This latest murder takes place during an Emergency Territorial and Humanitarian Gathering in Jambalo municipality, Cauca, where indigenous communities decided to recover the territory for the civilian population and remove armed groups.
On March 6th 2009 around midday, EDGAR ARCACIO OCORÓ, exgovernor of the indigenous council of Corinto López Adentro, was assassinated with 8 bullets at point blank range by unknown men. He was working on the community farm at the time.
EDGAR ARCACIO was a renowned leader in the North Cauca region and had been active in CRIC (Concejo Regional Indígena del Cauca - Regional Indigenous Council of Cauca). He was coordinating a project of rice production with indigenous Nasa and afrocolombian communities.
Together with other authorities, in 2008 he led the recovery of land in Corinto municipality, as is happening now in Jambalo municipality.
Indigenous authorities have just informed us that the Air Force is bombing areas in Jambalo municipality close to the CRIC permanent assembly and the indigenous guard. On March 7th there was to be a public hearing on the armed groups sowing terror on indigenous lands. Throughout the afternoon and into the evening explosions from the bombings could be heard close to populated areas.
Asociación Nomadesc workers contacted the national authorities, who confirmed the bombings in the area, which they said were part of strategic aerial operations, and didn't put the indigenous communities at risk.
Wednesday, 11 March 2009
Saturday, 20 December 2008
Children's presents stopped at Egypt-Gaza border
A van carrying presents from London children to Gaza's children was stopped by the Egyptian police at the Rafah border with Gaza on Thursday. This was after setting off 2 weeks ago from London and driving through Europe and the Middle East to Egypt. Arriving by ferry in Egypt at Nuweiba on Sinai from Aqaba in Jordan the van was held for 2 days by the Egyptian authorities and the driver told to pay a £500 deposit.
The first humanitarian mission by the Justice for Gaza organisation tried to bring medicine to Gaza in the summer but it wasn't allowed to cross over and spent a month at the Rafah border. The deposit paid that time has still to be returned by the Egyptian authorities.
At Nuweiba a policeman was assigned to the van for 'protection' which was increased to two as the van passed from South to North Sinai. At the regional border crossing the North Sinai police spent an hour and a half checking the van, not trusting the work done by their counterparts over 2 days previously.
Click here for photos of the van.
Some more photos of the journey from London can be found here.
Sunday, 7 December 2008
Egyptian security prevent Gaza caravan gathering in Cairo
A massive Egyptian security presence prevented a humanitarian convoy to break the siege of Gaza from gathering in Cairo on Saturday 6th December. Journalists and political activists were attacked and detained as various security force branches prevented people gathering at the State Council. This location was chosen as the starting point for the Gaza caravan as a lawyer had recently obtained a court order there confirming Egyptian citizens' freedom of movement after previous caravans had been similarly repressed. At an October caravan security prevented people from reaching the meeting-point by kidnapping them as they left home and holding them for the day before releasing them.
100 managed to make it to a spontaneous demo at the Press Syndicate, which was similarly swamped by security, although the protestors were allowed to make speeches and shout slogans in solidarity with Palestine on the steps of the union. Plain clothes thugs stood opposite the demo looking menacing and moving on people who lingered for more than a minute.
One tourist was detained for 30 minutes for taking photos of the security forces and questioned in detail about his presence outside the State Council. The photos were deleted. A security force officer said that taking photos was prohibited due to 'police work' being carried out and that a 'permit' was required.
However, even press with the correct credentials were attacked and harrassed both at the demo and at other locations in the centre of Cairo where they attempted to interview people. A security force officer said that taking photos was prohibited due to 'police work' being carried out and that a 'permit' was required.
For more visit on the Cairo demo visit:
http://www.almasry-alyoum.com/article2.aspx?ArticleID=189468
A demo of 700 was held at the Egyptian cultural centre in Paris protesting the Egyptian government's complicity in the siege of Gaza by preventing any humanitarian aid or other supplies into the strip:
http://www.ism-france.org/news/article.php?id=10550&type=temoignage&lesujet=Blocus
Egypt now controls the southern Gaza borders after the collapse of the 2005 Philadelphi agreement between Israel, Egypt, the EU and the PA, which since June 2007 has not been in control of Gaza.
For repression of a recent Gaza solidarity demo in Cairo visit:
http://stopthewall.org/worldwideactivism/1791.shtml
Human rights abuses Egypt has been criticised for this year include the murder of immigrants on the Egypt-Israel border, the killing and continued imprisonment of protestors during the General Strike at Mahalla in April (both condemned by Amnesty and Human Rights Watch) and the continuing persecution of workers at the Mahalla factory. Opposition figures, mainly Islamist, are routinely rounded up and held without charge.
For more on the recent disappearance of a student blogger visit: http://www.thedailynewsegypt.com/article.aspx?ArticleID=18302
Egypt is the third largest recipient of USAID after Iraq and Israel and has had a State of Emergency in force since 1981.
