26.09.01
Urgent Interventions
Colombia: 4 deaths and a child missing due to paramilitary action
Case COL 260901
The International Secretariat of the OMCT requests your urgent intervention in the following situation in Colombia :
Brief description of the situation:
The International Secretariat of the OMCT has been informed of the human rights violations committed by a paramilitary group against the communities of Pueblo Nuevo and Puerto Lleras in the valley of the river Jiguamiandó, Department of Choco. Four persons, Ms Inés Blandón, Mr Segundo Salinas, Mr César Chaverra and Mr Rubén Rentería, died in these events ; Mr Heladio Blandón was wounded and a child, whose name remains unknown, disappeared.
According to reports from the Centro de Investigación y Educación Popular (CINEP), on 12 September 2001 at about 8.00am, a group of some 150 heavily armed men made a violent incursion on the community of Puerto Lleras. Some of these men wore the insignia and informal clothes distinctive to the national army (Ejercito Nacional), and identified themselves as members of the so-called Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia - AUC (united Self Defence of Colombia). They proceeded to force Segundo Salinas, 28, César Chaverra, 32, y Rubén Rentería, 51, all peasant farmers, out of their houses, saying that they had been informed by previous inhabitants of the area that these people had collaborated with the guerrillas. Segundo Salinas and César Chaverra were purportedly beaten with sticks and stones and died of knife wounds in the head ; Rubén Rentería died when slashed in the neck and head with a machete. No firearms were shot on this occasion.
According to the information, at about 9.30 on 12 September 2001, paramilitaries entered the village of Pueblo Nuevo, shooting firearms and letting off grenades, killing a pregnant mother of five, Ms. Inés Blandón. She had been with other women and children at the river washing clothes when the paramilitaries arrived and had not had time to run away with the others. A youth aged 16 has also disappeared. The paramilitaries also stole clothes and food from the villagers’ houses. As they left, they warned the community to leave the village as it was in a disputed territory.
The reports point out that these violent events add to a series of attacks perpetrated by different actors in the armed conflict against the communities known as « San Francisco de Asís », « Natividad de María » and « Nuestra Señora del Carmen » located in la Paz, municipality of Carmen del Darién (Chocó). Despite the gravity of the situation, these communities have repeatedly stated that they wish to remain in their territory.
The International Secretariat of the OMCT shares the concerns of CINEP and of numerous other human rights organisations about the worsening of the war in Colombia, seen in events such as those reported above, in which the murder and intimidation of peasant farmers and indigenous communities is used to spread a message of terror throughout the population, which is more and more subjugated.
The OMCT condemns these new occurrences of extreme violence and the persecution of the civil population, in particular the permanent violation of International Humanitarian law by the armed forces of all sides who are present in the region of Bajo Atrato. OMCT also condemns the apparent impunity enjoyed by the perpetrators of these acts and the failure of the authorities to provide effective protection measures to prevent these events, especially since theats had been made public and communicated to the relevant authorities.
Requested Action:
Please write to the Colombian Authorities urging them to:
i. take all measures necessary to guarantee thephysical and psychological integrity of the above-mentioned communities;
ii. order a thorough and impartial investigation into the above.mentioned events in order to identify those reponsible, bring them to justice and apply the civil, penal or adminstrative sanctions stipulted by law;
iii. fully execute the recommendations made by international and regional human rights organisations, including those of the High Commission for Human Rights, the United Nations Human Rights Commission, the Inter.American Human Rights Commission as well as national and governmental human rights organisations;
iv. guarantee the respect of human rights and fundamental liberties in all the country in accordance with national law and international human rights norms.
Addresses
· S.E. Álvaro Uribe Vélez, Presidente de la República, Cra. 8 n .7-26, Palacio de Nariño, Santafé de Bogotá. Fax: (+57 1) 566 20 71
· Consejería Presidencial de Derechos Humanos, Calle 7 n . 6-54 Piso 3, Santafé de Bogotá, D. C. Fax: (+57 1) 337 13 51
· General Fernando Tapias Stahelin, Comandante de las Fuerzas Militares, Avenida el Dorado con Cra. 52, Santafé de Bogotá. Fax: (+57 1) 222 29 35; e-mail: siden@mindefensa.gov.co ; pilaque@cgm.mil.co
· Mission Permanente de la Colombie auprès de l’Office de las Nations Unies et des institutions spécialisées a Genève. Chemin du Champ d’Anier 17-19, 1209 Genève. Tel : (+41) 22 798 4554, 798 4555. E-mail: mission.colombia@ties.itu.int
Please also write to the embassies of Colombia in your respective country.
