TAKE ACTION! PEACE COMMUNITY OF SAN JOSE NEEDS YOUR SUPPORT

THREATS TO THE PEACE COMMUNITY OF SAN JOSE DE APARTADO CONTINUE. PLEASE TAKE ACTION!!

Paramilitary forces are making increasingly violent threats against members of the Peace Community of San José de Apartadó and other peasant families in the area, with no apparent action by the Colombian government. Immediate action is needed by US Ambassador William Brownfield to leverage Washington's enormous influence and prevent further violence against the community and area's civilian population.

On the morning of November 7, in the Playa Larga vereda (settlement) of San José, some 50 rifle-wielding paramilitaries in camouflage gear and identifying armbands detained resident Jairo Berrio Arango, according to a community statement. He was forced to undress as the gunmen held a rifle to his head and threatened to kill him on the spot. When his father arrived on the scene and pleaded with them, they said they wouldn't kill him now-but that they had six San José community members targeted for death, and that they should flee immediately to avoid being killed. They said the army was cooperating with them. On November 7, five families fled the vereda of La Esperanza, where Berrio Arango's family is from, and local sources reported to FOR that between nine and 30 families had displaced from La Esperanza and Playa Larga as of November 10.

On November 1, the Peace Community's legal representative, Jesús Emilio Tuberquia, was threatened at gunpoint at an Internet café in the town of Apartadó, the local municipal seat,the community reported. Two known paramilitaries surrounded him at the café, while one held a pistol to his head and said, "I'm going to kill you." He pushed the man's arm away, fled into the café and was able to flee unharmed, though the gunmen grabbed his bag, which had fallen in the scuffle.

Background: Paramilitary Resurgence in Northwestern Colombia

Young men fanned out through the towns along what is known as the "banana axis" of Urabá on the evening of October 14, telling local businesses to shut down the following day. The men distributed leaflets announcing the continuation of the "anti-subversive struggle" in light of "the guerrillas' advance" and what the group described the government's non-fulfillment of promises made in the paramilitary demobilization. Spray-painted graffiti with the initials of the group- AGC, Gaitanista Self-Defense Forces of Colombia were seen on various shops and city walls. The action shut down public transport, retail businesses and banana plantations throughout the region. Many students didn't go to school, and some humanitarian groups suspended visits to communities.

Armed forces chief General Freddy Padilla dismissed concerns about the strike, saying curiously that it was not a paramilitary rearmament, but an act of terrorism, implying that paramilitaries do not practice terrorism. Seventeenth Brigade commander General Héctor Peña Porras claimed there was no armed strike, because no one was armed, but reliable sources informed FOR that armed men were present in neighborhoods between Apartadó and San José.

President Alvaro Uribe, with support from the United States, insists that paramilitaries no longer exist in Colombia. But for the San José Peace Community, the paramilitary action was simply the announcement of an already-existing reality. The Peace Community has for months been reporting the presence of increasingly large groups of armed men in the area, who apparently belong to non-demobilized groups. On October 30, paramilitaries threatened to kill six members of the Community and to commit another massacre in the area if members of the community did not leave the area. The Community declared that on 29 September "more than 100 paramilitaries arrived in the area of La Unión armed with assault weapons, bearing AUC armbands and presented themselves as Self-Defense Forces" and proceeded to threaten Peace Community members, saying that they had over "200 paramilitaries were present in the Playa Larga area, 20 minutes from la Esperanza, detaining two farmers (…) and accusing them of being guerrillas." On 14 and 15 August, 60 presumed paramilitaries, originating from the Nueva Antioquia area, dressed in camouflage combat gear and carrying assault weapons, were present in the areas of Playa Larga and la Esperanza. The Peace Community reports that in La Esperanza these armed men arrived at houses of Peace Community members and threatened them if they refused to collaborate in ridding the area of guerrillas. One source reports that paramilitaries in the area are also using armbands with FCU, for the Urabá Central Front.

On August 31, fighting took place between the insurgency and presumed paramilitaries in Playa Larga, close to the settlement of La Esperanza . Several reports indicate the existence of a paramilitary base in Nueva Antioquia where the army and police exercise strict control of all those entering the settlement and whilst inside Nueva Antioquia, "The paramilitaries (…) control the food, charge taxes on the products the small farmers bring there to sell, all this in full public view of the army and police."

How does this state of affairs occur in such an extremely militarized area? What allows the alleged paramilitary base in Nueva Antioquia to exist in close proximity to Army and police checkpoints?

Please write to United States Ambassador William Brownfield, and request that he urge the Colombian government to:

1. Recognize and denounce the problem of paramilitary remobilization throughout Urabá.
2. Suspend all military and police officers who reportedly have turned a blind eye to the paramilitary groups, their presence and threats; and
3. Aggressively pursue arrest and prosecution of all members of illegal armed groups operating in the region, and government officials who have facilitated their actions.

Take two minutes to send a lettter! Please click here now.