100 managed to make it to a spontaneous demo at the Press Syndicate, which was similarly swamped by security, although the protestors were allowed to make speeches and shout slogans in solidarity with Palestine on the steps of the union. Plain clothes thugs stood opposite the demo looking menacing and moving on people who lingered for more than a minute.
One tourist was detained for 30 minutes for taking photos of the security forces and questioned in detail about his presence outside the State Council. The photos were deleted. A security force officer said that taking photos was prohibited due to 'police work' being carried out and that a 'permit' was required.
However, even press with the correct credentials were attacked and harrassed both at the demo and at other locations in the centre of Cairo where they attempted to interview people. A security force officer said that taking photos was prohibited due to 'police work' being carried out and that a 'permit' was required.
For more visit on the Cairo demo visit:
http://www.almasry-alyoum.com/article2.aspx?ArticleID=189468
A demo of 700 was held at the Egyptian cultural centre in Paris protesting the Egyptian government's complicity in the siege of Gaza by preventing any humanitarian aid or other supplies into the strip:
http://www.ism-france.org/news/article.php?id=10550&type=temoignage&lesujet=Blocus
Egypt now controls the southern Gaza borders after the collapse of the 2005 Philadelphi agreement between Israel, Egypt, the EU and the PA, which since June 2007 has not been in control of Gaza.
For repression of a recent Gaza solidarity demo in Cairo visit:
http://stopthewall.org/worldwideactivism/1791.shtml
Human rights abuses Egypt has been criticised for this year include the murder of immigrants on the Egypt-Israel border, the killing and continued imprisonment of protestors during the General Strike at Mahalla in April (both condemned by Amnesty and Human Rights Watch) and the continuing persecution of workers at the Mahalla factory. Opposition figures, mainly Islamist, are routinely rounded up and held without charge.
For more on the recent disappearance of a student blogger visit: http://www.thedailynewsegypt.com/article.aspx?ArticleID=18302
Egypt is the third largest recipient of USAID after Iraq and Israel and has had a State of Emergency in force since 1981.
Wednesday, 19 November 2008
Coca in the news
I just read this article in the Guardian about the Colombian Vice President urging Brits to kick their cocaine habit, citing rainforest destruction caused by coca cultivation's and the profits going to FARC. He might also have mentioned the right-wing paramilitary and political collusion (the 'parapolitics scandal') or the cooperation between FARC and paramilitary groups in some areas.
On a slightly related note here is a translation of a press release by the Joel Sierra human rights group from Saravena, Arauca, dated November 17th:
The village of Campin, Arauquita municipality, continues to be occupied by an armed group in camouflage and wearing a yellow, blue and red armband with FARC-EP insignia, who according to locals invaded violently, mistreating members of the community, and shooting indiscriminately. This resulted in the deaths of Alcides Ropero and Juan de Dios Isidro Mora, and injuries to Marcos Anibal Mosquera, 35 years old, and Willian Granados Tarazona, 24 years old.
This morning, around 10.45am, in Filipinas village of the same municipality. farmer Jorge Nino was killed.
These events have caused a massive displacement of the communities at risk, mainly to the urban centres of Saravena and Arauquita for self-protection.
Some of the injured and displaced supported the arrival of the army which resulted in clashes with the insurgents. There are currently no exact figures of the injured and displaced, and further deaths can't be ruled out.
We repeat our calls for the armed parties in the conflict to respect the civil population and its social organisations together with their leaders, which according to International Humanitarian Law and the revolutionaries' own ethics, shouldn't be brought into the conflict. We also urge them to end the war waged to address its underlying causes.
We ask the international community to continue monitoring the ongoing social and humanitarian crisis in Eastern Colombia and urge the armed parties to respect the basic rules of war (los mínimos de la guerra).
On a slightly related note here is a translation of a press release by the Joel Sierra human rights group from Saravena, Arauca, dated November 17th:
The village of Campin, Arauquita municipality, continues to be occupied by an armed group in camouflage and wearing a yellow, blue and red armband with FARC-EP insignia, who according to locals invaded violently, mistreating members of the community, and shooting indiscriminately. This resulted in the deaths of Alcides Ropero and Juan de Dios Isidro Mora, and injuries to Marcos Anibal Mosquera, 35 years old, and Willian Granados Tarazona, 24 years old.
This morning, around 10.45am, in Filipinas village of the same municipality. farmer Jorge Nino was killed.
These events have caused a massive displacement of the communities at risk, mainly to the urban centres of Saravena and Arauquita for self-protection.
Some of the injured and displaced supported the arrival of the army which resulted in clashes with the insurgents. There are currently no exact figures of the injured and displaced, and further deaths can't be ruled out.
We repeat our calls for the armed parties in the conflict to respect the civil population and its social organisations together with their leaders, which according to International Humanitarian Law and the revolutionaries' own ethics, shouldn't be brought into the conflict. We also urge them to end the war waged to address its underlying causes.
We ask the international community to continue monitoring the ongoing social and humanitarian crisis in Eastern Colombia and urge the armed parties to respect the basic rules of war (los mínimos de la guerra).
