Colombia Court Orders Top Companies to Return Stolen Lands
Colombia Court Orders Top Companies to Return Stolen Lands
Published 3 November 2016
. . .
A Colombian court has ordered 19 companies, including the country’s largest bank, Bancolombia, to return land that was stolen and ended up in private hands during the five decades-long armed conflict.
Judges in charge of land restitution made the decision, which will see 53,821 acres of land returned to displaced campesinos, after concluding the companies bought land at very low prices due to the violent situation in the country.
During the five-decades-long conflict, some 7 million Colombians were displaced and today, 15 percent of Colombian territory remains abandoned or has been illegally acquired through violence and other illegal means, according to the government.
In many cases, small farmers were either forced to abandon their land by death squads or displaced by combat, with their property ending up in the hands of large landowners and ranchers, as well as huge companies and multinationals.
More:
http://www.telesurtv.net/english/news/Colombia-Court-Orders-Top-Companies-to-Return-Stolen-Lands-20161103-0018.html