Diocese
of Quibdó, Chocó: Second open letter to the Colombian
president, Álvaro Uribe Vélez, with regard to the crisis of state
legitimacy in the Atrato region, April 27, 2005
(Translated
by Catholic Relief Services / Versión en español
disponible
en el sitio dhcolombia.info)
Second
open letter to the Colombian president, Álvaro Uribe Vélez,
with regard to the crisis of state legitimacy in the Atrato region
Quibdó, Chocó
27 April 2005
Sir,
On 24 April 2004, Monsignor Fidel León Cadavid Marín,
bishop of the diocese of Quibdó, personally delivered an
open letter relating to the crisis of state legitimacy in the
Atrato region of Colombia. The letter was signed by the Diocese
of Quibdó, the regional indigenous organisation, OREWA,
and the community council of the Afro-Colombian rural organisation,
COCOMACIA.
The first letter expressed serious concerns over the security
situation suffered by indigenous and Afro-Colombian communities
in the municipalities of Bojayá, Murindó, Vigía
del Fuerte and Medio Atrato, exposed to potential attacks by guerrilla
(FARC) and paramilitary groups (AUC), despite considerable deployment
of state armed forces. The letter emphasised the undisguised tolerance,
collusion and complicity of members of the armed forces with paramilitary
groups.
Monsignor Fidel Cadavid also delivered a proposal for a humanitarian
agreement, prepared over the course of two years by 47 NGOs from
the department of Chocó and members of the Inter-ethnic
Organisation "Solidarity for Chocó". The agreement
is their contribution to building peace and humanising the conflict.
Today,
one year on, the dioceses of Quibdó, Istmina- Tadó
and Apartadó as well as the 47 organisations from the Inter-ethnic
Organisation, sadly have to state that the situation of these
communities, far from improving, has greatly worsened:
- The
police, navy and army have installed so many checkpoints along
the River Atrato that it is very difficult, and on occasions,
impossible for travellers to arrive at their destination before
six o'clock in the evening. After this time, all transport along
the river is prohibited by the armed forces. These exaggerated
measures are doubly incomprehensible, considering that the rigorous
controls are only applied to the civilian population and paramilitaries
continue to move about with total freedom.
- Paramilitaries
belonging to the "Elmer Cárdenas" group move
large numbers of troops and equipment along the River Atrato
and its tributaries (Opogadó, Napipí and Bojayá),
passing through many areas which are under control of the armed
forces. However, the indigenous and Afro-Colombian populations
living in areas with guerrilla presence have been subjected
to severe restrictions which amount to a food blockade.
- Between
February and March this year, two thousand Afro-Colombians from
the River Bojayá moved to the municipal capital of Bellavista
in order to escape the cross fire as a result of the paramilitary
advance and the FARC's presence along this river. The river's
mouth is less than one kilometre away from Bellavista and Vigía
del Fuerte. There is permanent police and army presence in both
villages.
- At
Easter, paramilitaries took control of the lower part of the
River Bojayá. Later, some members of the displaced communities
from the villages of Corazón de Jesús, Caimanero,
La Loma and Cuía went back to their land to pick crops
and found that their houses had been sacked; doors, windows
and several walls had been destroyed; community telephones had
been damaged and thrown into the water and cattle and pigs belonging
to the Agricultural Institute had been stolen.
- Large-scale
timber exploitation has begun along the Rivers Opogadó
and Napipí, an area taken over by paramilitaries last
year. This area is a collective territory belonging to the Afro-Colombian
communities. No authority is restricting this illegal trade
in timber.
- Last
March in Bellavista, paramilitaries confiscated timber being
transported along the River Bojayá under the indolent
gaze of the armed forces. The timber was being transported by
an ex-member of the FARC militia, known as Chombo, who had given
himself up to the army in November last year in Bellavista.
After going to Riosucio, he came back two months later with
a new identity.
- On
20 March the army arbitrarily detained 16 rural inhabitants
for 30 hours, among them three children, on the River Bebará,
in the municipality of Medio Atrato. The members of the Afro-Colombian
community had gone out that morning to go fishing and pick plantain.
This abuse of authority caused panic among the communities living
along the river Bebará as well as among their relatives
in Quibdó.
- Another
ex-member of the FARC militia, known as Barbachita, gave himself
up to the army in Boca de Bebará, in the municipality
of Medio Atrato at the beginning of February. He is now free
in Bellavista and working as an informant, causing concern among
the displaced population.
- In
December last year, the army pulled out of Napipí, on
the banks of the River Atrato, and allowed a paramilitary group
to install itself in the village. On 3 April, a member of a
paramilitary known as Escamoso, physically injured a 75 year
old man in the village. The victim had to be taken to hospital
in Quibdó.
- On
18 April, paramilitaries controlling the River Bojayá
robbed a generator belonging to the community's sugar mill as
a result of the armed forces' negligence. The theft was carried
out after the population had been forcibly displaced and had
been seeking refuge in Bellavista since 14 February. The same
paramilitary group is responsible for further damage and thefts,
including cattle rustling and destroying community goods.
- There
has been no Human Rights Ombudsman in Bojayá for four
months.
- In
November 2004, the FARC murdered Francisco Montoya, a priest
from the diocese of Istmina - Tadó, when he was working
with rural communities in the municipality of Nóvita.
To date, it has not been possible to recover his body.
Our
hope that last year's letter would provide the motivation for
an initiative to end so many irregularities has been in vain.
We ask ourselves with increasing concern: Who are the armed forces
protecting and who are they fighting in the Atrato region? We
continue to observe and suffer at first hand these absolutely
unacceptable situations within a social state of law. Therefore,
we reiterate our request from over a year ago:
1. Give the order to cease all irregularities which we have publicly
stated time after time, over the last few years. Order the armed
forces to act in accordance with their constitutional and legal
mandate.
2.
Order an investigation to establish the responsibility of state
employees in undermining state legitimacy in the Atrato region
through their attitudes of tolerance, collusion and complicity
with paramilitaries groups.
3.
Order the state institutions to begin investigations into the
death of Francisco Montoya, the priest murdered by the FARC in
November 2004 in the municipality of Nóvita. Do not let
this crime go unpunished.
Mr. President: the indigenous, Afro-Colombian and mestizo communities
will not stand any more abuses and aggressions. We want to live
in peace within our territories; those that have been forcibly
displaced wish to return as soon as possible. Therefore, we are
requesting immediate, concrete actions so that our ancestral rights,
recognised by the Colombian parliament, are not violated but efficiently
defended by the government.
Yours faithfully,
Diocese of Quibdó
Diocese of Apartadó
Diocese of Istmina - Tadó
Inter-ethnic Organisation - Solidarity for Chocó
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