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Urgent
Appeal
Imminent Massacres in Colombia
December 21, 2001
Call
for Action to Halt
the Impending Massacre in
Pacific Coast Region of Colombia
Paramilitaries of the AUC threaten
to “celebrate Christmas”
by carrying out massacres on the Naya, Cajambre, Yurumangui
and Raposo rivers on the Colombian Pacific.
Backgrounder
Information
Copy of Letter to John Manley
download Letter
as WORD doc
download Letter as RTF doc
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Below, please
find an urgent international appeal
about the situation that is unfolding in Colombia.
The Canada-Colombia Solidarity Campaign is asking communities
and organizations to join in their campaign by signing a letter
to John Manley, Minister of Foreign Affairs and
International Development and fax/email or post it directly
to him.
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Several black communities in the pacific coast of Colombia are being killed and displaced by paramilitaries in this very moment, in an operation which will continue in the next days and weeks. This is happening in the same region where between 100 and 300 people were massacred last Easter, with the complicity and cooperation of the Colombian army, which is happening again this time. The objective is to make room for transnational investment in a region where black and indigenous communities have preserved the highest density in biodiversity of the world, strategic oil reserves and projected interoceanic transport megaprojects for international trade. Below you will find an edited version of the letter that the Colombia-Canada Solidarity Campaign has sent to the Canadian minister of foreign affaires, already adapted to be used as model for European groups. There is also a letter to Pastrana (in Spanish only), sent in another message. Obviously, non-European groups are also strongly encouraged to write to your minister, you will have to get rid of the parts that are specific to Europe. We know that this sort of lobbying is not the usual form of action discussed in these lists, but in this very urgent case it is a matter of life or death; there are no guarantees that it will work, but it is better than doing nothing. However, actions in (front of) Colombian embassies and/or companies involved in business with Colombia are surely more effecti ve. IMPORTANT: There are some words that STILL have to be inserted in the letter for it to make sense, referred to in the letter [IN SQUARE BRACKETS AND CAPITALS] - please look for them and replace them before sending the letter. It would be very good if you would make other changes in the letter, take it just as a suggestion. If you send a letter to your minister and Colombian embassy, please send a short message to the following addresses in order to let us know: trasgu@chello.nl, dianhuburlon@gmx.net, mingacolombia@yahoo.ca, sergio.o@gmx.net The Process of Black Communities and the Colombia-Canada Solidarity Campaign are discussing about forming an international brigade to spend Christmas with the black communities, the preliminary call will be sent lat er. On 17-18 May there will be a summit of heads of state from the EU and Latin America in Madrid (not just because Spain has the presidency of the EU in the first half of 2002, but also because Spanish TNCs are re-colonising Latin America at an amazing speed), and there will be mobilisations against it. Stay tuned. If you are interested in the campaign against militarism and paramilitarism of People's Global Action (which is still taking shape), subscribe to the list stopwar@mail.nadir.org by sending a message to stopwar-request@nadir.org with the word subscribe in the BODY of the text (not in the subject line). Salud, Sergio
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The
Canada-Colombia Solidarity Campaign
December 12, 2001
TO: Hon.
John Manley
Re: Call for action to halt the impending massacre in Pacific Coast region of Colombia. Paramilitaries of the AUC threaten to “celebrate Christmas” by carrying out massacres on the Naya, Cajambre, Yurumanguí and Raposo rivers on the Colombian Pacific.
Dear Minister Manley:
We are writing, as Canadian citizens, to express our grave concern about the intensifying violence that is being directed against grassroots social movements and their communities in Colombia. This letter is prompted by our sense of urgency concerning an impending massacre on Colombia’s Pacific coast.
Background to the recent violence on Colombia’s Pacific Coast: We remind you that the Naya River was the site of the infamous Easter Week Massacre of 2001 in which approximately 100 Indigenous, Afrocolombian and peasant inhabitants were killed. This massacre took place despite previous warning by the inhabitants to the Colombian government months before hand. After carrying out this massacre, the paramilitaries belonging to the United Self Defence Forces of Colombia (AUC) announced their incursion into the neighbouring Yurumanguí River, a threat denounced by the Yurumanguí inhabitants to the local and national authorities. As in the case of the Naya massacre, nothing was done. Two weeks later the AUC entered the fishing village of El Firme on the Yurumanguí massacring 7 peasants and permanently displacing the entire community. The Canadian delegation visited both Naya and Yurumanguí rivers and heard the testimony of the survivors of both these atrocities.
