Paramilitaries Threatening Peace Community in Northwest Colombia

Greetings,

Our friends at the Fellowship of Reconciliation Task Force on Latin America and the Caribbean are drawing our attention to an urgent situation facing the peace community in San Jose de Apartado, in northwestern Colombia. While the President of Colombia likes to point out that he has singlehandedly dismantled the Paramilitary Armies that have terrorized Colombia for years, we are seeing signs that their presence has actually escalated in some parts of the country. One of those areas is in San Jose, a community that has resisted the violence of the internal armed conflict for a generation, serving as an inspiration to people around the world committed to social change and justice through non-violent, peaceful means. Below is their urgent action communique; help spread the word!

MAMA

Paramilitary forces are making increasingly violent threats against members of the Peace Community of San José de Apartadó and other peasant families in the area, with no apparent action by the Colombian government.

Immediate action is needed by US Ambassador William Brownfield to leverage Washington's enormous influence and prevent further violence against the community and area's civilian population.

On the morning of November 7, in the Playa Larga vereda (settlement) of San José, some 50 rifle-wielding paramilitaries in camouflage gear and identifying armbands detained resident Jairo Berrio Arango, according to a community statement. He was forced to undress as the gunmen held a rifle to his head and threatened to kill him on the spot. When his father arrived on the scene and pleaded with them, they said they wouldn't kill him now-but that they had six San José community members targeted for death, and that they should flee immediately to avoid being killed. They said the army was cooperating with them. On November 7, five families fled the vereda of La Esperanza, where Berrio Arango's family is from, and local sources reported to FOR that between nine and 30 families had displaced from La Esperanza and Playa Larga as of November 10.

On November 1, the Peace Community's legal representative, Jesús Emilio Tuberquia, was threatened at gunpoint at an Internet café in the town of Apartadó, the local municipal seat,the community reported. Two known paramilitaries surrounded him at the café, while one held a pistol to his head and said, "I'm going to kill you." He pushed the man's arm away, fled into the café and was able to flee unharmed, though the gunmen grabbed his bag, which had fallen in the scuffle.

Background: Paramilitary Resurgence in Northwestern Colombia

Young men fanned out through the towns along what is known as the "banana axis" of Urabá on the evening of October 14, telling local businesses to shut down the following day. The men distributed leaflets announcing the continuation of the "anti-subversive struggle" in light of "the guerrillas' advance" and what the group described the government's non-fulfillment of promises made in the paramilitary demobilization. Spray-painted graffiti with the initials of the group- AGC, Gaitanista Self-Defense Forces of Colombia were seen on various shops and city walls. The action shut down public transport, retail businesses and banana plantations throughout the region. Many students didn't go to school, and some humanitarian groups suspended visits to communities.

Armed forces chief General Freddy Padilla dismissed concerns about the strike, saying curiously that it was not a paramilitary rearmament, but an act of terrorism, implying that paramilitaries do not practice terrorism. Seventeenth Brigade commander General Héctor Peña Porras claimed there was no armed strike, because no one was armed, but reliable sources informed FOR that armed men were present in neighborhoods between Apartadó and San José.

President Alvaro Uribe, with support from the United States, insists that paramilitaries no longer exist in Colombia. But for the San José Peace Community, the paramilitary action was simply the announcement of an already-existing reality. The Peace Community has for months been reporting the presence of increasingly large groups of armed men in the area, who apparently belong to non-demobilized groups. On October 30, paramilitaries threatened to kill six members of the Community and to commit another massacre in the area if members of the community did not leave the area. The Community declared that on 29 September "more than 100 paramilitaries arrived in the area of La Unión armed with assault weapons, bearing AUC armbands and presented themselves as Self-Defense Forces" and proceeded to threaten Peace Community members, saying that they had over "200 paramilitaries were present in the Playa Larga area, 20 minutes from la Esperanza, detaining two farmers (…) and accusing them of being guerrillas." On 14 and 15 August, 60 presumed paramilitaries, originating from the Nueva Antioquia area, dressed in camouflage combat gear and carrying assault weapons, were present in the areas of Playa Larga and la Esperanza. The Peace Community reports that in La Esperanza these armed men arrived at houses of Peace Community members and threatened them if they refused to collaborate in ridding the area of guerrillas. One source reports that paramilitaries in the area are also using armbands with FCU, for the Urabá Central Front.

On August 31, fighting took place between the insurgency and presumed paramilitaries in Playa Larga, close to the settlement of La Esperanza . Several reports indicate the existence of a paramilitary base in Nueva Antioquia where the army and police exercise strict control of all those entering the settlement and whilst inside Nueva Antioquia, "The paramilitaries (…) control the food, charge taxes on the products the small farmers bring there to sell, all this in full public view of the army and police."

How does this state of affairs occur in such an extremely militarized area? What allows the alleged paramilitary base in Nueva Antioquia to exist in close proximity to Army and police checkpoints?

