NGOs Press President Uribe of Colombia to Address Wave of Violence Against Rights Defenders, Unionis

[Judi Lynn]

March 26, 2008
2:35 PM

CONTACT: Amnesty International
Suzanne Trimel, 212-633-4150 or
Ben Somberg, 212-633-4268


NGOs Press President Uribe of Colombia to Address Wave of Violence Against Rights Defenders, Unionists
Uribe Advisor's Statements Contribute to Climate of Intolerance that Fosters Violence

WASHINGTON, DC - March 26 - Recent statements by a close advisor to Colombian President Alvaro Uribe contributed to "a climate of political intolerance that fosters violence" shortly before a wave of killings, attacks, and threats against trade unionists and rights activists, a group of 22 international human rights organizations said in a joint letter to Uribe.


Four Colombian trade unionists -- some of whom were reportedly associated with a March 6 demonstration protesting state and paramilitary human rights violations -- were killed between March 4 and March 11. Members of human rights organizations have been subject to physical attacks, harassment, office break-ins and thefts of files in the past weeks. More than two dozen organizations and individuals received death threats purporting to come from paramilitary groups in the capital, Bogota.

Shortly before the attacks, presidential adviser José Obdulio Gaviria made a series of statements on national radio linking renowned victims' representative Ivan Cepeda and other organizers of the March 6 protest to the notoriously abusive guerrillas of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). On February 11, one day after Gaviria first made the statements, the supposedly demobilized United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC) paramilitary group released a statement echoing Gaviria's allegations.

"Baseless comments such as these are profoundly damaging to Colombian democracy and human rights, and place those against whom they are made in direct danger of violence," said the NGO coalition in a letter to President Uribe. "These statements stigmatize the legitimate work of thousands of human rights defenders, trade unionists, and victims, and can have a chilling effect on the exercise of rights to freedom of expression and free association."

The coalition of NGOs called on President Uribe to:

• Publicly disavow statements by Gaviria and others that linked the protest organizers to guerillas;
  
  
• Reject the recent wave of attacks and reaffirm his government's support for the protection of the legitimate work of trade unionists and other human rights defenders;
  
  
• Ensure a prompt and impartial investigation into each of the recent attacks, hold those responsible to account, and take decisive action to dismantle paramilitary groups and break their links to state officials.

The letter, a copy of which was also sent to the U.S. government, pointed out that "this string of threats and attacks calls directly into question the effectiveness of the paramilitary demobilization process."

The violence comes as the Bush administration is aggressively pressing the U.S. Congress to ratify a Free Trade Agreement with Colombia. "In the debate over the U.S.-Colombia Free Trade Agreement, President Uribe has repeatedly claimed that he is protecting workers' rights," said the NGOs. "But the fact that President Uribe has allowed his presidential adviser to continue his harassment, even while trade unionists and rights defenders are being killed and threatened, suggests a real disconnect between Uribe's discourse and his actions."

The letter was signed by: AFRODES USA, Amnesty International USA, Center for International Policy, Center for Justice and International Law, Church of the Brethren Witness/Washington Office, Colombia Human Rights Committee, Conference of Major Superiors of Men, Friends Committee on National Legislation, General Board of Church and Society, Human Rights First, Human Rights Watch, Jesuit Conference, Latin America Working Group, Lutheran World Relief, Mennonite Central Committee, Mercy Corps, Presbyterian Peace Fellowship, Refugees International, United Methodist Church, US Office on Colombia, Washington Office on Latin America, Witness for Peace.

The letter follows below.

# # #

March 25, 2008

S.E. Álvaro Uribe Vélez Presidente de la República Cra. 8 #7-26 Palacio de Nariño Bogotá Colombia

Dear President Uribe:

We write to express our deep concern about the recent wave of threats, attacks and killings of human rights defenders and trade unionists in connection with the March 6 demonstrations against state and paramilitary human rights violations. We urge you to publicly and immediately adopt effective measures to stop this violence.

Over the course of one week, between March 4 and March 11, four trade unionists, some of whom were reportedly associated with the March 6 demonstration, were killed (see footnote). Members of human rights organizations have also been subject to a large number of physical attacks and harassment. Their offices have also been broken into and equipment and files have been stolen.

In recent weeks a large number of human rights organizations, including la Asociación MINGA, the Colombian Commission of Jurists, Reiniciar, CODHES, the Movement of Victims of State Crimes (MOVICE), and Ruta Pacífica de Mujeres have received threats purportedly coming from the Black Eagles. One threat sent by email on March 11 specifically named twenty-eight human rights defenders. The threat, which was signed by the paramilitary group “Metropolitan Front of the Black Eagles in Bogotá,” accused the individuals of being guerrillas, referred explicitly to the March 6 demonstrations and stated that they would be killed promptly. The next day, another paramilitary email threat to various other groups announced a “total rearmament of paramilitary forces.” In addition to national human rights groups, the threats have targeted the international organization Peace Brigades International Colombia Project (PBI), the news magazine Semana, the Workers Central Union (CUT), indigenous organizations, and opposition politicians. A large number of additional recent instances of harassment, attacks and threats are currently being documented by national human rights groups.

