Letter to President Andres Pastrana from Sen. Paul Wellstone (D-Minnesota), December 10, 2001

Letter to President Andres Pastrana from Sen. Paul Wellstone (D-Minnesota), December 10, 2001
December 10, 2001

Honorable Andrés Pastrana Arango
President of Colombia
Palacio de Nariño
Carrera 8 No. 7-26
Santafé de Bogotá, Colombia

Dear President Pastrana:

On this day, dedicated to celebrating the 1948 signing of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, I am writing to express my concern about ever-increasing threats against human rights defenders and social activists in the Magdalena Medio region. In particular, I urge you to take action towards stopping the current campaign of harassment and intimidation targeting members of the Organización Femenina Popular del Magdalena Medio (OFP).

On November 10th, persons allegedly acting on orders from the Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia (AUC) tore down a community center operated by the OFP in the north end of Barrancabermeja. The OFP immediately sought help from local authorities. Acting on information provided by the OFP, Colombian security forces then detained a suspected AUC member believed to be involved in the incident. Furthermore, on November 19th and 21st, OFP coordinators Dora Guzman Gonzalez and Gloria Amparo Suarez and their families were threatened by paramilitaries, and warned specifically not to identify the detained AUC member.

In the past year, the OFP and other human rights organizations in the Magdalena Medio region have been subjected to dozens of threats and acts of violence, including the October 17th assassination of the Corporación Regional para la Defensa de los Derechos Humanos (CREDHOS) associate Julian Rodriguez Benites, and ongoing threats against CREDHOS board member Pablo Javier Arenales.

I understand there has been an upsurge of violence against human rights defenders, social activists, union leaders, farmers, displaced families and the civilian population in general since my visit to Barrancabermeja earlier this year. I urge you to take effective action to guarantee the safety of Dora Guzman and Gloria Amparo Suarez, in particular, as well as the members of organizations such as the OFP, CREDHOS, the Program for Development and Peace of the Magdalena Medio (PDPMM).

Thank you for your attention to this matter. I look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,
Paul D. Wellstone
United States Senator