Showing posts with label OFP. Show all posts
Showing posts with label OFP. Show all posts

Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Colombia: Women's Rights Worker Assassinated

Hiya

When I switched on my computer this morning, I found the following message (in Spanish, my translation). Please urgently send polite but strongly-worded e-mails and faxes and letters of protest to the representative(s) of the Colombian government in your country to protest against the assassination in Medellín on September 24, 2008, of OLGA MARINA VERGARA, her son (26), her daughter-in-law (22) and her grandson (5). Olga Marina Vergara was a member of the women's grassroots organization Ruta Pacífica de Mujeres Colombianas (Colombian Women's Peace March).

Please click on the title to this post if you would like to support an international human rights NGO with a highly meaningful peace and empowerment project in Colombia. Doing so will take you straight to the Colombia page of pbi – Peace Brigades International's website.

(Note that I am a supporter of pbi but am posting here as a private individual exercising her right of free expression. Having said that, pbi may well put out a call for urgent action; the OFP itself and some of its members have "enjoyed" pbi accompaniment and unarmed, non-violent protection for many years now.)

Thank you!

****
SOCIAL MOVEMENT OF WOMEN AGAINST WAR AND FOR PEACE

PROTEST AND CALL FOR URGENT ACTION

We, humble women from various corners of our country, farming women, city women, women of African descent, mulattoes, mestizo women, women from various social and political processes, have organised ourselves and united in the SOCIAL MOVEMENT OF WOMEN AGAINST WAR AND FOR PEACE; we gathered for our national meeting on September 27 and 27, 2008, in the city of Bucaramanga, Santander; and we publicly PROTEST AGAINST, CRITICIZE and CONDEMN the MASSACRE during which our companion OLGA MARINA VERGARA was assassinated. Olga was a member of Ruta Pacífica de Mujeres Colombianas (Colombian Women's Peace March). The massacre moreover claimed the lives of three (3) members of her family, i.e. her son (26), her daughter-in-law (22) and her little grandson, a boy just five years of age.

The massacre occurred in Medellín last September 24, 2008, a city that is not only Colombia's second-largest in terms of inhabitants, but one that has also been presented to the world as a "model of the successful process of paramilitary demobilization". However, continued massacres, assassinations of civilians and forced disappearances have been indicators of the success with which this government of "Democratic Security" has coddled and favoured criminals.

We women love life; we create life; we are artisans in the craft of resisting and persisting against war and for the construction of a peace that will bring social and gender justice. To our country and to the world at large, we PROTEST AGAINST the patriarchal strategy of war and violence in Colombia which delights in targeting women: in every corner of our national geography, women are being murdered in so-called "feminicidios", forcibly displaced, violated, mutilated, subjected to sexual and domestic slavery, and condemned to live marginalized lives deprived of resources, health, water, education, work, proteccion.

The ill-named process of "Democratic Security" has not brought women greater security, nor has it protected their right to a dignified life, on the contrary: this policy has made the Colombian people much poorer, and has deprived and robbed us of our land and territories in order to annihilate our food autonomy and sovereignty, and to hand our country and our resources over to transnational companies that have been privatizing, exploiting and destroying our biodiversity and our local economies.

To our companions of the Ruta Pacífica de las Mujeres, and to the members of Marina's family we extend our solidarity and thoughts in the pain that afflicts us today; yet again we reaffirm our unflinching commitment to defend a life in dignity, and to stand up for social processes that will continue to lead us on the road toward building the just and fair, free, democratic and peaceful country that we so intensely desire for ourselves, for our daughters and sons, and for our people.

WE DEMAND of the authorities and of our national government to investigate these events, and to bring to justice and punish whoever may be materially and intellectually responsible.

Stop the impunity of crimes committed against women. We demand truth, justice, full compensation and guarantees that this will not be repeated!!!!