This string of threats and attacks calls directly into question the effectiveness of the paramilitary demobilization process. Indeed, the Organization of American States has reported that twenty-two armed groups linked to the paramilitaries remain active around the country and has expressed “serious doubts about the effectiveness of demobilization and disarmament.”

We are especially concerned by the fact that the threats and attacks came shortly after a series of public accusations made by your presidential advisor, José Obdulio Gaviria, against the organizers of the March 6 protest. On February 10 and 11, on national radio, Mr. Gaviria suggested that the march’s organizers, including specifically Iván Cepeda (spokesman of MOVICE), were affiliated with the abusive guerrillas of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). Your government issued statements on February 15 and March 14 promising to guarantee the rights of those participating in the March 6 protest. However neither statement deterred Mr. Gaviria from continuing his stream of accusations on February 17 and March 20. His latest statement, suggesting that Mr. Cepeda is essentially a member of the FARC, is particularly outrageous coming after the recent wave of attacks and threats.

Baseless comments such as these are profoundly damaging to Colombian democracy and human rights, and place those against whom they are made in direct danger of violence. These statements stigmatize the legitimate work of thousands of human rights defenders, trade unionists, and victims, and can have a chilling effect on the exercise of rights to freedom of expression and free association. And in a country like Colombia, with its record of political violence, statements like these only contribute to a climate of political intolerance that fosters violence. Indeed, on February 11, the day after Mr. Gaviria first made the comments, the supposedly demobilized AUC paramilitary group released a statement on its website echoing Mr. Gaviria’s attacks on Mr. Cepeda and the victims’ movement.

It is precisely because prior administrations recognized the importance of respecting the work of human rights defenders and others, that Presidential Directive 7 of 1999 and Presidential Directive 7 of 2001 are now in place. Both directives order public servants “to abstain from questioning the legitimacy of… NGOs and their members… and to abstain from making false imputations or accusations that compromise the security, honor and good name…” Directive 7 of 1999 further clarifies that public servants must not “make affirmations that disqualify, harass or incite harassment of said organizations… emit … declarations that stigmatize the work of these organizations.”

We urge you to combat this wave of violence by:

1. Disavowing, in public and before national media, the statements made by Mr. Gaviria and others linking the March 6 protest organizers to guerillas; rejecting the recent wave of threats and attacks; reaffirming your government’s support for, and protection of, the legitimate work of human rights defenders and trade unionists; and ensuring that no further inflammatory remarks are made by members of your government;

2. Ensuring a prompt, impartial and comprehensive investigation into each of the recent killings, attacks and death threats. It is vital that those responsible for these attacks are held responsible. Any supposedly demobilized persons who participated in or ordered these crimes should be stripped of their paramilitary demobilization benefits, and you should take decisive action to dismantle paramilitary groups and break their links to state officials in accordance with United Nations recommendations;

3. Providing protective measures to those individuals named in the March 11 death threats, as well as to other persons who have been subject to attacks or threats, and personally holding meetings with victims, trade unionists, and human rights defenders who have been affected by the recent attacks to listen to their concerns.

Thank you for your attention to this urgent matter.

Sincerely,

Andrew Hudson
Human Rights Defenders Program
Human Rights First

José Miguel Vivanco
Americas Director
Human Rights Watch

Renata Rendón Advocacy Director for the Americas
Amnesty International USA


Kenneth H. Bacon
President
Refugees International

John Arthur Nunes
President and CEO
Lutheran World Relief

Joy Olson
Executive Director
Gimena Sánchez-Garzoli
Senior Associate for Colombia and Haiti
Washington Office on Latin America

James R. Stormes, S.J.
Secretary, Social and International Ministries
Jesuit Conference

Lisa Haugaard
Executive Director
Latin America Working Group

Adam Isacson
Director of Programs
Center for International Policy

Robert Guitteau Jr.
Interim Director
US Office on Colombia

Heather Hanson
Director of Public Affairs
Mercy Corps

Mark Harrison
Director, Peace with Justice
United Methodist Church, General Board of Church and Society

Monika Kalra Varma
Director
Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Center for Human Rights

Viviana Krsticevic
Executive Director
Center for Justice and International Law (CEJIL)

