URGENT ACTION APPEAL
Go to http://www.amnestyusa.org/urgent/newslett.html
to read this month's newsletter.
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24 January 2003
UA 23/03 Fear for safety/Threats
COLOMBIA
María Eugenia López (f),
Other members of the Asociación de Familiares de
Detenidos desaparecidos de Colombia (ASFADDES),
Association of Families of the Detained-Disappeared
in Medellín, Antioquia department
Amnesty International is concerned for the safety of María Eugenia
López, a member of the Medellín branch of the Asociación de Familiares
de Detenidos desaparecidos de Colombia (ASFADDES), Association of
Families of the Detained-Disappeared, following reports that army-
backed paramilitaries have been looking for her. These reports also raise
concerns for the safety of other ASFADDES members in Medellín.
According to local sources, relatives of María Eugenia López were
informed that army-backed paramilitaries arrived in the neighbourhood
of El Limonar 2, Medellín, Antioquia department on 24 December 2002.
They reportedly received instructions from another paramilitary group
operating in the area to search for the López family. On 31 December a
man and a woman on a motorbike stopped at María Eugenia López'
home and repeatedly knocked on the door. They allegedly had with them
a photograph of María Eugenia López. No one answered the door and
they left. On 9 January 2003, a young man was reportedly sent by the
paramilitaries to inform María Eugenia López that Barny was waiting for
her. Barny is the name of a known paramilitary who operates in the area.
María Eugenia López answered that she didn't know anyone with that
name. The young man reportedly asked her to come with him but she
refused. Following this threatening incident María Eugenia López fled
the area.
María Eugenia López has been a member of ASFADDES since the
"disappearance" of two of her relatives, Olga Luz Echevarria Arreiza and
Eliécer Pérez Morales, on 28 March 1990 in the municipality of
Yarumal, Antioquia department. On 5 June 1990 another six of her
relatives, Marta Maria López, Luis Gildardo López Gaviria, Ana Yoli
Duque López, Marta Milena Duque López, Elvia Rosa Espinosa and
Hernán Quintero, were reportedly killed during an attack by an army-
backed paramilitary group known as Los Doce Apóstoles, The Twelve
Apostles. Her partner, Cristobal Vargas, allegedly "disappeared" on 20
January 1991 in San Pablo Municipality, Department of Antioquia.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Human rights defenders, including relatives of victims of human rights
violations campaigning for justice, have frequently been victim of attack,
"disappearance", harassment and other human rights violations. These
are often committed by the security forces and their paramilitary allies
seeking to protect the impunity they enjoy for their crimes.
Many members of ASFADDES have been among those targeted.
ASFADDES is a non-governmental human rights organization made up
of relatives of people who have "disappeared" during the conflict
between the armed forces, their paramilitary allies and the armed
opposition groups who control a large part of the country. It aims to
discover what has happened to the "disappeared" and also to bring those
responsible to justice.
Two members of the Medellín branch of ASFADDES, Angel Quintero
and Claudia Monsalve, "disappeared" in October 2000 and their
whereabouts remain unknown. (See UA 259/00, AMR 23/081/00, 9
October 2000). At the time of the "disappearances" it was found that
ASFADDES' telephones were amongst several thousand which had been
illegally tapped by the security forces. No one has been brought to justice
for the "disappearance" of Claudia Monsalve and Angel Quintero.
RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send appeals to arrive as
quickly as possible:
- urging the Colombian authorities to take immediate and effective action
to protect María Eugenia López and the other members of the the
Medellín Branch of the Asociación de Familiares de Detenidos
desaparecidos de Colombia (ASFADDES);
- calling for a full and impartial investigation into the threats against
María Eugenia López and for the results to be made public and for those
responsible brought to justice;
- asking them also to take immediate and effective action to ensure that
other members of ASFADDES can carry out their legitimate and
important work for the defence of human rights in safety;
- reminding the authorities of their obligations to human rights defenders,
as laid out in the UN Declaration on the Right and Responsibility of
Individuals, Groups and Organs of Society to Promote and Protect
Universally Recognised Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, the
Organization of American States Human Rights Defenders in the
Americas resolution and in repeated recommendations made to them by
the UN;
- urging the authorities to take immediate action to dismantle
paramilitary groups, in line with UN recommendations.
APPEALS TO:
President of the Republic:
Señor Presidente Álvaro Uribe Vélez
Presidente de la República
Palacio de Nariño
Carrera 8 No.7-26
Santafé de Bogotá
Colombia
Telegram: Presidente de la República, Bogotá, Colombia
Fax: 011 57 1 342 0592
Salutation: Excmo. Sr. Presidente Uribe / Dear President Uribe
Minister of the Interior and Justice:
Sr. Fernando Londoño Hoyos
Ministro del Interior y de Justicia
Ministerio del Interior
Palacio Echeverry, Carrera 8a, No.8-09, piso 2o.
Santafé de Bogotá
Colombia
Telegram: Ministro Interior, Bogota, Colombia
Fax: 011 57 1 566 4573
Salutation: Dear Sir / Sr. Ministro
Governor of Antioquia Department:
Sr. Eugenio Prieto Soto (e)
Gobernador del Departamento de Antioquia, Gobernación de Antioquia
Calle 42B, # 52-106,
Medellín, Antioquia
Colombia
Telegram: Gobernador de Antioquia, Medellín, Colombia
Fax: 011 57 4 3811342
Salutation: Dear Governor / Sr. Gobernador
COPIES TO:
Attorney General:
Dr. Luis Camilo Osorio,
Fiscal General de la Nación, Fiscalía General de la Nación,
Diagonal 22B 52-01 (Ciudad Salite),
Bogotá
Colombia
Fax: 011 57 1 570 2022 / 2017 (if someone answers say "me
da tono de fax por favor")
Salutation: Dear Dr. Osorio / Estimado Dr. Osorio
Association for Relatives of the "Disappeared":
ASFADDES - Nacional
AA 011446
Bogotá
Colombia
Ambassador Luis Alberto Moreno
Embassy of Colombia
2118 Leroy Pl. NW
Washington DC 20008
Fax: 1 202 232 8643
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 March 7, 2003.
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: uan@aiusa.org
http://www.amnestyusa.org/urgent/
Phone: 303 258 1170
Fax: 303 258 7881
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END OF URGENT ACTION APPEAL