From: "mart" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: [pttp] Fw: Urgent Action #244/01 on Colombia
From: Colombian Labor Monitor <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Date: Tue, 25 Sep 2001 19:39:33 -0500 (CDT)
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: AI: Urgent Action #244/01 on Colombia
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AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL
URGENT ACTION APPEAL
_______________________________________________________________________
Go to http://www.amnestyusa.org/urgent/newslett.html
to read this month's newsletter.
25 September 2001
UA 244/01 Fear for Safety/Extrajudicial Executions
COLOMBIA Flor Maria Gaviria (f), Fabiola Villalba Herrera (f) and
the civilian population in the district of Frias, Falan municipality, in the
north of Tolima Department
Killed: John Navarrete (m), Cecilia Cortes (f), Hernan Cortes (m)
(m), Uberney Cortes (m), Arley Gonzalez (m), Jezid Aros (m), Pedro
Urrego (m), Aldubier Tirana (m), Marco Lino Aguirre (m), Rafael
Jimenez (m), Vicente Rodriguez (m)
Eleven people have been killed in Tolima department following an
incursion of army-backed paramilitaries in the region. Amnesty
International is seriously concerned for the safety of the civilian
population of the municipality of Falan.
On 15 September approximately 30 men in military uniform arrived in
the district of Frias, claiming to be members of the Frente Omar Isaza
(Omar Isaza Front) of the Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia (AUC),
United Self-Defense Groups of Colombia. Upon entering the district
they reportedly produced a list of names and forcibly removed several
people from their homes, taking them to the village plaza.
John Navarrete, Cecilia Cortes, Hernan Cortes, Uberney Cortes,
Arley Gonzalez, Jezid Aros, Pedro Urrego, Aldubier Tirana, Marco
Lino Aguirre, Rafael Jimenez and Vicente Rodriguez were reportedly
killed in the plaza with gunshots to the head. Flor Maria Gaviria and
Fabiola Villalba Herrera were reportedly taken to hospital due to the
gravity of the injuries they received.
The killings follow recent paramilitary incursions in Tolima department
(see UA 176/01, AMR 23/070/01, 18 July, 2001). On 15 July,
paramilitaries reportedly entered the communities of Pantanilla,
Villanueva and El Bledo in the municipality of El Libano, near
Mariquita, threatening and beating members of the communities. A
young man's stomach was reportedly perforated after he was beaten
with the barrel of a rifle.
Amnesty International has serious concerns for the safety of the
civilian population in these areas following the recent massacres,
given that despite previous international condemnation the
Colombian authorities have apparently taken no decisive action to
confront the paramilitaries.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Members of the Colombian army and security forces and their
paramilitary allies commit serious human rights violations with virtual
impunity. In the last five years several thousand civilians have been
killed by paramilitary groups. The Colombian 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 work with the
support of the security forces - by action or omission - in many areas
of the country. Guerrilla forces have also carried out numerous killings
and other violations of international humanitarian law against
members of peasant, black, and indigenous communities, whom they
accuse of collaborating with the security forces or paramilitary
groups.
RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send appeals to arrive as quickly
as possible:
- expressing concern for the safety of Flor Maria Gaviria and Fabiola
Villalba Herrera and urging the authorities to guarantee their
immediate safety;
- urging the authorities to do everything necessary to guarantee the
safety of the civilian population in northern areas of Tolima
department;
- calling for a full and impartial investigation into the reported killing
of the 11 people named above;
- calling for a full and impartial investigation into links between the
security forces and paramilitary groups operating in northern areas of
the department of Tolima, urging that the results are made public and
those found responsible for supporting and participating in such
groups are brought to justice;
- 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
Telexes: 396 44281 PALP CO
Faxes: 011 57 1566 2071
Salutation: Excelentisimo Sr. Presidente / Dear President
Pastrana
Minister of Defense:
Dr. Gustavo Bell
Ministro de Defensa Nacional
Ministerio de Defensa Nacional
Avenida Eldorado
Carrera 52 OFI. 217
CAN
Santafe de Bogota, Colombia
Telegrams: Ministro Defensa, Bogota, Colombia
Telexes: 396 42411 INPRE CO; 396 44561 CFAC CO
Faxes: 011 57 1 222 0059
Salutation: Sr. Ministro / Dear Minister
Gobernador del Departamento de Tolima
Sr. Guillermo Alfonso Jaramillo Martinez
Gobernacion de Tolima
Calle 10 y 11, Carrera 3
Ibague, Tolima, COLOMBIA
Telegrams: Gobernador de Tolima,Tolima,Colombia
Fax: 011 57 82 638588
Salutation: Dear Governor / Sr. Gobernador
COPIES TO:
Non-governmental human rights organization:
Comite de Solidaridad con los Presos Politicos (CSPP)
Apartado Aereo 22803
Santafe de 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 November 6, 2001.
Amnesty International is a worldwide grassroots movement
that promotes and defends human rights.
Please do not repost this appeal to any part of the Internet
without prior permission from Amnesty International. Thank you for
your help with this appeal.
Urgent Action Network
Amnesty International USA
PO Box 1270
Nederland CO 80466-1270
Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
http://www.amnestyusa.org/urgent/
Phone: 303 258 1170
Fax: 303 258 7881
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