• Organización Femenina Popular (Grassroots Women's Organization)
• Colectivo Policarpa Salavarrieta – La Pola (Policarpa Salavarrieta Collective)
• Federación de Mujeres Campesinas de Nariño (Federation of Rural Women in Nariño)
• Coordinadora Nacional Agraria – CNA (Sevilla, Yumbo) (National Agrarian Coordinator)
• Resguardo Indígena Cariamomo (Caldas- Risaralda) (Cariamomo Indigenous Refuge)
• Programa Mujer Indígena CRIC-Consejo Regional Indígena del Cauca (Indigenous Woman's Program; Cauca Regional Indigenous Council)
• Programa de Mujer Indígena de la Orivac (Orivac Indigenous Woman's Program)
• Asociación de Proyectos Alternativos Comunitarios-APAC (Association of Alternative Community Projects)
• Asociación de Madres Comunitarias (San Pablo, Bucaramanga, Puerto Wilches) (Association of Community Women)
• Liga Internacional de Mujeres por la Paz y la Libertad - LIMPAL Colombia (San Jacinto- Bolivar, Bogotá, Villavicencio, Cartagena) (International League of Women for Peace and Freedom)
• Asociación de Mujeres Productoras de Cárnicos –ASOMPUCAR, (Caquetá) (Association of Women Producers of Meat Products)
• Comisión Interfranciscana de Justicia, Paz y Reverencia con la Creación– Piedecuesta, Santander (InterFranciscan Commission of Justice, Peace and Reverence towards Creation)
• Pastoral Social de Trabajadores-as (Regional Sabana: Hermanas Nuevas Esperanzas; Alianza Fraternal- Apartadó, Barrancabermeja, Ibagué,) (Workers' Social Pastoral)
• Asociación de Mujeres Fe y Vida- AMUFEVI, Valle del Cauca-Rovira, Ibagué (Association of Women, Faith and Life)
• Asociación de Mujeres AMAR – Arauca (Women's Association)
• Red de Mujeres de Tiquisio – Magdalena Medio (Tiquisio Women's Network)
• Red de Mujeres de Puerto Wilches – Magdalena Medio (Puerto Wilches Women's Network)
• Red de Mujeres de Puerto San Pablo – Magdalena Medio (Puerto San Pablo Women's Network)
• Asociación Departamental de Mujeres Campesinas e Indígenas de Santander - ADEMUCIS (Association of Farming and Indigenous Women in Santander)
• Asociación de Desplazados-as Palmeros-as, San Alberto -Cesar (Association of Displaced Palm Plantation Workers)

Observers
• Equipos Cristianos por la Paz – ECAP (Christian Team for Peace)



29th September, 2008
*******

Peace!

Thursday, July 24, 2008

Colombia: Threats to Human Rights Defenders and Social Organisations in Barrancabermeja

Hiya again

Those who know me also know that a big part of my heart beats for the fantastic country of Colombia. By marriage on my brother's side, I have family there. But I also studied Spanish language and literature (longer ago than I care to remember) and have been fascinated by the literature of Ibero-America, especially Colombia.

Not long ago, the country made big headlines when a branch of the armed forces under the current government of Alvaro Uribe Vélez managed to liberate several long-held hostages, including the Colombian-French former presidential candidate, Ingrid Betancour -- everyone must have heard of that near-magical feat of subterfuge. [Addendum on July 25: Since I wrote this, I learnt that the "near-magical feat" involved pretending to be a Swiss human rights organisations, which I think is tantamount to abuse. Some papers reported that the liberators pretended to be from the Red Cross, but I've not seen it confirmed in an interview with one analyst from the International Crisis Group, who was recently interviewed in the Neue Zürcher Zeitung-NZZ (see http://www.crisisgroup.org/home/index.cfm?id=5588&l=1 ). So I'm deleting the word "deeply" in the next sentence.] Although I am highly sceptical of Uribe's government, I must admit that I was ------ impressed with the way this liberation was achieved -- no bloodshed, no violence. That is quite a feat in a country that has known so much of both in the past forty years (and much longer). Anyone can take a leaf out of that particular book (the peaceful, non-violent liberation of the hostages, not the violence...).

However, all is far from well in what could easily be one of the wealthiest countries on earth. The government is staunchly right-wing, arch-liberalist and totally anti-human rights (except where its own cronies are concerned).