Joe Volk
Executive Secretary
Friends Committee on National Legislation

Melinda St. Louis
Executive Director
Witness for Peace

Bert Lobe
Executive Director
Mennonite Central Committee

Rick Ufford-Chase
Executive Director
Presbyterian Peace Fellowship

Charo Mina-Rojas
AFRODES USA

T. Michael McNulty, SJ
Justice and Peace Director
Conference of Major Superiors of Men

Cristina Espinel
Director
Colombia Human Rights Committee, Washington DC

Phil Jones
Director
Church of the Brethren Witness/Washington Office

cc.
Vice President Francisco Santos
Vice President of the Republic of Colombia
Cra. 8 No. 7-57
Bogota
Colombia

Mr. Carlos Franco
Programa Presidencial de Derechos Humanos
Calle 7 No 6 – 54
Bogota D.C
Colombia

Mr. Thomas A. Shannon
Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs
2201 C Street, NW
Washington, DC 20520

Mr. David J. Kramer
Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Rights, and Labor
2201 C Street, NW
Washington, DC 20520

Ambassador William R. Brownfield
U.S. Ambassador to Colombia
U.S. Embassy in Colombia
Calle 24 Bis No. 48-50
Bogotá, D.C.
Colombia

Ambassador Carolina Barco
Ambassador of Colombia to the United States
Embassy of Colombia in the United States
2118 Leroy Place, NW
Washington, DC 20008

[Judi Lynn]

1. Human rights groups accuse Colombian government of endangering activists

Human rights groups accuse Colombian government of endangering activists

The Associated Press
Wednesday, March 26, 2008

BOGOTA, Colombia: Human rights groups accused the administration of Colombian President Alvaro Uribe on Wednesday of endangering the lives of activists by suggesting they are linked to leftist rebels.

Directors of Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International USA, Refugees International, Human Rights First and 18 other groups demanded in a public letter that Uribe do more to protect human rights advocates and trade union members following a wave of killings earlier this month.

At least four people involved in a recent national march to protest paramilitary death squad violence were killed by the far-right groups, and dozens more threatened with death, the letter said.

It also accused close Uribe adviser Jose Obdulio Gaviria of jeopardizing the lives of people who took part in the march by suggesting it was organized by the leftist Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC.

"Baseless comments such as these are profoundly damaging to Colombian democracy and human rights, and place those against whom they are made in direct danger of violence," the letter said. It urged Uribe to "publicly disavow statements by Gaviria and others that linked the protest organizers to guerrillas."

More:
http://www.iht.com/bin/printfriendly.php?id=11448033

[magbana]

2. US Ambassador to Colombia Remarks at the World Affairs Council - Wash., DC

On Monday, I attended Ambassador Brownfield’s presentation. Sorry, my notes are a bit rough, but I hope you are able to get a sense of what he is saying. A few things are of particular note:


-the Free Trade Agreement is being billed as the way to help Colombia finance Plan Colombia. With the gazillion $ the US has poured into Colombia, this is likely to be viewed as an attractive deal by many members of Congress.

-Brownfield said that the review of the laptop data will be done in a manner consistent with preparation for a criminal prosecution or judicial proceeding. Hmmm.

-As you will see Brownfield is a snot about human rights advocates.


NOTES ON:

US Ambassador to Colombia – William Brownfield
Presentation at World Affairs Council of DC
March 24, 2008

Contained his remarks to two topics: Plan Colombia and the Free Trade Agreement


Plan Colombia

-Before the establishment of Plan Colombia back in 1999, things were grim and Colombia was involving into a state with the following characteristics: FARC-rule, Narco-state, US hostages in the custody of FARC, droves of Colombians leaving the country.

-Between 2000-2008, the US spent $5.5 billion in Plan Colombia, but it is decreasing as the US is shifting implementation and funding to the Colombians. The 2007 US budget allotted $500 million for Plan Colombia.

-Plan Colombia is a success!

Free Trade Agreement

-In order to help Colombia finance Plan Colombia, build support for the FTA in order to increase trade. Increased trade will create jobs in Colombia that will in turn generate tax income to fund Plan Colombia.

-FTA will stimulate economic growth and open new markets. FTA will help coca growers transition to other types of farming.

Conclusion

-Only two choices in Latin America – a market economy or “Socialism for the 21st century.”



Question and Answer Session

Q: Do you think that Ecuador and Venezuela are harboring the FARC?

A: There was overwhelming evidence that FARC was in Ecuador. OAS dealt with this issue properly. Problem is that there are two fundamental principles at stake here: sovereignty of a state and the responsibility of a sovereign state to be responsible for all that is in its territory.


Q: What about the FARC computers? Have you seen any of the data?

A. We will be looking at the computers. All we want out of this is transparency by all parties.

Q: Question about Reyes and Marulanda meeting with someone on Wall Street and making a financial pact of some sort. (Don’t have any more info.)

