Colombia
20.07.01
Urgent Interventions
Colombia: abduction of Mr Alan Jara Urzola and Ms Cristina Echeverri Perez
Case COL 170701
The International Secretariat of OMCT requests your URGENT intervention in the following situation in Colombia.
Brief description of the situation :
The International Secretariat has been informed by various reliable sources of the abduction of Mr Alan Jara Urzola, which occurred between the townships of Lejanias and Villivicencio, in the Department of Meta, and the abduction of Ms Cristina Echeverri Perez, in the city of Manizales.
According to the information received, Mr Alan Jara Urzola, former governor of the Department of Meta, aged 44, was kidnapped on 15th July 2001, at about 4 p.m. on the road from Lejanias to Villavencio. It is reported that the abduction was committed by section 28 of the Armed Revolutionary Forces of Colombia (Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia - FARC) who forced him to get out of the United Nations agency car in which he was travelling - in the company of the resident coordinator of the United Nations agencies in Colombia, Mr Lara Franklin, and the director of the reinsertion programme, Ms Gloria Quiceno - and he was reportedly then taken by the members of the FARC to an unknown destination.
According to the information received, Mr Alan Jara Urzola was in Lejanias, which is about an hour and a half away from Villavencio, bordering on the development zone, to inaugurate the Reconciliación bridge over the Guape river. Delegates of the United Nations Organisation (UNO), the presidential office of reintegration and Peace, and regional mayors were present at the ceremony.
The Secretary General of the United Nations (UN), Mr Kofi Annan, has expressed his indignation at the kidnapping of the former governor Jara Urzola and demanded his immediate release, stating that “This type of aggression against UN staff and their vehicles jeopardises the ability of the Organisation to perform its functions in Colombia; the UN staff car was clearly marked with diplomatic plates and was ambushed by armed individuals who identified themselves as guerilla fighters of FARC”.
Furthermore, according to information received from the Central Union of Workers (Central Unitaria de Trabajadores - CUT) of Colombia, Ms Cristina Echeveri Pérez, who works at Manizales University and at Santa Inés College, and is a member of the Educadores Unidos de Caldas - EDUCAL - CUT, was adbucted on 1st July 2001. Up to the present time, there is no information as to Ms Cheveri Pérez’s whereabouts and OMCT is gravely concerned for her physical or psychological well-being.
The OMCT condemns these new acts of extreme violence, the persecution of civilians by armed aggressors, the apparent impunity of the perpetrators of these infringements of human rights and the lack of effective measures of protection by municipal, governmental and national authorities to prevent such acts.
Action requested :
Please write to the authorities in Colombia urging them to:
i. take all necessary measures to guarantee the physical and psychological integrity of Mr Alan Jara Urzola and Ms Cristina Echeverrii Pérez;
ii. immediately locate their whereabouts;
iii. order an immediate, thorough and impartial investigation into the above-mentioned cases in order to identify those responsible, bring them to trial and apply the penal, civil and or administrative sanctions as provided by law;
iv. comply immediately with recommendations issued by international and regional human rights organisations, including the Bureau of the High Commission for Human Rights, the Human Rights Commission of the UNO and the Interamerican Commission for Human Rights, as well as non-governmental human rights organisations;
v. guarantee the respect of human rights and the fundamental freedoms throughout the country in accordance with national laws and international human rights standards.
Addresses
· S.E. Andrés Pastrana Arango, Presidente de la República, Carrera 8 n°. 7-26, Palacio de Nariño, Santa Fe de Bogotá. Fax: (+57 1) 286 74 34; (+57 1) 286 68 42; (+57 1) 284 21 86
· Consejería Presidencial de Derechos Humanos, Calle 7 n°. 6-54 Piso 3, Santa Fe de Bogotá, D. C. Fax: (+57 1) 337 13 51
· Doctor Gustavo Bell Lemus, Ministro de la Defensa, Ministerio de Defensa Nacional, Avenida El Dorado con carrera 52 CAN, Bogotá. Fax: (+57 1) 222 18 74
· Doctor Armando Estrada Villa, Ministro del Interior, Ministerio del Interior, Cra. 8 n°. 8-09 SantaFe de Bogotá, Palacio de Nariño. Santa Fe de Bogotá. Fax: (+57 1) 286 80 25
· Doctor Edgardo Maya Villazón , Procurador General de la Nación, Carrera 5 n°. 15-80, Santa Fe de Bogotá. Fax: (+57 1) 342 97 23; (+57 1) 281 75 31
· Doctor Luis Camilo Osorio, Fiscal General de la Nación, Diagonal 22 B n°. 52-01, Santa Fe de Bogotá. Fax: (+57 1) 570 20 22.
· Doctor Eduardo Cifuentes, Defensor del Pueblo, Defensoría del Pueblo, Calle 55 n°. 10-32 Santa Fe de Bogotá. Fax: (+57 1) 346 12 25
· General Fernando Tapias Stahelin, Comandante de las Fuerzas Militares, Avenida el Dorado, Cra. 52, Santa Fe de Bogotá. Fax: (+57 1) 222 29 35
Please also write to the embassies of Colombia in your respective country.
