Human Rights Takes a Beating in Colombia

[Joanne98]

This is not the first time that Colombian human rights defenders have received a wave of e-mail threats from people claiming to be re-armed paramilitaries. This time, however, the threats that several individuals and organizations received late last week have come after a series of murders.

Most of the labor and human-rights activists killed during the past month were organizers of the March 6 protests on behalf of the victims of state and paramilitary violence. Even the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights' field office in Bogotá, which has said little publicly for months, issued a statement last week expressing concern.

Iván Cepeda, a leader of Colombia's National Movement of Victims of State Crimes, explained the worsening situation in his regular column in the Colombian weekly El Espectador. Cepeda calls for the resignation of José Obdulio Gaviria, a controversial advisor to President Uribe, who may have green-lighted some of the violent retribution when he smeared the March 6 mobilizations as an event organized by the FARC.

Here is a translation (with a few edits) of Iván Cepeda's column lifted from the website of Britain's Colombia Solidarity Campaign.
http://www.counterpunch.org/isacson03212008.html

If you click on the link you can see a copy of the death threat letter.

[AlphaCentauri]

1. Those must be the recycled paramilitaries

getting their money share from the Uribistas.

[Judi Lynn]

2. More on this from Colombian paper, El Tiempo, fed through google translation tool:

March 24, 2008 --
Asesinados for his work as trade unionists two participants of the march past March 6
It is the teacher Carmén Cecilia Carvajal, Ocaña (Norte de Santander), and Carlos Burbano, in San Vicente del Caguan (Caquetá).



The teacher was affiliated to the Association of North Institutors Santandereanos while Burbano was part of the National Association of Public Servants and Employees of Health (Anthoc).

Carvajal, 52, was attacked by two thugs on the morning of last March 4 while leaving his home. Two thugs approached and shot him in the face, confirmed the Prosecution.

Authorities followed the trail to alleged threats they received from groups as' Next Generation 'and' Black Eagles', denounced by executives of the Central Unitaria de Trabajadores (CUT).

The same complaint was made by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights of the UN, through a communique.

A week later he was found dead Burbano on the road that leads to St. Vincent to Puerto Rico with wounds caused by a knife, established the Police.

According to the CUT and the UN, have been killed six people belonging to trade unions and human rights NGOs between February 23 and March 11 in four departments and in Bogota "as a result of their participation in the march," ensure.

Fabio Arias, vice president of the CUT, has some names of victims: Leonidas Gomez, the union's National Union of Bank Employees (Uneb), and Gildardo Antonio Gomez, educator and delegate of the Association of Institutors of Antioquia (Adida).

"Neither death had a personal motivation," said Arias. Suceden in moments before and after the march. Also coincides with threats made to 20 people from our Department of Human and Fecode. "


The Office of the UN High Commissioner found that "there is an urgent need for resolute action" to clarify two other murders: that of Édgar Molina (Huipaz collaborator), which occurred on February 23 in Algeciras (Huila) and the leader Manuel José Queen on 25 February in Vijes (Valley).


The Government rejected the facts and called for a review plans for security.

Government calls security review

The Interior Ministry rejected the threats against human rights organizations and trade unionists who participated in the march last March 6, and requested the review of security schemes. Moreover, he asked the Attorney expedite investigations into homicides reported.

In 2008 there have been 14 murders of people linked to the trade union movement, according to the Police. Of these, eight are teachers.

Last Saturday was found dead Adolfo Gonzalez, 42, who worked at The Cerrejón and was part of the National Union of Coal (Sintracarbón) in La Guajira.

EDITORIAL JUSTICE

http://www.eltiempo.com/justicia/2008-03-24/ARTICULO-WEB-NOTA_INTERIOR-4026653.html

google translation tool:
http://translate.google.com/translate_t?langpair=es|en

(A moment's research will inform you that the old paramilitaries the government pretended to disband have merely formed new groups and are still in business. These names are associated with the same people who formed the old death squads. Amnesty International has discussed this great lie at length, and actually condemns it.)

[struggle4progress]

3. Nothing to see here ... quick! look at something else over there !