A. Brownfield punted on this, but took a moment to dis the FARC by saying he couldn’t imagine that the FARC would have the financial skills to deal in high-roller finance.

Q: What’s the forecast on congressional passage of the FTA.

A: Well, you know that we penciled in our initials on an agreement with Colombia on an FTA. The strategy to pass it in Congress has been adjusted for the fact that there is a Democratic Congress and a presidential election on the horizon. There are two issues that we need to resolve with Congress: trade adjustment assistance and labor and human rights issues. Given that the party conventions are in August, I expect that the FTA will be passed by July 2008 before Congress goes into its August recess. We have been bringing members of Congress down to Colombia to show them the success of Plan Colombia. I think we have hosted 15% of the members of the House in Colombia.

Q: (Question from Pablo Bachelet, Miami Herald) How are things going with designating Venezuela as a terrorist state? And, have you had a good chance to look at the documents in the FARC computers?

A. Brownfield punted on the terrorist designation and said they are awaiting more information about the information in the FARC computers and will need a while to consider everything they need to. Regarding the documents, our approach is to view them as though we were pursuing the matter as a criminal prosecution or a formal judicial proceeding involving criminal prosecution.

Q. (from Refugees International) Given all the displaced people, is Colombian security a success, are they protecting the people?

A: Maybe not, but we need to find out why are they being driven from their communities.

Q: What about the fact that drug trafficking is just as bad now and it was before Plan Colombia? Don’t you think the human rights concern about the FTA are legitimate? What about the marchers who were shot after the March 6 demonstration against the paramilitary?

A: You can’t hold Colombia responsible for the rest of the region that have different parts in the drug process – packaging, transit, etc. Problem with the human rights issue in FTA is that human rights adocates are okay when they deal with the government in a political manner, but we can’t deal with them when they are adversarial or involved in active intimidation.

Q: What about arms trafficking?

A.Guns are obtained through the black market or the concurrence of “other” governments” Arms trafficking is tied into the drug business.

Q: When will things get better between Colombia-Ecuador-Venezuela?

A. If we work with Colombia, surrounding countries and the Europeans, we can resolve all problems associated with the conflict. I think the conflict will be resolved in the next several months.

[Judi Lynn]

3. Will be back to study your notes. You recall this a-hole was the ambassador to Venezuela

until fairly recently, and he was chased away from a little league baseball game by Venezuelan men and women who ran and jumped on their motorcycles and zipped along after his limosine pitching fruit and eggs they got from a local grocery. He took a photo out of his back window as he tried to get the hell outta there.

He claimed that it was "Chavez supporters" who did this, although he just showed up where some kids were having a game, and started handing out baseballs, gloves, etc. The people let him know how much they appreciated it.

Was he as creepy in person? His photos show a very rigid, and scary, creepy person. His politics suck. I'll be back later to get up to date, and thank you.

[magbana]

4. I Wasn't Going to Say Anythng at first, but this guy . . .

is the biggest asshole I have ever seen! He has an affected way of speaking -- sort of like a professor who is very much in love with his own voice. Everything he says is tongue in cheek, lots of winking . He finds it necessary to restate every questionp posed to him to make it more clever. He told us that his wife is the US ambassador to the Philippines -- I don't blame her for ttaking a diplomatic posting on the other side of the world from him. So yes, being chased away by kids bfrom a baseball game is an image I cherish.

[Judi Lynn]

5. Oh, GOD! Brownfield is grotesque, isn't he? Arms trafficking? You have to wonder how he forgot to

mention the stories we've heard of HUGE shipments of arms going to the paramilitaries from the U.S.: one was detected in a shipment covered by boxes of laundry detergent, one was being transacted by some American military guys stationioned in Colombia, and some have been brought in by Israeli scum, death squad organizer/trainer Yair Klein, who was just caught in Russia. There are many other instances, these are just the last three which come to mind.

Nice seeing how he's trying so hard to implicate the CLEAN leaders around Colombia. His administration can try but they will only have lies to use to try to portray the real LEADERS of Latin America as enemies of the U.S. people. What a shame the only voice many Americans hear is the corporate propaganda being fed through its various outlets.

Eventually they are going to LOSE, once the people start waking up, if they ever do, and they learn how few have been using them so fouly for so long.

Magbana, here's the photo of what dipstick Brownfield saw, looking out his back window the day he had his excellent little league adventure. It's not raining, unless you consider eggs as "rain":





Ambassador "Has anyone seen my lips?" Brownfield
who really "wowed" them in Venezuela.

[magbana]

6. Somewhere I saw the VIDEO of the chase-egg throwing incident

but can't remember where. God, these pics of him are so frightening I can't figue out if he is a boozer or just spends too much time under the tanning lamp!

[Judi Lynn]

7. Snapping turtle, or Ambassador William Brownfield: you be the judge!