>Mailing-List: ListBot mailing list contact [EMAIL PROTECTED] >STOP NATO: ¡NO PASARAN! - HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.HOME-PAGE.ORG > > NIZKOR - Three U'wa children killed while the forced displacement of >their indigenous community was being provoked. >_____________________________ >NIZKOR >Tuesday, 15 February 2000 >Nizkor Int. Human Rights Team >Derechos Human Rights >Serpaj Europe >Information >[iii) messages] >15feb00 >INFORMATION UPDATE ON THE ETHNOCIDE UPON THE U'WA PEOPLE ON THE PART OF >OCCIDENTAL PETROLEUM COMPANY AND THE COLOMBIAN GOVERNMENT. >i) THREE U'WA CHILDREN KILLED DURING COMBINED POLICE AND MILITARY RAID >AND WHILE THE FORCED DISPLACEMENT OF THEIR INDIGENOUS COMMUNITY WAS >TAKING PLACE. >The Association of Traditional Uwa Authorities, ASOUWA, and the Regional >Indigenous Council of Arauca, denounce the following to departmental, >national and international Human Rights and Non-governmental >Organizations: >1. Today, Friday, February 11, 2000, at approximately 8:15 a.m., >combined Colombian military and police forces arrived by air to the >hamlet of Canoas, approximately 4 kilometers from Gibraltar, Northern >Santander department. At the site, approximately 450 Indians -- women, >children, men and elders from the U'wa community -- were gathered. >Without prior warning, the public forces violently evicted the members >of the community using heavy machinery and tear gas, and they forced us >to flee by leaping into the Cubujon River. As a result of these violent >acts, three U'wa children died. Other children and women are wounded, >and there are U'wa who are missing. >2. We denounce these crimes against humanity, specifically against the >indigenous people. These actions violate our constitutional rights, our >human rights and international humanitarian law. >3. We urgently request the intervention of governmental and >non-governmental observers, from the national and international levels. >We urge you to speak out against these abusive acts which violate the >precepts of the Colombian Constitution which protect indigenous people >and which violate human rights. >4. We demand that the President of Colombia and Occidental Petroleum >Company take measures to respect the indigenous communities, and we hold >them both responsible for all actions which violate our physical well >being and territorial rights. >For the defense of our ethnic rights, our principles and our culture. >The U'wa community is present >February 11, 2000 >ASOU`WA/ Consejo Regional Indigena de Arauca >---------------------------------------------- >ii) U'WA PEOPLE EVICTED FROM THEIR LAND. >Violation of national interest and cultural identity. Today, the 25th of >January, 2000, in a shameful action by the military and police forces, >headed by Major Victor Hugo Rojas Aragón, we the indigenous U'wa >people were evicted from our land at Santa Rita and Bellavista, where >the oil drilling site Gibraltar 1 is located. The army used helicopters >to take us out from our land, and since this action three of our >indigenous brothers are missing. >Since the 22nd of January, 10 big trucks have arrived in the area of the >Samoré Block, transporting machinery to start opening up a road >through Cedeño , in order to reach our territory, which confirms the >absolute determination of Occidental to start oil activity, disregarding >men, women, children, elders, cultures and history, with the goal of >extracting the oil which is found in our land. >These violations have been supported by the General Director of >Indigenous Affairs of the Ministry of the Interior, the lawyer Nubia >Morales, judge from the municipality of Toledo, and the governor of >Northern Santander, Jorge Garcia Herreros, who in a cynical tone said: >"those animal Indians have to be evicted violently". >We hold the Colombian Government responsible for this action of eviction >and what it could lead to, and in particular the President, Andres >Pastrana Arango and the company Occidental of Colombia, OXY. >This eviction action disregards our rights of property and possession >that we, the U'wa People and authorities, have acquired over these >territories, through a contract of sale, carried out on the 18th of >November, 1999, before the First Notary and duly registered in the >Office of Register and Public and Private Instruments, Pamplona Section. >Communal indigenous and ethnic territories are inalienable, cannot be >seized and are unassailable, according to the constitutional