Sunday, 16 November 2008
Narino human rights groups receive death threats by telephone
Some of the local Narino groups the delegation visited in August were the subject of these threats. Here is the groups' response:
The undersigned social movements, indigenous, afrodescendant and human rights (HR) organisations report to the international community that we have again been subject to threats.
The threats were made by phone to the offices of Humanidad Vigente, Comité Permanente por la Defensa de los Derechos Humanos – CPDH Nariño, Cabildo Mayor Awá de Ricaurte - CAMAWARI, Unidad Indígena del Pueblo Awá - UNIPA, Corporación Dignidad, Pastoral Social de Tumaco, el Capítulo Nariño del Movimiento Nacional de Víctimas de Crímenes de Estado, - MOVICENAR, Fundación Desarrollo y Paz – FUNDEPAZ, and a few leaders from the Pacific coast in Narino who have been doing human rights work.
The call, which seems to be a recording, says: "this is our territory, we want you far from here, we'll give you a month to leave you guerilla scum".
In recent months Narino human rights groups have been repeatedly threatened with being killed if they don't leave the region within a month. This is a clear attempt to disrupt the reporting, accompaniment and organisation by communities involved in defending human rights.
These phone calls are the latest in a series of threats by email, regular mail and fax received by Narino HR groups. What is also worrying is that some organisations that have been threatened in other regions have been found in Bogota through their new email addresses.
These threats have been signed by paramilitary groups like the Aguilas Negras, Autodefensas Campesinas Nueva Generación and Autodefensas Gaitanistas de Colombia, who are continuing their policies of terror against the civilian population and human rights defenders (HRD) despite having supposedly demobilised (Bloque Libertadores del Sur).
Background:
1. From July 2007 the Defensoría del Pueblo has issued early warnings (alertas tempranas) about the lack of state intervention and the escalation of the threats. In July 2008 the Defensoría del Pueblo sent a follow-up note on the threats to the governmental Comité de Alertas Tempranas but there has till now been no official reply.
2. On October 23rd a threat from the Aguilas Negras appeared on the internet. This threat was sent to dozens of Colombian organisations, including embassies, trade unions and student groups, in which they are given an ultimatum to be silent, and stating that intelligence gathering has been carried out on "guerillas" for years abroad.
3. Among the organisations threatened in October can be found Comité Permanente por la Defensa de los Derechos Humanos – CPDH Nariño, Cabildo Mayor Awá de Ricaurte - CAMAWARI, Unidad Indígena del Pueblo Awá - UNIPA, Corporación Dignidad, Corporación AVRE, Pastoral Social de Tumaco, Humanidad Vigente, el Capítulo Nariño del Movimiento Nacional de Víctimas de Crímenes de Estado, - MOVICENAR, Fundación Desarrollo y Paz – FUNDEPAZ as well as some leaders from the Pacific Coast of Narino.
The undersigned social movements, indigenous, afrodescendant and human rights (HR) organisations report to the international community that we have again been subject to threats.
The threats were made by phone to the offices of Humanidad Vigente, Comité Permanente por la Defensa de los Derechos Humanos – CPDH Nariño, Cabildo Mayor Awá de Ricaurte - CAMAWARI, Unidad Indígena del Pueblo Awá - UNIPA, Corporación Dignidad, Pastoral Social de Tumaco, el Capítulo Nariño del Movimiento Nacional de Víctimas de Crímenes de Estado, - MOVICENAR, Fundación Desarrollo y Paz – FUNDEPAZ, and a few leaders from the Pacific coast in Narino who have been doing human rights work.
The call, which seems to be a recording, says: "this is our territory, we want you far from here, we'll give you a month to leave you guerilla scum".
In recent months Narino human rights groups have been repeatedly threatened with being killed if they don't leave the region within a month. This is a clear attempt to disrupt the reporting, accompaniment and organisation by communities involved in defending human rights.
These phone calls are the latest in a series of threats by email, regular mail and fax received by Narino HR groups. What is also worrying is that some organisations that have been threatened in other regions have been found in Bogota through their new email addresses.
These threats have been signed by paramilitary groups like the Aguilas Negras, Autodefensas Campesinas Nueva Generación and Autodefensas Gaitanistas de Colombia, who are continuing their policies of terror against the civilian population and human rights defenders (HRD) despite having supposedly demobilised (Bloque Libertadores del Sur).
Background:
1. From July 2007 the Defensoría del Pueblo has issued early warnings (alertas tempranas) about the lack of state intervention and the escalation of the threats. In July 2008 the Defensoría del Pueblo sent a follow-up note on the threats to the governmental Comité de Alertas Tempranas but there has till now been no official reply.
2. On October 23rd a threat from the Aguilas Negras appeared on the internet. This threat was sent to dozens of Colombian organisations, including embassies, trade unions and student groups, in which they are given an ultimatum to be silent, and stating that intelligence gathering has been carried out on "guerillas" for years abroad.