Please write to United States Ambassador William Brownfield, and request that he urge the Colombian government to:

(1) Recognize and denounce the problem of paramilitary remobilization throughout Urabá.

(2) Suspend all military and police officers who reportedly have turned a blind eye to the paramilitary groups, their presence and threats; and

(3) Aggressively pursue arrest and prosecution of all members of illegal armed groups operating in the region, and government officials who have facilitated their actions.

Your letters make a difference! Please click here to send yours.

For further information: http://www.forcolombia.org and http://cdpsanjose.org

Please note new office address for FOR Task Force on Latin America:
Fellowship of Reconciliation • 369 15th St, Oakland CA 94612 • Tel: 510-763-1403 Fax: 510-763-1409 • Web: http://www.forcolombia.org
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Despite Many Distractions - National and Global - the Popular Minga Marches on to Bogotá

Long March to Bogotá Continues Despite Media's Focus on Other Matters

By Mario A. Murillo

(Bogotá, Colombia)

The order to keep them out of the city apparently came from President Alvaro Uribe.

As up to 6,000 indigenous protesters participating in the ongoing "Minga Popular" approached the city limits of Ibagué, in the department of Tolima, they were met by a squadron of mounted and special forces police known as ESMAD, as well as the Army, who were given explicit orders not to let them into the main highway of the city.

On Tuesday, President Uribe had said the indigenous protesters should pass right through, but not stay in Ibagué, as a result of the "yellow alert" that had been announced related to the possible eruption of the Machín Volcano. Already some local families had been displaced as a result of the warning, so the government thought the presence of thousands of outsiders would only make matters worse for the local authorities. At least that's how it was presented publicly.

The leadership of the Minga, however, saw the order as yet another attempt to stifle their long march to Bogotá, a march called to protest the government's economic development and security policies. The indigenous protesters, joined by union activists and sectors of the peasant movement, resumed their march on Monday in the city of Cali, on the 24th anniversary of the assassination of one of the indigenous movement's most iconic leaders, Alvaro Ulcué. In actuality, the Minga really kicked off over a month ago, with the mobilization that began in La Maria, Piendamó, in the department of Cauca, on October 12th.

Given the over-the-top show of force the state security forces utilized against the people during the start of the mobilization several weeks back, one could not help but appreciate the frustration and anger expressed by the people as they arrived yesterday in Ibagué, only to be told they could not stay.

"This is yet another example that should be shown to the rest of the world, of the ongoing attacks that we as indigenous communities are facing here," said Luís Evelis Andrade, Chief Council of the National Indigenous Organization of Colombia, ONIC.

Andrade and others pointed out that theirs was a peaceful protest that, if anything, would show solidarity with the families displaced by the unexpected seismic activity of Machín. There was no legitimate reason to keep them out of the city, other than to sidetrack their message and keep them from talking directly with the people of Ibagué.

A Dialogue with the People

Indeed, one of the main purposes of the Minga is to expand the scope of the popular movement that over the last several weeks has been publicly confronting the Uribe Administration on issues ranging from the US-Colombia Free Trade Agreement to human rights abuses carried out by the military as a result of the government's so-called "Democratic Security Strategy." After meeting with the President in a dramatic public debate on November 2nd in La Maria, Cauca, the communities decided to continue their protest with a national march to the capital, culminating with a massive "Congress of the People" scheduled for November 24th.

Along the way, they will carry out barridos with local communities throughout the country, an ongoing dialogue designed to dispel the myth propagated by the government in the mainstream media, that the indigenous protests are a local phenomenon solely concerned about "returning some lands" to certain native communities in Cauca. Keeping the marchers out of Ibagué would have prevented them from reaching a very important sector of the population.

Nevertheless, after some tense moments at the entrance of town that lasted a little bit over a half hour, it was agreed that the protesters could proceed with their planned march, and make their way to the famous Parque Murillo Toro, where they held a town-hall like meeting with the community. Once there, they articulated the five-point agenda of the Minga, and the need to continue building the mobilization throughout the country.

As they made their way through the streets of Ibagué, the protesters were welcomed with cheers from the people lining the streets. They were later met with messages of solidarity from local and national union leaders, including Pedro Varón, president of the Central Workers Union, CUT, and Carlos Rivas of the Tolima Teacher's Union, SIMATOL, both of whom acknowledged the important role the indigenous communities were playing in bringing together so many popular sectors in Colombia at this point in time, including women's organizations, youth groups, the sugar cane workers, and the trade union movement.

U.S. Transition Getting Considerable Attention

The timing of the mobilization coincides with major events that are taking place in Washington with the Presidential transition process. Some activists see this as an opportunity to present the movement's agenda vis a vis free trade and Plan Colombia, to both national and international public opinion, while, at least for the time being, Colombia is making headlines once again up north.