and legal >rights (articles 1, 2, 63, 70, 286 and 330 of the National Constitution, >Agreement 179 of the ILO, law 21 of 1921). >We are calling the General Procurator of the Nation, The People's >Defenders office and Human Rights groups to come to our invaded >territory immediately. We invite the national and international >community to redouble their actions of support, denunciation and >solidarity with the U'wa people. >We are appealing to the governments of the world to reject the calls to >support the Plan Colombia, deny resources to the Colombian government, >which seeks through this Plan to increase violations against the >Colombian people and in particular, against indigenous groups. >The U'wa territory is sacred - Cultures with principles are not for sale >- We the uwas defend the life of humanity and planet earth - We will not >renounce our rights. >Cubara, January 25, 2000 >CABILDO MAYOR U´WA >Cubara, Boyaca, Colombia >---------------------------------------------- >iii) OXY INVADES U'WA TERRITORY. THE COLOMBIAN ARMY HAS 5000 AGENTS AT >THE SERVICE OF OCCIDENTAL. >Cubara, Colombia -- On January 19, 2000 more than 5,000 agents of the >Colombian Military, heavily armed, invaded our traditional territory, >exactly at Cedeno, where Oxy's oil drilling site Gibraltar 1 is >situated. Faced with opposition presented by the U'wa people, headed by >our representative and indigenous leader Roberto Cobaria, military >forces declared that "the oil will be extracted even over and above the >U'wa people." Also police forces were dispatched to the zone for the >security of Occidental's engineers. >Since the 15th of November 1999, more than 250 U'wa people have occupied >Cedeno, part of our ancestral territory, resisting the exploitation >brought on by Oxy. Now we are being surrounded by the 5000 military >agents and Colombian police who have put at risk our physical integrity. >With this deed, Occidental and the Colombian government are insisting on >ignoring our territorial rights over land we have occupied for thousands >of years. We are the owners of the territory on which they aim to >exploit petroleum, without recognizing the constitutional rights of >community lands for our ethnic group which are inalienable, >non-negotiable, and irremovable, protected by public laws over >collective property. >In this way, the Colombian government headed by the Minister of Mining >and Energy with the compliance of INCORA, in a shadowy process is >seeking to declare U'wa territory a special petroleum reserve zone with >the false argument that the national petroleum industry is covered by >the law as a public utility or social interest, with the sole purpose of >permitting and facilitating petroleum exploitation by the multinational >corporation Occidental. >We are making an urgent call to the national and international >community, and to all groups who have supported us, to mobilize against >this last attempt to trample upon the U'wa nation, which threatens our >existence and culture. We U'wa will not cede our cultural, historic and >ancient rights. We prefer genocide sponsored by the Colombian government >rather than handing over our mother earth to oil companies. >Cubara, January 2, 2000 >Signed: CABILDO MAYOR U´WA >Cubara, Boyaca, Colombia >[Documentary Note by Equipo Nizkor: Message i) has been distributed by >Nizkor through its Network in Spanish on Sun, 13feb00 and messages ii) >and iii) on Fri, 04feb00.] >---------------------------------------------- >FOR FURTHER INFORMATION: >In Colombia: +571 2812071 or +571 3376950 or +571 2456860 In the U.S.: >Amazon Watch, +1.310.317.7045; Rainforest Action Network, >+1.415.305.7246. >---------------------------------------------- >______________________________________________ >********************************************** >* CLM-NEWS is brought to you by the COLOMBIAN LABOR MONITOR at * >* http://www.prairienet.org/clm > * >* and the CHICAGO COLOMBIA COMMITTEE > * >* Email us at [EMAIL PROTECTED] or > * >* Dennis Grammenos at [EMAIL PROTECTED] > * >* To subscribe send request to [EMAIL PROTECTED] * >* subscribe clm-news Your Name > * >********************************************** > > >______________________________________________________________________ >To unsubscribe, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED] >Start Your Own FREE Email List at http://www.listbot.com/links/joinlb > __________________________________ KOMINFORM P.O. 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