3. Among the organisations threatened in October can be found Comité Permanente por la Defensa de los Derechos Humanos – CPDH Nariño, Cabildo Mayor Awá de Ricaurte - CAMAWARI, Unidad Indígena del Pueblo Awá - UNIPA, Corporación Dignidad, Corporación AVRE, Pastoral Social de Tumaco, Humanidad Vigente, el Capítulo Nariño del Movimiento Nacional de Víctimas de Crímenes de Estado, - MOVICENAR, Fundación Desarrollo y Paz – FUNDEPAZ as well as some leaders from the Pacific Coast of Narino.
Monday, 18 August 2008
Accompaniment mission to Narino
On my way down to Narino, the state in the far south-west of Colombia, I stopped off at Bugalagrande, a few hours north of Cali, and then in Cali. In Bugalagrande, not to be confused with the larger nearby town of Buga, youth groups from Cali came to the social centre, La Otra Esquina (The Other Corner), housed by the trade union Sinaltrainal, to perform some music and dances. This was to mark the anniversary of the murder of Hector Daniel Useche Beron, a local community activist and trade unionist at the local Nestle factory. It was mostly attended by children with a few older local trade unionists giving us some background to labour disputes in the area.
In Cali we were due to attend a hearing against an army sergeant accused of murdering a farmer and dressing him as a guerilla (falso positivo). Jose Orlando Giraldo was tortured and murdered by sergeant Luis Eduardo Mahecha of the Third High Mountain Brigade on March 11th 2006. His commander Bayron Carvajal has been convicted of the murder of other 'falsos positivos' in the Apartado area of northern Antioquia. These cases are usually covered up and rarely make it to court due to army threats and intimidation but the persistence of Jose's family has at least managed to get Mahecha arrested and he is currently in prison. However the hearing was postponed and delaying tactics by the defence mean he may well be released after 6 months - in Colombian law if no charges are brought in this time the case is dropped.
The huge, poor Cali district of Aguablanca has around 500,000 inhabitants (20% of the city's population). We visited Fundacion Semillas de Mostaza (Mustard Seeds Foundation) in the Marroquin barrio, one of the least deprived areas, which has a small library, and puts on activities for children in the holidays and after school during term time. They focus particularly on preserving the country's musical heritage and give classes on Andean music and dances. Despite their tiny space and funds they are a dedicated group of volunteers determined to offer local children something different to the homogenous pop culture.
The state of Narino bordering Ecuador has a population of around 1.75m, with 422,350 in the capital Pasto. 55% live in the country with the rest in urban areas. The village of La Florida, an hour from Pasto, has been declared a disaster zone by the government due to the proximity of the Galeras volcano, and 8,500 locals have been given an ultimatum to leave by December or be evicted by force. The community is split on whether to stay and resist or go along with the government resettlement plan in another part of the municipality. This area is a warmer coffee and fruit growing zone, which the cattle rearing farmers of the colder Florida village area have no experience of. There are also serious reservations about the lack of basic infrastructure in the proposed zone and the inadequate budget set aside for building things like hospitals, schools and roads. The amount of compensation offered for their homes isn't enough to buy even a flat in Pasto. The mayor told us he had a tricky decision to make given the village divisions. Local community groups such as 'Florida Unida' and 'Suyosama' (this means beautiful in Quechua) are against the unilaterally imposed government measures, which lack any kind of previous consultation, and there was talk of recent mining explorations by a German multinational in the area - as in large parts of Narino requests have been made for exploratory drilling in La Florida municipality. The local subsidiary of Anglogold Ashanti, Kedahda, have drilling permits in 28 out of 64 municipalities of Narino. The wooden shelters built nearby in case of an eruption lack water and sanitation and when there was an eruption in January this year only a few families evacuated there.
The village of Ricaurte in the municipality of the same name is about half way along the road to the Pacific coast. This sparsely populated municipality has 11 indigenous reservations, consisting of around 10,000 indigenous Awa. One of the most acultured indigenous groups, the Awa have conserved their identity through occupation of territory, but have in recent years come under increasing pressure from the presence of armed groups on their land. Their indigenous culture had been suppressed for years with teachers being punished for using the Awa language. Some of the youth now learn the language and culture, including use of medicinal plants, in schools in the reservations. We visited a farm in the village with many of these plants. Accused by all sides of supporting others, some have been murdered and around a thousand have been displaced. There haven't been any murders by the army or paramilitaries since 2006, but the death threats and theft of cattle continue. FARC mines continue to kill and maim farmers and their families. Movement within many reservations is severely restricted because of the mines. In the largest displacement in 2005 hundreds lived in the Ricaurte village school during the holidays. Some of these came to an agreement with a local landowner and live in their own shacks while around 40 people still share a hostel with one bathroom.
We met another displaced community of around 100 residents near Ricaurte who have come from the municipality and other areas. They are are soon to be evicted by the landowner. A shelter was built a few miles away by the Italian NGO COPI but it remains empty due to the lack of facilities and distance from employment opportunities. This consists largely of day labour on local farms which pays 10-12,000 daily (3-4GBP) - wages have decreased with the influx of displaced people. Some of these had received a food packet for displaced people while others had received nothing.
