URGENT ACTION APPEAL
Go to http://www.amnestyusa.org/urgent/newslett.html
to read this month's newsletter.
20 September 2002
Fear for Safety
UA 286/02
COLOMBIA
Members of peasant communities in Cauca department
Amnesty International is concerned for the safety of peasant farmer
communities and social activists in the southwestern department of
Cauca, where protesters have been participating in a strike and
demonstrations since 16 September. Security forces in the area have
reportedly restricted access to food, water and medical attention for
peasant farmers participating in the strike.
Reports also suggest that tear-gas has been used against the
demonstrators and that a large number of riot police have arrived in
the area. Amnesty International is concerned that action taken by the
security forces should not involve the disproportionate and
indiscriminate use of force against the demonstrators.
Demonstrations have been concentrated in areas to the north and
south of the department: in an area known as La Fonda in the
municipality of Patia to the south, and La Maria in the municipality of
Piendamo to the north. Concern for those participating in the strike
has been heightened by accusations made by senior government and
security officials, labelling the national rural strike a guerrilla-
organized protest. People previously labelled as guerrilla
sympathizers or collaborators by the security forces or their
paramilitary allies have frequently been the victim of serious human
rights violations committed by paramilitary forces. There is also
concern for the safety of numerous social organizations in the area,
which have faced paramilitary death threats in advance of the strike.
Food and supplies have reportedly been restricted. For example,
according to local sources, on 14 September two vehicles full of food
destined for the more than 2000 peasants demonstrating in the La
Maria area were seized by the police and some of their contents
reportedly destroyed. Several people who were taken ill in La Fonda
after drinking contaminated water were allegedly prohibited from
travelling to a nearby hospital for medical attention. In the light of
reports of a heavy paramilitary presence in the area, a short distance
from army positions, Amnesty International is concerned for the
safety of the protesters.
Over the last two years, Amnesty International has received
information of death threats and killings by paramilitary forces who
participated in previous rural strikes. Reports of paramilitary forces in
the area, together with repeated reports received since 1999 of a
large paramilitary presence in the department, despite the heavy
presence of the security forces, raises concerns for the safety of the
demonstrators.
According to reports, on 16 September at a meeting in which the
Governor of Cauca, police and army officers, representatives of the
human rights ombudsman, the regional procurator, and coordinators
from the demonstrations were in attendance, a senior security force
officer said that some of the demonstration leaders were members of
extreme left-wing groups and that some peasant organizations were
infiltrated by insurgent groups. This accusation followed a paramilitary
death threat issued by the Bloque Calima, Calima Block of the
Autodefensas Campesinas de Cordoba y Uraba (ACCU), United Self-
Defense Forces of Colombia, on 7 September. The death threat, in
the form of a communique to the media, was also received by several
social organizations. This threat has raised concerns for the safety of
social organizations and trade unionists in Cauca Department,
including those that are not participating in the strike.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
A national peasant demonstration began on 16 September. Rural
peasant communities and agricultural communities have been
mobilizing in protest at government agricultural policies, the influence
of transnational corporations on Colombian agriculture, the
destruction of national food sovereignty and the loss of biodiversity as
well as the continued killing and 'disappearance' of peasant farmers,
and the forced displacement of peasant communities as a result of
the armed conflict in Colombia.
The strike action in Cauca coincides with the continued build-up of
paramilitary groups in the region, which have been able to operate in
the department despite the strong presence of the security forces.
Guerrilla forces have carried out numerous threats and killings of
civilians they consider to be collaborating with their enemies,
including death threats against mayors and other municipal officials.
RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send appeals to arrive as quickly
as possible:
- expressing concern for the safety of peasant farmers participating in
the strike action;
- urging that the security forces should not take any action which
places civilian population in danger, and calling for guarantees that
the peasant farmers will have access to food, water and medical
attention;
- expressing concern at the reported use of tear gas and excessive
force against those attending the demonstrations;
- expressing concern for members of trade unions and social
organizations, following the death threat issued by the ACCU on 7
September, urging that the authorities take all measures deemed
appropriate by the security forces themselves to guarantee their
safety;
- urging that full and impartial investigations are undertaken into these
death threats and those responsible to be brought to justice and the
results to be made public;
- urging full and impartial investigations into possible links between
the security forces and paramilitaries in the department of Cauca that
the results are made public and that those members of the security
forces responsible for operating in unison with paramilitary forces or
supporting them are brought to justice;
- expressing concern at the continued large-scale presence of
paramilitary forces in Cauca despite the heavy military presence in
the department and urging immediate decisive action to confront and
dismantle these groups, in line with repeated UN recommendations
and governmental commitments.
APPEALS TO:
President of the Republic:
Senor Presidente Alvaro Uribe Velez
Presidente de la Republica
Palacio de Narino
Carrera 8 No.7-26
Santafe de Bogota
Colombia
Telegram: Presidente de la Republica, Bogota, Colombia
Fax: 011 57 1 342 0592
Salutation: Excmo. Sr. Presidente Uribe / Dear President Uribe
Minister of Defense:
Dra. Martha Lucia Ramirez
Ministra de Defensa Nacional
Ministerio de Defensa Nacional
Avenida Eldorado CAN - Carrera 52, Santafe de Bogota, Colombia
Telegram: Ministra de Defensa, Bogota, Colombia
Fax: 011 57 1 222 1874
Salutation: Dear Minister Ramirez / Sra. Ministra Ramirez
Minister of the Interior and Justice:
Dr. Fernando Londono Hoyos
Ministro del Interior y Justicia
Ministerio del Interior y Justicia,
Palacio Echeverry, Carrera 8a, No.8-09, piso 2o.,
Santafe de Bogota
COLOMBIA
Telegram: Ministro del Interior, Bogota, Colombia
Fax: 011 57 1 566 4573
Salutation: Dear Dr. Londono Hoyos / Sr. Ministro Londono
Hoyos
COPIES TO:
National Advocate for the people:
Sr. Eduardo Cifuentes Munoz
Defensor del Pueblo
Defensoria del Pueblo,
Calle 55, No. 10-32/46 office 301,
Santafe de Bogota
COLOMBIA
Telegram: National Advocate, Bogota, Colombia
Fax: 011 57 1 640 0491
Salutation: Dear Mr. Cifuentes Munoz / Estimado Sr. Cifuentes
Munoz
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 November 1, 2002.
Amnesty International is a worldwide grassroots movement
that promotes and defends human rights.
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