Amnesty International is seriously concerned for the safety of Gladys
Avila, Gloria Herney and other human rights defenders with the
Asociacion de Familiares de Detenidos-Desaparecidos,
(ASFADDES), Association of Families of the Detained-Disappeared.
Following threatening telephone calls and months of constant
surveillance by unknown individuals, ASFADDES workers had not
gone into their Bogota office on 21 October. At 8pm, Gladys Avila,
Secretary General of ASFADDES, received an anonymous call at her
home, in which the caller said: 'ah les dio miedo y no salieron las
hijueputas', 'so you were scared and you didn't go out you sons-of-
bitches'. Using a mobile telephone provided by the Minister of Interior
as a security measure, Gladys Avila telephoned her colleague Gloria
Herney to warn her about what had just happened. Shortly after the
call, the mobile telephone stopped working.
At 9pm, on the same day, Gloria Herney saw three men she did not
know, waiting outside her building as she returned to her home.
Feeling unsafe, she decided not to enter. In recent weeks anonymous
telephone calls have been made to the ASFADDES office in which
the callers ask whether Gloria Herney is at work, before hanging up.
In addition, interference is heard on the office telephones, raising
concerns that they are being tapped. Criminal investigations into the
forced 'disappearance' of ASFADDES workers Angel Quintero and
Claudia Monsalve in October 2000 in Medellin, have established that
members of the security forces were illegally tapping ASFADDES's
telephones in Medellin prior to their 'disappearance'.
Concerns are further heightened by the fact that these events, follow
the circulation of a message on the Internet at the end of August,
which declared that the Grupo de Limpieza Urbana, Urban Cleansing
Group of the army-backed paramilitary group Autodefensas Unidas
de Colombia (AUC), United Self-Defence Forces of Colombia, would
be starting a 'clean-up campaign' (campana de limpieza) to rid
Colombia of people they believe to be urban guerrillas. The message
was received by email by several non-governmental human rights
organizations.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
ASFADDES is a non-governmental organization made up of relatives
of people who have 'disappeared' during the ongoing conflict in
Colombia. It aims to discover what has happened to the 'disappeared'
and bring those responsible to justice. ASFADDES members, other
human rights defenders and witnesses of human rights violations,
have endured death threats, killings and disappearances at the hands
of the security forces and their paramilitary allies. In October 2000,
Angel Quintero and Claudia Monsalve of the Medellin branch of
ASFADDES 'disappeared' (UA 259/00 issued 9 October 2000). Their
whereabouts remain unknown.
The security forces and their paramilitary allies have a policy of
accusing human rights organizations of supporting or collaborating
with the guerillas, so they can present them as legitimate military
targets. At least 25 human rights defenders have been killed or
'disappeared' in the last three years.
RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send appeals to arrive as quickly
as possible:
- expressing concern for the safety of human rights defenders Gladys
Avila, Gloria Herney and others working with ASFADDES;
- calling for full and impartial investigations into the threatening
telephone calls, the possible telephone tapping of the ASFADDES
offices and the constant surveillance faced by members of
ASFADDES;
- urging that all measures, deemed appropriate by those under threat
themselves, are taken to guarantee their safety;
- calling for a full and impartial investigation into the recent
paramilitary threats circulated via the Internet to a number of non-
governmental organizations, urging that the results are made public
and those responsible brought to justice;
- urging the government to adhere to its obligations to protect human
rights defenders, as set out by the United Nations Declaration on the
Rights and Responsibility of Individuals, Groups and Organs of
Society to Promote and Protect Universally Recognized Human
Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, and by the Organization of
American States;
- asking the authorities to take immediate action to dismantle
paramilitary groups, in line with stated government commitments and
United Nations recommendations.
APPEALS TO:
President of Colombia:
Senor Presidente Andres Pastrana
Presidente de la Republica
Palacio de Narino
Carrera 8 No. 7-26
Santafe de Bogota, Colombia
Telegrams: President Pastrana, Bogota, Colombia
Telex: 396 44281 PALP CO
Fax: 011 57 1 286 7434/562 9300
Salutation: Excelentisimo Sr. Presidente/Dear President
Pastrana
Minister of Defense:
Dr. Gustavo Bell
Ministro de Defensa Nacional
Ministerio de Defensa Nacional
Avenida Eldorado CAN - Carrera 52, Santafe de Bogota, Colombia
Telegram: Ministro de Defensa, Bogota, Colombia
Telex: 396 42411 INPRE CO;
Fax: 011 57 1 286 4126 / 281 1213 / 222 1874
Salutation: Dear Minister / Sr. Ministro
Minister of Interior:
Sr. Armando Estrada Villa
Ministro del Interior
Ministerio del Interior, Palacio Echeverry
Carrera 8a, No.8-09, piso 2o.
Santafe de Bogota, Colombia
Telegrams: Ministro Interior, Bogota, Colombia
Fax: 011 57 1 341 9583 / 334 3960/286 8405/281 5884
Salutation: Dear Sir / Sr. Ministro
COPIES TO:
Association of the Families of the Detained-Disappeared:
ASFADDES
AA 011446
Bogota,Colombia
Ambassador Luis Alberto Moreno
Embassy of Colombia
2118 Leroy Pl. NW
Washington DC 20008
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 December 10, 2001.
Ensuring letter-writing actions are not disrupted by new security
measures:
In the light of current security concerns, including concerns about
anthrax being sent through the post to media and government
addresses, authorities in the US and elsewhere will be implementing
security procedures to ensure the safety of mail. Letters to
government officials will be carefully scrutinized and this may mean a
significant delay before they reach the recipients.
This may have an impact on how we can best ensure that appeals on
UA cases and other actions are delivered as quickly as possible.
Below are some simple suggestions for activists involved in sending
appeals to minimize potential disruption and to ensure that our
concerns reach the authorities as quickly as possible:
- where possible consider using fax, e-mail etc or postcards,
rather than sealed envelopes, to send appeal letters to authorities.
- - if letters are sent:
- put a return address on the envelope (the letter should be
sent from the same area)
- provide a complete address and title and write clearly
- - don't put lots of enclosures in envelopes
- - don't seal envelopes with tape