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U.S.
Current Affairs & Media
·Watchlist on
Children and Armed Conflict Releases Report on Colombia Watchlist, a New York-based coalition of NGOs that includes
Save the Children International, the Women’s Commission for Refugee Women and
Children, and Care International among others, launched its report on the
effects of the internal armed conflict on Colombian children on March 4.The Washington launch was aimed at policymakers: the report makes
various recommendations to the U.S. government such as shifting military assistance to
social aid and suspending the fumigations campaign.A delegation of Watchlist representatives
spoke with congressional offices on their findings and will present the report
to the UN Security Council member states in the near future.To view the report, see .
·US State
Department Releases International Narcotics Control Strategy Report On March 1, the US Department of State issued its
annual report on narcotics production and interdiction worldwide.According to the report, Colombia reached a turning point last year as coca-eradication
increased by eight percent and production of the crop fell.Robert Charles of the State Department
reported on March 3 that the fumigation of coca crops in Colombia in the first two months of 2004 increased eighty-four percent over the same
period of 2003. Nevertheless, a
December report by Monitoring the Future, funded by the Department of Health
and Human Services, indicates that cocaine and heroin consumption by youth in
the U.S. has remained unchanged. To view the complete text of the State
Department report, go to .To read a
summary of the Monitoring the Future report, go to http://www.drugabuse.gov/Newsroom/03/2003MTFFactSheet.pdf.
·Colombia Revives the “Search Bloc” Police Unit with U.S. SupportOn March 4, the Colombian government
revived a specialized police unit to root out narco-traffickers in Southwest Colombia.The elite unit will seek to dismantle the Norte del
Valle drug cartel and arrest its leader,Diego Montoya.The U.S. will provide intelligence support for the
Bloc.
·Paramilitaries
Demand Guarantee They Will Not Be Extradited to U.S.In
an interview on March 5, paramilitary leaders demanded a government guarantee
that they will not be extradited to the U.S. for drug charges in exchange for withdrawing
their forces to “concentration zones” under government supervision as part of
their peace process with the Colombian government.In February, the U.S. added two AUC leaders to its list of drug
“kingpins” wanted in the U.S. for cocaine smuggling.U.S. extradition of paramilitary leadership
has been a controversial issue during the peace process.
·Nearly One Hundred
Visit Washington for Advocacy Days on Colombia A coalition of churches and church-related agencies
hosted an ecumenical gathering and advocacy lobby days for peace from March 5th-8th.
Over five hundred fifty participants
from forty-two states were in attendance for workshops and legislative
meetings.Rev. Milton Mejia of the Presbyterian
Church of Colombia and Rep. James McGovern addressed attendees in a
plenary session. Workshops included issues relating to Afro-Colombians,
Internally Displaced Persons, the FTAA, drug policy, and the role of churches in
peace-building.Many participants spoke
with their Members of Congress to request greater U.S. focus on social aid to Colombia, rather than military aid, a firmer commitment to enforcing
compliance with the human rights conditions of US assistance, the protection of threatened civil
society human rights defenders, and an increase in funding for drug treatment
programs in the U.S.
Colombia
This Week is reproduced with the kind permission of the ABColombia Group in London
Colombia This Week editing date:03/01/04
Fri 27 - Amnesty urges Spain to postpone military aid to Colombia; more threats to journalists.
·Esteban Beltran from Amnesty International Spain urges the
Spanish government to postpone the delivery of any military aid to Colombia until its
government fulfil the 24 UN recommendations on Human rights and guarantee that
these arms will not be used against civilians. He also said that under the
European legislation the Spanish government is not allowed to sell arms to a
country with an existing internal conflict and experiencing massive human
rights violations.
·Several organizations representing journalists express
concern about threats in the city of Barrancabermeja. The Colombian
Free Press Foundation (FLIP), the Peru-based Institute for Press and Society
(IPYS) and the Barrancabermeja Journalists Association demanded that local and
national authorities take measures to guarantee the free exercise of journalism
in the region. Threats to radio journalists Diego Waldrón Guerrero and
Garibaldy Lopez prompted the demands. The incidents followed the abduction of
youth leader and television reporter Inés Peña, held hostage and tortured in
January 28 by self-proclaimed members of the United Self Defence Forces Of Colombia (AUC), the main paramilitary federation. Peña is
a member of the Popular Women’s Organization (OFP), an NGO often threatened by
paramilitaries.
·In an interview in Caracol radio, Ingrid Betancourt’s
husband, Juan Carlos Lecompte reports he has received mail and phone death
threats in recent weeks for criticizing the Uribe administration. He also said
that he is planning to stay in Colombia till her wife
is liberated, “something that may be difficult under the presidency of Uribe
Velez”, he confesses.