Geneva, September 26, 2001
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.
The International Secretariat of the OMCT requests your urgent intervention in the following situation in Colombia :
Brief description of the situation:
The International Secretariat of the OMCT has been informed of the human rights violations committed by a paramilitary group against the communities of Pueblo Nuevo and Puerto Lleras in the valley of the river Jiguamiandó, Department of Choco. Four persons, Ms Inés Blandón, Mr Segundo Salinas, Mr César Chaverra and Mr Rubén Rentería, died in these events ; Mr Heladio Blandón was wounded and a child, whose name remains unknown, disappeared.
According to reports from the Centro de Investigación y Educación Popular (CINEP), on 12 September 2001 at about 8.00am, a group of some 150 heavily armed men made a violent incursion on the community of Puerto Lleras. Some of these men wore the insignia and informal clothes distinctive to the national army (Ejercito Nacional), and identified themselves as members of the so-called Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia - AUC (united Self Defence of Colombia). They proceeded to force Segundo Salinas, 28, César Chaverra, 32, y Rubén Rentería, 51, all peasant farmers, out of their houses, saying that they had been informed by previous inhabitants of the area that these people had collaborated with the guerrillas. Segundo Salinas and César Chaverra were purportedly beaten with sticks and stones and died of knife wounds in the head ; Rubén Rentería died when slashed in the neck and head with a machete. No firearms were shot on this occasion.
According to the information, at about 9.30 on 12 September 2001, paramilitaries entered the village of Pueblo Nuevo, shooting firearms and letting off grenades, killing a pregnant mother of five, Ms. Inés Blandón. She had been with other women and children at the river washing clothes when the paramilitaries arrived and had not had time to run away with the others. A youth aged 16 has also disappeared. The paramilitaries also stole clothes and food from the villagers’ houses. As they left, they warned the community to leave the village as it was in a disputed territory.
The reports point out that these violent events add to a series of attacks perpetrated by different actors in the armed conflict against the communities known as « San Francisco de Asís », « Natividad de María » and « Nuestra Señora del Carmen » located in la Paz, municipality of Carmen del Darién (Chocó). Despite the gravity of the situation, these communities have repeatedly stated that they wish to remain in their territory.
The International Secretariat of the OMCT shares the concerns of CINEP and of numerous other human rights organisations about the worsening of the war in Colombia, seen in events such as those reported above, in which the murder and intimidation of peasant farmers and indigenous communities is used to spread a message of terror throughout the population, which is more and more subjugated.
The OMCT condemns these new occurrences of extreme violence and the persecution of the civil population, in particular the permanent violation of International Humanitarian law by the armed forces of all sides who are present in the region of Bajo Atrato. OMCT also condemns the apparent impunity enjoyed by the perpetrators of these acts and the failure of the authorities to provide effective protection measures to prevent these events, especially since theats had been made public and communicated to the relevant authorities.
Requested Action:
Please write to the Colombian Authorities urging them to:
i. take all measures necessary to guarantee thephysical and psychological integrity of the above-mentioned communities;
ii. order a thorough and impartial investigation into the above.mentioned events in order to identify those reponsible, bring them to justice and apply the civil, penal or adminstrative sanctions stipulted by law;
iii. fully execute the recommendations made by international and regional human rights organisations, including those of the High Commission for Human Rights, the United Nations Human Rights Commission, the Inter.American Human Rights Commission as well as national and governmental human rights organisations;
iv. guarantee the respect of human rights and fundamental liberties in all the country in accordance with national law and international human rights norms.
Addresses
· S.E. Álvaro Uribe Vélez, Presidente de la República, Cra. 8 n .7-26, Palacio de Nariño, Santafé de Bogotá. Fax: (+57 1) 566 20 71
· Consejería Presidencial de Derechos Humanos, Calle 7 n . 6-54 Piso 3, Santafé de Bogotá, D. C. Fax: (+57 1) 337 13 51
· General Fernando Tapias Stahelin, Comandante de las Fuerzas Militares, Avenida el Dorado con Cra. 52, Santafé de Bogotá. Fax: (+57 1) 222 29 35; e-mail: siden@mindefensa.gov.co ; pilaque@cgm.mil.co
· Mission Permanente de la Colombie auprès de l’Office de las Nations Unies et des institutions spécialisées a Genève. Chemin du Champ d’Anier 17-19, 1209 Genève. Tel : (+41) 22 798 4554, 798 4555. E-mail: mission.colombia@ties.itu.int
Please also write to the embassies of Colombia in your respective country.
Geneva, September 26, 2001
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.