That is why I am today forwarding to you a call for urgent action on behalf of OFP - the Popular Women's Organisation of Barrancabermeja. Last July 20th [2008], these courageous women "celebrated" the 36th anniversary of the foundation of their organisation to defend freedom and social justice and gender equality (luchando por la libertad, la justicia social y de género).
Because the OFP (and other social and labour organisations) are a thorn in the fascist side of the paramilitaries, that -- to say the least -- enjoy the tacit protection of the Uribe government, the OFP have for more than ten years had to rely on the "unarmed bodyguards" of pbi - Peace Brigades International.

Read for yourself/yourselves. The following is an edited version of the English call for urgent action that I found in my in-box this morning.

*****
BARRANCABERMEJA, MIDDLE MAGDALENA (Magdalena Medio Dept.), COLOMBIA:
THREATS TO SOCIAL ORGANIZATIONS AND HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS

URGENT ACTION

The Space of Social Workers and Human Rights Defenders in Barrancabermeja and the Middle Magdalena denounces and publicly rejects the wave of assassinations of male and female members of the community, as well as the death threats against five social organizations and human rights defenders in the city of Barrancabermeja. We call on the regional, national and international community to come to our assistance and to call on the government of Colombia to put a stop to these nefarious events.
The victims of recent threats and attacks have been the Regional Corporation for the Defense of Human Rights (Credhos), the Popular Women's Organisation (OFP), the Corporation for Development and Peace of Magdalena Medio (CPDMM); the Workers' Labour Union (USO), and the labour unions SINDISPETROL and FERTICOL.
We are deeply concerned that "structures of death" (aka death squads) continue to operate in the city and region of Barrancabermeja while the state's civil and military authorities declare their complete ignorance of such presence, and fail to use their legal powers of action and constraint; nor do we any see action to break up such structures.

SOME FACTS:
[In Barrancabermeja, in just three days from July 18 to 21, 2008, five people were killed, one man in intensive care with serious injuries after an assassination attempt, and one premature baby also in intensive care whose young mother was murdered:]
• July 18, 2008, in the "22nd March" neighborhood, commune 3: a young couple were murdered: ALEXIS ARMANDO CASTILLO BALANZA (18) and his GERALDIN JIMENEZ POSADA (15). She was seven months pregnant and rushed to the Magdalena Medio Clinic, where she died. (Her baby was saved and is in intensive care.)
• July 18, 2008: stabbed to death, Diego Fernando QUIROGA BETANCURT (27). His assassin gave himself up to the authorities, stating that he killed D.F. Quiroga because he violated his two young daughters, 5 and 4 years of age.
• July 19, 2008, ca. 8:30 p.m., in the so-called "UNO" section: murder of NIVALDO MARBLE ZAPATA (39), resident of “The Chicó” neighbourhood.
• July 19, 2008, 9:30 p.m., in the “San Jose obrero” neighbourhood: murder of JAVIER DÍAZ ROOMS (40), resident on the Road to “Pozo Siete”, opposite the "Torres" neighbourhood.
• July 19, 2008, 9:30 p.m., in the "Corales" neighbourhood: ELIAS GUTIERREZ (39) attacked and seriously injured; he is in intensive care.
• July 21,2008, "Buena Vista" Neighbourhood, commune Four: leaflets containing the following death threat were distributed:

"ANTIOQUIA, JULY 20, 2008 -- COMMUNIQUE
"OUR ORGANIZATION AFTER DOING AN EXHAUSTIVE INVESTIGATION HAS DECIDED TO TAKE BARRANCABERMEJA BY BLOOD AND FIRE IN ORDER TO APPEASE HER OF ALL WHO CAUSE VIOLENCE.
"IN THIS SENSE WE DECLARE THE FOLLOWING TO BE MILITARY TARGETS: THE FARC, LEFT-WING SOCIAL AND HUMAN-RIGHTS ORGANIZATIONS (OFP, CREDHOS, PDP), DISARMED PEOPLE [former paramilitaries who surrendered their weapons against fairly substantial state support to be "reinserted" into civil society], LABOUR UNIONISTS (USO, SINDISPETROL, FERTICOL), THE SO-CALLED “AGUILAS NEGRAS” ["Black Eagles", a notorious paramilitary organisation] AND ANYONE WHO COMMITS ILLICIT [DEEDS] TO THEIR OWN BENEFIT.
"THIS RECAPTURE OPERATION WAS INITIATED ON JULY 01 OF THE PRESENT YEAR AND WE HOPE THAT THE COMMUNITY WILL LEND US ITS SUPPORT SO WE MAY NOT NEED TO TAKE REPRISALS AGAINST IT.
"FOR A BARRANCABERMEJA IN PEACE THROUGH BLOOD AND FIRE“
"DON MARIO, COMMANDER [of] HEROES OF CASTAÑO [Castaño is a notorious paramilitary leader]"