The civilian inhabitants of the municipalities of Timba, Suarez and Buenos Aires on the Naya River have reported that there now are about 300 paramilitaries in the area. This raises fears of a paramilitary incursion in these municipalities, especially in the areas of Alto and Bajo Naya and on the shores of the Yurumanguí. Paramilitaries in this region have been consistently alleged to have strong ties with the Colombian army, specifically the III Brigade.
As well, in the first days of December 2001, paramilitary members of the AUC who operate in the municipality of Buenaventura have made statements to the effect that they will “celebrate Christmas” by carrying out massacres on the Naya, Cajambre, Yurumanguí and Raposo rivers in order to “take control of the zone and cleanse it of guerrilla collaborators.” It should be made absolutely clear that these communities do not collaborate with the guerrilla, rather quite the opposite: they consider these armed actors, like all armed actors, as violating their territorial rights.
Campaign of terror against civil movements and organizations in Colombia: This letter is also our concern about the Canadian government’s official position and consequent actions towards the Colombian government in a context where systematic terror has become a deliberate strategy used to silence legitimate civil social movements and organizations and their communities in Colombia. In the words of Alfredo Molano Bravo, Colombian sociologist and journalist living in exile, the model is simple: “all symptoms of inconformity are liquidated through terror and communities are submitted by the rule of obedience to the victor.” We are aware of Canada’s significant and expanding trade interests in Colombia and feel it is imperative that Canada’s relationship with Colombia -expressed both through official government policy and private investment- pay careful attention to ethical and humanitarian demands, given that Colombia is a society afflicted by the worst human rights crisis in the continent. When crimes against humanity are being committed, extreme and exceptional measures need to be taken to avoid negligence or complicity with the perpetrators. “Business as usual” cannot be the assumption upon which Canadian policy towards Colombia is based.
As you may be aware, from August 13-28, 2001, a delegation of 30 Canadians representing diverse social sectors (labour, indigenous, women, afro-Canadian, academic, student and faith organizations) travelled to Colombia. Their goal was to meet and engage with peaceful social movements in an effort to learn about Colombia’s humanitarian crisis from their perspective and build effective solidarity accordingly. The “Minga [1] for Life and Against Violence: 1st Solidarity Encounter with Colombia’s Invisible Popular Struggles”, collected evidence and analysis of a systemic and worsening humanitarian crisis that is affecting Colombia. [1] "Minga" is the name given by indigenous people in the Andes to an ancestral practice that involves entire communities in a collective effort towards the achievement of a common goal.
This Canadian delegation traveled to 5 regions of Colombia to meet with diverse civil movements. These included the Women’s Popular Movement of Barrancabermeja (Middle Magdalena river valley); the Peasant Peace Communities and Territories of Cundinamarca and Antioquia; Christian base communities in the Middle Magdalena, Antioquia and Cundinamarca; the labour organizations in all the regions visited; student and youth organizations in most of the regions visited; the Afrocolombian communities of the Pacific Coast; and, the Indigenous Movement from Northern Cauca and Antioquia.
All of the civil Colombian movements the Canadian delegation met with had the same message to share: there is a systematic dirty war - a campaign of extermination - directed against civil social movements and their communities in Colombia.
Their perspective has been tragically ratified by the events that have followed the Canadian delegation’s return to Canada:
The purpose of this letter is to:
We expect our government to acknowledge the existing evidence, to challenge the Colombian government for its complicity and negligence and to develop the necessary international leadership and measures to effectively oppose the genocide being carried out to serve national and international legal and illegal interests. In consequence we request that the Canadian Government:
Finally, beyond your written response to this letter, we would like to request the opportunity to meet with you and with your staff, at your earliest convenience, in order to present the issues and requests posed in this letter, listen to your perspective, exchange views and carry on with the implementation of a Plan of Action for the Permanent S.O.S., that is informed by our exchange.
Sincerely,
Institutional signatures: 1. National
Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE) National President,
James Clancy
Individual signatures: [not listed online] Cc:
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [1] “Minga” is the name given by indigenous people in the Andes to an ancestral practice that involves entire communities in a collective effort towards the achievement of a common goal.
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