of Colombian non-governmental human
rights organizations who have denounced the killings;
- calling on the authorities to respect the right of the civilian population
including the Peace Community of San Jose de Apartado not to be
drawn into the conflict;
- calling for full and impartial investigations into the killings of eight
people in the Peace Community, for the results to be made public, and
for those responsible to be brought to justice and to ensure that in
coordination with the Peace Community measures are taken to
guarantee the safety of witnesses that testify to judicial authorities;
- expressing concern that if members of the army are found to be
implicated in these killings, criminal investigations must take place
outside the military justice system which has repeatedly failed to bring
to justice members of the security forces implicated in serious human
rights violations.
APPEALS TO:
President of the Republic:
Senor Presidente Alvaro Uribe Velez
Presidente de la Republica
Palacio de Narino
Carrera 8 No.7-2
Bogota, Colombia
Fax: 011 57 1 337 5890/342 0592
Salutation: Dear President Uribe/ Excmo. Sr. Presidente Uribe
Minister of Foreign Affairs:
Dra. Maria Carolina Barco Isakson
Ministra de Relaciones Exteriores Interior y de Justicia, Ministerio de
Relaciones Exteriores
Calle 10 No 5-51
Palacio de San Carlos
Bogota, Colombia
Fax: 011 57 1 562 7822
Salutation: Dear Madam / Sra. Ministra
Attorney General:
Dr. Luis Camilo Osorio
Fiscal General de la Nacion
Fiscalia General de la Nacion,
Diagonal 22B 52-01 (Ciudad Salite)
Bogota, Colombia
Fax: 011 57 1 570 2000 (you will hear a message in Spanish asking
you to enter extension 2017)
Salutation: Dear Dr. Osorio / Estimado Dr. Osorio
COPIES TO:
Human Rights Organization:
Corporacion Juridica Libertad
Carrera 47 Nº53-45, Of.801
Medellin, Colombia
Ambassador Luis Alberto Moreno
Embassy of Colombia
2118 Leroy Pl. NW
Washington DC 20008
Fax: 1 202 232 8643
Email:
Please send appeals immediately. Check with the Colorado office
between 9:00 am and 6:00 pm, Mountain Time, weekdays only, if
sending appeals after April 11, 2005.
Amnesty International is a worldwide grassroots movement that
promotes and defends human rights.
This Urgent Action may be reposted if kept intact, including
contact information and stop action date (if applicable). Thank
you for your help with this appeal.
Urgent Action Network
Amnesty International USA
PO Box 1270
Nederland CO 80466-1270
Email:
Phone: 303 258 1170
Fax: 303 258 7881
----------------------------------
END OF URGENT ACTION APPEAL
----------------------------------
URGENT ACTION APPEAL
Amnesty International 01.Mar.2005 09:01
URGENT ACTION APPEAL
----------------------------------
28 February 2005
UA 48/05 Fear for safety
COLOMBIA:
Members of the Peace Community of San
Jose de Apartado, Antioquia department
Killed:
Luis Eduardo Guerra Guerra (m)
Bellanyra Areiza Guzman (f), aged 17
Deiner Andres Guerra (m), aged 11
Alfonso Bolivar Tuberquia Graciano (m)
Sandra Milena Munoz Pozo (f)
Santiago Tuberquia Munoz (m) aged 2
Natalia Andrea Tuberquia Munoz (f), aged 6
Alejandro Perez (m)
Amnesty International is concerned for the safety of inhabitants of the
Comunidad de Paz de San Jose de Apartado, Peace Community of San
Jose de Apartado, Apartado Municipality, Antioquia department. In
recent days, eight members of the community, including women and
young children, have been killed by armed men who reportedly
identified themselves as members of the Colombian army.
At about 11am on 21 February, Luis Eduardo Guerra Guerra, one of the
leaders of the Peace Community, his partner Bellanyra Areiza Guzman,
his 11-year-old son, Deiner Andres Guerra, and a witness who does not
wish to be identified were in Mulatos, a community belonging to the
Peace Community of San Jose de Apartado, when they were reportedly
abducted by a group of armed men who identified themselves as
members of the Colombian army. The men said they were going to take
the four away to be killed. On hearing this, the witness managed to
escape. On 22 February, the same witness reportedly visited the farm
belonging to Alfonso Bolivar Tuberquia Graciano, another leader of the
Peace Community. He reportedly found traces of blood in the
farmhouse, and human remains outside it. He reported this to the
authorities, and on 25 February, officials from the Attorney General's
Office and Procurator General's Office travelled to the area to
investigate. Five dismembered bodies were reportedly found in two
graves near the farmhouse, and were identified as Alfonso Bolivar
Tuberquia Graciano, his partner Sandra Milena Munoz, his children
Santiago Tuberquia Munoz and Natalia Andrea Tuberquia Munoz; and
another local resident, Alejandro Perez. On the same day, another grave
containing the bodies of Luis Eduardo Guerra Guerra, Bellanyra Areiza
Guzman and Deiner Andres Guerra was reportedly found between
Mulatos and La Resbalosa, another community which belongs to the
Peace Community of San Jose de Apartado.