We hold responsible the civil and military authorities, by omission, of the events that have occurred in Barrancabermeja and the region

We hold responsible the Colombian state, and its civil and military authorities for any [harm] that may be done to the life and integrity of the members of threatened organizations.

We demand State protection, in fulfillment of its constitutional duty, for the threatened organizations, their members and relatives; as well as for the victimised communities.

We demand investigation of these facts, and the adoption of the necessary and appropriate measures against the persons responsible for these actions.

We call on the International Community to be watchful and to ensure this serious matter is pursued, and to lodge their complaints with the national Government [of Colombia] against these facts that affect the life and integrity of the victimised communities and of the threatened organisations.

SPACE OF MALE AND FEMALE HUMAN RIGHTS WORKERS
BARRANCABERMEJA, MIDDLE MAGDALENA, COLOMBIA
JULY 23, 2008.

Please send your e-mails and letters of concern to the following addresses:

Álvaro Uribe Vélez, Presidente de la República, Cra. 8 # 7-26, Palacio de Nariño, Santa Fe de Bogotá.
Fax:+57.1.566.20.71; E-mail: auribe@presidencia.gov.co

Sr. Francisco Santos, Vicepresidente de la República,
Téls. (+571) 334.45.07, (+57310) 7720130; E-mail: fsantos@presidencia.gov.co; buzon1@presidencia.gov.co

Programa DDHH de Vicepresidencia: ppdh@presidencia.gov.co

Observatorio DDHH de Vicepresidencia: obserdh@presidencia.gov.co

Dr. Volmar Antonio Pérez Ortiz, Defensor del Pueblo, Calle 55 #10-32, Bogotá.
Fax: +57.1.640.04.91; E-mail: secretaria_privada@hotmail.com; agenda@agenda.gov.co

Doctor Mario Hernán Iguarán Arana, Fiscal General de la Nación,
Diagonal 22-B # 52-01, Bogotá.
Fax: + 57.1.570.20.00; +57.1.414.90.00, Extensión 1113; E-mail: contacto@fiscalia.gov.co; denuncie@fiscalia.gov.co

Dr. Edgardo José Maya Villazón, Procurador General de la Nación, Cra. 5 #. 15-80, Bogotá.
Fax: +57.1.342.97.23; +571.284.79.49; +57.1.342.97.23; E-mail: cap@procuraduria.gov.co; quejas@procuraduria.gov.co; webmaster@procuraduria.gov.co; cap@procuraduria.gov.co;

reygon@procuraduria.gov.co; anticorrupcion@presidencia.gov.co
Fax: +57.1.342.97.23

Dr. Juan Manuel Santos Calderón, Ministro de la Defensa, Avenida El Dorado con Cra. 52 CAN, Bogotá.
Fax: +57.1.222.18.74; E-mail : siden@mindefensa.gov.co; infprotocol@mindefensa.gov.co; mdn@cable.net.co

Dr. Carlos Franco, Director del Programa Presidencial de Derechos Humanos y de Derecho Internacional Humanitario (DIH).
Fax. +57.1.337 46 67; E-mail: cefranco@presidencia.gov.co, Clle 7 N° 5–54 Bogotá, D.C.

Dr. Fabio Valencia Cossio , Ministro del Interior y de Justicia, Avenida El dorado con Cra. 52 CAN, Bogotá Fax. +57.1.222 1874; E-mail: ministro@minjusticia.gov.co

***

Thank you!
Peace! Paz!