Earlier in the week, much attention was given in the Colombian media to the high-profile meeting between outgoing President George W. Bush and President-elect Barack Obama, and more specifically, whether or not the two addressed the U.S.-Colombia Free Trade Agreement in their private discussions. It was reported in the New York Times that during their meeting, President Bush had placed the bilateral trade deal between Washington and Bogotá as a condition to Obama's request for an emergency recovery package for the ailing U.S. automobile industry. Later it was denied by both camps that there was a quid pro quo on these issues, although the report left considerable doubt in the minds of both the union and indigenous leadership here in Colombia.

The Association of Indigenous Councils of Northern Cauca, ACIN, said on its website the "exchange of favors may not have been discussed explicitly (between Bush and Obama), but no doubt it was a tacit proposal. Impunity in exchange for the US-Colombia FTA. The lives of trade unionists in exchange for the FTA. The lives of 1,200 indians killed over the last six years in exchange for the FTA. We cannot accept that life is traded for a free trade agreement."

Anti-FTA activists in Colombia welcomed the election of Barack Obama, who had spoken against the Colombia trade deal throughout his campaign, including in the last Presidential debate held just three weeks before election day. During the campaign, President Uribe had been extremely critical of Obama, especially after the Illinois Democrat spoke out against the rampant human rights abuses committed against trade union activists in Colombia in an April 2008 speech. On several occasions, Uribe called Obama mis-informed, a tag that Senator John McCain used against Obama on this particular issue during the debate. President Uribe - and McCain - argued that the U.S.-backed "democratic security strategy" led to marked improvements in the everyday work of organized labor in Colombia, a claim that Amnesty International called the President's relentless denial of his country's human rights crisis.

In the last week, Uribe has claimed in the Colombian media that he was "totally neutral" with respect to the U.S. elections, although a number of columnists had to remind him that he continuously courted the Republican ticket, hoping for a continuation of Bush's policies regarding Colombia. He embraced Sen. McCain in the coastal city of Cartagena in July, and met face to face with Sarah Palin at the Colombian mission to the UN in New York when he was there for the General Assembly sessions. Now Uribe is faced with a temporary snub from the Obama team. How long it will last is anybody's guess.

With Obama in the White House come January, there is considerable hope from Colombia's popular movement that the focus of U.S. policy towards Colombia will gradually move away from its emphasis on militarization and free trade, and shift towards human rights and social concerns. People are not naive to think it will lead to revolutionary change in policy, remembering that it was a Democratic Administration that pushed through Plan Colombia. Yet there is some degree of optimism, and a general feeling that Obama will be more open to their concerns. In an open letter to the President-elect, ACIN expressed gratitude for Obama's recognition of the problem facing the trade union movement, but urged him to also consider the violence and aggression committed against indigenous peoples.

"We hope that you will contribute to change all this," they wrote. "We hope that you will listen to our words. ... These are the words that we have shared throughout Colombia since October 10th, through the Minga of Resistance, a national mobilization we convened as indigenous peoples, in association with other peoples and processes. We believe that the spirit of change in your people cannot be contained."

The chances of these words being heard and felt by Barack Obama hinge on whether or not the Minga can reach many more people, both here in Colombia and in the U.S. Unfortunately, at least for the time being, their message to the Colombian people is not getting the same media coverage that the protests were receiving several weeks back, when the national police were firing on peaceful protesters in La Maria. Naturally, a non-violent march, even with thousands of people, meeting in permanent assembly with concerned citizens in cities and towns throughout the country, does not have the same dramatic impact that violent confrontations have, at least for the major corporate media. As a result, the Minga's collective message of resistance is instead being drowned out by, for example, tonight's Latin Grammy Awards ceremony, where several Colombian artists are up for some big prizes.

This is the banal stuff that Colombian media love to report on, relentlessly.

As for the U.S. public, it's an even more difficult challenge. Colombia has never been, and is not now, high up on the agenda of policy makers and the corporate media. That said, there is considerable reason to be concerned. Both the Los Angeles Times and the Washington Post published editorials in the last few days urging the passage of the US-Colombia FTA. They see it as a matter of U.S. national security, and argue that now is the time to "seal the deal." It is strikingly clear that the urgent cries of the Minga Popular are not even on the radar screen of the shortsighted editorial writers in the U.S.

But the resilience of the thousands of people participating in this historic march is evident nonetheless, and is resonating in many circles within Colombia and outside. The consistent messages of solidarity have been coming in from throughout Latin America, Europe and Canada. The hope is that the movement will keep growing, from Ibagué, where it left this morning, to its next several stops along the way, until it reaches Bogotá next week for the People's Congress at the footsteps of the Presidential Palace.

And eventually makes its presence felt, all the way up to Washington.

We'll keep you posted!

MAMA

White House Denies Attempt to Link Auto Industry Bailout to Colombia Pact

From Democracy Now on Wednesday, November 12, 2008

With hosts Amy Goodman and Juan Gonzalez.