Sat 28 – US criticizes Colombian General Attorney
for corruption; US general visits Colombia.
·An article in El Tiempo reports tensions within the US Congress
as a result of the latest scandals in the Attorney General’s Office. According
to the article, there is evidence that under the command of Attorney General,
Luis Camilio Osorio, dismissing evidences in important cases has resulted in
the consolidation of the paramilitarism, favoring the impunity against members
of this illegal armed group. Critics against the Attorney General are not rare
but his latest actions have particularly provoked concern amongst US
authorities, after he sacked the Director of the programme for Protection of
Witnesses, Lucio Pabon.
·While visiting Colombia for two days, US Gen. Peter Pace reports
that kidnappings and attacks by insurgent groups are likely to happen, warning
that leftist rebels might launch a new offensive to offset mounting losses on
the battlefield. He also said that "The situation here in Colombia is really, really much
improved in many aspects, through my eyes as a military man". His last
visit to Colombia was about two years ago.
·In an article in New Statesman, Isabel Hilton reports that the most
recent addition to the many kind of wars going on in Colombia is a war over image and
statistics. This being Colombia, statistics themselves are
about whether civilian deaths, attributable to the Colombian armed forces or
their partners in the paramilitaries have declined under Uribe, as the
president claims. On the other hand, NGOs, diplomats and human rights defenders
argues that Uribe is leading his country into new dangers: militarisation of
the judicial system, the incorporation of “the most sinister elements of
Colombian society into legitimate politics and the persecution of any who
disagree.
Sun 29 – UN condemns FARC for massacre in
Antioquia; Relatives of three Irish expect verdict.
·The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Office in Colombia condemns the killing of
seven people from the same family, including one minor, in the rural area in
the municipality of Argelia (Antioquia). Authorities
blame FARC for the attack. The UN Human Rights office calls this group to
respect the life of civilians and comply with the principals of the
International Humanitarian Law.
·The wife of one of the three Irishmen held prisoner in Colombia told the Sinn Fein Ard
Fheis that the families expect a verdict on the case within weeks. Christine
McCauley, wife of Martin McCauley, received a standing ovation from the Ard
Fheis when she told of her family's three-year ordeal. She said the trial has
been an uphill struggle and a severe injustice, Reuters
reports.
·After visiting Colombia for a week, top UN official
specializing in freedom of expression, Ambeyi Ligabo, criticized Colombian
authorities for failing to identify and prosecute criminals and corrupt
officials who kill journalists.Ligabo
reported that 7 journalists were murdered last year, and no suspect was
arrested in any case.The U.S. State
Department also noted the plight of journalists in Colombia in its 2003 Country Report,
mentioning the deaths of a number of journalists and the fact that “journalists
continued to work in an atmosphere of threats and intimidation,” which was
exacerbated by the impunity granted to perpetrators.
Mon 01 – NGOs condemns FARC attack in Huila; Cali: 400 people killed in two months.
·The Colombian Permanent Committee for the Defence of Human rights
rejects the assaults against a military base in Santa María (Huila), and two
private properties in the city of Neiva, calling the government of Uribe Velez
to start peace negotiations and negotiate with the FARC group for an exchange
of prisoners between kidnapped victims held by this group and guerrillas held
in prisons.
·According to the Colombian authorities, more than 400 people have been
killed in the city of Cali in 2004. Citing a battle
between two regional drug-cartels, officials said that narcotraffickers and
armed groups are recruiting young people in the poor areas of the city,
battling for the control of the city, El Pais reports.
·, chairman
of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative
Conference (CPPCC), met with a
delegation from the Colombian Conservative Party, led by its president Carlos
Holguin to maintain diplomatic
relations established between the two countries 24 years ago, AP reports.
·The workers of Cali Municipal Services Corporation (SINTRAEMCALI)
report a new attempt against the life of union leader Oscar Figueroa. The
attack took place after the national day of protest against the Free Trade Area
of the Americas (FTAA) that saw more than 10,000 people take part in the
city of Cali.
Tues 02 – Three family members killed in mine
explosion; Indigenous denounces death threats.
·Three members of the same family (including a child) were killed and
five more injured after a land mine exploded in El Guaimaro, a rural area in
the municipality of Taraza (Antioquia). According to
the Secretary of the Governor in Antioquia, Jorge Mejia Martinez, 26 accidents
involving land mines have been reported so far this year, but many more may go
unreported because of fear of reprisals, El Colombiano reports.
·Colombian NGO Jose Alvear Restrepo Lawyers Collective reports the
harassment and new death threats committed against the leaders of the Kankumano
indigenous communities from the Sierra Nevada of Santa Marta. Twelve leaders
currently having meetings with the authorities in Bogota denounce they have received
death threats and even the shooting of their premises. They call on the
Colombian authorities to stop the blockade made by paramilitary groups in their
communities.