The Awa are represented by CAMAWARI (Cabildo Mayor Awa de Ricaurte) whose members now run the local council. They told us of the increased paramilitary and police presence leading to social problems - there has been an increase in crime and teenage pregnancies. Due to debts incurred by previous administrations there is no money for health or education projects in the indigenous reservations. Ricaurte lies in the area of the Pacific-Atlantic development project, from Tumaco on the Pacific to Pasto and on to Puerto Asis in Putumayo and the Amazon basin. This would include the widening of the road in Ricaurte to facilitate the future transport of mineral resources and monocultures like palm oil and cacao. Palm oil plantations are already starting to encroach on indigenous land from the coast and there are suspicions of palm companies financing paramilitaries. The militarization of Narino has accelerated recently with much equipment being transferred from the soon to be evacuated US military in Manta, Ecuador, to the airport in the port of Tumaco, which is also crawling with US DEA advisors and fumigation mercenaries.
The presence of armed groups in the municipality of Samaniego (population 70,000) has increased with the rise of coca production as fumigations in areas such as Putumayo have merely displaced cultivation. As well as the large army presence, the FARC have recently moved into the area and have been fighting the ELN, who have been longer established in the area - many have been killed in recent clashes. A few weeks ago four teachers in a rural area were killed, allegedly by the FARC for being army informants. Locals also suspect that many soldiers' deaths in both clashes and as casualties of mine clearing operations have gone unreported.
In one of the most heavily mined parts of Colombia, by paramilitaries and the army as well as guerilla groups, official figures give over 250 landmine fatalities since 2002 , many of them children. The real figures are more as many victims aren't registered and some die because they can't access medical services for up to a day. In some areas the paths are mined between 6am and 6pm. 800 families are restricted to their homes as their farmland has been mined and hundreds of children are unable to attend school in some rural areas.
The more recent deployment of paramilitaries has brought terror to some villages such as El Decio which was invaded last year by hundreds of paramilitaries, many of them policemen, with one resident killed by being dragged through the streets and others assaulted. There is a manganese mine in the area which guerilla were attacking. More recently in May this year, during a curfew in Samaniego village, a few locals were killed including someone who was found with his eyes gouged out and hands cut off. Many suspect paramilitaries of being behind the flyers which were distributed announcing the curfew. A journalist with the local Diario del Sur who reported the murders was threatened and forced to leave the area.
The previous council negotiated a peace treaty with the ELN (Pacto Local de Paz) who promised not to harm the civilian population, but this has been abandoned by the current administration, who tow the official line that only the president or peace commissioner are authorised to negotiate such treaties. The previous council narrowly lost the elections, claiming that many votes had been bought by the current council. It is hard for humanitarian organisations to operate in the area as guerilla believe that they are collecting information for the army - Operation Jacque only deepened this suspicion. Health workers were recently kidnapped by the guerilla.
Some farmers formed the 'Cooperativa Agrominera del Saspi' in April so they will be better placed to resist future attempts by paramilitaries collaborating with mining companies to displace them. The River Saspi runs through Samaniego and neighbouring municipalities with artesanal mining. Farmers see this type of mining as a viable alternative as fumigations have devasted many of their traditional crops. The destruction of these crops has made coca an even more attractive proposition as it can be harvested every 2-3 months, unlike traditional crops which yield only two harvests yearly.
Click here for photos.
In Cali we were due to attend a hearing against an army sergeant accused of murdering a farmer and dressing him as a guerilla (falso positivo). Jose Orlando Giraldo was tortured and murdered by sergeant Luis Eduardo Mahecha of the Third High Mountain Brigade on March 11th 2006. His commander Bayron Carvajal has been convicted of the murder of other 'falsos positivos' in the Apartado area of northern Antioquia. These cases are usually covered up and rarely make it to court due to army threats and intimidation but the persistence of Jose's family has at least managed to get Mahecha arrested and he is currently in prison. However the hearing was postponed and delaying tactics by the defence mean he may well be released after 6 months - in Colombian law if no charges are brought in this time the case is dropped.
The huge, poor Cali district of Aguablanca has around 500,000 inhabitants (20% of the city's population). We visited Fundacion Semillas de Mostaza (Mustard Seeds Foundation) in the Marroquin barrio, one of the least deprived areas, which has a small library, and puts on activities for children in the holidays and after school during term time. They focus particularly on preserving the country's musical heritage and give classes on Andean music and dances. Despite their tiny space and funds they are a dedicated group of volunteers determined to offer local children something different to the homogenous pop culture.
