Colombia
07.04.03
Urgent Interventions
Colombia: displacement, forced disappearences and killings in Viotá, Cundinamarca
Case COL 070403
Forced displacements / Forced disappearances / Killings
The International Secretariat of OMCT requests your URGENT intervention concerning the following situation in Colombia.
Brief description of the situation
The International Secretariat of OMCT has been informed by La Corporacion Reiniciar and El Colectivo de Abogados José Alvear Restrepo, both members of the OMCT network, of the forced displacement of more than 400 inhabitants in the Puerto Brazil area in the urban region of Viota, Cundinamarca, who were trying to escape from the Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia (AUC) paramilitary group, on March 28th, 2003, as well as of the forced disappearance and killing of a number of other persons.
According to the information received, the paramilitaries undertook a day-long operation in and around the Puerto Brazil area, threatening its inhabitants and announcing they would kill the communists that were among them. The armed group identified itself as Autodefensas Campesinas del Casanere, a group which has been apparently already been active in other areas of the district for several weeks.
The armed group distributed a communiqué for the attention of all the municipalities of the region, in which they announced that they had come “to protect the people from the communists”. The communists are invited to leave the region, as the group is pledging to launch a “patriotic campaign” that will lead them “until the final victory”; the leaflet is signed by Commandant Albeiro. After distributing this leaflet and threatening the inhabitants, they settled in the Hacienda Florencia, located at kilometre 7 on the road from Viotà to Fusagasuga.
According to the reports, the population, which was being terrorized by the presence of the gunmen, headed towards the county town in order to get protection. Captain Azael Arbelaez asked them to return home and requested the list of the leaders of the armed group; the peasants explained their intention to stay within the town until the State guaranteed their security, as well as that of the families who remained in the countryside.
According to the received information, the following members of the paramilitary group are responsible for the forced disappearance of at least four persons in the district of Viotà.
1. On Thursday, March 6th, 2003, in the county town, gunmen detained and kidnapped Mr. José Ananias Mora, identity card 80.355.354 from Tocaima, who is a beer merchant popularly known as “Pico”; according to members of his family and witnesses, the perpetrators were driving a silver-coloured, four-door light truck, with tinted windows and without number plates. The witnesses also affirm that in the days before the kidnapping, and even that very day, members of the army had been asking for Mr. Mora.
2. On the 8th of March, eight gunmen kidnapped Mrs Nohelia Garcia Aguirre, known as “La Paisa”, in the Neptuna area, at 4.00 p.m., on the road from Viotà to Bogota; according to witnesses, the perpetrators were using the same light truck in which they had kidnapped Mr. Mora.
3. On Monday the 10th of March, at 7.00 a.m. gunmen abducted Mr. Luis Alejandro Izquierdo Medina, identity card 80.659.047 of Viotà, who was travelling from the Capotes area to the departmental College of Viotà.
4. On Thursday March 19th, Mr Arturo Pedreros, who lives in the La Vega district, and is a dealer of coffee and fruits (mangos and mandarine oranges), was detained by gunmen and has since disappeared.
According to the information given by the Colectivo de Abogados “José Alvear Restrepo”, the same gunmen are also thought to be responsible for the killing of two persons:
1. On Tuesday the 11th of March, in the La Jazminia area, Mr. Antolin Virachà was gunned down in front of his family by gunmen who identified themselves as being members of the paramilitary and were driving a light truck with the same characteristics as the one seen during the other crimes. They were reportedly wearing army uniforms.
2. On Friday the 14th of March, Mr Edgar Rubio was shot and killed by gunmen who were riding a motorcycle. Mr Rubio was a modest farmer and travelled frequently to town to sell eggs and chickens.
According to the information received, the displaced persons have since returned to their homes under the protection of the army, but there are serious fears that this protection will be short-lived, due to the suspected collusion between the members of the Army and the Police with the paramilitary groups.
The International Secretariat of OMCT is gravely concerned by the persistent and serious violations of human rights in Colombia, and in particular for the security and physical and psychological integrity of the inhabitants of Viotà. OMCT deplores the spate of extra-judicial killings that have been carried out by suspected members of the Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia (AUC) paramilitary group and the forced disappearances that have occurred and calls on the authorities to take all measures necessary to locate these persons and guarantee their integrity, as well as to launch immediate and impartial investigations into the events mentioned above, in order to bring the perpetrators to justice.