The Bush administration is denying reports it wants to link aid to the auto industry to Democratic support for a free trade pact with Colombia. Democratic lawmakers meanwhile are preparing to push for emergency legislation to help the automakers during the lame-duck session of Congress next week.

The White House has rejected reports that President Bush tried Monday during his meeting with President-elect Obama to link aid to the auto industry to Democratic support for a free trade pact with Colombia. White House Press Secretary Dana Perino said Tuesday that the President did not suggest a “quid pro quo’ even though he does support free trade with Colombia.

John Podesta, the co-chair of Obama’s transition team, also denied that President Bush had offered Colombia as part of a deal to bailout the auto industry. He told reporters Tuesday that “the president didn’t try to link Colombia to the question of an economic recovery package going forward.”

Democratic lawmakers meanwhile are preparing to push for emergency legislation to help the automakers during the lame-duck session of Congress next week. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said that she had asked Congressman Barney Frank to begin drafting legislation to use part of the $700 billion dollar bailout to assist the auto industry. General Motors shares fell to their lowest point Tuesday since 1943.

We’re joined now by two guests. Mark Brenner, director of Labor Notes, the largest circulation cross-union national publication in the country, joins us the firehouse studio. And via videostream from Colombia, Mario Murillo is Professor of communications at Hofstra University and producer at Pacifica radio station WBAI in New York

Mark Brenner, director of Labor Notes, the largest circulation cross-union national publication in the country.

Mario Murillo, Professor of communication at Hofstra University and producer at Pacifica Radio station WBAI here in New York. He is the author of “Colombia and the United States: War, Terrorism and Destabilization.” He is currently living in Colombia and blogging at “Mama Radio.”

Click here for the video and audio podcasts of today's edition of Democracy Now.

US-Colombia Trade Deal Dead? Or Will Democrats Disappoint?

Tensions Building Over U.S. Colombia Free Trade Agreement in the Midst of Presidential Transition

With Democratic leaders in Congress hinting that they will hold a lame-duck session of Congress in the coming days to address the country's financial crisis, another economic stimulus package, and a rescue deal for the ailing US automobile industry, there is some concern that the House and the Senate might go back on its promise to nix the U.S.-Colombia Free Trade Agreement on human rights grounds because of ongoing pressure from US corporate interests and Colombian government lobbying efforts.

In Monday's White House meeting between President George W. Bush and President-elect Barack Obama, the unpopular Republican told his Democratic counterpart that any rescue package for GM, Ford or Chrysler would be contingent upon Congress' willingness to accept and approve the controversial trade deal with Colombia. This led some Democratic leaders, including Obama's recently picked Chief of Staff Rahm Emmanuel to say there was no connection between the two issues, and the the trade deal was indeed not a priority for the current Congress.

Meanwhile, in Colombia, President Alvaro Uribe has been playing his cards very carefully, trying to appear content with Obama's historic victory so as not to alienate the soon to be President any more than he already has, while openly lobbying for US FTA's passage in the next few weeks. He was recently in Mexico, urging the Mexican President to put in a good word for his government when he meets with officials in Washington next week. Time is running out for Uribe, and with the outcome of the US election, he can no longer count on a friendly White House to push forward the trade agreement that, along with his "democratic security strategy," has been his primary obsession for the six years he's been in office.

We must not forget that during the U.S. Presidential campaign, the conservative Uribe welcomed Senator John McCain with a highly publicized embrace in the coastal city of Cartagena in July. He clearly considered the Republican presidential candidate as a sure-fire continuation of the current Bush Administration, which has described the Colombian President as Washington's best friend in the hemisphere. President Uribe even stooped so low as to meet with Sarah Palin in New York during the UN General Assembly sessions, not at all concerned about being a political pawn for the Alaska Governor's attempt at making herself appear to be competent in foreign policy issues. It made front page headlines in Colombia, making some analysts here cringe with shame!

Up to now, there is reason to believe the Democrats will stand strong in their opposition to the Free Trade Agreement, although it should not hinge solely on the issue of violence against trade unionists in Colombia, a position expressed eloquently by Obama in the last Presidential debate held in NY a few weeks before the election.

As the transition team makes its preparations in Washington, a massive popular mobilization is making its way to Bogotá, led by the indigenous movement, but including a broad cross section of other social groups in the country, to protest not only against the FTA, but a number of other key issues that point to the contradictions in the Uribe government, and his cozy relationship over the last few years with the Bush White House. The popular Minga, as it is called, began on October 11th, so it is now in its second month, despite an almost complete blackout in the US media.

One of those issues the movements are protesting is the militarization of Colombia through the multi-billion dollar aid package known as Plan Colombia, which has resulted in limited progress in the fight against narco-trafficking while exacerbating in many ways the human rights crisis on the ground. Will Obama address these concerns more vocally in the coming months in the midst of the large lobbying effort on the part of the Uribe government? Only time will tell.