·U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency officials are warning of possible future
links between al-Qaida and drug traffickers in Colombia and Mexico to transport funds, people,
and banned weapons. Colombia's ambassador to the United States, Luis Alberto Moreno, says
Colombian authorities are monitoring possible collaboration between Muslim
extremists and drug cartels. "There is always going to be an opportunity
for any one group to try to develop that”, Miami Herald reports.
Weds 03 – Paramilitary peace process at critical
point; another UP activist killed in Putumayo.
·The Colombian government warns that peace negotiations with
paramilitary groups could fall apart if the outlawed fighters fail to move into
special zones as a first step toward disarmament. ''We are in a difficult
moment, a critical moment,'' Luis Carlos Restrepo said, “without decisive change, this process may not be possible”. Since the
cease-fire, paramilitaries have killed 600 people, according to the United
Nations, the Catholic Church and rights groups.The AUC has shown reluctance to move into the zones, AP reports.
·Colombian NGO Reiniciar condemns the killing of Alirio Silva, long-term
communal leader in Orito (Putumayo) and militant of the Patriotic Union.
According to the reports unknown people shot him dead in his residence. Reiniciar
calls on the Colombian authorities to protect civilians from the
paramilitaries.
·Reacting to a French nomination for the Nobel Peace price for Ingrid
Betancourt, Vice-President of Colombia, Franciso Santos reports in a public
letter that “all hostages in Colombia deserve the Nobel Peace
Prize, not just kidnapped politician Ingrid Betancourt”. "The
international community needs to act not on behalf of recognized individuals
and celebrities, but on behalf of all the faceless victims of kidnapping,"
El Tiempo reports.
·Amnesty International is concern for the safety of Rodolfo Ríos Lozano,
human rights lawyer and members of the Arauca Peasant Association (ACA). A
recent telephone death threat accused him of being a “FARC terrorist dog lawyer
who defends narcoterrorists”. He has received death threats before and Amnesty
is concern that other human rights lawyers threatened in this way by the armed
forces or their paramilitary allies have been killed.
Thurs 04 – Colombia agrees to pay US$ 140m in compensation to Telecom
multinationals.
·Colombia's government has reached a
settlement to pay US $80 million to Canada's Nortel Networks Corp. in
compensation for a failed joint-venture agreement with TELECOM, the state news
agency SNE reports. Nortel is one of a group of foreign companies demanding
compensation from liquidated state-owned Telecom. The agreement comes after Colombia and Sweden's L.M. Ericsson AB reached
a preliminary agreement last month for $56 million in compensation for a failed
joint-venture contract.
·The National Police in Uraba report the detention of John Esneider
Arenas Lopez, alias “Fernando”. According to the authorities he is the
political chief of the paramilitaries in this region. Another three people were
also detained, accused for extortion and robberies in the “pacified” area of
Uraba.
·Colombia revives its cartel-busting
"Search Bloc" police unit in a bid to root out cocaine and heroine
traffickers in the country's southwest. The new Search Bloc,
will be on a specific mission to take apart the Norte del Valle drug
cartel and nab its leader, Diego Montoya, officials said. The first phase
begins by attacking the epicentre of the “coffee belt” and northern Valle
(province), where these (drug traffickers) circulate." he said. The US will provide intelligence
support for the 110-man Search Bloc, Reuters reports.
·In a meeting in Bogota, three Colombian
ex-presidents, Turbay, Samper and Lopez-Michelsen report that President Uribe
Velez should negotiate an exchange of FARC prisoners for kidnapped victims with
this group. During the meeting, Colombian ex-president Ernesto Samper dismissed
the work of Peace Commissioner Carlos Restrepo and his “candid approach” to the
paramilitary demobilisation process, El Tiempo reports.
·In a two-day business forum on Latin America organized by Power
magazine, President Uribe Velez presents the results of the Democratic Security
policies over the past 19 months to more than 300 executives, calling investors
to take “a closer look at the nation of 42 million people” as its economy
rebounds citing ample statistics to show progress on each front: democratic
security, economic reform and education
·The U.S. State Department updates its warning against US citizens travelling to Colombia. The Bureau of Consular
Affairs warns that "violence by narcoterrorist groups and other criminal
elements” continues to affect all parts of the country, urban and rural,
specifying that areas where U.S. citizens
congregate are at high risk, and targets include supermarkets, places of entertainment, and
other."
Colombia This Week is a news summary produced and
distributed by ABColombia Group. Sources include daily Colombian, US, European
and Latin American newspapers, and reports from non-governmental organisations
and the UN System. The content does not necessarily reflect the views of the
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