For further information: www.forcolombia.org and http://cdpsanjose.org

Youth Network of Medellin Marches for Human Rights

March & Carnival for Human Rights in Medellin

The month of October was dedicated to carry out the various activities as part of the Social Forum in Medellin. There were many workshops, activities, and presentations that focused on social issues particular to youth, public services, security and crime, social conditions for local residents, displaced people, and many other topics that merited the attention of social organizations and civil society. The Youth Network of Medellin (RED-Juvenil de Medellin) participated and put together some of the activities of the Forum. They specifically asked FOR to observe one of the most visible activities that took place in the city center: The March & Carnival for Human Rights.
On the 30th of October, everyone was gathered at around 9:00am ready to start the carnival. The crowd was colorful, excited, vibrant and loud voices of familiar faces, friends, relatives, and activists echoed with the city noise in the background. There were people of all ages with entire families gathered to march for all the rights they believe should be demanded publicly and loudly. I was highly impressed by all the energy and smiles that were shared and expressed by all the participants. I was also surprised to see the talented six-year-olds in costumes wearing the 6ft long leg sticks that gave the march the kind of colors and visuals you usually get in a circus. “Get the camera!” “Did you see his costume?” “What are the police saying?” “When are we going to start marching?” where some of the comments I heard while I searched for the Youth Network’s Security team to get information before the Carnival would being marching.

Waiting to Start
I noticed that there was a strong presence of policemen/women at the front of the crowd talking to the various organizers. They were debating the plan of action. The organizers wanted to proceed with the route they originally planned: pass through the Police’s Command Station and have a public presentation in front of their command station. The police wanted otherwise. The state security refused to accept the continuation of the march if it meant that the citizens would pass by their command station and wanted the organizers to offer an alternative route. The Police also added “if the march proceeds as planned and passes through the command station, we will have to call the riot police (ESMAD)”. This was a moment of tension. The organizers knew that if the ESMAD showed up, it would generate violence and that it would be a catalyst for chaos. A member of the Youth Network explained that “There have been many incidents in which the riot police uses strong violence against the participants and activists, inclusively last week students at the university were brutalized by them.”
After more long minutes of dialogue between the organizers and the police a consensus was reached: the Carnival would change its route and avoid passing through the police station. “We don’t want to be susceptible to acts of violence and we want to make sure that these kind of public actions don’t lose their focus so we will rather have a peaceful march and be flexible,” said one of the Youth Network’s members.

And they marched…
And around 10:00am the carnival began! The indigenous community that was participating gathered and initiated the march with an honoring ceremony and asked that everyone respect mother Earth and each other. Then the music began to play and there was no way this crowd could be ignored by the passersbyers. There were people with the megaphone speaking out against the social injustices they have to endure the threats made against human rights defenders, social organizers, and union workers. The threats, they said, “also come directly from the State and the authorities.” The children were at the front of the march with their costumes dancing while a live marching band followed. I was observing from the front of the crowd on the periphery were there was more presence of the police units. According to the Organized Community Network (ROC in Spanish) members, it is usually in the front of the march where more observation is needed in order to keep the crowd organized and to respond to emergencies. Being in the front also allowed the organizers to talk to the authorities in case of anybody tried preventing the carnival from continuing its course.

The Human Rights March was indeed a carnival. The crowd had three different kinds of live music playing, including the Youth Network’s Chrimia Band. There were an estimated 700-800 participants and many people dressed in costumes, with make-up and/or chanting a slogan. Some of the more visible costumes were a Caracol (Colombian mainstream media channel) news reporter with exaggerated breasts and a sign that read “Nothing wrong happens here”, a statue of liberty with the face of a skeleton and stickers with Exxon, McDonalds, and Coca Cola, and a soldier with a gun that would pass around intimidating people.
Themes that were highlighted during the march were: the disadvantages behind the privatization of public services, the mainstream media’s lack of interest in addressing social issues, womyn’s rights, displaced people’s conditions, the university student’s right to express themselves, indigenous peoples right to their land, and the right to have cultural celebrations in public spaces.
“We want to make sure that in Medellin, people are not stopped from expressing themselves because of the fear for their life. We want to make these public actions a kind of doorway so that people can celebrate their right to express themselves freely and collectively. That is why we are calling it a carnival, because we want to be loud, be excited, and still address those issues that we have to face everyday when our human rights are not respected. We don’t want to be afraid to express ourselves,” says a member of the Youth Arts Network who has been part of the organization for over six years.

Hot Sancocho for Everyone
During the entire four hours of the march the crowd did not cease to be loud and active. The participants who were performing dances and playing live music continued to do so until the end of the march, which was around 2:00pm. Luckily no major incidents happened although many people said they had identified policemen dressed as civilians. This is worrisome for most participants, as they expressed that undercover policemen take pictures of them and uses that information to intimidate and frame them for crimes. Some participants also mentioned cases in which the undercover policemen would provoke a fight or dispute as a strategy to end a march and/or activity and arrest people.
After those hours under the extremely hot day everyone was hungry and thirsty and with partially melted make-up on their faces. The carnival ended in front of a union worker’s organization where four huge (about 3 ½ ft tall) pots of boiling Sancocho (a kind of stew with traditional Colombian vegetables and meat) were waiting for everyone.

It was definitely a wonderful experience to see the non-violent initiatives that take place in a context where activist and those who challenge the status quo continue to be victims of threats and violence. The best part was witnessing how fear is transformed into a carnival and for organizations such as the Youth Network of Medellin to be able to dance and sing as they ask for their human rights to be respected.