Geneva, 17th July 2001
Please inform us of any action undertaken in connection with this case, quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.
The International Secretariat of OMCT requests your URGENT intervention in the following situation in Colombia.
Brief description of the situation :
The International Secretariat has been informed by various reliable sources of the abduction of Mr Alan Jara Urzola, which occurred between the townships of Lejanias and Villivicencio, in the Department of Meta, and the abduction of Ms Cristina Echeverri Perez, in the city of Manizales.
According to the information received, Mr Alan Jara Urzola, former governor of the Department of Meta, aged 44, was kidnapped on 15th July 2001, at about 4 p.m. on the road from Lejanias to Villavencio. It is reported that the abduction was committed by section 28 of the Armed Revolutionary Forces of Colombia (Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia - FARC) who forced him to get out of the United Nations agency car in which he was travelling - in the company of the resident coordinator of the United Nations agencies in Colombia, Mr Lara Franklin, and the director of the reinsertion programme, Ms Gloria Quiceno - and he was reportedly then taken by the members of the FARC to an unknown destination.
According to the information received, Mr Alan Jara Urzola was in Lejanias, which is about an hour and a half away from Villavencio, bordering on the development zone, to inaugurate the Reconciliación bridge over the Guape river. Delegates of the United Nations Organisation (UNO), the presidential office of reintegration and Peace, and regional mayors were present at the ceremony.
The Secretary General of the United Nations (UN), Mr Kofi Annan, has expressed his indignation at the kidnapping of the former governor Jara Urzola and demanded his immediate release, stating that “This type of aggression against UN staff and their vehicles jeopardises the ability of the Organisation to perform its functions in Colombia; the UN staff car was clearly marked with diplomatic plates and was ambushed by armed individuals who identified themselves as guerilla fighters of FARC”.
Furthermore, according to information received from the Central Union of Workers (Central Unitaria de Trabajadores - CUT) of Colombia, Ms Cristina Echeveri Pérez, who works at Manizales University and at Santa Inés College, and is a member of the Educadores Unidos de Caldas - EDUCAL - CUT, was adbucted on 1st July 2001. Up to the present time, there is no information as to Ms Cheveri Pérez’s whereabouts and OMCT is gravely concerned for her physical or psychological well-being.
The OMCT condemns these new acts of extreme violence, the persecution of civilians by armed aggressors, the apparent impunity of the perpetrators of these infringements of human rights and the lack of effective measures of protection by municipal, governmental and national authorities to prevent such acts.
Action requested :
Please write to the authorities in Colombia urging them to:
i. take all necessary measures to guarantee the physical and psychological integrity of Mr Alan Jara Urzola and Ms Cristina Echeverrii Pérez;
ii. immediately locate their whereabouts;
iii. order an immediate, thorough and impartial investigation into the above-mentioned cases in order to identify those responsible, bring them to trial and apply the penal, civil and or administrative sanctions as provided by law;
iv. comply immediately with recommendations issued by international and regional human rights organisations, including the Bureau of the High Commission for Human Rights, the Human Rights Commission of the UNO and the Interamerican Commission for Human Rights, as well as non-governmental human rights organisations;
v. guarantee the respect of human rights and the fundamental freedoms throughout the country in accordance with national laws and international human rights standards.
Addresses
· S.E. Andrés Pastrana Arango, Presidente de la República, Carrera 8 n°. 7-26, Palacio de Nariño, Santa Fe de Bogotá. Fax: (+57 1) 286 74 34; (+57 1) 286 68 42; (+57 1) 284 21 86
· Consejería Presidencial de Derechos Humanos, Calle 7 n°. 6-54 Piso 3, Santa Fe de Bogotá, D. C. Fax: (+57 1) 337 13 51
· Doctor Gustavo Bell Lemus, Ministro de la Defensa, Ministerio de Defensa Nacional, Avenida El Dorado con carrera 52 CAN, Bogotá. Fax: (+57 1) 222 18 74
· Doctor Armando Estrada Villa, Ministro del Interior, Ministerio del Interior, Cra. 8 n°. 8-09 SantaFe de Bogotá, Palacio de Nariño. Santa Fe de Bogotá. Fax: (+57 1) 286 80 25
· Doctor Edgardo Maya Villazón , Procurador General de la Nación, Carrera 5 n°. 15-80, Santa Fe de Bogotá. Fax: (+57 1) 342 97 23; (+57 1) 281 75 31
· Doctor Luis Camilo Osorio, Fiscal General de la Nación, Diagonal 22 B n°. 52-01, Santa Fe de Bogotá. Fax: (+57 1) 570 20 22.
· Doctor Eduardo Cifuentes, Defensor del Pueblo, Defensoría del Pueblo, Calle 55 n°. 10-32 Santa Fe de Bogotá. Fax: (+57 1) 346 12 25
· General Fernando Tapias Stahelin, Comandante de las Fuerzas Militares, Avenida el Dorado, Cra. 52, Santa Fe de Bogotá. Fax: (+57 1) 222 29 35
Please also write to the embassies of Colombia in your respective country.
Geneva, 17th July 2001
Please inform us of any action undertaken in connection with this case, quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.