Here is a very good article posted on IPS which outlines some of these concerns and issues. I share it with you in the spirit of shedding more light on the debate over the future of the FTA, and how Barack Obama might deal with Colombia policy once he enters the White House on January 20th, 2009. I'll have more on the Indigenous and Popular Minga later on.

COLOMBIA-US: Will Democrats Bury Free Trade Deal? (FROM IPS)

A LOS 24 AÑOS DEL ASESINATO DE PADRE ALVARO ULCUE

PADRE ÁLVARO ULCUÉ CHOCUÉ

24 AÑOS DE SU ASESINATO NOVIEMBRE 10 DE 1984 - NOVIEMBRE 10 DE 2008


(This obituary of one of the most revered leaders of the indigenous movement in Colombia was posted today on the website of ACIN; On this anniversary, it is especially worth noting Father Ulcué's life story, given the current situation facing the indigenous people in the country. The Popular and Indigenous Minga continued its long march today from the city of Cali. They expect to be joined by thousands of people along the way in public meetings, forums and debates where the five point agenda will be presented to audiences throughout the country. The people are expected to arrive in Bogotá on November 19th, where they will hold a People's Congress on November 22nd)


"UN CEMENTO VIVO ARROJADO POR DIOS..."

Autor: PASTORAL DE LOS TRABAJADORES;


El padre Álvaro Ulcué, el hijo mayor del hogar indígena nasa (o paéz) conformado por José Domingo Ulcué Yajué y María Soledad Chocué Peña, nació el 6 de julio de 1943, en Pueblo Nuevo, corregimiento del municipio de Caldono (Cauca).

A los 11 años ingresó a la escuela mixta de Pueblo Nuevo, dirigida por las Misioneras de la Madre Laura, quienes desde el comienzo descubrieron sus valores y le ayudaron a formarse hasta llegar al sacerdocio. Terminó su educación primaria en el Internado Indígena "Indocrespo" de Guadarrama (Antioquia). Pasó luego al Seminario Menor de Popayán, dirigido por los Misioneros Redentoristas, donde estuvo 4 años, debiendo retirarse por problemas económicos. Trabajó luego un año como maestro en San Benito Abad (Sucre) y luego regresó a su tierra a trabajar con sus padres. Las Hermanas Lauritas le ayudaron para ingresar de nuevo al Seminario de Popayán en donde terminó sus estudios de Filosofía y luego pasó al Seminario de Ibagué en donde estudió Teología.

El 10 de julio de 1973 recibió la ordenación sacerdotal en Popayán y celebró su primera eucaristía en su pueblo natal, acontecimiento que congregó a una gran cantidad de indígenas paeces, pues era la primera vez que alguno de su raza era consagrado como sacerdote católico. Casi toda la prensa nacional destacó el hecho insólito de que un indígena por primera vez en Colombia, llegara al sacerdocio.

Ejerció su ministerio como vicario cooperador en Santander de Quilichao, hasta enero de 1974 cuando pasó a Bolívar (Cauca) en enero de 1975. En 1977 fue nombrado párroco de Toribío y administrador de las cuasi-parroquias de Tacueyó y Jambaló. Allí estaría hasta su muerte, aunque se desplazaba por periodos intermitentes a Bogotá, para adelantar estudios en el Instituto Misionero de Antropología.

Desde el comienzo de su ministerio explicitó su clara conciencia con su identidad indígena y su opción de poner su sacerdocio al servicio de sus hermanos de raza. Su predicación y su catequesis las hizo en lengua páez. Pero la identidad indígena que reivindicó permanentemente, no sólo le permitió el acceso franco a una tradición cultural que era la suya, sino que también le ofreció la experiencia, vivida en carne propia, de las condiciones de opresión, expoliación y explotación en que históricamente ha vivido el indígena en nuestro medio. Por ello el padre Álvaro integró admirablemente, en su acción pastoral, toda una dinámica de concientización, organización y liberación de los indígenas a la par de su evangelización.

Poco a poco el padre Álvaro se convirtió en un líder indígena, papel que articuló profundamente con su sacerdocio. Visitó otras regiones del país donde compartió la situación de otras etnias; escribió cartas a las autoridades; denunció los atropellos de terratenientes y de agentes del Estado contra las comunidades indígenas; recuperó y sistematizó tradiciones de su raza; pidió asesoría a antropólogos, sociólogos, teólogos y juristas, para incentivar procesos de concientización y organización de su pueblo; e hizo proyectos como el "Proyecto Nasa" (1980) en los resguardos de Toribío, San Francisco y Tacueyó del norte del Cauca, cuyos primeros programas incluían: producción, familia, vivienda, salud, evangelización, trabajo comunitario, tiendas comunitarias, empresas comunitarias y educación; programa distinguido en febrero de 2004 en Malasia, por el Programa de las Naciones Unidas para el Desarrollo (PNUD), como el mejor de desarrollo comunitario.