Action requested
Please write to the Colombian authorities urging them to:
i. immediately locate the whereabouts of the persons that have disappeared during paramilitary operations and guarantee their physical and psychological integrity;
ii. guarantee the physical and psychological integrity of the inhabitants of Viotà, Cundinamarca, and take all the necessary measures to prevent further such violent acts in the region;
iii. guarantee adequate reparation to the families of the persons who have been killed;
iv. launch prompt and impartial investigations into these events in order to identify those responsible, bring them before a civil competent and impartial tribunal and apply the penal and/or administrative sanctions provided by law;
v. guarantee the respect of human rights and the fundamental freedoms throughout the country in accordance international human rights law and standards.
Addresses :
· Presidente de la República, Dr. Álvaro Uribe Vélez, Dirección Electrónica: auribe@presidencia.gov.co, Palacio de Nariño, Carrera 8 N° 7-26 Fax 5662071
· Vicepresidencia de la República, Dr. Francisco Santos, Dirección Electrónica: fsantos@presidencia.gov.co
· Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores, Dr. Jaime Girón Duarte, Viceministro de Asuntos Políticos Multilaterales, Dirección Electrónica: pmdirect@minrelext.gov.co
· Fiscalía General de la Nación, Dr. Luis Camilo Osorio, Dra. Elba Beatriz Silva, Directora Unidad de Derechos Humanos, Dirección Electrónica: elbsilva@fiscalia.gov.co, Diagonal 22 B No. 52-01, Tel Fax: 5702022
· Procuraduría General de la Nación, Dr. Edgardo José Maya Villazón , Dirección Electrónica: reygon@procuraduria.gov.co, Carrera 5 N° 15-80 Fax 3429723
· Defensoría del Pueblo, Dr. Eduardo Cifuentes, Dirección Electrónica: secretaria_ privada@hotmail.Com, Calle 55 No. 10-32 Tel Fax : 3461225
Please also write to the embassies of Colombia in your respective country.
Geneva, April 7th, 2003
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.
Forced displacements / Forced disappearances / Killings
The International Secretariat of OMCT requests your URGENT intervention concerning the following situation in Colombia.
Brief description of the situation
The International Secretariat of OMCT has been informed by La Corporacion Reiniciar and El Colectivo de Abogados José Alvear Restrepo, both members of the OMCT network, of the forced displacement of more than 400 inhabitants in the Puerto Brazil area in the urban region of Viota, Cundinamarca, who were trying to escape from the Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia (AUC) paramilitary group, on March 28th, 2003, as well as of the forced disappearance and killing of a number of other persons.
According to the information received, the paramilitaries undertook a day-long operation in and around the Puerto Brazil area, threatening its inhabitants and announcing they would kill the communists that were among them. The armed group identified itself as Autodefensas Campesinas del Casanere, a group which has been apparently already been active in other areas of the district for several weeks.
The armed group distributed a communiqué for the attention of all the municipalities of the region, in which they announced that they had come “to protect the people from the communists”. The communists are invited to leave the region, as the group is pledging to launch a “patriotic campaign” that will lead them “until the final victory”; the leaflet is signed by Commandant Albeiro. After distributing this leaflet and threatening the inhabitants, they settled in the Hacienda Florencia, located at kilometre 7 on the road from Viotà to Fusagasuga.
According to the reports, the population, which was being terrorized by the presence of the gunmen, headed towards the county town in order to get protection. Captain Azael Arbelaez asked them to return home and requested the list of the leaders of the armed group; the peasants explained their intention to stay within the town until the State guaranteed their security, as well as that of the families who remained in the countryside.
According to the received information, the following members of the paramilitary group are responsible for the forced disappearance of at least four persons in the district of Viotà.
1. On Thursday, March 6th, 2003, in the county town, gunmen detained and kidnapped Mr. José Ananias Mora, identity card 80.355.354 from Tocaima, who is a beer merchant popularly known as “Pico”; according to members of his family and witnesses, the perpetrators were driving a silver-coloured, four-door light truck, with tinted windows and without number plates. The witnesses also affirm that in the days before the kidnapping, and even that very day, members of the army had been asking for Mr. Mora.