The state of Narino bordering Ecuador has a population of around 1.75m, with 422,350 in the capital Pasto. 55% live in the country with the rest in urban areas. The village of La Florida, an hour from Pasto, has been declared a disaster zone by the government due to the proximity of the Galeras volcano, and 8,500 locals have been given an ultimatum to leave by December or be evicted by force. The community is split on whether to stay and resist or go along with the government resettlement plan in another part of the municipality. This area is a warmer coffee and fruit growing zone, which the cattle rearing farmers of the colder Florida village area have no experience of. There are also serious reservations about the lack of basic infrastructure in the proposed zone and the inadequate budget set aside for building things like hospitals, schools and roads. The amount of compensation offered for their homes isn't enough to buy even a flat in Pasto. The mayor told us he had a tricky decision to make given the village divisions. Local community groups such as 'Florida Unida' and 'Suyosama' (this means beautiful in Quechua) are against the unilaterally imposed government measures, which lack any kind of previous consultation, and there was talk of recent mining explorations by a German multinational in the area - as in large parts of Narino requests have been made for exploratory drilling in La Florida municipality. The local subsidiary of Anglogold Ashanti, Kedahda, have drilling permits in 28 out of 64 municipalities of Narino. The wooden shelters built nearby in case of an eruption lack water and sanitation and when there was an eruption in January this year only a few families evacuated there.
The village of Ricaurte in the municipality of the same name is about half way along the road to the Pacific coast. This sparsely populated municipality has 11 indigenous reservations, consisting of around 10,000 indigenous Awa. One of the most acultured indigenous groups, the Awa have conserved their identity through occupation of territory, but have in recent years come under increasing pressure from the presence of armed groups on their land. Their indigenous culture had been suppressed for years with teachers being punished for using the Awa language. Some of the youth now learn the language and culture, including use of medicinal plants, in schools in the reservations. We visited a farm in the village with many of these plants. Accused by all sides of supporting others, some have been murdered and around a thousand have been displaced. There haven't been any murders by the army or paramilitaries since 2006, but the death threats and theft of cattle continue. FARC mines continue to kill and maim farmers and their families. Movement within many reservations is severely restricted because of the mines. In the largest displacement in 2005 hundreds lived in the Ricaurte village school during the holidays. Some of these came to an agreement with a local landowner and live in their own shacks while around 40 people still share a hostel with one bathroom.
We met another displaced community of around 100 residents near Ricaurte who have come from the municipality and other areas. They are are soon to be evicted by the landowner. A shelter was built a few miles away by the Italian NGO COPI but it remains empty due to the lack of facilities and distance from employment opportunities. This consists largely of day labour on local farms which pays 10-12,000 daily (3-4GBP) - wages have decreased with the influx of displaced people. Some of these had received a food packet for displaced people while others had received nothing.
The Awa are represented by CAMAWARI (Cabildo Mayor Awa de Ricaurte) whose members now run the local council. They told us of the increased paramilitary and police presence leading to social problems - there has been an increase in crime and teenage pregnancies. Due to debts incurred by previous administrations there is no money for health or education projects in the indigenous reservations. Ricaurte lies in the area of the Pacific-Atlantic development project, from Tumaco on the Pacific to Pasto and on to Puerto Asis in Putumayo and the Amazon basin. This would include the widening of the road in Ricaurte to facilitate the future transport of mineral resources and monocultures like palm oil and cacao. Palm oil plantations are already starting to encroach on indigenous land from the coast and there are suspicions of palm companies financing paramilitaries. The militarization of Narino has accelerated recently with much equipment being transferred from the soon to be evacuated US military in Manta, Ecuador, to the airport in the port of Tumaco, which is also crawling with US DEA advisors and fumigation mercenaries.
The presence of armed groups in the municipality of Samaniego (population 70,000) has increased with the rise of coca production as fumigations in areas such as Putumayo have merely displaced cultivation. As well as the large army presence, the FARC have recently moved into the area and have been fighting the ELN, who have been longer established in the area - many have been killed in recent clashes. A few weeks ago four teachers in a rural area were killed, allegedly by the FARC for being army informants. Locals also suspect that many soldiers' deaths in both clashes and as casualties of mine clearing operations have gone unreported.
In one of the most heavily mined parts of Colombia, by paramilitaries and the army as well as guerilla groups, official figures give over 250 landmine fatalities since 2002 , many of them children. The real figures are more as many victims aren't registered and some die because they can't access medical services for up to a day. In some areas the paths are mined between 6am and 6pm. 800 families are restricted to their homes as their farmland has been mined and hundreds of children are unable to attend school in some rural areas.
The more recent deployment of paramilitaries has brought terror to some villages such as El Decio which was invaded last year by hundreds of paramilitaries, many of them policemen, with one resident killed by being dragged through the streets and others assaulted. There is a manganese mine in the area which guerilla were attacking. More recently in May this year, during a curfew in Samaniego village, a few locals were killed including someone who was found with his eyes gouged out and hands cut off. Many suspect paramilitaries of being behind the flyers which were distributed announcing the curfew. A journalist with the local Diario del Sur who reported the murders was threatened and forced to leave the area.
The previous council negotiated a peace treaty with the ELN (Pacto Local de Paz) who promised not to harm the civilian population, but this has been abandoned by the current administration, who tow the official line that only the president or peace commissioner are authorised to negotiate such treaties. The previous council narrowly lost the elections, claiming that many votes had been bought by the current council. It is hard for humanitarian organisations to operate in the area as guerilla believe that they are collecting information for the army - Operation Jacque only deepened this suspicion. Health workers were recently kidnapped by the guerilla.