A finales de 1982, las Comunidades y Grupos Cristianos del Cauca lanzaron un comunicado apremiante a la opinión pública, en el cual denunciaban las amenazas que se cernían sobre el padre Álvaro. Allí afirmaban: "los terratenientes le han puesto precio a su vida, y sólo el amor de quienes lo rodean lo ha salvado de ser uno más de los impunemente desaparecidos".

El 30 de octubre de 1982, envió una carta al presidente Betancur, firmada también por dos religiosas Lauritas, en donde denunciaban los atropellos de que eran victimas sus comunidades indígenas y le exponen las necesidades más urgentes de éstas.

El 9 de agosto de 1984 le escribía angustiado al Arzobispo, describiéndole los graves atropellos del Ejército y la Policía contra los indígenas.

El sábado 10 de noviembre de 1984, el padre Álvaro debía actuar como padrino de un niño que iba a ser bautizado en Santander de Quilichao. Regresando de Cali a donde había ido la tarde anterior, llegó a Santander a las 7:30 a.m. y estuvo primero en la Casa Cural. De allí de dirigió al almacén de la madre del niño que iba a ser bautizado, donde le obsequiaron una camisa. Luego pidió el teléfono para hacer una llamada a la hermana Luz Marina, quien también iba a participar en el bautizo y se encontraba en ese momento en el Hogar Santa Inés; le pidió que le preparara un desayuno, pues iba hacia el hogar enseguida. Simultáneamente, un desconocido había llegado al almacén y hacía bajar camisas sin comprar ninguna, mientras escuchaba la conversación del padre Álvaro por el teléfono. Cuando éste abandonó el almacén el desconocido también lo hizo rápidamente, en forma sospechosa.

Al llegar al Hogar Santa Inés, dos sicarios que se movilizaban en moto dispararon contra él. El padre Álvaro se arrojó del carro y se tendió en la tierra. Los sicarios, creyéndolo muerto, se retiraron, pero la moto no les prendió. El Padre se incorporó pidiendo auxilio. Los sicarios, al verlo de rodillas, se devolvieron y lo remataron, para luego emprender la fuga. Eran las 8:30 de la mañana. Las religiosas los introdujeron en un taxi y lo condujeron al hospital donde llegó con vida, pero momentos después falleció.

Un testigo ocular del crimen identificaría más tarde a dos miembros de la Policía Nacional como los dos sicarios que lo asesinaron.

Los restos mortales del padre Álvaro Ulcué Chocué recibieron el más conmovedor homenaje de la población indígena. Fueron trasladados a Pueblo Nuevo, su tierra natal, en un interminable y emotivo desfile que atravesó varios poblados indígenas, donde le rindieron sentidas despedidas. El 12 de noviembre en la misma plaza donde celebró su primera eucaristía, el arzobispo, acompañado de 75 sacerdotes, celebró la misa exequial.

No fue sepultado en el templo, como muchos querían, sino que se cumplió su voluntad expresa: "cuando yo muera, que me siembren en la tierra, con mi gente". En el cementerio del poblado, junto a la tumba de su hermana Gloria, también asesinada por agentes del Estado, se dispuso su última morada.

Entre las decenas de pancartas colocadas junto a sus despojos, una rezaba: "Si he de morir, quisiera que mi cuerpo quedase amasado en la arcilla de los fuertes, como un cemento vivo arrojado por Dios entre las piedras de la Ciudad Nueva".

An Open Letter from the Association of Indigenous Councils of Northern Cauca, ACIN, to U.S. President-Elect Barack Obama.

November 10, 2008

An Open Letter from the Association of Indigenous Councils of Northern Cauca, ACIN, to U.S. President-Elect Barack Obama.

Santander de Quilichao, Cauca, Colombia

Dear Mr. President-Elect,

First, please accept our sincerest congratulations. We congratulate you for having won because of the noblest aspirations of your people. We believe your election expresses the deep desire for change felt by the majority of the American people: change in the economy and society, change in international relations, and from there, we hope, a change in the relation between the United States of America and the indigenous peoples of the world.

During your historic campaign, you publicly noted some of what Colombians currently face: you acknowledged the murders of trade unionists by the regime and stated your reservations about a Free Trade Agreement with Colombia, which our people have decided against through a democratic referendum, about which we have written before. We thank you for this, and now want you to know about the specific situation facing Colombia's indigenous peoples.