According to witnesses, members of the XVII Brigade of the
Colombian army have been carrying out military operations in the
Mulatos area since 21 February. Soldiers in the area have reportedly
told local inhabitants that if the killings had not been reported, they
would have killed more civilians. The soldiers have allegedly referred
to the eight victims as ''dead guerrillas'' (''puro guerrillero muerto'').
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Luis Eduardo Guerra Guerra had represented the Peace Community in
talks with the Colombian government on issues relating to the safety of
the community's inhabitants. In 2002 he left the region due to fears for
his safety, but returned in July 2004. On 11 August 2004, his wife was
killed and his son Deiner injured when a grenade the army had
reportedly left near their home exploded. The XVII Brigade reportedly
stated that the Peace Community was storing the grenades for guerrilla
forces. On 12 December 2004, members of the XVII Brigade
reportedly held Luis Eduardo at a checkpoint near San Jose de
Apartado, interrogated him and accused him of being ''suspicious''
(''persona sospechosa'').
The Peace Community was founded in March 1997 in an effort by the
civilian population to insist on their right not to be drawn into
Colombia's internal armed conflict. It has repeatedly been labelled as
subversive by the security forces. These accusations have been
followed by the reported killing and ''disappearance'' of over 100 of its
members, by members of the army and their paramilitary allies, and
also by the guerrilla group Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarios de
Colombia, (FARC), Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia.
The latest killings have taken place during reported military operations
by the XVII Brigade in the area. The killings coincide with the planned
return of several families to the abandoned San Jose hamlet of La
Esperanza on 23 March 2005. A previous attempt to repopulate the
hamlet of La Esperanza coincided with the killing by paramilitaries of
several inhabitants of the Peace Community in April 1999.
RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send appeals to arrive as
quickly as possible:
- expressing concern for the safety of the inhabitants of the Peace
Community of San Jose de Apartado;
- insisting that all measures deemed appropriate by them are taken to
guarantee their safety and that of Colombian non-governmental human
rights organizations who have denounced the killings;
- calling on the authorities to respect the right of the civilian population
including the Peace Community of San Jose de Apartado not to be
drawn into the conflict;
- calling for full and impartial investigations into the killings of eight
people in the Peace Community, for the results to be made public, and
for those responsible to be brought to justice and to ensure that in
coordination with the Peace Community measures are taken to
guarantee the safety of witnesses that testify to judicial authorities;
- expressing concern that if members of the army are found to be
implicated in these killings, criminal investigations must take place
outside the military justice system which has repeatedly failed to bring
to justice members of the security forces implicated in serious human
rights violations.
APPEALS TO:
President of the Republic:
Senor Presidente Alvaro Uribe Velez
Presidente de la Republica
Palacio de Narino
Carrera 8 No.7-2
Bogota, Colombia
Fax: 011 57 1 337 5890/342 0592
Salutation: Dear President Uribe/ Excmo. Sr. Presidente Uribe
Minister of Foreign Affairs:
Dra. Maria Carolina Barco Isakson
Ministra de Relaciones Exteriores Interior y de Justicia, Ministerio de
Relaciones Exteriores
Calle 10 No 5-51
Palacio de San Carlos
Bogota, Colombia
Fax: 011 57 1 562 7822
Salutation: Dear Madam / Sra. Ministra
Attorney General:
Dr. Luis Camilo Osorio
Fiscal General de la Nacion
Fiscalia General de la Nacion,
Diagonal 22B 52-01 (Ciudad Salite)
Bogota, Colombia
Fax: 011 57 1 570 2000 (you will hear a message in Spanish asking
you to enter extension 2017)
Salutation: Dear Dr. Osorio / Estimado Dr. Osorio
COPIES TO:
Human Rights Organization:
Corporacion Juridica Libertad
Carrera 47 Nº53-45, Of.801
Medellin, Colombia
Ambassador Luis Alberto Moreno
Embassy of Colombia
2118 Leroy Pl. NW
Washington DC 20008
Fax: 1 202 232 8643
Email:
Please send appeals immediately. Check with the Colorado office
between 9:00 am and 6:00 pm, Mountain Time, weekdays only, if
sending appeals after April 11, 2005.
Amnesty International is a worldwide grassroots movement that
promotes and defends human rights.
This Urgent Action may be reposted if kept intact, including
contact information and stop action date (if applicable). Thank
you for your help with this appeal.
Urgent Action Network
Amnesty International USA
PO Box 1270
Nederland CO 80466-1270
Email:
Phone: 303 258 1170
Fax: 303 258 7881
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END OF URGENT ACTION APPEAL
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