Some farmers formed the 'Cooperativa Agrominera del Saspi' in April so they will be better placed to resist future attempts by paramilitaries collaborating with mining companies to displace them. The River Saspi runs through Samaniego and neighbouring municipalities with artesanal mining. Farmers see this type of mining as a viable alternative as fumigations have devasted many of their traditional crops. The destruction of these crops has made coca an even more attractive proposition as it can be harvested every 2-3 months, unlike traditional crops which yield only two harvests yearly.
Click here for photos.
Friday, 25 July 2008
Final Session of Permanent Peoples Tribunal in Bogota
The Final Session of the Permanent Peoples Tribunal containing a judgement of the activities of multinationals in Colombia has just finished here in Bogota. This three day event was the culmination of a two year process involving six preliminary sessions on the food industry, mining sector, biodiversity, oil industry, public services and indigenous peoples.
Around 2, 000 people attended the tribunal at the National University in Bogota, including many who had travelled large distances in social movement delegations from all over Colombia. It was all due to take place in a large auditorium but as an orchestra needed the space to practice in the mornings these sessions were transferred to a nearby outdoor sports hall. It was almost impossible to follow the speeches in this change of venue, even for native Spanish speakers, so after the first day, when the charges from the preliminary audiences were presented there, the programme was changed to ensure no more speeches would be delivered there. Not being able to attend the recent indigenous peoples hearing due to a clash with the first gathering of the Colombia Friendship Network this section was particularly interesting, and included information on the negtive impacts of ecotourism projects in the Guajira region on the Atlantic coast, palm oil plantations in the Choco and Orinoco, which as well as causing mass displacement desecrate indigenous holy sites, and the murders of indigenous peoples in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta - 400 were killed last year.
Although invited to attend, only two companies responded in any way, the tourist agency Aviatur who claimed that there was no space for public debate at the tribunal, although there was this opportunity during the preliminary hearings, and Metroagua. The charges were also sent to the embassies of the countries where the multinationals HQ are (Spain, US, UK, Holland, South Africa and Switzerland) but none of them responded.
The afternoon sessions on the opening day consisted of talks on the background of multinationals in Colombia, from the 1928 massacre of workers by the United Fruit Company (now Chiquita brands) to the upsurge in paramilitarism and privitizations of the 1990s, through to the impunity and consolidation of the present day. We were overwhelmed with figures such as the estimated 300,000 killed by political violence during the last 10 years and the 5 million missing from the 2005 census, who have left the country or are in internal exile. We were told of the extensive support in the planning of the war from US, UK, Israeli and South African 'experts', with experience in repression of civil populations. In this final phase massacres by the paramilitaries and army is being replaced by targetted assasinations and a policy of 'assisencialismo' (a kind of development or welfare model) which involves the depoliticisation of communities through NGOs and religious groups.
We were told of the 11 'priority zones' comprising 58 municipalities - Cordoba, Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, Catatumbo, Southern Bolivar, the Bajo and Medio Atrato in the Choco, the Northern Cauca, Tumaco in Narino, Arauco, the Southern Zone covering much of the Amazon, and Putumayo. These areas of strategic importance have also seen the highest rates of political violence in recent years.
The increasing inequality was highlighted by figures showing decreasing salaries whilst GNP has been rising at a rate of around 7% recently. Whilst prices are rising constantly - in my few months here the price of public transport has risen 10% - the minimum wage remains at 15000 pesos (4.30GBP).
Day 2 kicked off with a march from the HQ of the Colombian state-run oil company Ecopetrol, which has been collaborating with foreign oil companies in human rights abuses in areas such as Arauca and Casanare, and marched around town back to the National University. Around 700 attended the march, the change of time and place meaning many didn't make it. We were then treated to regional music and dance outside the auditorium, which continued throughout the daily Bogota downpour. In the afternoon other Latin American struggles were presented, including the Cochabamba 'water wars' in Bolivia where US utilities company Bechtel were kicked out through popular mobilisations, resistance to mining companies in Honduras where many municipalities have declared themselves 'mine free', and resistance to multinationals in indigenous communities in Ecuador. We heard the familiar story of the entry of foreign multinationals leading to displacement, employment deregulation and environmental degradation.
On Day 3 groups discussed topics such as the environment, oil, coal, tourism and labour rights, which were presented to all in the afternoon and a few proposals were made. This included a boycott of the travel agency Aviatur, which is already selling package holidays to foreigners for winter 2009, the exchange of seeds between communities affected by the invasion of GM crops by companies such as Monsanto and the need for improved communications between groups.
This was followed by the presentation of the final judgement, a summary of a 40-page document, that recapitulated much of what we had already heard. Some more stats I gathered were the 17 million living in poverty and 6m in extreme poverty, and the 0.3% that own over half the land. Colombia was compared to countries that have also suffered the ravages of the multinationals such as Indonesia and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The delivery of the verdict was enlivened by the taking of the stage by around 15 masked students, including a piper who performed for us and a spokesperson who read out a statement highlighing the importance of the 'revolutionary process of the Colombian people to create a socialist society' and calling for the 'liberation of our peoples'. Despite a stern telling off by the head judge this intervention was generally well received and led to more shouting of slogans by some fo the groups present.