In the past six years we have lost 1,200 people to assassinations by armed groups, both legal and illegal: right-wing paramilitaries, guerrillas, police, and members of the Armed Forces. These murders have created insecurity, and this insecurity has been used to strip us of our rights with what we call the 'Laws of Disposession', legislation and other institutional norms that legalize the loss of our lands, our fundamental freedoms, and our rights. These 'Laws of Disposession' dispose of Colombia's mines, hydrocarbons, water resources, intellectual property, and national parks – all of these are brought under the ultimate rule of the Free Trade Agreement with the US. The FTA will mean that if Colombia tries to change the laws to allow its people to share in its resources, or take any independent action, then we will be obliged to compensate investors. We will have to submit our laws to international arbitration outside our own legal jurisdiction.

But in our view, the ultimate law is respect for life. In our view, the FTA puts commercial logic above the respect for life itself, not to mention international humanitarian law, and agreements such as the ILO's Covenant 169, and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Worldwide. These covenants, as well as the respect for life, have to date been ignored by the government of our country, as well as by your government.

Unfortunately both of our governments, yours with Plan Colombia, and ours with the so-called 'Democratic Security' policy, have done great harm to indigenous peoples and to Mother Earth, while multinational corporations have profited from the petroleum and gas contracts, mining concessions, privatizations, and low wages.

We hope that you will contribute to change all this. We hope that you will listen to our words. We have lost many lives defending these words. Words that we have walked and words we have backed up with our civil resistance. These are the words that we have shared throughout Colombia since October 10th, through the Minga of Resistance, a national mobilization we convened as indigenous peoples, in association with other peoples and processes.

We believe that the spirit of change in your people cannot be contained. We believe it is a powerful force and we hope it will join with the force of our words and with the need for change that has been crying out throughout Latin America. We invite you to come to listen to these words here in Colombia, and we are ready to articulate them there, if you invite us. Here or there, it is the same planet and our mission is the same: to protect it, to save us all.

Finally, we call on you to join with us in fulfilling our responsibilities to Mother Earth and to history. The first one, our collective Mother, has given all of us life. The second one, History, has reflected our growing pains and our errors. History has not matured into systems that reconcile it with the rhythms, pulses and mandates of Nature. We believe the very reason human beings and our societies exist is to create the harmony between History and Mother Earth.
As children of Mother Earth, we speak to you as to a brother or sister. As indigenous, we speak to you as peoples, obliged from creation to seek harmony between History and Mother Earth. To reconcile ourselves with nature is not an option, but an imperative. By transforming life into merchandise, by making sacred the accumulation of wealth, by enshrining greed, we believe our societies have entered a crisis, including the economic crisis currently faced by your country. The destruction of our peoples in Colombia is a consequence of that Historic error that has placed greed before life.

Brother President-elect Barack Obama, we do not write to ask or demand anything for ourselves, because we know that the death of our peoples and the destruction of our cultures for greed, signifies the beginning of the end for Mother Earth itself.

Before we disappear with our collective Mother, we have decided to speak and to walk our words. In the name of life, of change, let us listen to one another and make the effort to find a way to create harmony between our peoples and life. Let us create the conditions for new History. One where the sacred ends of promotion and protection of Life and Beauty can never again be transformed into means for private accumulation of power at the service of greed.

We await you.

With great respect,

Association of Indigenous Couincils of Northern Cauca ACIN (Cxab Wala Kiwe-Territory of the Great People) Cauca, Mother Earth, November 10th, 2008 Santander de Quilichao

Open Letter to Barack Obama - In Spanish - from Association of Indigenous Councils of Northern Cauca, ACIN

Barak Obama: es el mismo planeta, escúchenos

11/08/2008

Autor: Asociación de Cabildos Indìgenas del Norte del Cauca - ACIN

Queremos que el nuevo presidente de Estados Unidos pueda oír personalmente que en un país donde tantos son y han sido asesinados, desaparecidos, secuestrados, torturados y exilados, oponemos a los fusiles la palabra, a la violencia la palabra, al conformismo la resistencia civil, que sepa que nos movilizamos por miles a pesar de las balas, la represión y las calumnias.

Bogotá, Colombia, 11 de noviembre de 2008

Señor
Barak Obama
Presidente Electo de los Estados Unidos de América

Respetado Señor Presidente:

Le escribimos este mensaje con la convicción de que su elección expresa los profundos deseos de cambio de la mayoría del pueblo estadounidense, cambio en el manejo de la economía, en las relaciones sociales y en las relaciones internacionales y desde luego en la relación entre los Estados Unidos de América y los pueblos indígenas. Lo felicitamos por haber sido elegido por y para tan noble aspiración de su pueblo.

