[816] in peace2
Help prevent the next massacre in Colombia. (fwd)
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Aimee L Smith)
Fri Jun 1 12:07:13 2001
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To: peace-list@MIT.EDU
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Date: Fri, 01 Jun 2001 12:07:02 -0400
From: Aimee L Smith <alsmith@MIT.EDU>
Update on Columbia...
------- Forwarded Message
Date: Wed, 23 May 2001 23:25:02 -0400
To: martha.soto@umassmed.edu
From: Martha Soto <martha.soto@umassmed.edu>
Subject: Help prevent the next massacre in Colombia.
Dear Friends,
As you know, recent massacres in Colombia have been announced
beforehand, yet civilians have not received protection and it has
taken civilian authorities many days to reach the victims after the
massacre. To this date, the exact number of victims of the Naya
massacre that occurred during Easter Week is not known.
We are currently concerned about further paramilitary action against
the population of Cajib=EDo in the Department of Cauca, and of the role
the Colombian Army's Third Brigade in this region. The Afro-Colombian
and indigenous population has asked for our help.
Please consider sending a message to President Pastrana and a copy to
your local Colombian Consulate asking that
they protect the people of Cajib=EDo.
thank you,
Martha
Colombia Vive, Boston
The Federation of Municipalities of the Pacific Coast sends this
Urgent Action appeal concerning imminent paramilitary action in
Cajib=EDo in the Department of Cauca.
The Human Rights Comission of the Arco Iris International Committee
is Rome was informed that on Saturday May 19 paramilitaries of the
Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia (AUC) were surrounding the town of
Cajib=EDo, very likely in preparation for a new massacre. The army,
situated 6 km away, serves as back-up to the paramilitary operation.
In the night there was a bomb explosion in the departmental capital
of Popay=E1n, apparently targeting the chief of police for not being in
support of the paramilitary.
Please send messages to President Pastrana with copy to the relevant
Colombian consulate/embassy.
To:
Presidente of the Repubic of Colombia, Dr. Andr=E9s Pastrana Arango
<mailto:rdh@presidencia.gov.co>rdh@presidencia.gov.co,
<mailto:pastrana@presidencia.gov.co>pastrana@presidencia.gov.co
Copy: <mailto:emwas@colombiaemb.org>emwas@colombiaemb.org,
<mailto:consulcol@iainc.net>consulcol@iainc.net,
<mailto:conboston@aol.com>conboston@aol.com,
<mailto:chicag95@aol.com>chicag95@aol.com,
<mailto:ConsulbiaH@aol.com>ConsulbiaH@aol.com,
<mailto:cnlosangeles@earthlink.net>cnlosangeles@earthlink.net,
<mailto:cgcmiami@bellsouth.net>cgcmiami@bellsouth.net,
<mailto:concolny@nosotros.com>concolny@nosotros.com,
<mailto:colombia@pacbell.net>colombia@pacbell.net,
<mailto:cnsju@coqui.net>cnsju@coqui.net,
<mailto:cnwas@bellatlantic.net>cnwas@bellatlantic.net,
SAMPLE LETTER
Dear president Pastrana,
We write to request your intervention in the difficult situation
affecting the civilian population in the Cauca.
This concerns the crimes against humanity being committed by the
Colombian paramilitary forces against the population of the
department of Cauca and in other regions of the country as well.
As you are well aware from repeated urgent appeals, open letters and
other communiqu=E9s from local social groups, in this region the
paramilitary presence began in November of 2000. It has claimed more
than 100 victims to date - most recently on April 27, a teacher in
the hamlet of El Carmelo and his wife with the wounding of their five
year old son.
What is particularly striking is the near constant presence in the
same zones where the paramilitaries commit their massacres of
Colombian army troops, specifically the Numancia Counterguerrilla
Battalion No 3 and the General Jose Hilario Lopez Infantry Battalion
No 7 both of the III Brigade under the command of Francisco Rene
Pedraza.
You must be aware that at this moment paramilitary troops are
encircling the town of Cajib=EDo and the army is keeping watch for this
massacre to take place=8A
These same battalions have repeatedly harassed the peasant
communities and threatened its members for supposed links with the
guerrillas.
We request your intervention. We request the establishment of a
special commission to investigate the events denounced by the social
organizations of the department of Cauca and an evaluation of the
option of immediately removing from their posts those military
officers revealed to have ties to the paramilitary forces.
=46urthermore, given that this phenomenon of extermination and of
forced displacement of the peasantry has much to do with the problem
of land tenure, we request a careful evaluation of the current
agrarian situation. The agroindustrial sector is dispossessing the
peasants of their lands and instituting monocultures primarily of
pine, sugar cane, asparagus and african palm. The consequences are
the enrichment of the multinationals, the impoverishment of the soil,
and a sentence of slow death for the Colombian peasants.
Thank-you for your consideration.
Yours sincerely,
SIGNED
______________________________________________________________________
______________________
[Related article:]
EFE NEWS [Spain]
Tuesday, 22 May 2001
U.N. office demands sanctions
-----------------------------
BOGOTA -- The U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights asked the Colombian
government to impose sanctions on racial discrimination, Colombian
officials said Tuesday.
The High Commissioner's office in Bogota issued the statement on the 150th
anniversary of the abolition of slavery in Colombia, also urging
authorities to provide increased protection for Afro-Colombians and
Colombian Indians who are the victims of armed domestic conflict.
The communique, released Tuesday by the office of Colombian presidency,
recalls "the importance of respect for the principles of equality and
non-discrimination," and asks the government to recognize "the Committee
for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination's authority to examine claims
concerning the violation of these principles" in Colombia.
U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Mary Robinson is scheduled to lead
the World Conference against Racism in Durban, South Africa, Aug. 31
through Sept. 7.
Copyright 2001 EFE News