In the next few weeks some of the internationals present will be visiting regions to see first hand the devastating consequences of the actions of companies from their home countries.
Around 2, 000 people attended the tribunal at the National University in Bogota, including many who had travelled large distances in social movement delegations from all over Colombia. It was all due to take place in a large auditorium but as an orchestra needed the space to practice in the mornings these sessions were transferred to a nearby outdoor sports hall. It was almost impossible to follow the speeches in this change of venue, even for native Spanish speakers, so after the first day, when the charges from the preliminary audiences were presented there, the programme was changed to ensure no more speeches would be delivered there. Not being able to attend the recent indigenous peoples hearing due to a clash with the first gathering of the Colombia Friendship Network this section was particularly interesting, and included information on the negtive impacts of ecotourism projects in the Guajira region on the Atlantic coast, palm oil plantations in the Choco and Orinoco, which as well as causing mass displacement desecrate indigenous holy sites, and the murders of indigenous peoples in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta - 400 were killed last year.
Although invited to attend, only two companies responded in any way, the tourist agency Aviatur who claimed that there was no space for public debate at the tribunal, although there was this opportunity during the preliminary hearings, and Metroagua. The charges were also sent to the embassies of the countries where the multinationals HQ are (Spain, US, UK, Holland, South Africa and Switzerland) but none of them responded.
The afternoon sessions on the opening day consisted of talks on the background of multinationals in Colombia, from the 1928 massacre of workers by the United Fruit Company (now Chiquita brands) to the upsurge in paramilitarism and privitizations of the 1990s, through to the impunity and consolidation of the present day. We were overwhelmed with figures such as the estimated 300,000 killed by political violence during the last 10 years and the 5 million missing from the 2005 census, who have left the country or are in internal exile. We were told of the extensive support in the planning of the war from US, UK, Israeli and South African 'experts', with experience in repression of civil populations. In this final phase massacres by the paramilitaries and army is being replaced by targetted assasinations and a policy of 'assisencialismo' (a kind of development or welfare model) which involves the depoliticisation of communities through NGOs and religious groups.
We were told of the 11 'priority zones' comprising 58 municipalities - Cordoba, Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, Catatumbo, Southern Bolivar, the Bajo and Medio Atrato in the Choco, the Northern Cauca, Tumaco in Narino, Arauco, the Southern Zone covering much of the Amazon, and Putumayo. These areas of strategic importance have also seen the highest rates of political violence in recent years.
The increasing inequality was highlighted by figures showing decreasing salaries whilst GNP has been rising at a rate of around 7% recently. Whilst prices are rising constantly - in my few months here the price of public transport has risen 10% - the minimum wage remains at 15000 pesos (4.30GBP).
Day 2 kicked off with a march from the HQ of the Colombian state-run oil company Ecopetrol, which has been collaborating with foreign oil companies in human rights abuses in areas such as Arauca and Casanare, and marched around town back to the National University. Around 700 attended the march, the change of time and place meaning many didn't make it. We were then treated to regional music and dance outside the auditorium, which continued throughout the daily Bogota downpour. In the afternoon other Latin American struggles were presented, including the Cochabamba 'water wars' in Bolivia where US utilities company Bechtel were kicked out through popular mobilisations, resistance to mining companies in Honduras where many municipalities have declared themselves 'mine free', and resistance to multinationals in indigenous communities in Ecuador. We heard the familiar story of the entry of foreign multinationals leading to displacement, employment deregulation and environmental degradation.
On Day 3 groups discussed topics such as the environment, oil, coal, tourism and labour rights, which were presented to all in the afternoon and a few proposals were made. This included a boycott of the travel agency Aviatur, which is already selling package holidays to foreigners for winter 2009, the exchange of seeds between communities affected by the invasion of GM crops by companies such as Monsanto and the need for improved communications between groups.
This was followed by the presentation of the final judgement, a summary of a 40-page document, that recapitulated much of what we had already heard. Some more stats I gathered were the 17 million living in poverty and 6m in extreme poverty, and the 0.3% that own over half the land. Colombia was compared to countries that have also suffered the ravages of the multinationals such as Indonesia and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The delivery of the verdict was enlivened by the taking of the stage by around 15 masked students, including a piper who performed for us and a spokesperson who read out a statement highlighing the importance of the 'revolutionary process of the Colombian people to create a socialist society' and calling for the 'liberation of our peoples'. Despite a stern telling off by the head judge this intervention was generally well received and led to more shouting of slogans by some fo the groups present.
In the next few weeks some of the internationals present will be visiting regions to see first hand the devastating consequences of the actions of companies from their home countries.
Today there was a demo by some of the relatives and their supporters of those disappeared following the 1985 Palace of Justice siege, most of whom were cafeteria workers. Former Colonel Alfonso Plazas is on trial for his role in some of the disappearances. There was a small counter-demo supporting Plazas and a large media presence at the court.
Click here for photos.
Click here for photos.
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