Queremos que el nuevo presidente de Estados Unidos conozca la situación de los pueblos indígenas de Colombia, cómo hemos sufrido más de 1.200 asesinatos en los últimos seis años, cometidos por paramilitares, guerrilleros, policías y militares, es decir por grupos armados ilegales y por la fuerza pública; cómo esta circunstancia está siendo aprovechada para despojarnos institucionalmente de nuestros derechos con una legislación de despojo, que incluye un estatuto rural y normas sobre minería, hidrocarburos, aguas, acueductos, propiedad intelectual, parques nacionales, transferencias de recursos y que se completaría y eternizaría de entrar en vigencia el llamado Tratado de Libre Comercio con Estados Unidos, que obliga al país a indemnizar a los inversionistas si cambia sus leyes y a someter nuestros litigios con ellos a árbitros internacionales por fuera de nuestra jurisdicción y bajo el imperio de las costumbres comerciales externas. Esta lógica mercantil que se impone por encima del respeto que merece la vida, ignora, vulnera y viola todos los acuerdos y convenios internacionales que la humanidad ha definido para poner por encima de lo particular el bien colectivo que es la vida. Por eso convenios como el 169 de la OIT y la Declaración sobre los Derechos Humanos de los pueblos indìgenas de la ONU son ignorados tanto por e.l gobierno de su paìs como por el nuestro.

Desafortunadamente los gobiernos de Estados Unidos con el Plan Colombia y el apoyo a la que el actual gobierno colombiano llama “seguridad democrática”, han contribuido mucho a nuestra situación. Grandes empresas transnacionales, se han beneficiado con contratos petroleros o de gas, concesiones mineras, privatizaciones y bajos salarios y apuntan a la explotación de la biodiversidad de nuestros territorios.

Para contribuir a que todo esto cambie, quisiéramos que el nuevo presidente de Estados Unidos pudiera personalmente oír nuestra palabra, la palabra que nos ha costado vidas y que defendemos todos los días con nuestra voz, nuestro caminar y nuestra resistencia civil. Es la palabra que desde el 10 de octubre pasado paseamos por toda Colombia en la Minga de Resistencia, gran movilización nacional que convocamos desde nuestros pueblos indígenas, en asocio con otros pueblos y procesos.

Queremos que el nuevo presidente de Estados Unidos pueda oír personalmente que en un país donde tantos son y han sido asesinados, desaparecidos, secuestrados, torturados y exilados, oponemos a los fusiles la palabra, a la violencia la palabra, al conformismo la resistencia civil, que sepa que nos movilizamos por miles a pesar de las balas, la represión y las calumnias.

Creemos que el espíritu de cambio de su pueblo es incontenible. Que es una poderosa fuerza que se juntará con nuestra palabra inmemorial y con la necesidad de cambio que expresa toda América Latina. Lo invitamos a que la oiga aquí en Colombia y estamos dispuestos a ir a nombrarla allá si usted decide invitarnos para que podamos llegar con ella hasta Washington. Aquí o allá es el mismo planeta que tenemos como misión cuidar y en las circunstancias actuales, salvar, juntos, todos.

Finalmente, debemos asumir respetuosamente nuestra verdadera dimensión frenta a la Madre Tierra y a la Historia. La primera, nos ha dado toda la vida. La segunda, hija de la primera, es el quehacer de los seres humanos en sociedades y sistemas que no han madurado para alcanzar la armonía y el equilibrio que se requiere. Como seres humanos, hijos de la misma Madre Tierra, le hablamos como hermanos. Como indígenas, le hablamos como pueblos, fruto de la Ley de Orígen que nos obliga a buscar y reclamar el equilibrio y la armonía entre la Historia y la Madre Tierra. Reconciliar la historia de los seres humanos con los ritmos y procesos de la naturaleza no es una opción, sino un imperativo impostergable. La codicia, le sacralización de la acumulación, la transformación de la vida en mercancía explica la crisis de su país, el desastre económico y el inevitable fin de la vida como consecuencia de una economía que lo destruye todo para que algunos sacien su codicia.

La destrucción de nuestros pueblos en Colombia, es consecuencia de esta equivocación que hoy llamamos crisis. Hermano Presidente electo Obama. No le escribimos para pedirle nada en particular para nosotros, porque sabemos que la muerte de nuestros pueblos, el fin de nuestras culturas a manos de una codicia equivocada, simboliza el fin de la vida toda. Antes de desaparecer, nombramos y caminamos nuestra palabra. A nombre de la vida, del cambio que reclama la Historia, escúchela, escúchenos, para que hagamos el esfuerzo de encontrar la manera de armonizar la Historia con la Vida. Lo esperamos

Proponemos entonces un encuentro entre nuestros pueblos y el nuevo Presidente de Estados Unidos para tratar lo que hemos expuesto.



Con gran respeto,


Asociación de Cabildos Indìgenas del Norte del Cauca - ACIN
Cxab Wala Kiwe (Territorio del Gran Pueblo)
Noviembre 8 de 2008, Santander de Quilichao
http://www.nasaacin.org/noticias.htm?x=9117

Tejido de Comunicación y Relaciones Externas para la Verdad y la Vida
Asociación de Cabildos Indígenas del Norte del Cauca - ACIN
Telefax: 0928 - 290958 - 293999
Email: acincauca@yahoo.es
Web: www.nasaacin.org/index.htm
Santander de Quilichao Cauca -Colombia