2. On the 8th of March, eight gunmen kidnapped Mrs Nohelia Garcia Aguirre, known as “La Paisa”, in the Neptuna area, at 4.00 p.m., on the road from Viotà to Bogota; according to witnesses, the perpetrators were using the same light truck in which they had kidnapped Mr. Mora.
3. On Monday the 10th of March, at 7.00 a.m. gunmen abducted Mr. Luis Alejandro Izquierdo Medina, identity card 80.659.047 of Viotà, who was travelling from the Capotes area to the departmental College of Viotà.
4. On Thursday March 19th, Mr Arturo Pedreros, who lives in the La Vega district, and is a dealer of coffee and fruits (mangos and mandarine oranges), was detained by gunmen and has since disappeared.
According to the information given by the Colectivo de Abogados “José Alvear Restrepo”, the same gunmen are also thought to be responsible for the killing of two persons:
1. On Tuesday the 11th of March, in the La Jazminia area, Mr. Antolin Virachà was gunned down in front of his family by gunmen who identified themselves as being members of the paramilitary and were driving a light truck with the same characteristics as the one seen during the other crimes. They were reportedly wearing army uniforms.
2. On Friday the 14th of March, Mr Edgar Rubio was shot and killed by gunmen who were riding a motorcycle. Mr Rubio was a modest farmer and travelled frequently to town to sell eggs and chickens.
According to the information received, the displaced persons have since returned to their homes under the protection of the army, but there are serious fears that this protection will be short-lived, due to the suspected collusion between the members of the Army and the Police with the paramilitary groups.
The International Secretariat of OMCT is gravely concerned by the persistent and serious violations of human rights in Colombia, and in particular for the security and physical and psychological integrity of the inhabitants of Viotà. OMCT deplores the spate of extra-judicial killings that have been carried out by suspected members of the Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia (AUC) paramilitary group and the forced disappearances that have occurred and calls on the authorities to take all measures necessary to locate these persons and guarantee their integrity, as well as to launch immediate and impartial investigations into the events mentioned above, in order to bring the perpetrators to justice.
Action requested
Please write to the Colombian authorities urging them to:
i. immediately locate the whereabouts of the persons that have disappeared during paramilitary operations and guarantee their physical and psychological integrity;
ii. guarantee the physical and psychological integrity of the inhabitants of Viotà, Cundinamarca, and take all the necessary measures to prevent further such violent acts in the region;
iii. guarantee adequate reparation to the families of the persons who have been killed;
iv. launch prompt and impartial investigations into these events in order to identify those responsible, bring them before a civil competent and impartial tribunal and apply the penal and/or administrative sanctions provided by law;
v. guarantee the respect of human rights and the fundamental freedoms throughout the country in accordance international human rights law and standards.
Addresses :
· Presidente de la República, Dr. Álvaro Uribe Vélez, Dirección Electrónica: auribe@presidencia.gov.co, Palacio de Nariño, Carrera 8 N° 7-26 Fax 5662071
· Vicepresidencia de la República, Dr. Francisco Santos, Dirección Electrónica: fsantos@presidencia.gov.co
· Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores, Dr. Jaime Girón Duarte, Viceministro de Asuntos Políticos Multilaterales, Dirección Electrónica: pmdirect@minrelext.gov.co
· Fiscalía General de la Nación, Dr. Luis Camilo Osorio, Dra. Elba Beatriz Silva, Directora Unidad de Derechos Humanos, Dirección Electrónica: elbsilva@fiscalia.gov.co, Diagonal 22 B No. 52-01, Tel Fax: 5702022
· Procuraduría General de la Nación, Dr. Edgardo José Maya Villazón , Dirección Electrónica: reygon@procuraduria.gov.co, Carrera 5 N° 15-80 Fax 3429723
· Defensoría del Pueblo, Dr. Eduardo Cifuentes, Dirección Electrónica: secretaria_ privada@hotmail.Com, Calle 55 No. 10-32 Tel Fax : 3461225
Please also write to the embassies of Colombia in your respective country.
Geneva, April 7th, 2003
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.