From: Colombian Labor Monitor <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Date: Tue, 18 Sep 2001 13:28:28 -0500 (CDT)
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: AI: Urgent Action #236/01 on Colombia
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AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL
URGENT ACTION APPEAL
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18 September 2001
UA 236/01 Fear for Safety
COLOMBIA
Members of Minga (non-governmental human rights organization)
Members of the non-governmental human rights organization Minga
have reportedly been followed and harassed by men believed to be
members of a paramilitary organization. Amnesty International
believes that people working for Minga may be in danger.
Two Minga workers were apparently on their way to meet with state
officials in the capital, Bogota, when they were followed by two men
on a motorcycle. They stopped to let the motorcycle pass, but it
stayed behind, eventually following them into a car park, where they
stopped. One of the men on the motorcycle, who was carrying a
rucksack, approached the car, putting his hand inside his jacket as if
reaching for a gun. The Minga workers, together with their non-
Colombian volunteer from Peace Brigades International, called for
help, shouting that they were human rights defenders. Security
guards came from the car-park and a neighboring building, and the
two men fled.
At the end of August a message was circulated on the Internet which
declared that the Grupo de Limpieza Urbana, Urban Cleansing Group
of the army-backed paramilitary group Autodefensas Unidas de
Colombia (AUC), United Self-Defence Forces of Colombia would be
starting a 'clean-up campaign' (campana de limpieza) to rid Colombia
of people they believe to be urban guerrillas. The security forces and
their paramilitary allies have frequently named human rights workers
as guerrilla collaborators, and many of the people they accuse have
then been killed or 'disappeared'.
Minga is a national human rights organization based in Bogota which
files complaints with the authorities about human rights violations
committed by the security forces and their paramilitary allies. In the
past its workers have received death threats after they reported
human rights violations to the national government.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Members of the Colombian army and security forces and their
paramilitary allies continue to commit serious human rights violations
with virtual impunity. Paramilitary groups have killed several thousand
civilians over the past five years. The government suspended the
constitutional legal base for the formation of paramilitary
organizations and issued directives to the armed forces to combat
and disband such groups in 1989, yet they continue to operate with
the support of the security forces in many areas of the country.
The security forces and their paramilitary allies have a policy of
accusing human rights organizations of supporting or collaborating
with the guerrillas, so they can present them as legitimate military
targets. At least 25 human rights defenders have been killed or
'disappeared' in the last three years.
RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send appeals to arrive as quickly
as possible:
- expressing concern for the safety of human rights defenders
working with Minga;
- urging a full and impartial investigation into the recent paramilitary
threats circulated via the Internet to a number of non-governmental
organizations and the incident on 11 September during which Minga
workers were followed, urging that the results are made public and
those responsible brought to justice;
- urging the government to adhere to its obligations to protect human
rights defenders, as set out by the United Nations Declaration on the
Rights and Responsibility of Individuals, Groups and Organs of
Society to Promote and Protect Universally Recognized Human
Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, and by the Organization of
American States;
- urging the authorities to take immediate action to dismantle
paramilitary groups, in line with stated government commitments and
United Nations recommendations.
APPEALS TO:
President of Colombia:
Senor Presidente Andres Pastrana
Presidente de la Republica
Palacio de Narino
Carrera 8 No. 7-26
Santafe de Bogota, Colombia
Telegrams: President Pastrana, Bogota, Colombia
Telex: 396 44281 PALP CO
Fax: 011 57 1 286 7434/284 2186/337 1351
Salutation: Excelentisimo Sr. Presidente/Dear President
Pastrana
Minister of Defense:
Dr. Gustavo Bell
Ministro de Defensa Nacional
Ministerio de Defensa Nacional
Avenida Eldorado CAN - Carrera 52
Santafe de Bogota, Colombia
Telegram: Ministro de Defensa, Bogota, Colombia
Telex: 396 42411 INPRE CO; 396 44561 CFAC CO
Fax: 011 57 1 286 4126 / 281 1213 / 222 1874
Salutation: Dear Minister / Sr. Ministro
Minister of Interior:
Sr. Armando Estrada Villa
Ministro del Interior
Ministerio del Interior
Palacio Echeverry
Carrera 8a, No.8-09, piso 2o.
Santafe de Bogota, Colombia
Telegrams: Ministro Interior, Bogota, Colombia
Fax: 011 57 1 341 9583 / 334 3960
Salutation: Dear Sir / Sr. Ministro
COPIES TO:
Non-governmental human rights organization:
Minga
AA 40303
Bogota, Colombia.
Ambassador Luis Alberto Moreno
Embassy of Colombia
2118 Leroy Pl. NW
Washington DC 20008
Please send appeals immediately. Check with the Colorado office
between 9:00 am and 6:00 pm, Mountain Time, weekdays only, if
sending appeals after October 30, 2001.
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